One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II

30 Saturday Apr 2016

Tags

Four Horsemen, Lost Tribes of Israel, Seven seals

It’s All about Jesus

The book of Revelation begins and ends with Jesus Christ.

Indeed, all of Scripture contains God’s revelation to the human race of the coming Messiah; the arrival of Messiah on earth as fully God and fully man; a detailed account of Messiah’s birth, life, death, and resurrection; and his glorious return to the earth he created. Seven years before he sets foot on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Jesus will raise born-again believers from the dead. Those still alive will be caught up (raptured) to heaven. Then the Great Tribulation will begin and, “…there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again” (Words of Jesus, Matthew 24:21).

The combination of man-made catastrophes and divine judgment directly from God will be so unprecedented that only Jesus Christ is allowed to break the seven seals which allow the Satanic forces of evil symbolized by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to unleash death and destruction like never before. Breaking the seven seals also leads to seven trumpets and seven bowls (vials) containing the final wrath of God on a warped and wicked world.

John tells us why only Messiah Jesus is qualified to open the scroll:

“…You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are obviously symbolic by virtue of the scene (vision) itself and the descriptive imagery of the passage. Also, with the plain understanding that each of the four riders on four horses couldn’t inflict the massive massacre that will follow. Yet, the devastation and death are all too real. For example: “Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword, and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere” (Revelation 6:4).

Just one generation ago, the nations of the earth experienced firsthand an unparalleled world war with unheard of casualties and unrivaled brutality and evil on a scale never before seen in the annals of mankind, particularly the Holocaust. But the military and civilian casualties of World War II will pale in comparison to the “war and slaughter everywhere” during the Great Tribulation. (See Eye of Prophecy article, Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation, posted 6-6-15).

Very soon after the Rapture, many will recognize what the Rapture was all about and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. They are also those who, “…had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony” (Revelation 6:9). This is the fifth seal that was opened by Christ Jesus. However, they will be far outnumbered by the people who belong to the world (Revelation 13:8).

The sixth seal is the first of God’s direct judgments on the earth. Listen to the astonishing description:

“I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood … The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places” (Revelation 6:12, 14).

Notice the language here: “The sky was rolled up like a scroll.” Whatever happens in/to the earth’s atmosphere during this massive earthquake (most likely accompanied or triggered by a colossal volcanic eruption to darken the sun and make the moon blood-red), is better understood by John’s imagery of a scroll being rolled up. The scroll is metaphorically used to depict the traumatic results of this enormous “natural” disaster. Natural signifying nature itself, but supernatural in origin and scope because only God has ultimate control over nature.

Then, however, there is an abrupt interruption between the sixth and seventh seal. What causes this unexpected and dramatic pause?

None other than the divine selection and sealing of the 144,000 … 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. With, as alluded in last week’s article, the clear contextual absence of anything symbolic going on in Chapter 7, and equally strong evidence that both the number and the identity of the 144,000 are literal.

Spiritualizing or Symbolizing Scripture That Is Clearly Literal

One hindrance to correct understanding of Scripture, especially prophecy, is a tendency of even well-meaning Christians to do way too much symbolizing. Of course there are metaphors and similes in, for example, the book of Revelation. But there is also a ton of literal people, places, things, and events.

Before we take a closer look at the 144,000, permit me to quote a couple of excerpts from my second book, Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved? 666

On the subject of the Abyss, specifically the sea (that contains the Abyss) referenced in Revelation 13 from where the beasts arises, I propose that the sea is literal—not symbolical as several scholars maintain. Following a detailed explanation on pages 234-236, I ask (I’ll place the excerpt in italics):

Why can’t the Revelation 13 Sea be literal? The Antichrist beast of Revelation 13 is not a kingdom or kingdoms; it is a personal pronoun (he) person. A symbolic application in one part of the Bible does not have to be the same symbolic representation in another passage, or even symbolic at all. (Here I’m referring to the “stormy sea” of Daniel Chapter 7). Or the place or thing in question can be both literal and figurative at the same time. It all depends on the context of the passage to include, if necessary, comparison or contrast to other passages… Thus, the staff of Moses was a literal piece of wood that turned into a literal snake in Pharaoh’s court; but the staff also symbolized the power of God, when Moses struck the rock and water gushed out.

Unless the Scriptural text is clearly and exclusively symbolic, or specifically interprets an image of something, or explains the imagery by such words as like, many scholars contend that the word or phrase should be taken literally. For one thing, it’s far less confusing to understand the verse or verses literally. For another thing, a figurative interpretation could often have two or more meanings. Which one is correct?

I then use another example (the fifth trumpet judgment) in which John utilizes image comparisons to describe the locusts that torment unbelievers for five months. Followed by another observation:

Conversely, there’s no reason to create a metaphor or simile comparison for something that is what it is. In Revelation 13, there’s every reason to consider the sea as the sea. The same reasoning can be applied to the False Prophet who “came up out of the earth.” The angel is making a distinction as to the origination point for the first and second beast.

I’m not referring to clear metaphors used in the Bible; such as used by Jesus himself when he said, “I am the bread of life.” Literature is full of metaphors and we even talk in those terms today. For example we might say, “He’s a rock.” There is rarely a misunderstanding over a metaphor. We don’t need to wrestle over another comparison phrase used by Christ, “I am the door.” Does anyone think that Jesus is a literal loaf of bread or a wooden door? Of course not.

…we find the dragon (Satan) taking his stance beside the sea. In the very next verse John tells us that he saw a beast rising up out of the sea. But the angel doesn’t indicate that the sea represents something else. If the sea is the mass of humanity (as many scholars contend) why would the dragon take “his stand on the shore beside the sea?” Why wouldn’t he take his stand right in the middle of humanity? If the sea is humanity, then what does the shore represent?

…the sea of humanity doesn’t have or need a shoreline. Or, if it does need a shore, then the entire imagery is extremely awkward and ineffective.

I could have added in my book something to the effect that all figurative imagery in Scripture is directly from the Lord (inspired), thus none of them are awkward or ineffective. Rather, they are meant to be understood; albeit sometimes with a good deal of study, focus, and correlation with other passages and connection to history and current events.

In applying this fundamentally sound principle (literal application of the text unless clearly indicated otherwise), a student of the Bible should rarely have difficulty in determining what is figurative and what is literal.

Who Are the 144,000?

As alluded, the answer is amply accessible … literally!

“Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, ‘Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.’

“And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: from Judah 12,000, from Reuben 12,000 … from Benjamin 12,000” (Revelation 7:1-8).

(12 Tribes–Shown In Last Week’s Article, But Worth Showing Again)

The 12,000 Jews from each tribe listed in Revelation Chapter 7 are as literal as the number from each tribe in Jewish history—determined by a census ordered by God through Moses (see Numbers Chapter 1 and following). If the 144,000 Jews are symbolic, then what is the purpose of specifically stating 12,000 from each tribe? Or using any numbers at all? Or going to the trouble of listing all twelve tribes?

Certainly, some numbers in the Bible have consistent meaning and significance, but the numbers themselves are quite literal. Twelve in Scripture—twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve tribes, and twelve disciples—represent God’s cohesive administrative authority on earth for the nation of Israel and later the Church, composed of Jew and Gentile alike. Twelve is also the multiplied number of three (perfection of divinity) and four (number of the earth, i.e. four seasons, four directions and others).

There were 12,000 sealed (chosen) from the 12 tribes of Israel … 12,000 x 12 equals 144,000. It doesn’t get any more real (literal) than that. I’m referring to both the number and those sealed by God … Jews and Jews alone. There is absolutely no symbolizing taking place with the identity of each tribe and the number from each of those tribes.

“What about the seal,” you might ask? “Is it literal, too?”

You bet it is. Just as literal as the mark that Nero will require on the forehead or right hand of everyone who wants to buy and sell anything and everything to stay alive during the Tribulation. How providentially ironic, however, that God first seals this select group of 144,000 Jews. Antichrist Nero’s mark is a copy-cat imitation to further advance his counterfeit copy-cat kingdom, but one that is pure evil in marked contrast to the perfectly good Kingdom of God that will be established on the earth.

There is, however, a slight difference between the 12 tribes listed in Revelation and those listed in Old Testament passages. In Revelation we see that the tribe of Joseph has replaced Ephraim and Levi has replaced Dan. An entire article could be written just to explain the Biblical history of why the tribe of Joseph became two tribes (his sons Ephraim and Manasseh) and why the tribe of Levi is not listed in the Old Testament census (there is a reason … perhaps you know or might want to read up on it). Actually, there was more than one census; the second one for a different purpose (Numbers Chapter 26).

A brief commentary for purpose of today’s article will simply summarize by saying that Ephraim and Dan are excluded in the list of the twelve tribes of Revelation primarily because of some bad things that Jews from these tribes did in terms of their rebellion and idolatry; apparently even worse than what the other ten tribes did that led to God’s discipline of all twelve tribes.

As a memory refresher, soon after King Solomon’s death the twelve tribes of Israel split apart with only Judah and Benjamin comprising the southern kingdom called Judah. The other ten tribes retained the name of Israel, referred to as the northern kingdom. In 722 B.C. God allowed Assyria to completely conquer Israel and exile them to other nations. In 586 B.C. the same thing happened to Judah, but with Judah’s conqueror as the mighty empire of Babylon, which had vanquished Assyria.

A Stunning Feature of the 144,000

Now that we’ve answered the question of exactly who the 144,000 are and from where they originate, we need to appreciate the astounding implication of what’s going on here. Many Eye of Prophecy articles have been devoted (some partially, others more fully) to the subject of spectacular Old Testament prophecies of the Jews providentially returning to Israel after being banished to the four corners of the earth. It took nearly 2000 years, but it’s happening before our 20^th and 21^st century eyes. It is nothing short of miraculous.

Yet, there are really only two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, through which a few Jews can trace their lineage … emphasis on few. Some Jews have been identified (mostly through DNA) from the tribe of Levi; thereby, qualifying to be priests in the new Temple that many Jews say is just around the corner. Yes, a third temple will be rebuilt (see Eye of Prophecy articles, A Third Jewish Temple and A Third Jewish Temple Part II, posted 4-26 & 5-3-14).

So what about the ten tribes, the so-called Lost Tribes of Israel? What happened to them? We know that Assyria exiled them to other nations and they eventually intermarried enough to lose much of their heritage or identity as Jews. Are there any of those Jews left? Where are their descendants?

(No, they are NOT Mormons living in America, as the misnamed Church of Latter Day Saints would have us believe. There is absolutely no archeological or genealogical or historical evidence at all to substantiate such a ludicrous entitlement. Mormons claim that many of their membership descends from the tribe of Ephraim. Do you suppose that’s another reason why Ephraim is not listed in Revelation?)!

Are the Jews alive today throughout the world and/or the Jews living in Israel only from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin or perhaps, Levi? No, Scripture is replete with prophecies that God will return his people to Israel from all over the world, from both Israel (ten northern tribes) and Judah. Such as:

“I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel and of Judah to possess my land. Those I choose will inherit it, and my servants will live there” (Isaiah 65:9). There is no repetition or duplication here. Both Israel and Judah are identified for a reason. At the time the prophecies were made and until they are fulfilled, these two kingdoms remain divided. Thus, the Lord referred to them as Israel and Judah, the northern kingdom and southern kingdom, respectively.

