END TIME ERROR

DANIEL’S SEVENTY WEEKS AND THE THIRD TEMPLE. In my last post, I stated that there are two errors that are shaping much of the end time teaching in our churches. Let’s remember that Satan is the ‘father of lies’ and is a deceiver. Ever since the resurrection he has known that his days of control over the earth are coming to an end. The best he can do is to prolong them. This he does by veiling the eyes of God’s people to the truth. One of those errors is what is known as ‘Daniel’s seventieth week’ i.e. that there is a period of seven years that God has reserved for dealings with the Jews. Christians will be taken out of the Earth during or before that time. Thus instead of being God’s agents of restoration in the Earth, many Christians are looking to escape from it.

In the time of Daniel, God’s people were in exile in Babylon because of their repeated rebellion against Him. The angel Gabriel came to Daniel with a message that gave Israel another chance. They would return to their Land and rebuild their temple in preparation for Messiah the Prince. The prophecy would commence with a command to restore Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, known later as the second temple or Ezra’s temple.

In this prophecy God tells Daniel:-

           

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Daniel 9:24

The ‘weeks’ in the prophecy are weeks of years, so a week is seven years. According to this wrong teaching, only 69 weeks have been fulfilled and there is another week or seven years to go. They teach that between the 69^th and 70^th week, God has inserted the Church Age. When the Church is ‘raptured’ out, then comes the 70th ‘week’ of God’s dealings with Israel during the great tribulation. They believe that all the promises contained in vs. 24 have not yet been fulfilled.

Coupled with this idea of a 70^th ‘week’ yet to come is, what I believe is a MIS-interpretation of Daniel 9:27

 ”Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;

but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

This interpretation goes like this: - ‘He’ in the sentence refers to the Antichrist. He makes a peace pact with Israel. After three and a half years, ‘in the middle of the week,’ he breaks the covenant and stops the sacrifices at the temple. From this they reason that a third Temple will have been built. This supposedly happens during the last ‘week’ or seven years of the prophecy given to Daniel, and will be a time of God’s special dealings with Israel – a time of great tribulation. Meanwhile Christians will be ‘raptured’ out to escape the tribulation and there is much speculation about whether this will be ‘pre-trib,’  ‘mid-trib,’ or ‘post-trib.’ This is the popular end time teaching in many evangelical and Pentecostal churches. It is a firmly held and rarely questioned belief, passed on from one generation to the next.

  The truth is that the seventy weeks were seventy consecutive weeks as you would normally expect. If God was intending to insert a long period of at least 2,000 years between the 69^th and 70^th week, one would expect some indication of it in the Scriptures. There is none. The ‘He’ in vs. 27 refers to Christ not the Antichrist. The seventieth ‘week’ was the week which included Jesus’s ministry. After 3 and a half years of ministry, In the ‘middle of the week,’ Jesus brought an end to the need for animal sacrifices, by making the one perfect sacrifice for all time. By His ministry and sacrificial death on the Cross He confirmed or strengthened the Abrahamic covenant, “The covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ,” (Galatians 3:17) and in so doing, He fulfilled all the promises contained in vs 24. God has only one answer for this world’s condition, and that is the Cross of Christ. Anything that He is going to do was accomplished there. It is a finished work. We just haven’t understood the full extent of all that the Cross and resurrection has achieved. In these last days of the Church Age, God will bring revelation on the finished work of Christ which will cause the Church to rise up in Kingdom authority.

Jesus moved with a sense of purpose. He understood the plan of Redemption and worked within the will of the Father. He often said, “it is not time yet” or “My time is not yet come,” (e.g. John 7:6), because He was working to the plan. He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(Matthew 15:24). When He sent the disciples out He told them to go only to Israel. (Matthew 10:5:6) That is because the work of redemption had to be first demonstrated in Israel, the pattern and priestly and prophetic nation. During that seventieth ‘week,’ Jesus taught the principles of the Kingdom; He was crucified and resurrected; the Holy Spirit was poured out and the infant Church established. Then and only then, the word came to take the gospel to the Gentiles. (Acts 10) and Paul, who was to be the apostle to the Gentiles, was called and commissioned. The seventy weeks had been completed. There is no ‘seventieth week’ to be yet fulfilled.

When we see that, we can see that this teaching which occupies so much of our thinking about the end time is wrong. We can stop looking for an Antichrist to make and then break a pact with the Jews and stop watching for the third temple; it is not part of God’s plan. The third temple as far as God is concerned is the Living Temple which Christ is building as in Ephesians 2:21:22. The Jews may or may not build another temple but it is not a marker for a seven year count down to the 2^nd Coming, preceded by the ‘Rapture’ pre, or mid ‘trib.’ Jesus is not planning to snatch His people out of the world but to cause them to rise up in Victory over the forces of darkness which keep the world in bondage. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 [the ‘rapture’ scripture] is about the manner of the 2^nd Coming, when the Church will be caught up to meet the Lord and escort Him back to the throne.

On the night He was betrayed Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for His disciples-

“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15

God told Daniel that some end time truth is sealed until the time of the end; (Daniel 12:9) but about 200 years ago, there were those who went ahead of the Spirit and put together an end time scenario which doesn’t leave a lot of room for the Holy Spirit to bring revelation on the real plan of God for the Church. Getting raptured out any moment may sound exciting but what God really has for the Church is even more exciting.

Very soon a ‘Joshua’ generation will arise in the Earth that will bring down the ‘gates of Hell.’ [Mat 16:17,18] This is what God has been working towards since the promise in the Garden that the Seed of the Woman will crush the Serpent’s head. (Genesis 3:15).Christ and the Church is that Seed. This Seed is also the Seed of Abraham which will possess the gate of his enemies and be a blessing to the whole earth. (Genesis 22:17, 18)(Galatians 3:16, 29) If you belong to Jesus then you are part of this Overcoming Seed. Jesus has done all the work and is now seated at the Father’s right hand ‘waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.’ Hebrews 10:13. That’s our job!

A generation of the Seed of Abraham and the Seed of the Woman will rise up to our full potential in Christ. This is ‘Elijah’ that Jesus said would come and ‘restore all things’ before His 2^nd Coming. [Matthew 17:11]. In Acts 3:21 it says that the heavens must retain Jesus “until the times of the ‘restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” This will happen any time from now to 2027. How I know that is for another time

The days ahead are days of the restoration of all things which God has been working towards for millennia. These are exciting times.  “Christ in you is the hope of glory.”

THE BATTLE FOR THE INHERITANCE

The case of Israel Faleau has brought the rise of hostility against Christianity sharply into focus. This is not the Australia we knew even 20 years ago. The slippery slope we were assured wouldn't happen at the SSM vote, is getting more and more slippery . What is behind it all? We are in a battle for the Earth!

This battle is the ongoing battle for the inheritance which is depicted in the struggle between Isaac and Ishmael, sons of Abraham and continued with Jacob and Esau and on to this day. Abraham has physical heirs through Isaac i.e. the nation of Israel and spiritual heirs through Jesus i.e. the Church [Galatians 3:29]. The physical heirs were given the Land of Canaan and the inheritance of the spiritual heirs is the Earth.[Romans 4:13] It is an inheritance that has to be possessed. The journey to and possession of the Promised Land by Israel is a picture or type of the spiritual journey of the Church into truth and the possession of the Earth for the Kingdom of God. This is what we lost at the Fall.

During the temptation of Jesus, Satan boasted that all the kingdoms of the world were his. Luke 4:5-8. In 1 John 5:19, it says "The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. “that is why it’s such a mess and getting worse. Ever since the Resurrection, Satan knew that it was only a matter of time till his rule was challenged and he is making a desperate push to strengthen his grip on the Earth. His two main instruments are Islam and Marxism. Israel and the Church [all true believers in Christ] are the two Covenant peoples of God. Satan hates them!

Israel had to bring down the strongholds of the enemy, possess the Land and establish the rule of the Kingdom; The Church is to make disciples of all the nations which also involves bringing down the enemy strongholds and bringing people into the Kingdom. Jesus said ‘I will build My Church and the gates of Hell will not stand against it.” Matthew 16:18,19. The Church is the Army of God. What we need to be doing at this time is preparing for war i.e. spiritual warfare over the nations. Where that is happening, people are getting saved. Moslems are coming into the Kingdom by the thousands. However much of the Army is preparing for the Rapture Retreat. This is because of error which came into the Church about two hundred years ago. Two errors shape much of our end time thinking; i.e. The “Rapture” of the Church and Daniel’s 70th week.

I will address these two errors in the next two posts.

PS Yes I do know that when Jesus comes again we will be caught up to meet Him in the air; but what happens next?

TIME FOR ACTION

  TIME FOR ACTION
Most Christians would be aware that things have changed and changed very quickly and not for the best. What to do about it? While some are endeavouring to stand against the tide of anti-God activity, others see the downward trend as a sign that Jesus is coming to ‘rapture’ them shortly and take them out of the mess. People are looking for answers. They need to understand just what is going on. We need a Biblical worldview.  How does God see things?

First of all we need to understand who we are. How many know that Christians are the Seed of Abraham? What difference  does that make?
Let the Bible speak:-
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed” who is Christ.”  Galatians 3:16
“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29

There is One Seed and that Seed is Christ AND the Church.- Jesus and His Church are the Seed of Abraham, and we inherit all the promises made to Abraham.  Abraham had physical seed through Isaac and spiritual seed through Christ. To the physical seed God gave the Land of Canaan, which they had to possess; To the spiritual Seed, God gave the Earth.
“For the promise that he would be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13

That’s us! We are heir of the world. We also have to possess our inheritance. The journey of Israel from slaves in the kingdom of darkness to conquerors possessing the Promised Land is a template for how the Church will possess their inheritance. Israel had to possess the Land, bring down the strongholds of the enemy and establish the rule of God, i.e. the Kingdom. Our inheritance is occupied by satanic forces with their entrenched strongholds.
“We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”    1 John 5:19

During the temptation of Christ, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and boasted that they were his. This is still the case. That’s why we have a messed up world. Jesus removed his authority over the world by bearing all the sins of the world. Authority over the earth now belongs to the Seed of Abraham but Satan still operates illegally. Jesus has done all the work but we have to enforce His victory in the Earth till the satanic strongholds crumble.
This is a spiritual war against spiritual enemies:-

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
A generation of the physical seed of Abraham rose up under Joshua and claimed the Land of Canaan. Eventually the Kingdom was established under Solomon, son of David and the glory of God filled the temple.