Sometimes the two kingdoms are referred to just as Israel in order to emphasize that all twelve tribes will one day be united, especially when the prophecy focuses on the Promised Land of Israel belonging to God’s special possession, the Jews. Such as:

“I will bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again … I will firmly plant them there in their own land. They will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:14-15).

In another passage (one of literally hundreds in Scripture applicable to Israel’s restoration) we read:

“Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns. I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them” (Jeremiah 33:6-9, italics for emphasis).

My generation is nearly 70 years into this remarkable reestablishment of Israel and the Jews. The only thing remaining concerning national restoration is true peace, immediately preceded by spiritual revival of God’s chosen people through and to their Messiah.

One day (soon), “…all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:26).

When will all Israel be saved, both physically and spiritually? Answer: At the very end of the Great Tribulation as it gives way to the magnificent millennial reign of Messiah Jesus on the earth.

Who or what is (at that time) all Israel? None other than Messianic Jews, beginning with the 144,000 Witnesses and ending with the full remnant of Jewish tribulation saints. To be saved is to be redeemed and to be redeemed is to be saved—by personal trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ).

The personal will then become the national restoration of Israel.

Let’s look at another extraordinary prophecy of Israel’s and Judah’s reunion as found immediately after the passage known to many as the Valley of Dry Bones (depicting Israel’s miraculous rebirth), that brings the ten northern tribes together with the two southern tribes:

“…This is what the Sovereign Lord says, ‘I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah … I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms” (Ezekiel 37:19-22).

*Note: In the Old Testament, Ephraim is sometimes used in place of Israel for the ten northern tribes. However, Ephraim’s absence as one of the 12 tribes in Revelation doesn’t alter the fact that some Jewish descendants from that tribe will undoubtedly be part of the 12,000. Reason: Ephraim’s father was Joseph, and the tribe of Joseph is listed as one of the twelve tribes in Revelation. However, it doesn’t appear that any of Dan’s descendants will be among the 144,000 sealed. If not, that can simply be deferred to the sovereignty of God.

Thus, the Lost Tribes of Israel have never been lost to God. He knows each one and to which tribe they belong. And one day they, too, will know.

An equal number will be sealed from each tribe as post-Rapture Tribulation Messianic Jews. Why do we know they are Messianic? Easy answer, as found in the next (and final) passage about the 144,000, that clearly tells us:

They are Messianic Jews

In the Revelation Chapter 7 passage, it’s logically and logistically evident that the 144,000 Jews sealed by the Lord are not in the same place (together) at that time. One very viable reason is that John didn’t actually see them; rather, he “…heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel” (Verse 4). Also because this is fairly early in the Tribulation, and their mission for God had just begun by God anointing them from all over the world … mostly, I believe, in Israel. Nearly half of all Jews alive today live in Israel.

In Revelation Chapter 14 we do find them all together with Messiah Jesus, having completed their task, as we read about their service to the Lord in the past tense. Beginning with:

“Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

The Lamb is obviously Messiah Jesus, as shown in numerous passages throughout the book of Revelation. The 144,000 couldn’t be a different (numbered) group than those identified in Chapter 7; if for no other reason than they have the seal—specifically identified as the name of God and Messiah “written” on their foreheads.

Thus, they are what we already see and call Jews in today’s world who have acknowledged and accepted Jesus as their Messiah, a term that has just taken hold in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. They are literally Jews for Jesus (also the name of a world-wide Messianic ministry). They are, in fact, Messianic Jews.

Let’s look at a passage that would lend substantial credibility to the fact that the 144,000 Messianic Jews specifically selected and supernaturally sealed are, indeed, tremendous testifiers to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here’s what John did and what the angel said after John received another magnificent prophetic vision from the angel:

“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, ‘No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters, who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus’” (Revelation 19:10).

Back to Revelation Chapter 7: “…until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants” (Verse 3, italics for emphasis).

The angel equated God’s servants with those who testify of their faith in Jesus as we just read in Chapter 19. There’s every reason to make this same connection to the 144,000, as witnesses (testifying) for the Lamb. Even more so, with the emphatic reminder that they were sealed (chosen) from among billions left behind after the Rapture. Hence, they are a unique group with a distinct mission, one that will produce a tremendous impact on the entire world, especially in Israel. Coupled with the spectacular achievements of the two witnesses portrayed in Revelation Chapter 11, the global testimony of the 144,000 will generate the greatest evangelical explosion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ever seen.

(Concerning the identity and accomplishment of the two witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11, please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles, The Two Witnesses, Part I, II, III, posted 6-7, 6-14, & 6-21-14).

I will clarify that observation by pointing out that a few Messianic Jews today are spreading the gospel despite anti-missionary resistance from orthodox Jews. In that sense, the God-given responsibility to his chosen people, the Jews, is being fulfilled … to be a light to the Gentiles, through first sharing the Gospel to their brethren (to the Jew First). I’m convinced that between God’s massive judgments on mankind to demonstrate that he means business and the amazing appeal that these 144,000 born-again Jews will have through their testimony for Jesus, millions upon millions of those left behind will be saved, Jew and Gentile alike.

(In English It Says: Blessed Is The Name of The Lord Yeshua (Jesus)

On Pentecost, the Lord, through the Messianic Jewish Apostle Peter, saved 3,000 in just one day. What if that many or more embrace Jesus as Messiah as a result of each of the 144,000 proclaiming the truth of God’s magnificent salvation to a world teetering on the brink of annihilation?

Just do the math. Literally! (144,000 x 3,000 equals 432 million) Who knows!

What Else Do We Know About the 144,000?

“This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God … No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. They have told no lies; they are without blame” (Revelation 14:3-5).

It’s clear from this final passage that the 144,000 Messianic Jews’ commitment and devotion to God and Messiah is unequaled. Their lives—who they are, all they have, and what they will do—belong completely to God. Without hesitation, without any worldly encumbrance, without looking back, they follow Messiah Jesus wherever he leads them. They are disciples extraordinaire of our Lord.

The vast majority of the book of Revelation including the meaning of mysteries explained to John (indeed, nearly all of Scripture) is knowable … correct understanding and application of the text and context. But this is one of just a small handful of prophetic passages that we cannot be sure about.

Meaning that it’s uncertain if the 144,000 are “redeemed from the earth … as a special offering to God and to the Lamb,” because they killed by “those who belong to the world.” Or if they were spared through God’s supernatural protection, then taken to heaven without dying. Whether by death or by conveyance to heaven in the fashion of Elijah and then born-again believers at the Rapture, I do believe that it will be all or nothing. Either all 144,000 will be killed or none of them will die before their transport to the presence of the Lord, because they are always referred to as the (group of) 144,000. Either way, all of them will finish their amazing assignment to accomplish exactly what Jesus said would happen at the very end of days.

Said Jesus to his twelve disciples: “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Personally, I believe the 144,000 will be martyred for their wonderful witness of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven on earth; but will be protected in the same fashion as the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah) before the appointed time of their deaths.

Indeed, they are “redeemed from the earth,” and redeeming means to literally purchase (pay a price) someone in order to free them or release them from a situation of bondage or peril or persecution. If Revelation only told us that they would be redeemed, then I would lean toward the option that they were taken from the earth without dying.

But, Revelation 14 also tells us that they were “purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering (first fruits or the best of the harvest) to God and to the Lamb.”

This would be an offering of praise or thanksgiving as opposed to a sin or guilt offering; however, all offerings require a sacrifice. Thus, the stronger application of the passage is that the 144,000 will be killed (sacrificed) for their incomparable testimony for Messiah Jesus and God the Father. Like the two witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11, so will the 144,000 be killed at the hands of the Antichrist beast (Nero). These 144,000 witnesses plus 2 will die near the end of the Tribulation.

We then see them standing on Mount Zion with Messiah Jesus. They will join him there much in the same manner that all raptured believers will join the Lord during the final battle of Armageddon.

“The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses” (Revelation 19:14).

Also, the fact that the 144,000 are actually numbered fits well with what the angel told the tribulation saints murdered earlier in the Tribulation as we previously saw in the 5^th seal: “…And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them” (Revelation 6:11, italics for emphasis).

Things to Ponder

Jesus said he is the “light of the world” (John 8:12 & 9:5). And God’s original purpose was for the Jews to be a light to the Gentiles. The two go together. Messianic Jews, especially the 144,000, will fulfill Israel’s divinely orchestrated destiny by proclaiming the light of salvation (Messiah Jesus) to the whole world.

By modern technology and transportation, the Good News is being disseminated over the globe in the 20^th and 21^st century like never before. Nevertheless, it will also take the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah), the 144,000, and angels themselves (Revelation 14:6) to proclaim the magnificent Gospel of salvation through Messiah Jesus to the world, one last time. It will also take God’s wrath poured out on the earth to get the full attention of those left behind, then turn that attention to those who will tell and show them how they can be saved from the terrible penalty of their sins and rebellion.

And then the end (of this age) will come … when Jesus returns to complete the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel and the Jews.

When that day comes:

“…People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.

… In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you’” (Zechariah 8:20-23).

One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part I

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Revelation, Tribulation saints

Tribulation Saints

Although this week’s article is not about Biblical numbers as such, certain numbers bear a great deal of significance in Scripture. Numbers like: Three, Four, Twelve, Forty, and above all—Seven. In one of the more fascinating, but also enigmatic passages of Scripture, we find the number One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand. Many students of the Bible may immediately recognize this as the number of Tribulation Saints—among what will undoubtedly be millions— chosen separately by God to receive his special seal (of approval and service) during the Great Tribulation.

What/who is a Tribulation Saint? Do we even find that term in Scripture? Quick answer: No, we do not. Rather it is a logical juxtaposition and combination of the two terms, Saint and (Post-Rapture) Tribulation which we do find in the Bible.

The “Great Tribulation” (Revelation 7:14) is derived from the seven-year period of time based on a treaty orchestrated by the Antichrist with Israel, found in Daniel Chapter 9. Saint is a frequently used description in the New Testament for all believers who have been redeemed by Messiah Jesus as a result of personally believing and receiving him as Lord and Savior. They are true Christians (Christ ones), not in name only. A Biblical saint is NOT someone who has been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. For more details on this subject please refer to Eye of Prophecy article entitled, What is a Saint? Posted 10-11-14.

Those of us who truly care about the eternal destiny of our family, friends, and people the world over, including salvation of non-Messianic Jews, have prayed for and/or cautioned others that, after we die, there is no second chance to receive God’s eternal pardon for our sins if we have not accepted God’s Only Son, Messiah Jesus as the substitutionary sacrifice for the penalty of those sins. And sometimes we have said or implied imprecisely that it is also too late for unbelievers after the glorious Rapture of saints from this earth. Whereas it will be incredibly difficult to choose Jesus during the Tribulation—on pain of deprivation and almost certain death—there will still be an opportunity for those left behind to embrace the true Messiah over the anti-Messiah.

The first reference to what we call Tribulation Saints can be found in the sixth chapter of Revelation. In fact, it is actually the fifth of the seven seal judgments (in the first set of three sets of seven … seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments during the Tribulation).