This current generation is the Joshua generation. This is the generation destined to rise up and liberate the earth from the clutches of the wicked one. Since the resurrection he has been waiting in fear and trembling, knowing that his days are numbered. All he could do was exercise his only remaining powers, to deceive and accuse, to keep the Seed of Abraham from rising up and claiming the Earth for the Kingdom. He does this by blinding our spiritual eyes to spiritual realities. He is also quite happy to let us believe in wrong teaching about the end times; anything but the truth. Wrong teaching has bred an apathetic Church, just waiting to be raptured out any moment now; when what we are supposed to be doing is getting on the offensive against the enemy.

Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of Hell would not stand against it.
Time to wake up Church! It’s not just about taking us to Heaven when we die; it is about bringing back the King and the Kingdom to rule over our Earth. The Earth is our inheritance; the Kingdom of God ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven’ is our Promised Land. But we have to claim it. The Hosts of Heaven are waiting to do battle with us. The Victory is ours! Amen

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A THIRD TEMPLE?

Many eyes are looking towards Israel for what they believe is a sure sign of the soon return of the Lord, - the building of a third Temple. This is because of a particular interpretation of a verse in Daniel 9

Vs 27 ”Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;

but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

 

This interpretation goes like this:- The Antichrist makes a peace pact with the Jews. After three and a half years he breaks the covenant and stops the sacrifices at the temple. From this they assume that a third Temple has been built. This all happens during the last seven years of the Age, which is a time of God’s special dealings with Israel. Meanwhile Christians will be ‘raptured’ out. The seven years are the final ‘week’ of a prophecy in Daniel 9:24 in which God told Daniel:-

               

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.”

 

The weeks are weeks of years, so a week is seven years. According to this interpretation only 69 weeks have been fulfilled and there is another week to go. They teach that between the 69^th and 70^th week, God has inserted the Church Age. When the Church is ‘raptured’ out there is a time of great tribulation coming on the world. The promises contained in vs 24 have not yet been fulfilled.

 

This is the popular end time teaching in many evangelical and Pentecostal churches. It has made its way into the notes of the Schofields, Dakes and other Bibles and thus assumes the authority of holy writ. God told Daniel that some end time truth is sealed until the time of the end; (Daniel 12:9) but about 200 years ago, there were those who went ahead of the Spirit and put together an end time scenario which doesn’t leave a lot of room for the Holy Spirit to bring revelation on the real plan of God for the Church. Getting raptured out any moment may sound exciting but what God has for the Church is even more exciting.

 

The truth is that the seventy weeks were seventy consecutive weeks; the last ‘week’ was the week of Jesus’s ministry. In the middle of the week, after 3 and a half years of ministry Jesus brought an end to the sacrifices as far as God was concerned, by making the one perfect sacrifice for all time. By His death on the Cross He confirmed or strengthened the Abrahamic covenant and He fulfilled all the promises contained in vs 24. God has only one answer for this world’s condition, and that is the Cross of Christ. Anything that He is going to do was accomplished there. We just haven’t yet understood the full extent of all Jesus achieved there. Jesus work is a finished work. He is now seated at the right hand of God “waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” (Hebrews 10:12-14)

 

Jesus moved with a sense of purpose. He knew the plan of Redemption and worked within the will of the Father. He often said ‘it is not time yet’ because He was working to the plan. He said “I am sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(Matthew 15:24)) That is because the work of redemption had to be first demonstrated in Israel, the pattern nation and priestly nation. The whole sacrificial system and the commemorative Feasts and all God’s redemptive acts for Israel were set up as a platform for the work of Redemption. The time came when God told Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles. (Acts 10 and 11) The seventy “weeks” were completed.

 

There is no specific seven year period of tribulation, though persecution and tribulation may come. The Jews may or may not build another temple, though one would expect that they would want to. The third temple as far as God is concerned is the Living Temple that Jesus is building, (Ephesians 2:19-22). There was, at one time in the days of Solomon, three places of worship which are a type of the present time: –

*The tabernacle of Moses at Gibeon which represents the Jewish people. It had lost the Ark, the Presence of God, but the sacrifices were still made there and Solomon went there when seeking God at the beginning of his reign. (2 Chronicles 1)

* The tabernacle of David, a tent in Jerusalem which now housed the Ark. It was open and the Ark was in full view of the people. David organized continual worship to be held there. There was none of the rituals connected to Moses tabernacle and the sacrifices were sacrifices of praise. This tabernacle represents the Gentile Church. (Acts 15)

*The great golden temple under construction being built at the command of Solomon, son of David. This represents the Living temple being built by Jesus Son of David.

 

When Solomon’s temple was finished, the Ark was brought up and placed in the Holy of Holies. Also the old tabernacle of Moses was brought from Gibeon and placed in the temple, probably in one of the store rooms. (2 Chronicles 5:5) Then the Temple was filled with the glory of God.

 

Jesus is still building the Living Temple. When it is finished, the gentile church and the Jewish people are going to come together as ‘one new man’ (Ephesians 2:15) and the glory of God will fill it. Jesus said “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) The Living Temple is going to be filled with God’s glory and the nations will flock to it.

 

“’I will shake all nations and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:7-9

 

We are experiencing some of this shaking now. Don’t be perturbed; God is shaking the nations to reveal the things that cannot be shaken.

 

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28, 29

 

DANIEL'S 70TH WEEK

 

 

We have been told that God has yet a special period of seven years of dealings with the Jews.  At the beginning of this period, the Antichrist will make a covenant with the Jews, which he will subsequently break in the middle of the seven year period by causing the sacrifices at the temple to cease. Then will follow a time of great tribulation. However Christians won’t have to worry because they will be taken to Heaven in the event known as ‘the Rapture.’ This much anticipated happening is ‘the next great event on God’s calendar.’ Meanwhile there is much debate about whether this will happen ‘pre-trib,’ mid-trib,’ or ‘post-trib.’

All this comes from one verse in Daniel – chapter 9 verse 27.

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering, and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.”

[The whole passage of vs 20-27 is relevant but for the sake of space I am quoting just vs 27]

The futurists teach that the ‘he’ mentioned in vs 27 is the Antichrist who makes a covenant with the Jews for one week [seven years]. He then brings an end to the sacrifices; which means that the Jews will have built their third temple.

God had sent a message to Daniel in captivity in Babylon that seventy weeks [weeks of years] were determined for the Jews and their holy city Jerusalem – from the command to restore and build Jerusalem; -seven weeks [49 years], then 62 ‘weeks’ till Messiah the Prince. The first period of seven weeks is the period up to the dedication of the second temple; then another period of 62 weeks till Messiah the prince would come. [483 years in all]

That much is clear, what is under debate is the remaining period of one ‘week.’ Futurists teach that it is yet to come, thus the scenario as above in the first paragraph.  However the historicists view [and mine] is that the 70^th week has been fulfilled. During the 70^th week the Gospel was preached only to the Jews.   Jesus said “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”[Matthew 15:24] When He sent out the disciples to preach He told them not to go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [Matthew 10:6] This time period was still in the 70 ‘weeks’ determined on Israel. The pattern of redemption had to be fully completed in Israel – the pattern nation, before it went to the world.

  Looking at vs 27 again –

Then he shall confirm a covenant [i.e.  make a firm covenant ’ or cause a covenant to prevail’] with many for one week. But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering."

 At the last supper Jesus said, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” [Matthew 26:28] This, I believe, is the covenant which is referred to; not some future covenant that the Antichrist makes with the Jews. After 3 and a half years ministry ’in the middle of the week’ Jesus was ‘cut off, but not for Himself’ vs 26. He thus made an end to the need for sacrifices as far as God was concerned as was signified by the rending the veil in the Temple. The Jews may or may not build a third Temple, but it is not part of God’s plan. The third temple is the Living Temple of all believers.

After the Resurrection and the coming of the Spirit, the Gospel continued to be preached to the Jews. Some believed but mostly it was rejected until finally the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was stoned. Then God raised up Paul to be an apostle to the Gentiles. The time had come the Gospel to go out to the whole world. God sent Peter to Cornelius, a Roman centurion, whose household received the good news gladly, and were subsequently filled with the Spirit. The seventy ‘weeks’ that God had ‘determined’ for Israel were over! This time period was given:-

To finish the transgression

To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity
To bring in everlasting righteousness
To seal up vision and prophecy
And to anoint the Most Holy.  Daniel 9:1, 2

 

This was all accomplished at the Cross. True, it has not yet been manifested; but the work was done at the Cross. It was a finished work and the end time truth which will cause the Church to rise up in victory is ‘The Finished Work of Christ.’ We have yet to lay hold of all that Christ accomplished for us. Creation waits for that day.

 

‘For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.’ Romans 8:19

Those who insert a large gap between the 69^th and the 70^th ‘week,’ probably believe that these things won’t be finished until the Second Coming. They are waiting to see the manifestation of them.

 

Continuing with Daniel 9 vs 27. “on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.” In 70 AD after much persecution and tribulation, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman prince Titus.  Some believe that the ‘wing of abominations’ refers to the Roman’s Eagle standard that fluttered over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. So let us compare the conservative interpretation of Daniel 9 which was taught for over 1800 years, with the futurists’ interpretation. We will see that they are very different.

The second part marked * is the futurists interpretation.

PRE 70^TH ‘WEEK’ [SEVEN YEARS] [From the command to rebuild Jerusalem Daniel 9:25].

The temple and city rebuilt ‘in troublesome times’ during first 7 ‘weeks’ [49years].  [Ezra and Nehemiah]. Then 62 ‘weeks’ till Messiah.

69 ‘weeks’ [483 years completed].

*Same as above. Then there is a gap of about 2,000 years between the 69^th and 70^th week.