“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them” (Revelation 6:9-11).

For the most part, the sequence of events depicted in the Book of Revelation are chronological, with a couple of exceptions in what can be called an interlude or parenthetical interruption to show us a broader picture of all that will transpire during the Tribulation … how those interludes interface with the chronological chain of spectacular events. Such things as found in Revelation Chapters 12, 13, and 17. However, all of the twenty-one seal, trumpet, and bowl events are in sequence, including the one we just examined.

With a great deal of study and correlation, I firmly believe that we can also identify the approximate time frame of all twenty-one judgments (catastrophes) within and relative to the seven year span of the Tribulation.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

It’s interesting, perhaps a little puzzling, that depiction of martyred post-Rapture believers (tribulation saints) would be one of the seven seals; technically it’s not a judgment per se.

Or is it?

I believe it is in the sense (context) of the first four seals; what many people, including unbelievers, readily recognize as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. By means of an initial false global peace (First Horse), then world-wide wars (Second Horse), economic collapse including wide-spread famine (Third Horse), all resulting in death of one-fourth of the world’s population (Fourth Horse), the first four seals are man-made devastations, not actual judgments from God. The tribulation saints identified in the fifth seal are victims of the Four Horsemen.

The man-made carnage metaphorically shown through the Four Horsemen coupled with world-wide murder of Christians (mostly, I believe, at the hands of Muslims) is a tragic result of the first four seals broken by Jesus to permit mankind’s consummate terror and horror of evil to be unleashed. Subsequently, the Antichrist’s (Nero) government will kill many more tribulation saints … the full number of their brothers and sisters. Not until the sixth seal do we see the first of God’s direct judgments on the earth. Followed by the seventh seal and first four trumpet judgments on the earth that will result in both Christian and non-Christian casualties.

We understand this because the martyred saints ask the Lord, “…how long before you judge the people who belong to the world…” The clear conclusion is that God had not yet begun to pour out his wrath on the world.

With a great deal of certainty, we can also know that all seven seal plagues and the first four trumpet judgments will take place in the first half of the tribulation (3 ½ years). How do we know this?

For the following reasons: As stated in Revelation Chapter 13, full authority given by God to Satan and Satan to the Antichrist beast is for 3 ½ years … with the obvious inference based on all other end-times prophecies of the Antichrist especially Daniel 11 and Revelation 19 (when Antichrist and his armies are vanquished by Messiah Jesus upon his return to the earth) that this will be during the last half of the seven-year Tribulation. It begins when Nero will break his treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27).

When Nero initiates his reign of terror, God will also begin his own (holy) campaign of terror against Nero’s ten-kingdom confederation and against all nations and peoples who defy the Lord and who have persecuted the Tribulation Saints (including Messianic Jews), but also Israel and non-Messianic Jews.

(Please refer to the three Eye of Prophecy articles examining terrorism in today’s world and also terror inflicted by God during the end days of the Great Tribulation. Terror, Terror, Terror … Part I & Part II, posted 12-12 & 12-19-15. Then, Trilogy of Terror, published 12-26-15.)

Furthermore, not until the fifth trumpet judgment do we see that God’s wrath is directed exclusively against the beast and his followers, e.g. the locusts (demons) tormenting, “…only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4). This conclusion is confirmed because of the reaction of unbelievers:

“But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God … And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

(Depiction of the Fifth Trumpet Judgment)

The evidence is exceptionally strong in Revelation: no tribulation saints will die directly from God’s judgements on unbelievers in the fifth trumpet judgment nor (directly) from the first six bowl judgments. However, there undoubtedly will be “friendly fire” tribulation saint casualties in the sixth and seventh seal and the first four trumpet judgments, then again in the final 7^th bowl catastrophe. Although the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments may also result in some “friendly fire” casualties, these last two “terror” judgements will be directed against unbelievers.

In fact, the sixth trumpet entails another massive conflagration when an army of 200 million (demons) will kill one-third of the people left on the earth. Then the seventh trumpet (the third divine terror against those who belong to the world) initiates the seven bowl judgments, but also includes another earthquake and a “terrible hailstorm.” The last time that God sent such a hailstorm, only Pharaoh and the Egyptians were targeted … the Israelites weren’t touched by this plague.

The most important thing to grasp is that the vast majority of Tribulation Saints (including Messianic Jews who are themselves Tribulation Saints) who perish will be murdered by unbelievers, those … “who belong to this world…” (Revelation 17:8). Whereas, “…the people who belong to this world (who) worshipped the beast…” (Revelation 13:8) will die during wars against each other and from the wrath of Almighty God when he judges the earth for the second and last time (the Great Flood being the first).

The 144,000

Although the 143 Eye of Prophecy articles to date (posted every Saturday since this project began in July, 2013) have covered a broad array of subjects—as contained in the four main categories, Current Events, Prophecy in General, Rapture, Antichrist—for whatever reason I have not written about the one hundred forty-four thousand as found in Revelation Chapters 7 and 14. But then I realized there is a reason, which I didn’t think about until just before I began to write this week’s article.

As with all Eye of Prophecy articles, one way or another each week’s title and topic and discernment and creativity come from the Lord, and are written to exalt him. As stated in the sub-title of this Web site, “…For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus” (Revelation 19:10b). With regard to the audience, the articles are intended to introduce, reinforce, and clarify (also correct) prophetic Biblical, historical, and contemporary correlations or connections that many readers have known or have not known, have misunderstood, or were misinformed.

You may have already figured out where I’m going with this. Today’s Eye of Prophecy article is the 144^th (consecutive) post, the topic of which is 144,000 saints specifically chosen and sealed by God during the Great Tribulation. Of all end times prophecies of the Old Testament or from the book of Revelation, the 144,000 is one of the more difficult to process—in terms of why they are selected by the Lord, what they will do, and whether they are martyred or escape death during the Tribulation.

But there is one thing that is crystal clear: Who they are.

The more I study the passages about the 144,000, the more I’m convinced that the most important feature of or reason for the Lord telling us about them is because of who they are, not so much what they do or what is done to them. In fact, if we recognize exactly who they are, then there will be much less speculation why they are chosen, what they (might) do, and what might be done to them.

In next week’s article we’ll examine in more detail the two passages in Revelation that tell us about the 144,000. For now, let’s read John’s introduction of them:

“Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea. ‘Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.’ And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: from Judah 12,000 … from Benjamin 12,000” (Revelation 7:1-8).

Between Judah and Benjamin, the other ten tribes are identified … each tribe with 12,000 Jews sealed (set apart for God).

*Note: As an example of how we can make contextual correlations (comparing Scripture with Scripture and with history and current events when applicable), let’s pause here to make a connection.

Notice that the four angels were about to do great damage (harm) to the land and sea, with a strong implication that whatever they would do to the earth and the oceans would also mean that many people will perish. They were commanded by another angel coming from the east, who carried the seal of the living God, to wait until the 144,000 were sealed. As most know, the term angel means messenger. Whenever we see angels in Scripture, they are usually (who we understand as) the majestic beings created by God. But not always. In some instances the “angel of the Lord” is none other than the pre-Incarnate Messiah. We can determine the difference by how the context describes the “angel” and what he says and does.

(For more detail on the Pre-Incarnate appearances of Messiah Jesus in the Old Testament, please refer to Eye of Prophecy articles, Does God Really Have a Son? Part I & II. Posted 10-31-15 & 11-7-15).

In this scene, I believe the angel from the east is, in fact, Christ Jesus. For two reasons: (1) he comes from the east, which the Bible tells us is the direction from which Messiah will come upon his glorious return to Jerusalem at the end of the Tribulation. There’s really no other reason for John to tell us that this messenger comes from the east. (2) He is the one who actually carries God’s seal. Meaning the one who has authority to convey and apply the seal of the living God; in the same vein that only Jesus is qualified to break the seven seals beginning in Chapter 6.

We can make another correlation by matching the four angels in this scene (Chapter 7) to the first four (trumpet) angels of the very next chapter (Revelation 8:6-13). Why can we make this connection? Because the first four trumpet judgments describe devastation to one-third of the trees, grass, sea, springs of water, and the heavenly bodies (sun and moon) that directly affect the physical dynamics of the earth and sea.

Then the last three angels (of the seven trumpets) begin the trilogy of Terror, terror, terror (Revelation 8:13…) which target unbelievers. Thus, we have two sets of angels that make up the seven trumpet judgments … one set of four and another set of three.

Make sense? Personally, seeing these kind of parallels within Scripture and with history and current events makes me love God’s Word that much more.

Returning to the 144,000. Because so many cults have deliberately distorted, and because (even) some believers have unclearly understood the 144,000, let’s first discuss:

Who They Are Not

Because time/space in this article does not permit an in-depth analysis and because other astute Bible students have reliably refuted the inaccurate interpretations of who the 144,000 are and are not, I will limit any response to more of a statement; one, however, based solidly on Biblical evidence. Statement: Although there are others, the primary (incorrect) suppositions about 144,000 come from two main sources:

Religious Cults:

(Mormonism): This religion claims that the 144,000 will be Mormon men who have become gods. Actually all Mormons who make it through whatever level of Mormonism is required are purported to become gods, each with their own planet. Apparently, however, the 144,000 are exceptionally special gods!

(Jehovah’s Witnesses): The 144,000 actually represents the very core of this cult. According to the JWs, the Kingdom of God is already on the earth and only 144,000 JWs have or will be qualified as “spiritual” members of the 144,000.

(Seventh Day Adventists and Other Lesser Known Cults): Also claim in some fashion to (now) be qualified or will qualify to belong to this group.

All except Mormonism (the 144,000 man-gods!) make a symbolic “spiritual” application; including the notion that members of these cults will have the elite privilege of belonging to the 144,000 as “spiritual Jews.”

*Note: In next week’s article, we’ll read that the 144,000 were “standing on Mount Zion” with the Lamb (Messiah Jesus). As preposterous as it is for any of these cults to claim exclusive status in this God chosen group of people, for sake of argument what if they are all correct? If so, Mount Zion is going to be very crowded! Of course that is a facetious remark, but for good reason. They all can’t be the 144,000. If even two of these cults are accurate, then the count would be 288,000, right! Fact is, all of them are absurdly and pathetically wrong.

True Believers:

Unfortunately, but at least not in any way blasphemous as are the cults, some born-again Christians, including ardent Bible students, have misunderstood and misapplied the 144,000, with the mistaken assumption that all those who become believers during the Tribulation, both Jew and Gentile, are among the 144,000. In other words, they do not subscribe to the 144,000 as being a literal number chosen by God. Nor do they necessarily recognize the indisputable evidence that the 144,000 are actual Jews.

Although both Jews and Gentiles can be “spiritual” (in the sense of those who are interested in and who pursue more than just material things), there is no such thing as a spiritual or symbolic Jew. The Apostle Paul tells us that Gentile believers have been grafted into the promises given to Israel and we are, therefore, spiritual (born spiritually from above) offspring of Abraham. But that doesn’t make me as a Gentile believer, a Jew. Nor does a Jew who accepts Jesus as Messiah become a Gentile Christian. Both Gentile and Jew who believe in Jesus are (spiritually) Messianic. But they are still a Jew or still a Gentile. Neither is a symbolic Jew or a symbolic Gentile (Christian).

The Branches of the Tree of Israel

Although I have written on the matter of Jew and Gentile in several Eye of Prophecy articles, in today’s post I will defer to a Messianic Jew by the name of David Stern, who completed an excellent translation of the entire Bible, called The Complete Jewish Bible.

In his book, Messianic Judaism … A Modern Day Movement with an Ancient Past, David Stern precedes the excerpts that I will quote with an astute analysis of Romans 11:13-24, under the heading of Olive Tree Theology (pages 47-59). I would enthusiastically encourage you to read that passage in Romans 11; indeed all of Romans 9, 10, & 11.

(Jew and Gentile, Natural & Grafted-in Branches–One in Messiah)

Early on page 56, David Stern writes:

“The wild branches (Gentiles) have been grafted in through faith in the Messiah, ‘brought near in the blood of Christ’ (Ephesians 2:13), so that they are now included in the commonwealth of Israel. But they are not, as Replacement Theology would have it, a New Israel. Nor do Jewish and Gentile believers together constitute a New Israel, since the cut-off branches (meaning Jews) too are still identifiable as Israel…”

I’ll pause here to say, “Amen,” to Mr. Stern’s commentary on the insidious teaching of Replacement Theology. To also, if you haven’t, encourage you to read Eye of Prophecy articles entitled, Replacement Theology (Part I & II), posted 7-19 & 7-26-14.

David Stern continues: “Thus unsaved Jews (cut-off branches), saved Jews (natural branches attached to the tree), and Gentile believers (grafted-in wild branches) each have their own kind of ongoing participation in the one Israel; and this fact needs to be taken into account in any correct theology of Israel and the Church. Not a word is said in the “olive tree” passage or anywhere else in Scripture about splitting the promises into earthly ones for the Jews and heavenly ones for the Church.

“However, God has made two kinds of promises. In regard to the promise which relates to individual salvation, there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:28), no distinction between them (Romans 10:12), no dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14-19). On the other hand, there remain promises to national Israel, the Jewish people, in which Gentile nations corporately and Gentile believers individually have no direct share …” (all previous quotes from page 56).

Another pause is in order … to quote more of the passage in Ephesians Chapter 2 referenced by David Stern.

“Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called ‘uncircumcised heathens’ by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us … He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people” (Ephesians 2:11-15).

Once again: In terms of God’s specific promises to his chosen people the Jews (as found in the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants), there is no such thing as a Gentile becoming a symbolic or spiritual Jew. Although Judaism allows Gentiles to convert and, therefore, become a Jew for purpose of practicing the tenets of Judaism (what could be called a Gentile Jew), both Old and New Testaments are clear: Gentile converts to Judaism are still Gentiles. God refers to them as “foreigners.”

“Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the Lord and are subject to the same decrees … The same instructions and regulations will apply to you and to the foreigners living among you” (Numbers 15:16).

Let’s return to Ephesians 2. “He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:17-22).

Do you see what’s going on here? Christ Jesus has so completely torn down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile that the Gentiles are no longer foreigners. Not, however, as applied to the actual nation of Israel … the Jewish race. Jew and Gentile are one in Messiah, and together we are citizens (of heaven … Philippians 3:20). Both Jew and Gentile are members (adopted children) of God’s new family. Individually and together we “become” a holy temple for the Lord, where the Holy Spirit indwells both Jew and Gentile who have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, the cornerstone foundation of this spiritual house.

But a Jew is still a Jew and a Gentile is still a Gentile as applied to God’s promises to the nation of Israel and to the Jewish race. Putting it another way: God’s (plan of) salvation results in one new man (and woman) in Messiah—individual Jews and Gentiles alike. God’s plan for the physical descendants of Abraham and their corporate identity as the nation of Israel is not for the Gentiles. However, Gentile nations will be richly blessed through these national promises to Israel.

Once again: Concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (currently in the hearts of redeemed Jews and Gentiles), there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Regarding the physical Kingdom of God to be ushered in when Messiah Yeshua returns at the end of the Tribulation, the Jews will inherit the promises given by God to Abraham and King David through covenants with each. The Abrahamic Covenant is the right of the Jews to live and prosper in the God-given land of Israel. The Davidic Covenant is the promise that a (Jewish) King will govern them and the Gentile nations from Jerusalem.

And who is that King? None other than Messiah Jesus … King of all kings, Lord of all lords!

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29). He is the Lion from the Tribe of Judah! (Revelation 5:5).

(Note: Regarding Gentiles who “convert” to Judaism, they, indeed qualify to be Jews, but only under the traditional system of rabbinical teachings or precedents. There is nothing in Scripture that indicates a Gentile actually becomes a Jew (spiritually or physically) simply by adhering to the Mosaic Law. Under the Covenant of the Law, God granted permission for Gentiles to observe and participate in his decrees, regulations, and ordinances given to the Jews—which obedience to and observance of would ensure that they remained in the Promised Land, but not as a means to salvation).

Summary

When it comes to God’s numerous promises to Israel, not the least of which is physical restoration to the physical land of Israel accomplished by the returning physical descendants of Abraham and Isaac, these promises are exclusively for the Jewish people. Biblically this is true despite, for example, Israel’s immigration policy allowing Gentile converts to Judaism to become citizens of Israel. Though these promises are to the Jewish race, Gentile nations (the foreigners) can and will be blessed, with many of them citizens of Jerusalem and Israel during the Millennium and beyond. All born-again Jews and Gentiles are and will be citizens of heaven and the New Jerusalem, with freedom to come and go on the earth in our worship of and service to our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ and his Father who is our Father in heaven!

God’s instructions concerning the foreign Gentiles allows them to practice and follow the Mosaic decrees including Passover (see Exodus 12:48-49 … even then a Gentile male had to be circumcised to participate in the Passover). But keeping the civil and ceremonial laws handed down by the Lord does not make the Gentile a direct descendant of Abraham.

Conversely, a Jew (whether by physical birth or by spiritual rebirth in Messiah) is still a Jew, and can keep—voluntarily because it’s now an option—all of the Jewish festivals or dietary laws, but not for salvation or a right standing before God. Redemption is exclusively through faith in the sacrificial system that was completely fulfilled once and for all by the substitutionary sacrificial death atonement of Messiah Jesus. Rather, the festivals are kept for the express purpose of rejoicing in the New Covenant salvation, as every single festival was a prototype or shadow of the coming Messiah and what he would do for Israel (and the whole world).

Beginning with Pesach (Passover) sacrifice of the Lamb of God, whereby God will spare (pass over) born-again Pre-Rapture believers from the Great Tribulation and ultimately from the eternal penalty of our sins, which gives us the awesome privilege of everlasting life in heaven. Ending with Sukkot, the Festival of Tabernacles, which is Messiah Jesus dwelling (tabernacle) with his people forever.

(Jesus Spoke These Words During His Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles)

Apparently I did get sidetracked, but not all that much! The main purpose for this in-depth examination of Jew and Gentile is to dispel beyond any doubt whatsoever that the 144,000 consist of anyone other than Jews.

Click on to next week’s Part II article; we’ll look more closely at the 144,000 Jewish Tribulation Saints.

Things to Ponder

Most Bible scholars and many Christians refer to the 144,000 as The One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Witnesses. But the term witness is not used at all in Revelation concerning this group. Will they, then, be witnesses for Jesus?

To answer that question and also as a prelude to next week’s article requires some conjecture, but in a very small dose. It’s what could be considered “sanctified” speculation based on the remarkable phenomenon that they will be chosen from millions of Jews and even more millions of tribulation saints who are Gentiles. The fact that they are even mentioned at all in Revelation, let alone in such dramatic fashion, makes a strong case that they will follow the Lord in the mold of God’s mighty prophets and apostles.

They will serve in the same powerful pattern of Noah, Moses, Joshua, Debra, Gideon, Samuel, King David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, John, James, and Paul … and post Biblical evangelists like Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Graham, and Greg Laurie. As well as contemporary Messianic Jews like the recently departed Zola Levitt and the still alive Jonathan Bernis, David Stern, and Michael Brown.

Along with the two Tribulation witnesses (Moses and Elijah), they will be the final servants of God appointed to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the last days, a time that will immediately precede the glorious return of Messiah Jesus and usher in the Kingdom of God on earth.

That time is soon, so very soon!

“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:

‘Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.’

“And the four living beings said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped the Lamb” (Revelation 5:13-14).

There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!

19 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Empty tomb, Lazarus

There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!

“Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’” (John 11:23).

“Yes, Martha said, ‘he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day’” (Verse 24).

“Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’” (Verse 25-26, italics for emphasis).

“Yes, Lord, she told him. ‘I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God’” (Verse 27).

For me and for many, the verses just quoted are from one of the most captivating scenes in all of Scripture. It took place in Bethany, a short distance from Jerusalem. After Jesus spoke these phenomenal words to Martha, he proceeded to back them up by his spectacular feat of raising Lazarus from the dead.

As a result, “Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen” (John 11:45).

Not so the Pharisees, priests, and high council. “So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death” (Verse 53).

Denial and Unbelief Continue to This Day

For those of us who dearly love Israel and the Jewish people—through whom Messiah Jesus was born, lived, taught, performed great miracles, died, was buried, and rose again from the grave—we are grieved that so many Jews, especially the Orthodox among them, refuse to accept the documented historical evidence that Jesus arose from the dead. Thereby, proving that he was who he said he was … Messiah, the Son of God.

They still dismiss this fact out-of-hand, for to believe it means (to them) that they must give up Judaism, or more precisely the adherence to the Mosaic Law as the only means of redemption or a right relationship with God.

This does not include tens of thousands of Messianic Jews the world over who have eagerly embraced Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah and personal Savior.

There are, however, some Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed, Liberal) and truth-seeking Gentiles who do accept at face value the historical validity of Jesus’s (factual) resurrection from the dead.

These Jews and Gentiles have realized the difficulty (actually the impossibility) of denying both Biblical and secular records that Jesus arose from the dead. For one thing the Biblical account as recorded in all four Gospels and as found in the Jewish Apostle Paul’s epistles are based on eye-witness accounts, subsequently written in the first and second generations of Jesus’s time on this earth. To reject the authenticity of these reliable reports would be no different than rebuffing the historical legitimacy of historians such as Josephus and Tacitus. Or, for that matter, of any 20^th or 21^st century historian.

Paul, himself, experienced a visual, up-close and personal encounter with the risen Christ, although Jesus had already ascended back to heaven. For those not familiar with Paul, I will repeat what several Eye of Prophecy articles have touched on. Formerly called Saul, he was a (radically) devout Jewish Pharisee who would do (and did for a while) anything to protect and defend the Mosaic Covenant of the Law against what was originally called, The Way. First Century followers of Jesus Christ would later be called Christians, the vast majority of whom were Jews, not Gentiles.

Listen to Paul’s compelling chronicle describing his determined devotion to and staunch support of the Old Covenant … old by that time because the New Covenant foretold by Isaiah and Jeremiah had dramatically begun when Jesus arose from the dead:

“I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” (Philippians 3:5-6).