 

FIRST 3 ½ YRS

Messiah preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom.  Announces the New Covenant at the Last Supper. [‘confirms a covenant’]

*The Antichrist makes a covenant [pact] with the Jews.  ‘Rapture’ of the Church. 3½ years of peace.

‘MIDDLE OF THE WEEK’

Messiah ‘cut off’ for the sins of the world, bringing an end to the need for temple sacrifices. ‘It is finished.’

*The Antichrist breaks the covenant with the Jews and stops all sacrifices at the temple. He proclaims himself as God. [Some place the ‘Rapture’ here].

LAST 3½ YEARS

The New Covenant Gospel preached to the Jews. Some received but the nation as a whole rejected their Messiah. Stephen, the first Christian martyr stoned. 70^th ‘week’ finished.

*3½ years of Great Tribulation. 2^nd Coming.

 

POST 70^TH ‘WEEK’ [SEVEN YEARS]

The Gospel preached to the Gentiles. Paul converted and becomes the apostle to the Gentiles. The Gospel to be preached to all nations.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

2^nd Coming.

 

There has always been persecution and tribulation but no doubt it will be accelerated in the end times, but there is no specific 7 year period of tribulation. In 70AD Jerusalem with its temple was destroyed by the Roman army under Titus and the nation scattered among all the nations of the earth. The return of the Jews and the re-establishment of Israel as a nation as prophesied, is one of the signs of the last days of this age.

God hasn’t finished with the nation of Israel yet. Though the Glory has departed for now, they can come to God the same way as Gentiles do – by faith in the Messiah Jesus; and the Bible indicates that one day the time will come when ‘all Israel shall be saved.” [Romans 11:26] There will be a coming together of Jews and Gentiles at the end time and it will be a time of great blessing for the whole earth. [see Romans 11:15]

 
      
 
 
 

                                                                                          futurists view
 

traditional or conservative view. 

 

 

OUT OF THE WILDERNESS

On the few occasions that I have stated to Christians that the Church is still in the wilderness,  I have met with protest. One lady stated emphatically, “Well I’m not!”  It is true that we are seated ‘together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,’ that is our legal and eternal position in Christ. It is all ours ‘by grace through faith.’ However in our experience we have not yet entered into the fullness of Kingdom authority. What is ours legally has to be brought into our experience if it’s going to change the world.

Even Jesus had to do spend time in the wilderness. As Man He had to walk the walk that we are called to walk. Jesus came out of the wilderness ‘in the power of the Spirit’ and began to tackle the Enemy’s strongholds – casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, preaching the good news to the oppressed and bringing people out of bondage.

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”    1 John 3:8

Israel was called ‘The Church (or the congregation) in the wilderness.’ For forty years they wandered in the wasteland until a new generation emerged under Joshua and then they went to war. After a few preliminary battles east of Jordan, they finally crossed the river and brought down the towering stronghold of Jericho. Then they went on to possess the Land.

 We will start bringing down the Enemy’s strongholds when we come out of the wilderness. Do we even know that that is what we’re supposed to be doing? Much of Christendom seems to believe that Jesus will do that when He returns; but the Bible says that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God ‘waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.’ (Hebrews 10:13)

On the Christian radio station just recently, a converted Muslim was giving his powerful testimony and sharing the amazing things that are happening in the Middle East, with thousands coming to Christ through dreams and visions. For years Christians have been targeting the Muslim world in prayer, especially during the month of Ramadan. We are beginning to see the results. This speaker closed with a challenging statement that; just as a few decades ago it was time for the Communist strongholds – the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtin to come down, so now is the time for the Muslim strongholds to be brought down.  Amen to that!

Instead of looking to the skies for the Rapture Rescue ‘any moment now,’ we need to be tackling the strongholds of Islam with the certainty that in Jesus’ Mighty All-conquering Name, the walls will fall. Imagine the effect of millions of ex-Muslims doing jihad for Jesus against the devil. Then imagine every stronghold of the Enemy that holds humanity captive, falling like dominos, till every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. That’s the Lord’s plan for the Church. ‘I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not stand against it.’

What was the wilderness experience about really? Largely it was about a question of identity. God had said of Jesus, ‘This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.’ The Devil tempted, ‘IF You are the Son of God……..’: God had said of Israel, ‘Israel is My son, My Firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). Their faith confession was ‘We’re just a bunch of grasshoppers.’ Tackling giants and their strongholds was way beyond them. When they finally did cross Jordan, they found that all the hosts of heaven were waiting to join the battle.

Are we still in the wilderness? Well the vanguard of the Church is emerging. The rest will be playing catch-up till finally God’s mighty Army brings down the gates of hell and possesses the Land and King Jesus will reign on the Earth.

Comments and questions are invited.  Val

BRINGING DOWN THE GATES OF HELL

“I will build My Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

What does that statement mean to you? It is one of those scriptures that people pass over without a lot of thought. ‘Oh that just means…..’ In this case it is ‘Oh that just means that whatever the devil does he will not bring down the Church.’  Yes, but it means much more than that! Jesus is saying that the Church He is building will overcome the gates of Hell. – “I will build My Church and the gates of Hell will not stand against it.’ The Church needs to be on the offensive against the devil and his hosts; not just on the defensive.