Subsequently, Paul was radically changed by the risen Christ. There’s no other way to explain such a profound transformation other than being “born again” from above. As Jesus himself told another devout Jewish leader, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin of seventy, “…I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Then later, “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, You must be born again.” (Verse 6-7).

(Paul, On The Road To Damascus)

The Apostle Paul goes on to say to the believers in Philippi, “…I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Resurrection That Eclipsed Two Old Testament Resurrections

Jesus’s amazing resurrection of Martha and Mary’s brother, Lazarus, took place four days after Lazarus died! Long before that, Jews understood (as validated by modern science) that a person’s body in one way or another begins to decay in the fourth day after death. Dead is dead, but after three days decomposition will normally set in.

Those Jews (and Gentiles) who don’t believe IN Jesus and his redemptive sacrifice for them personally, but who nevertheless accept the historical legitimacy of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and even the (supernatural) resurrection of Jesus, himself, do so with a disclaimer to minimize the astounding truth and impact of such an achievement. They do so by referring to the two Old Testament accounts of bodily resurrection performed by the mighty prophets Elijah and Elisha. More specifically, they consider Jesus’s resurrection of others and himself (to include by default the Apostle Paul and Peter’s subsequent raising someone from the dead) to no more of an achievement than that of Elijah’s or Elisha’s.

People everywhere give varying degrees of credence to the idea of bodily resurrection from the dead. All the way from complete disbelief despite the historical evidence to the contrary, to, “that’s nice,” to “Wow,” but what’s that got to do with me in the 21^st century (or any preceding generation).

How much evidence is enough for someone to believe that the God of the Bible and two of his prophets, and His Messiah, and The Holy Spirit empowered Apostles had the God-given authority to perform such miracles? Which placed along side of the other mighty miracles found in Scripture, and parallel to the unrivaled fulfillment of hundreds of Biblical prophecies prove beyond any doubt, reasonable or otherwise, that the God of the Bible is (the only) God.

As we shall soon see: To a lesser extent with Lazarus, and to a much greater extent with Messiah Jesus, their return from the grave exceeded the resurrections God performed through Elijah and Elisha. My purpose is not to diminish what God accomplished through these two great prophets; rather, to demonstrate that Jesus is greater than all prophets, priests, and kings before him.

All religious leaders from all world religions remain in their graves.

Not so, with Messiah Jesus. He alone arose from the dead, without dying again!

All four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—record the same astounding account. Disciples Matthew and John (and many others, including 500 people at one time) saw and were with Jesus some of the 40 days after his resurrection. Mark and Luke received first hand testimony from other disciples, mostly Peter.

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.’ Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened” (Luke 24:1-9, emphasis added).

Is there a difference between Jesus raising Lazarus and Jesus, himself arising from the dead and the other recorded resurrections in Scripture? Which leads to another, even more probing question: Is there only one (kind of) resurrection? Or putting in another way: Is the body in which Jesus was raised exactly the same body in which he died?

To answer the second question and, therefore, the first, we must remember that each person raised from the dead (Old and New Testaments) died again! With one fantastic exception:

Jesus did not die again! OUR REDEEMER LIVES!

After forty days, he ascended to heaven where he lives to this very day. Thus, his resurrection was vastly different than the return from the dead of the others in Scripture. Time and space in this article doesn’t permit more explanation, but prior Eye of Prophecy articles have elaborated on the incredible reaction of both the Roman soldiers and the Jewish leaders, none of whom actually denied that Jesus had arisen. Instead, they sought to cover it up with a pitiful story that Jesus’s disciples had (somehow) “stolen” the body right in front of and in spite of several well-armed Roman soldiers standing guard at the tomb. When, in fact, Roman soldiers simply didn’t guard the tomb of the dead. Why would they? Unless, that is, the Jewish religious leaders actually contemplated that Jesus could do and just might do what he said he would do—arise from the grave!

If anyone is going to deny or ignore the amazing reality or reduce the universal impact of Jesus rising from the dead in an indestructible everlasting body, then they will need to offer some other explanation (historically) of what happened to Jesus after the stone was rolled away.

Paraphrasing what many have said: The stone was rolled away not for Jesus to see and walk out, but for others to see and walk in.

There is no doubt … the evidence is indisputable: Jesus’s resurrection was a PERMANENT return from the grave, never to die again. Which, in stark contrast, is (infinitely) better than someone dying a second time after being raised from the dead. Which poses a huge problem for those who contend that Jesus’s resurrection was no greater or different than the handful of other returns from the dead.

Because our Messiah arose from the grave with an everlasting new body, he gives all who believe in him the same awesome privilege—everlasting life in a real (spiritual) body, to all who believe and receive him.

Note: Several Eye of Prophecy articles have discussed resurrection and heaven, but a few have been devoted primarily or almost exclusively to this topic. Please consider, for example, reading three of them: To Be or Not To Be … In Heaven (published 11-1-14); Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? Part I & II (posted 10-3 & 10-10-15).

Old Testament Resurrections (Through Elijah and Elisha)

Resurrection is resurrection … a truly divine miracle. But there’s more proof that Jesus of Nazareth’s resurrection was substantially different and significantly superior to those who were raised from the dead only to die again in their same bodies.

Let’s examine the first resurrection miracle described in Scripture:

The setting is the prophet Elijah, on instructions from the Lord, boldly proclaiming to Israel’s King Ahab, “…As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” (I Kings 17:1).

As it turned out it was 3 ½ years of drought … absolutely no rain at all.

The purpose of which was to get Ahab and Israel’s attention to abandon their detestable idol worship of Baal, the god of rain, crops, and fertility. To turn back to the only true and living God, whom Elijah served.

Yet, even Elijah was affected by the lack of rain. During the drought, the Lord told Elijah to take refuge by the Kerith Brook, near the Jordan River. There, God told him, “Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food” (I Kings 17:4).

Amazing, yet perhaps a “small miracle” compared to some of the mighty wonders performed by God throughout Scripture. Could anyone but the Lord “command” birds to bring Elijah, “…bread and meat each morning and evening…” (Verse 6).

But then the brook dried up so the Lord instructed Elijah to go to the village of Zarephath near Sidon, where a widow would feed him. However, the poor widow and her only son had barely enough to feed themselves; still she obeyed Elijah and served him bread and water before she fed herself and her son. Because of her faith, God provided supernaturally for the widow, her son, and Elijah by replenishing the flour and cooking oil. She believed what Elijah told her and Elijah believed God’s promise that:

“…There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (Verse 14).

Reminds me of the Lord Jesus twice feeding crowds of thousands with just a few fish and loaves of bread, with more left over than before the banquet began!

However, God wasn’t done with his miracles for the widow and Elijah. Do you remember what happened next?

“Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, ‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?’ But Elijah replied, ‘give me your son.’ And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’” (I Kings 17:17-20).

Both the widow and Elijah poignantly and even pointedly questioned God’s purpose. The widow blamed Elijah and Elijah pleaded passionately with the Lord to explain why “God brought” this calamity on the widow. Certainly Elijah understood that the passing of the child was part of the painful cycle of life that befalls human beings even when things seem to be going well. But he also perceived that there had to be a reason for this untimely death of the child and seemingly (thinking) unfitting misfortune for the boy’s mother.

*Note: In that regard, God’s purpose for allowing the widow’s son to die is remarkably similar to Jesus allowing Lazarus to die, even though Messiah could have healed Lazarus before death. Practically everyone in that region (indeed, throughout all Israel) knew that Jesus had healed people on many occasions. Some actually said so, citing one of those miracles: “But some said, ‘This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?’” (John 11:37).

Then Elijah, “…stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.’ The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look!’ he said, ‘Your son is alive!’” (I Kings 17:21-23).

How awesome is that?!

Notice that the Lord didn’t rebuke the widow or Elijah for confronting him over this premature, but nevertheless all too common occurrence in ancient Israel; also the tragic death of children down through the ages, the world over. But then we live in a fallen world full of murder, war, disease, accidents, famine, and hardship in general. All because of sin’s dread curse on the human race. Many people blame God for their misfortune, even though they seldom or never seek him. Conversely, few thank the Lord for blessings and well-being.

Instead, God simply answered Elijah’s prayer; thereby, demonstrating his power over life and death. It was a precursor to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ over the grave, once and for all conquering the ultimate death. Which is eternal separation from God for those who decline God’s offer of eternal life in a new and permanent spiritual body, available only through trusting in Christ Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.

Please notice another important feature of this miracle God performed through Elijah: The widow’s son had been dead for only a short time, as inferred clearly by the text. Dead is dead, but if there’s such a thing as a limited miracle, the Lord measured this miracle to restoration of the boy soon after he died. This “restriction” applies only when contrasted to the time-lapse for both Lazarus and Jesus in their respective tombs.

Time/space doesn’t permit extensive passage quoting or elaboration of another resurrection miracle that took place a few years later by Elijah’s protégé, Elisha; the account can be found in II Kings Chapter 4. Although the circumstances were different than that of Elijah and the widow’s son, the result was the same: Elisha raised a young boy from the dead!

Though the time-lapse is not specifically stated, the text strongly suggests that Elisha (who had left the family’s home), returned that day or no later than the following day when told about the boy’s death. Like with Elijah’s situation, Elisha found the boy had been placed on a bed that had been provided for Elisha during his visit with the family.

“Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. ‘Call the child’s mother!’ he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, ‘Here, take your son!’ She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs” (II Kings 4:36-37).

I say again: How awesome is that?!

Once again, we see the second miracle of resurrection in the Old Testament involving a boy who had been dead for a short time, perhaps a day at the most. Neither boy had been buried, which is what Jews normally would do within 24-48 hours of death.

The resurrection that the Apostles Peter and Paul performed on behalf of a young girl and a young boy (by the power of the risen Messiah) also took place within a short time of death … with the boy Paul raised occurring immediately after the boy died by falling from a second story window.

Not so with Lazarus, or with Jesus.

Resurrection of Lazarus

Lazarus had already been dead four days and, by implication, in his tomb for two or three days before Jesus brought him back from the dead. As previously alluded, this was no mere coincidence and certainly not beyond Jesus control. Rather, Messiah purposely stayed where he was after hearing of Lazarus sickness; with clear indication that Jesus (because he is also God) knew that Lazarus was actually dead. Yet, our Lord, when “hearing” the message that Lazarus was, “very sick,” made this astounding statement:

“…Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this” (John 11:4).

“So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days” (Verse 5).

What did Jesus mean by saying that Lazarus’s illness would not end in death? He knew at the time, and we know from the record that Lazarus had actually died.

Two-part answer: (1) although Jesus knew that Lazarus had already died, he was giving his disciples the strongest of clues … that Jesus had the same authority over life and death that God (his Father) had. Therefore, the death of Lazarus would be temporary; because when understood in the context of Messiah Yeshua’s power as the Son of God, it would be as though Lazarus hadn’t really died at all (in God’s view). Why? Because Lazarus, at Jesus’s command, would return from the grave in his earthly body. We know this because Jesus used a metaphor by saying, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up” (John 11:11).

(2) In a much broader scope, Jesus was also referring to his ultimate power and triumph over, not only physical death, but also eternal death … what Scripture calls the second death. Which will be the lake of fire inhabited by all who will be raised from the dead at the end of the Millennium—those who have died without accepting Christ as Savior (Revelation 20:11-15).