The world we are living in is a world that lies under the influence of the satanic kingdom.

“The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19 Principalities and powers of wickedness are over every nation maintaining Hell’s grip on the Earth. We can see the results everywhere and more and more that wickedness grows. We can see the anti-Christ spirit – the spirit of rebellion - increasing in the earth at a rapid pace.

What is the Church doing about it? Well a lot of Christians are eagerly watching for Jesus to come and rescue us out of the mess in an event called the ‘Rapture.’ We are told that this is next on God’s agenda. Some are into date setting – 13, 14^th, 15^th, or 23^rd September this year and excitement is growing. If it doesn’t happen then, [and it won’t] they will set another date. What we are supposed to be doing is building up the Army of God and imparting a vision for taking the world for the Kingdom. Jesus will return when we’ve finished the job He gave us to do – make disciples of all the nations.

 The Church that is most effective is the Eastern Church which doesn’t have a rapture teaching. This Church [e.g. the Chinese Church and the ‘Back to Jerusalem’ people] believe that the Church is here to make all the nations disciples of Jesus as He commanded in the Great Commission and they are totally committed to that end.  They are overcoming by the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony and they love not their lives to the death.

Jesus is building His Church ‘precept upon precept and line upon line’ bringing it into all truth. – the truth of the finished work of Christ. The Cross has taken all legal authority from satan and given it to His Church to bring down the ‘father of lies’ and bring in the Kingdom. That one perfect sacrifice for all time has done everything necessary for the Church to rise up in victory and' possess the Land.' The Type of the Journey to, and possession of Canaan, is a pattern or a map which shows us how this will be accomplished.

The ‘Rapture’ rescue is error that came into the Church and popularised by Derby. When it made it into the notes of the Schofield bible, it became almost regarded as ‘Holy Writ.’ – not to be questioned and has prevented Christians from coming into the fullness of truth that will bring down the ‘gates of hell.’ It tends to not encourage Christians to be too involved in the world because what is the point if the earth is destined to go to rot anyhow and we are getting out of here any minute now? The result is that Satan is having a hey-day.

For almost two thousand years Jesus has been building His Church and the end result is that He will have a Church that will rise up in the power of the Spirit and demolish Hell’s grip on the Earth.

The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints…..which is ‘Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.’  Colossians 1:26, 27

 

I have been studying the Word for nearly 50 years now. Once I put aside all my ideas about the end times which I had been taught, the Holy Spirit opened up the Bible in a new and exciting way. I have shared these things in my books “The Other Bible Code” and  “End Time Insights.” I invite you to get hold of some copies of my books and see for yourself. www.valpym.blogspot.com.au This site lists the places which have my books.

Sincerely  Val Pym

A TRUMPET SOUNDS - FIGHT OR FLIGHT?

A TRUMPET SOUNDS – FLIGHT OR FIGHT?

 

In the midst of all the clamour of “wars and rumours of wars” and the terrorist threat, Christians all over the world are hearing a trumpet call – an alarm – sounding with increasing urgency – a signal to prepare. The question is, prepare for what? 

 

Some are certain that it heralds the soon return of the Lord to snatch away the Church in the “Rapture” so they are getting ready for flight.  What a relief!  Jesus is coming to take us away from it all, while the rest of the world descends into utter chaos and the horror of the Great Tribulation.  We are told that no prophecy remains to be fulfilled before this great event.  Jesus could come at any minute now.  Scores of books and videos are on the market with graphic descriptions of what could be the fate of those unfortunate enough to be “left behind”.

 

There is no doubt that this is the popular interpretation of the trumpet sound.  A flight to the Heavens is much more appealing to our sense of self-preservation than hanging on in this old world the way things are shaping up.   Pack your bags, prepare to leave any minute now!

 

Others are hearing the trumpet differently.  No, that’s not the call for “Retreat.”  The trumpet is sounding:-

“Proclaim this among the nations

Prepare for war!

Wake up the mighty men,

Let all the men of war draw near,

Let them come up.”  Joel 3:9

 

So they are getting ready for fight.  Rouse the Army, check out the armour, sharpen the sword!  The Battle is upon us with the promise of great and glorious Victory.

 

So who is right? And does it matter?  What’s the difference?  There is an old joke which says “I’m not pre- millennium or  post- millennium, I’m pan millennium – I believe it will all pan out in the end.”  In other words it doesn’t matter what we believe about the end time.

I would suggest that it matters a great deal whether the Army is getting ready for retreat or for advance.  It is no longer good enough to be vague about it all.  God works in the world through His people and they need to hear loud and clear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

 

If your Eschatology is Escapology, please for Jesus’ sake hear me out.  It could be that God has an even greater destiny for the church than what we have imagined previously - a destiny that gives greater glory to the Cross of Christ than the popularised retreat scenario. 

As for the assertion that all is fulfilled that has to be fulfilled before the Lord comes – The Word of God tells us that:-

 

Jesus is coming for a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle’ [Ephesians 5:26]

That hasn’t happened yet.

The Body of Christ is to rise to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.[Ephesians 4:13]

That hasn’t happened yet.

Jesus is waiting till His enemies are made His footstool [Hebrews 10:13]               pg2

That hasn’t happened yet.

The heavens must retain Jesus until the time of restoration of all things [Acts 3:21]

And “Elijah” must come first and restore all things.  Matthew 17:11

That hasn’t happened yet.

Jesus prayed that His Church be one, that the world may believe [John 17;21]

That hasn’t happened yet.  Will any prayer of Jesus go unanswered?

The Church has to kick down the Gates of Hell [Matthew 16:18,19]

That hasn’t happened yet.  The whole sense of this great promise of Jesus is that it is the Church that is to be on the offensive, not on the defensive.

 

It may be a good idea to stow away the suitcase and start sharpening the sword after all.

 

Perhaps you might think that I just don’t know my Bible or haven’t been taught correctly.  I cut my Christian teeth on the Rapture- at- any- moment teaching and swallowed it charts and all.  However as one of my favourite hymns says “The Lord has yet more light and truth to break forth from His Word.”  More light and truth are there for those who will ask, seek, and knock. I did, and what I discovered blew the old theory to bits.

Now don’t misunderstand me.  I believe in a “Rapture” as is plainly stated in 1 Thess. 4:15-17.  As to when it takes place is another matter.  If you read the passage carefully you will note that nowhere does it say that the Church is taken back to Heaven.  It simply says that we shall always be with the Lord, and as another old hymn says “Where Jesus it, ‘tis Heaven there.”  Why would a Christian want to be anywhere else?

Think of the time when Jesus rode into Jerusalem that last Passover week.  “A great multitude” went out to meet Him and escort Him into the city. [John 12:12,13 also Luke 19:37-41]. That was and is, the way to welcome a King.  What “rapture” it will be indeed to go out and meet the King of Kings and escort Him to the throne.  The first time His throne was a Cross, the next time it will be the throne of the Eternal Kingdom.  Bring in the Day!  “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!”

 

 

Perhaps it would be helpful to explore the reason why we currently have “flight” and “fight” camps in the Army.  Yes there is another camp – they haven’t heard any trumpet call at all.  There is a saying that there are three kinds of people; those who watch things happen, those who make things happen and those who haven’t a clue what’s happening.

The “flight” camp are those who watch things happen.  They are “watching and waiting, looking above.”  When the Lord comes hasn’t got anything to do with them.  He will sovereignly come when He sovereignly chooses.  They are also closely watching the political scene and world developments which hold all the necessary clues to the arrival of that great moment when they will leave it all behind.

Then there is the “fight” camp.  They believe that they can make things happen – they are here to be history makers not history watchers.  They believe that they can, not only look for, but actually hasten the Day of God [2Peter 3:12]. In their understanding, Jesus won’t come until they’ve done the job He set the Church to do.  The flight camp would call them presumptuous.

Then there is the third camp who have become “dull of hearing” [Hebrews 5:11].  They haven’t heard anything out of the ordinary yet and aren’t expecting to.  They are not looking for flight at any moment and neither are they looking to fight either.  Trumpet!  What Trumpet? Battle! What Battle? They would probably call both the other camps  “presumptuous.”

 

Christians are hearing the trumpet differently because we have trained and strained our spiritual ears for different sounds depending on our interpretation of end-time events.  All would agree that the climax of history is when Jesus sits on the throne and the Kingdom comes on Earth as it is in Heaven.  What part the Church plays in Earth History leading up to this great and glorious event, is where the controversy lies.

 

The Church has always moved forward by revelation.  This is in accordance with Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide us into all truth and show us things to come.  [John 16:13]  As the cloud of God’s glory led His people Israel to their destination in the Promised Land, so in Church History, God has led His Church by His Spirit, bringing more revelation from His Word. 

“Surely the Lord does nothing,

Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the Prophets”  Amos 3:7

 

Denominations were formed because some people moved into new revelation of the Word, while others continued to camp around the last great truth and were closed to any further revelation - the “all truth” that Jesus promised had already been attained – anything else had to be heresy at worst or misguided at best.

 

Any revelation that is of God always sheds more light on the Cross, and what was accomplished there on our behalf. The Cross is God’s only answer and the sole means through which the Kingdom comes.  Anything that God does in the Earth has already been accomplished in seed form at the Cross.  Any “revelation” which is not according to this principle is suspect.

 

As I searched the Word for end-time answers, everything I discovered was pointing to glory and victory ahead for the Church.  Nowhere could I fit what I had been taught about the end times, into what I was discovering.  The Scriptures reveal that the Church of the last days will be a warrior Church filled with the glory of God, overcoming the enemy.  It will do what the “flight camp” is waiting for Jesus to do – vanquish the Enemy and establish the Kingdom. 

What brings more glory to Jesus – a victorious Church or a weak trembling Church waiting to be rescued?  I am convinced that Jesus intended total victory for His Church, and nothing less than total victory will do justice to the Cross.  Is leaving the world and its inhabitants behind to the mercy of the Enemy, total victory?