Indeed, Martha knew of the resurrection of the dead, a reality accepted by many Jews to this day. It’s just that Martha and those in her day (and in past days) didn’t fully grasp that there would be a resurrection unto (eternal) life with God in heaven, and also a (different) resurrection unto (eternal) death which isn’t really life at all. It’s the worst kind of death imaginable—eternal separation from God, from Messiah, and from the host of heaven. It will give a whole new meaning to the “Walking Dead.”

Although Martha knew that Jesus was the Messiah, she hadn’t yet comprehended the awesome truth that Jesus was/is, “The Resurrection and the Life.” He not only could raise Lazarus who had been dead for four days with his body beginning to decay (stink, as Martha put it), but Messiah Jesus would in just a few more days arise from the dead himself. Without, however anyone standing outside his tomb shouting, “Come out,” as Jesus commanded Lazarus to do, by name!

Resurrection of Messiah Jesus

Once again, we all understand that dead is dead. As well known by billions, Jesus’s body was in the tomb for three days, just as he had predicted. This period of time was not arbitrary; there are several implications or reasons for this three-day period of time. But for purpose of today’s article, we can state assertively: there is no coincidence that King David in one of several Messianic prophecies wrote (with Messiah speaking in the first person):

“For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave” (Psalms 16:10).

Later, in the first and perhaps greatest sermon ever preached (Day of Pentecost), the Apostle Peter quoted the above verse from King David. In this astounding message, Peter presented Old Testament and New Testament evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, the Messiah.

Peter exclaimed: “But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip” (Acts 2:24). Then Peter quoted what King David wrote about the Messiah; that David wasn’t referring to himself because, “… he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us” (Verse 29). Meaning David’s body was still in his grave.

I believe this prophecy goes beyond the obvious implication of Messiah remaining dead for an indefinite period of time. Rather, it alludes to the length of time before his body began to decay.

Not only that, but this stunning prophecy clearly shows that Messiah must die (be killed as predicted in other Messianic passages). How could he be in the grave unless he was dead? However, he wouldn’t be in the grave long enough for decomposition to begin!

Jesus was the first man to arise from the dead with a glorified spiritual body that was still a body (not a spirit). He ate and drank with his disciples, he talked and walked with them and with two men on the road to Emmaus, he performed more miracles including sudden appearances in closed and locked rooms, and he could be touched.

With this same magnificent body, he lives today and will live forever. Accordingly, God the Father has given Jesus authority to raise believers from the dead in like manner at the resplendent Rapture of believers—which is the first resurrection of the dead, along with tribulation saints who will die later in the Great Tribulation.

As in the first century many observant Jews today (and Gentiles) sadly, even tragically, insist that the resurrection of Messiah Jesus was for all intents and purpose irrelevant. That is, if they even acknowledge this historical fact in the first place. They fail to realize or refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was seen by hundreds of witnesses after he arose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:5-8).

Jewish law, much of which was adopted into Roman law—both of which form the foundation of modern-day system of justice—allowed the testimony of two or more witnesses to find someone guilty or innocent of a crime. Yet many Jewish and Gentile religious leaders today ignore the first-hand account of completely reliable testimony that further affirms Jesus ascended alive into heaven. Furthermore, all logic and additional Scriptural writings plainly conclude that Messiah Jesus is still in heaven awaiting the appointed time for his glorious return to Jerusalem to make all things right in the wrong world of ours.

Read with me the astonishing account of what happened on the Mount of Olives: “After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!’” (Acts 1:9-11, italics for emphasis).

Listen to the words of the prophet concerning Messiah: “Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem…” (Zechariah 14:3-4).

Here (and other places in Scripture) Messiah is called Lord. This is clearly a reference to the Son of God who came to us in human flesh, fully man and fully God. God the Father is Spirit and will always be Spirit. Thus, the Father will not step foot on the Mount of Olives. But his Son, Jesus has and will do so again.

Jesus proved that he was Messiah, Son of God, by rising from the dead. Not in the same fashion as Lazarus or those raised by Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul, or Jesus himself; rather, with a brand new body fashioned for eternity. Those who believe in Him, and make a personal decision to receive him as Messiah and Savior will also live forever in a glorious resurrected body.

It simply doesn’t get any better than that!

How much historic evidence does anyone need or want? It’s all there, meticulously and accurately recorded in perpetuity for all generations before and after the time of Christ.

Thus, it is not an issue of the mind … of whether Messiah Jesus actually lived, died, and rose again.

It becomes a matter of the heart. Can you, will you simply agree with God and say, “yes,’ to his Son. It truly is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Things to Ponder

Please understand: I am not comparing one miracle of resurrection to another just for the sake of comparison … on say, a scale of one to ten. Instead, differences are pointed out highlighting Jesus’s accomplishment as the FINAL resurrection for all time. Indeed, he is the resurrection and the life … eternal life.

Here are the Jewish Apostle Paul’s words to believers in Christ Jesus:

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Daniel was given a vision of both the ascension of Jesus into heaven after he arose from the dead and also his glorious return that will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation; with the Tribulation commencing soon after the Rapture, which will take place at any moment of any day.

“As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

Paul was well trained in the Old Testament Torah and prophecies. Because of his personal encounter with the risen Messiah; because he fully realized that all of the ancient prophecies of Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; and because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can confidently conclude that the Son of Man seen by Daniel was none other than Jesus Christ.

“…When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:7-11).

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!

There’s No Place Like Homs

12 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Heaven, Kansas, Syria

There’s No Place like Homs [Home(s)]

There’s nothing that we Americans cherish more than a trip down memory lane, all the while peering into a future that we hope will bring us to wherever we want to be and whatever we long to do. We love to reminiscence about bygone days; to also reflect on dramatic dreams that transport us to exotic places filled with exhilarating adventures or inspire us to achieve the unachievable.

Even if we don’t get there or can’t do that or haven’t tried yet, we nevertheless paint pictures, tell stories, write books, and make movies that whet our appetite to actually or vicariously follow and fulfill those dreams.

From the pre-Baby Boomer generation right down to Generation X, hardly any among us doesn’t know, has never heard, or hasn’t seen one such classic tale of a young girl’s fantasy of faraway places … to do more and be more than she ever could be or do at home.

Yes, I’m talking about the award-winning movie released a whopping 77 years ago, The Wizard of Oz!

It was a masterful story beginning with the humdrum life of a small town Kansas family whose daughter was happy, but she longed for a place and a purpose somewhere over the rainbow.

Suddenly her lackluster black and white existence exploded into a world of captivating color, filled with characters and creatures that would both help and hinder her ambiguous ambition to get to an even more beautiful paradise over the rainbow. It would be easy to get there; just follow the yellow brick road.

Of course, there was much more to it than a road with yellow bricks. Such paths can be fraught with danger. Though Dorothy would be encouraged by munchkins and accompanied by faithful friends (Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion), there were formidable obstacles in her quest to find her real home. For a while she really wasn’t sure what or where this home might be. Could or should it be the beautiful land in which she found herself? Would The Emerald City be a heavenly destination? Maybe, but what about her home in Kansas? Yes, it must be her home in Kansas.

After the incredible journey, the good witch confirmed Dorothy’s initial impression which slowly but surely became her homesick heart’s desire to return. We all remember Dorothy’s final words spoken beyond the rainbow:

“There’s no place like home!”

Alongside of other authors who have written much about the Wizard of Oz, it would be fun to explore the symbolism of this film in more detail; but that is obviously not the specific purpose or genre of this or any Eye of Prophecy article. Rather the thematic commitment of Eye of Prophecy stated on the home page of this website is: “For the essence of prophecy is to provide a clear witness for Jesus” (Revelation 19:10).

However, I will offer one observation: Although the movie was a delightful fantasy that in some ways metaphorically depicted real life including our dreams and aspirations, it also has a dark side. And I’m not alluding to wicked witches and flying monkeys and poppy fields. Rather, I’m referring to the deceitfully clever two-part world view conveyed by the author of the book from which the movie was made: (1) our home on this earth is, by far, the best and only home we will ever have. (2) We, alone, have the power within us to make a heaven on this earth. All Dorothy needed to do was to make a wish, click the heels of her magic slippers three times and presto…!

On the contrary: There is a heaven … it’s real. According to the true and living God of the Bible, it is a far better place than this wicked, warped, war-torn, is-this-all-there-is world of ours. God has promised that all who believe and receive the sacrificial atonement of his only Son, Messiah Jesus, will one day be with him and the host of heaven, where we will live forever.

Way over the rainbow!

At the end of the Millennium reign of Christ, there will be a New Jerusalem that will make the Emerald City or any real (beautiful) city in the world seem like a dump heap. God will also perform a majestic makeover of the earth and heavens to usher in eternity. That earth will be a full circle return to the Garden of Eden, but even better. With the greatest and most wonderful realty of all:

“…Look, God’s home is now among his people. He will live with them, and they will be his people (believers in Messiah Jesus). God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:3-4).

If anyone thinks that their home on this earth is all there is or will be, then let’s take a look at just one city in the Middle East that gives a whole new meaning to there’s no place like home. But with a polar opposite. It conjures a stark reality that can be recalled vividly by those who lived in European cities during World War II, or to those of us who have looked at photographs or seen film footage of the destruction. Cities in Poland or France that were reduced to rubble by massive bombing raids conducted by the German Luftwaffe. Or cities in China demolished by the Japanese. Or out of necessary effort to win the war, German cities leveled by Allied bombers.

The City of Homs and the Civil War in Syria

I’ve chosen this city because its name is Homs—located in western Syria not far from the Mediterranean Sea about 150 miles due north of Damascus, the capital of Syria. In the entire world, there’s no place like Hom(e)s. Sadly, not any way, shape, or form in a positive or optimistically nostalgic sense of the famous phrase uttered by Dorothy that magically whisked her back to what she believed was the only real home she would ever have or need.

Indeed, the deplorable destruction of Homs is mind-boggling, yet this devastation is a precursor of even greater carnage to come especially during the Great Tribulation. Some of this world-wide catastrophe will be inflicted by war; some by the direct hand of Almighty God.

For example, God’s final judgment of the earth: “…And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth. The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble … and every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled” (Revelation 16:18-20).

Along with Arab Spring uprisings that took place in Middle East Arab countries like Libya and Egypt (that have deteriorated into an Arab Winter), Syrians began their opposition with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad and his repressive government. At the time this was more than just the majority of Syrian Sunni Muslims aligning against the minority Alawite sect of Islam practiced by Assad and his regime. It was a concerted effort of the common people to alleviate the horrible economic conditions and gain more freedom from their oppressors.

With a prewar population around 1.2 million (some sources say closer to 1.5 million), Homs was the third largest city in Syria, behind Aleppo and Damascus. If not the first, Homs was one of the first cities to protest Assad’s tyranny over Syria. This protest took place in March, 2011.

(Homs, Syria Before the War)

Assad responded with unnecessarily violent and relentless armed force, with no alternative of the protestors but to defend themselves or risk more deprivation, imprisonment, and death. In order to remain in power, it was clearly Assad’s intent to completely crush all opposition, peaceful or not. To minimize government troop casualties, Assad laid siege to Homs, with a deliberate strategy to starve not only the rebels but also the entire population. This led to hundreds of thousands in Homs (and all over Syria) to flee; which, in turn, has produced some four million Syria refugees.

For nearly three years Syrian insurgents fighting for The Free Syrian Army under the quasi-government labeled the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces scored several victories over government troops. So much so that Assad controlled less than 20% of Syria at one time or another. However, in the last two years, Assad has regained the advantage in several regions of Syria, including the city of Homs.

This siege deprived the rebels and citizens who refused to leave of basic needs such as food and water. One Homs’ resident in late 2013 described the horrible conditions:

“There is no food … we have many casualties, many people who are diseased because of the lack of food. Many have died because we don’t have the equipment or medicines to save them … People were eating anything that comes out of the ground, plants, and even grass…”

By the end of January, 2014, the Old City of Homs was still controlled by the rebels, but they realized it was a lost cause. Within a few weeks they completely withdrew, having failed to break the unbearable siege. The conquest of Homs permitted the Alawite government under Assad to consolidate their hold in central Syria, linking the capital, Damascus, to strategic areas along the Mediterranean coast.

A Ghost Town

Through this suffocating siege and indiscriminate brutal bombings that led to mass evacuations, Homs literally became a ghost town; conceivable for a small town anywhere in the world, whether by war or for other reasons. But for a thriving city with well over a million in population, a ghost town was unimaginable.

Although the Syrian Government allowed non-combatants (who were at least neutral to the government) to return to Homs, few have done so. Some who did return, at least to check on the condition of their homes in particular and the city in general, were stunned at what they saw.

Here is a description from an Associated Press article written by columnist Maeva Bambuck, posted in The Arizona Republic on March 6, 2016:

“Soldiers still patrol the streets, some of which have green grass sprouting up through the rubble while others are still coated in chalk white ash. Many are lined with the carcasses of burnt-out cars. Entire neighborhoods are without shops, electricity or running water. A monumental reconstruction effort would be needed to rebuild the city, but it’s unlikely to begin before the end of the war. In the meantime, some streets in Homs are slowly coming back to life. In one street in the Baba Amr neighborhood, women could be seen walking children…”

(Homs, Syria after the Syrian Civil War Began)

Yet, the deplorable conditions that still prevail and will remain for a long time are reflected in the last part of this article about one family:

“Buothayna Hawlani recently returned to Baba Amr (neighborhood in Homs) with her husband and six children. Their house had been ransacked and burned. The walls were riddled with bullet-holes and the ceiling had collapsed. The family sleeps in the abandoned home of a neighbor who agreed to let them stay there…”

Said Hawlani, “We are left with nothing, we can’t live in the house at all. It is very painful.”

Multiply this Syrian family by hundreds of thousands of people and tens of thousands of homes (in Homs), and you get the gruesome big picture.

Though the devastation is greater than any other city in Syria or Iraq, Homs is but one example of many cities and towns in two of several war-scarred countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Homs is illustrative of what will happen in much greater severity during the Tribulation, which will last seven years after the soon to happen Rapture. Homs is also representative of what has taken place down through the ages to nations and cities who have never acknowledged, or abandoned, or denied, or defied the true and living God. Along with others who truly care about the tragic repercussions of war on otherwise innocent civilians, I am appalled at the devastation of this Syrian city and the death, deprivation and displacement of its people. Yet, the underlying reason is succinctly and strongly stated in Scripture:

“Blessed in the nation whose God is the Lord…” (Psalms 33:12). This applied to ancient Israel when she loved, worshipped, and obeyed the Lord God. And to modern-day Israel, because God has begun to fulfill his magnificent promise to restore his special possession physically and one day soon spiritually. A few other nations have been blessed (mostly for a temporary period of time) including the United States of America, whose government was founded on Judaic-Christian principles found in Scripture. Whose God is the Lord, himself … or was.

Conversely, how can we or why would we expect God to continue to bless and protect this once great nation when we continue to expel him from the hallowed halls of Congress, from the fertile grounds of our children’s schools and universities, from public display in town-squares, from mention of his name by our military chaplains, and even from many church pulpits across this land? This once great nation was built on Christian precepts and principles, but I fear we are no longer a “Christian nation.” We have replaced the true and living God and his Messiah with the god of secular humanism which, among many other grievous wrongs, not only allows but subsidizes the inexcusable sacrifice of millions of unborn children on the altar of abortion.

God spared Nineveh, a city of a Gentile nation, Assyria, but only because her citizens turned to God for forgiveness. But Nineveh resumed her wicked ways and was eventually conquered, with Assyria completely wiped out as a nation by Babylon. Then Babylon by Persia, Persia by Greece, and Greece by Rome. And, where is the mighty Roman Empire today? Where is the Third Reich that Hitler boasted would last a thousand years? It lasted all of 12 years.

All of the signs are clear and getting clearer that God’s final plan for the ages is unfolding in our generation. Listen to the words of our great God, who will soon judge the nations like never before.

“…At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked … I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists! Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’ … It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall” (Psalms 75:2-7).

And, “Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!” (Psalms 2:10-12).

Our holy and just God equally extends compassion, forgiveness, and mercy.

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (II Chronicles 7:14).

Although this conditional promise from the Lord was directed primarily to Israel, it also extends to Gentile nations in principle and practice, such as Nineveh and to the United States of America.

Indeed, there is no place like Homs on the earth. And thank God there aren’t too many more like it as we speak. One utterly ruined city is enough. But ever so sadly, there will be many more cities reduced to rubble during the massive man-made wars and God-imposed judgments of the Great Tribulation, and possibly some before the Rapture.

For instance, during the last half of the Tribulation the awesome destruction of Rome encoded in Scripture as Babylon, for protection of the author of Revelation and other 1^st century Christians.

“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons” (Revelation 18:2).

And, “…How terrible, how terrible for you. O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you” (Verse 10).

And, “…All your luxuries and splendor are gone forever, never to be yours again” (Verse 14).

Also, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! … In a single moment it is all gone” (Verse 19).

[Depiction of Babylon’s (Rome’s) Destruction]

Here is a prophecy about another (the most well-known) city in Syria: “The oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin” (Isaiah 17:1).

Having mentioned this in a couple of prior Eye of Prophecy articles, I’ll simply summarize (based on historical evidence both Biblical and secular) by saying that I’m convinced this prophecy was fulfilled when the Assyrians conquered Damascus around 732 B.C, then ten years later vanquished the ten northern tribes of Israel. However, there very well could be another devastation of Damascus during the Tribulation (or even before).

Returning to Homs … What’s Left of It

First, to clarify that Homs is an Arabic named city and is actually pronounced Hims. I waited until now because the pronunciation doesn’t work with my Wizard of Oz analogy of, there’s no place like Hom(e)s! As you can see by now, my awkward (if you didn’t know the correct pronunciation, the spelling would suggest Hahms) deception had a purpose. You do see it don’t you?!

Let’s examine a more positive story that comes out of Homs, Syria. One of several examples the world over that (if the media cares to search and report) reminds us that something good can be found in the most shocking situations of life. That the darkest night will yield to the morning light.

In a March, 5^th, 2016 article posted on the online new source of Aish.com, written by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller, we are introduced to Aboud Dandachi, a 39-year old Syrian currently living in Istanbul, Turkey. I chose Dr. Miller’s article to dovetail with today’s Eye of Prophecy post, because Aboud’s pre-refugee residence was none other than Homs, Syria!

(Another photo of Homs before the War)

Surprisingly, however, the article concerns Dandachi’s experience with and changed views of Israel and Israelis.

Aboud was raised both in Syria and Saudi Arabia and attended a university in Jordan. As would be expected, he and his fellow Arabs harbored a huge distrust of and animosity toward Jews, especially Jews who lived in Israel. But when the Syrian civil war erupted and during the ensuing years of exile, he, as the article states, “…began to reconsider many of his assumptions.”

Dr. Miller quotes Aboud Dandachi: “It was a gradual process, when it increasingly dawned on me that no Israeli had ever done me any harm whatsoever – and yet I was a refugee precisely because of what fellow Syrians and Arabs had done to my city. So why on earth would I want to be enemies with Israelis? It makes about as much sense as being enemies with someone from India or Japan or Argentina?”

Dr. Miller continues: “At the same time, Dandachi began to hear about Jewish and Israeli organizations that were mobilizing to help Syrian refugees – often at great danger to themselves. Hundreds of Syrians have received life-saving medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. Israel’s army has operated a field hospital at the border with Syria. Israeli aid workers are working with Syrian refugees in Greece, Germany, the Balkans and Jordan, and ordinary Israelis have flocked to donate clothes and supplies (first removing Hebrew-language tags and writing in order to disguise their origin in a Jewish state)…”

(Another Photo of Homs after the War Began)

*Note: Please consider reading the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, The Heart and Soul of Israel (posted 1-4-14). Although I’ve written many articles on or about Israel, that article is a microcosm of (as the title states) the wonderful and generous heart and soul of not just Israel as a nation, but the Jews as a people. It includes similar examples of Israeli aid and acts of kindness to those who are sworn enemies of Israel even more than the Syrians … Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Continuing with Dr. Miller’s article: “As he read and learned more about what Israeli and Jewish individuals and groups were doing, Dandachi, explained, his thinking gradually changed. The (his) impetus to find a way to publicly say, ‘thank you’ came in 2014, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited wounded Syrians at the Golan Heights.”

Said Aboud to Dr. Miller, “I remember that the Syrian opposition then said that Netanyahu should stop using wounded Syrians for propaganda and other nonsense. I told the opposition (the rebels) at the time: ‘Are you crazy? You can’t even say thank you?’ It is so immature.”

Apparently, Dr. Miller discovered Aboud’s endeavor through a website he set up in December, 2015, for the express purpose of proclaiming to all who would listen, “Thank you, Am Yisrael,” which is the title of his website. Thank you, people of Israel.

In one of his posts, Aboud writes: “It is said that one of the truest moral tests of a society is in how it treats those in need, and who have nothing to offer in return save for gratitude. It is a challenge that this generation of Israelis and Jews have met with exemplary generosity and charity, and it is that generosity that Thank You Am Israel was set up in acknowledgment and appreciation of. Thank you to the people of Israel and the Jewish people the world over, for showing kindness and charity to Syrians, whether it is through your IDF medical teams, your aid workers in Greece and the Balkans, or your congregations in North America raising money to aid and sponsor Syrian refugees. God bless you and protect you.”

Utterly amazing!

My immediate and enduring response to Aboud’s incredible (after all, he is an Arab from Syria which has been, and still is as a nation, one of Israel’s most avowed enemies) change of heart and mind toward Israel is: “AMEN.”

Israel’s unselfish and unrequited kindness even toward her enemies is the stuff that much Biblical prophecy is made of. Though she has fought Arabs and Muslim nations for her very survival, and continues to defend herself against almost daily terrorist’s attacks, Israel is beginning to fulfill her destiny. First as a nation reborn from the floods of dispersion and fires of Nazi death camps; and soon her wide-spread spiritual rebirth by opening individual and collective hearts to the Messiah who died for the Jews (and Gentiles) and rose from the dead to seal the New Covenant of Grace. Soon, very soon, Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) will return to set up his glorious kingdom of Righteousness, Justice, and Shalom from Jerusalem.