  Something of what I discovered in my search through the Scriptures, resulted in the book “The Fall of the Gates of Hell” but there is yet much more.  If it is the Spirit of Truth which is teaching us we should expect that He is also teaching the same things to others who are searching.  I was excited to discover the writings of Bill Britton who in turn records sharing with others of like mind.  What I had discovered was not new but it had been overshadowed by the more popular theory of the Rapture of the Church at any moment.

 

It was in Bill’s writings “The Rapture of the Church. What is it?” that I found out more about the origin of the teaching, something that I had been rather vague about.

According to Bill, the theory had its origins in 1830 through a prophecy by a young Scottish girl named Margaret MacDonald and also a similar prophecy by a Mrs Cardale a year later.  This “revelation” found its way into a book by R. N. Norton published in 1861.  Edward Irvine, founder of the Irvinites accepted and taught the new teaching and it was espoused by John Darby a leader in the Plymouth Brethren.   

 

    It eventually became enshrined in the notes of the Schofields Bible and became to some people as authoritative as Holy Writ.  Prior to this it had always been preached that the Church would go through all tribulation victoriously, and bring in the kingdom. As in:-

 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, as soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss;

From victory on to victory, His army He shall lead,

Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.”  AHB 509  [my emphasis]

 

So it was not a matter of new revelation arising out of the Word, but rather the new “revelation” being accepted and portions of the Scriptures being slotted into a new timetable or a chart.  The Bible was put through the “dispensational” filter, with some scriptures being relegated to “only for the apostolic age”’ and some being “only for the Jews.” In one publication, I read that Man fails in every dispensation from Adam to the Second Coming including the dispensation of Grace.  To say that Man under Grace fails is equivalent to saying that the Cross fails.  Never!  In the Cross God has made every provision for His Church to overcome the enemy and establish Kingdom. 

Jesus has done all that is necessary.  We just have not understood the magnitude of our salvation.  As previously stated all true revelation brings light on the Cross.  That’s where the victory was won.  It is the church’s privilege and responsibility to enforce that victory and bring in the Kingdom. 

The Cross was and is about, much more than getting us to Heaven when we die, wonderful as that may be. The Cross reversed the curse which came upon the earth.  Now if you’re an evolutionist and the Fall of Man is just a myth, then your concept of what the Cross restored will be limited. But if you believe, [as I do after much research]  in an original perfect Creation and a literal Fall, then you will be able to grasp more fully what the Cross has restored.  There is no aspect of salvation that is not covered by the Cross..

 

The state of Creation reflects the spiritual state of Man,.  That’s why, Paul states in Romans 8:19-21 that the whole creation groans and waits for the revealing of the sons of God, because then it will be delivered from corruption into liberty.  Most Christians read this passage in their minds as the creation waiting for the Second Coming, but that’s not what it says. Could it be that creation is waiting for the sons of God to stand up and BE the sons of God.

Dominion over the earth was given to Man at creation.. 

God said “Let us make Man in Our image, and let them have dominion…”  Genesis 1:26.  That dominion was handed over to the enemy at the Fall, with the resultant corruption of the Earth..

 Jesus’ mission was to take the authority which the enemy had usurped and restore it to  redeemed Man.

In giving the Great Commission, Jesus said,

 

 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”    {Matthew 28:18-20] 

 

The Church has indeed gone into all the world in obedience to the command and multiplied millions have come into the Kingdom.  Disciples have been made from most nations.  And yet is this the full scope of the Great Commission?

What would happen if God’s people fully exercised their God-given authority over the enemy?

He is “the god of this age” – the one who has corrupted the earth and the lives of its inhabitants.  God still “so loves the world” and gave His Son for everyone.

 

Jesus has finished what He came to do and it is sufficient for what remains to be done.

 

 “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.  For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:12-14

 

What authority will Jesus have when He come again that He doesn’t already have?

None!  He already has all authority in heaven and earth, and has delegated that authority to the Church His Body.

As Man He delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and put the destiny of earth in our hands again. We have been waiting for Jesus to come back and do what He has commissioned us to do.  But the Word says He is waiting for His enemies [the principalities and powers of darkness] to be made His footstool.

 

In Psalm 2  God says

“Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance,

And the ends of the earth for Your possession.”

 

Prayer is the battleground on which we wrestle the enemy for the nations and the ends of the earth for the Kingdom. Even now thousands are coming into the Kingdom in answer to prayer especially among the Muslims. Great things are happening. There are many books out about the frightening things that are coming upon the Earth and most of them assert that the Church will be gone up in the

'Rapture' before things get really rough. How many of your loved ones will be 'left behind?.' If you had the choice would you stay and fight for them? That's exactly what the Army of God is here to do. We are here to bring down the Gates of Hell and release the captives.

 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor...to heal the brokenhearted....to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound...to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord..."  Isaiah 61:1,2

 

Join the battle; Victory is assured. 

 

It's time! the trumpet is sounding

It's time! to prepare for war

It's time to march around Jericho

Walking in the Glory of the Lord.

 

It's time! to break down the barriers

It's time for Unity restored

It's time to overcome the enemy

Walking in the Glory of the Lord.

 

It's time! the Captain is waiting,

It's time to buckle on the Sword

It's time to possess the Kingdom

Walking in the Glory of the Lord.

 From a poem by Val