Listen to the words of God Almighty as he speaks of his special possession Israel concerning his glory—the very essence of God which includes his gracious gift of salvation and goodness to Israel and to the nations:

“When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind. I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (Ezekiel 39:27-29).

Beginning with Messiah Jesus (the Light of the World) who changes our heart and alters our eternal destiny when we believe and receive him, culminating in his majestic return to make all things right in Israel and between Israel and the nations, Israel and the world will share in this (his) glorious light.

Listen to the personal description (me, my, and him) of Messiah spoken about his coming (none other than Jesus of Nazareth who fulfilled ALL of the Messianic prophecies) through the prophet.

“And now the Lord speaks—the one who formed me in my mother’s womb (the Virgin Birth) to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength. He says, ‘You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Isaiah 49:5-6).

Summary

Some of Aboud Dandachi’s closing remarks in this exclusive interview with Aish.com were:

“The fact is, that Syrians don’t have many friends in the world left. So these are our darkest times, and it means we should appreciate the friends we do have right now. No one could have blamed Israelis and Jews if they had stayed aloof from the refugee crisis, but they didn’t. They risked a lot to help us. And the very least you can do is say thank you. To say thank you isn’t remarkable, one act of kindness is more remarkable than a hundred thank yous.”

My commentary response: Nevertheless, any thank you from any Arab Muslim to the Jews is, indeed, remarkable. Any time the heart of one’s enemy is softened to this extent and eyes opened this much is as remarkable as anything can be. But that is the heart and soul of Israel, which is beginning to be an end time’s expression of the heart of God. Soon, Israel’s heart will be softened and changed even more to go one step further:

To acknowledge that Messiah as the Lamb of God has already arrived (two thousand years ago) to bring them salvation. And shortly to eagerly embrace him as their Savior Lion from the Tribe of Judah when he delivers them from the hands of their enemies in the final campaign against Israel led by the Antichrist and his coalition.

However, one of their enemies will NOT be Aboud Dandachi!

(Aboud Dandachi)

Nor will a few others like him, though not as outspoken as Aboud. We can know this because of what else Aboud said in his interview: “What surprised me is the feedback from Arabs. I was expecting hostility from Arabs and instead a surprising number have told me that I’m saying what they can’t say and that I should keep saying what I’m saying…”

But then Aboud tempered that enthusiasm with a reminder that, “Unfortunately, the reality in the Middle East is that there is no Arab politician who will say ‘thank you’ to Israel.”

Things to Ponder

To all those who are wondering if your life and home on this earth is all there is, please listen to this powerful promise made by Jesus himself, to all those who have believed and received him as our personal Savior:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going” (John 14:1-4).

Though he spoke these words directly to his disciples, they (like all of his promises) are for, “…everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

To the scene in the first passage above, his disciple, Thomas, questioned: “No, we don’t know, Lord. … We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5).

To which Jesus replied in these magnificent words, often quoted: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (Verse 6).

Then the Jewish Apostle Paul reminds believers: “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven…” (Philippians 1:27).

Yes, believers in Yeshua are already citizens of heaven. One day soon we will take up residency there. Our passport to heaven has been stamped with the redemptive sacrificial blood of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Of our glorious home in the New Jerusalem, John writes: “I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun, or moon, for the glory of God illuminates (literally) the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light … all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city” (Revelation 21:22-26).

Earlier in this astounding vision of what today is the very near future, John exclaims: “And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Verse 2).

(Depiction of the New Jerusalem)

For believers in Messiah Jesus, God’s home will be our home. Then, Immanuel (God with us) with be an everlasting reality. Soon, very soon, this will all begin when:

“…The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up (raptured) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Fully concentrate on a much better location than Kansas (though I was born there) or anywhere on this worn-out planet. Repeat after me, but with a whole new meaning:

There’s no place like home … there’s no place like home.

Jubilee and Messiah … They Go Together!

23 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Balfour Declaration, Six-Day War, The Rapture

Jubilee, What a Wonderful Year!

What is a Jubilee? Or more precisely, the year of Jubilee? Amidst the fervent anticipation of Christians, but also of Jews in Israel and the world over for the imminent appearance of Messiah, we are seeing a growing 21^st century interest in this ancient decree issued by God for the Hebrews. Why has a regulation that hasn’t been kept by Judaism for some 3,000 years; one that even Jewish Rabbis can’t agree on in terms of whether it is a 49-year or 50-year cycle; nor one that can be identified by actual historical dates, regained profound prominence in the last decade or so?

The quick answer is because a few Bible scholars—observant Jews, Messianic Jews, and Gentile Christians, including me—are seeing a remarkable connection between two 20^th century events that are 49-50 years apart. Both of these milestones directly reflect on and relate to the very heart and purpose of the Jubilee, which is a general restoration of Jewish property in the Promised Land back to its original owners in the 50^th year, or the Year of Jubilee. Applying this principle to Israel as a nation, we can make an unmistakable correlation between the Year of Jubilee—emancipation, freedom, restoration, redemption of both people and land—and the remarkable return of Jews to Israel to sovereignly reclaim the land taken from them by Gentile nations for nearly 2,500 years.

Based on, in part, some notable prophetic calculations made by Sir Isaac Newton (who was more interested in Bible prophecies than the astounding scientific discoveries he made, i.e. law of gravity), Bible students such as Mark Blitz, Jonathan Cahn, Bob O’Dell and Gidon Ariel (and myself, but not necessarily based on Isaac Newton) have identified these two historical events in the 20^th century as pivotal dates to demonstrate that the Year of Jubilee is playing a significant role in end-times fulfillment of prophecy. This all started not long ago by looking backwards to the incredible dates of June, 1967 and November, 1917—the recapture of Jerusalem in the Six Day War and the Balfour Declaration that gave Jews the right of return to Palestine, respectively. These two enormously important dates are 49-50 years apart, the calendar cycle of a Jubilee.

Then looking ahead to the next Jubilee year which some say began on September 13, 2015 (the beginning of the new Jewish year of 5776). With very few others (like me) who place the beginning of the Jubilee year in the first month, Nisan, of the original Jewish calendar (March/April of the Gregorian Calendar, this year beginning April 9^th), we can prophetically propose that another noteworthy occurrence will take place in the next year or two, perhaps even the Rapture itself. But at the very least, a momentous episode pertaining to freedom of and in the land of Israel; for example, the possible opening of Temple Mount to Jewish and Christian worship.

In that regard, please refer to a recent Eye of Prophecy article entitled, The Legacy of Temple Mount, published 1-2-16.

The difference in the actual sequence or interlude of a Jubilee—whether 49 or 50 years—has been debated by both Bible Scholars and Jewish Rabbis for centuries. Time/space does not permit an in-depth study of these two views (including the disagreement as to which Jewish calendar should be used to identify when a Jubilee Year begins) except to say that I personally am in the camp of those who contend that a Jubilee is every 50 years. However the 50^th year is also the first year of the next Jubilee period, i.e. year one of that 49-year cycle for purpose of counting off the number of years.

In the final analysis, it’s not imperative that we absolutely know for sure; as there remains a small time-gap window of opportunity for the next Jubilee year to begin … whether 49 or 50 years from the previous Jubilee, whether beginning in the fall or spring, it’s still a year or less.

Later in this article, I’ll once again present evidence that the aforementioned events in 1917 and 1967 were but two of three incredible events that took place in the 20^th century return of Jews to Israel. The third (2^nd in chronological sequence) was the November, 1947 United Nations Resolution that entitled Israel to become a State, which she did in May, 1948. In addition to a complete (exact or almost exact) Jubilee cycle taking place between the first event (Balfour Declaration of 1917) and the Six-Day War recapture of Jerusalem by the IDF in 1967, we have the twofold beginning of an actual generation of which Jesus, himself, said was a crucial time-frame indicator in the last days of his return. Recalling his words, he said: “…this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34, italics for emphasis).

Thus, these three extraordinary 20^th century historical end-times milestones (signs) are a divine combination and coordination of Jubilee years and the 100 and 70-year Biblical parameters of an actual generation.

First, let’s examine the original Jubilee commandment as found in the Complete Jewish Bible translation. It comes directly after God’s decree that the land was to be given a complete rest (no planting of crops or cultivation) every 7^th year, which the Jews call a Shemitah year. Let’s read about the Year of Jubilee:

The Biblical Record of Jubilee

“You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is, forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to the sound the shofar all through your land; and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a yovel (jubilee) for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is to return to his family. That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of untended vines; because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the fields produce will be food for all of you. In this year of yovel, every one of you is to return to the land he owns” (Leviticus 25:8-13).

There were more instructions, but this passage contains the essence of how Webster’s Dictionary accurately (based on a correct application of the Biblical account) portrays and defines Jubilee:

“A year of emancipation and restoration provided by ancient Hebrew law to be kept every 50 years by the emancipation of Hebrew slaves, restoration of alienated lands to their former owners, and omission of all cultivation of the land.” Then in more general terms: “a special anniversary, a celebration of such an anniversary.”

The Promised Land of Israel was given by the Lord to the Jews, as opposed to any other people or nation; moreover, this land grant was irreversible and was meant to be an everlasting inheritance for God’s chosen people. Nevertheless, when it came to the reasons (too many and too complicated to explain in detail in one article) for the Jubilee, the Lord instructed his people:

“The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to me—you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me. Therefore, when you sell your property, you must include the right of redemption (buying back)” (Verses 23-24, New Jewish Bible).

Then more details were provided on exactly how and when redemption of both land and people would take place.

But the overriding purpose for keeping God’s meticulous requirements of the seven-year Shemitah and the fifty-year Yovel (Jubilee) cycle was: “Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your God; for I am Adonai your God. Rather, you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land” (Leviticus 25:17-18, New Jewish Bible).

The original commands from God pertaining to remembrance of the Jewish Festivals—such as Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles—as well as observing the Shemitah and Jubilee years was based on the original Jewish monthly (moon) calendar in which the first month was Nisan (March-April on our calendar). It was the seventh month (September-October on our calendar) in which the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles were to be observed. Later, in Jewish History the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashana) became the start of a new calendar year for the Jews. Thus they have what might be called a religious calendar and a secular calendar.

The announcement of the year of Jubilee was to be made on the tenth day of the seventh month (Yom Kippur), which would still be in the 49^th year that began in March/April of that year. But the year of Jubilee wouldn’t begin until the following spring, which was the actual calendar commencement of the 50^th year (of Jubilee). I believe this is the correct understanding of Leviticus 25, because verse 11 states: “You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap … for it is a jubilee; it shall be holy (set apart) to you…” (New American Standard Bible).

Although there were fall crops, the primary harvest season was understood to begin in the spring, the first month of the Hebrew calendar; which is why the actual Jubilee year wouldn’t begin until the following spring, after having been proclaimed throughout the land in September or October, the month of Tishrei, or the 7^th month (of the 49^th year).

For example, the Balfour Declaration of November, 1917 would have taken place in a year of Jubilee that began officially in March/April of that year (month of Nisan). Counting off 49 Jewish years (360 days in a year) or actually 49 years and 8 months on our calendar, from March/April 1917 brings us to the months of Sept/Oct in the calendar year of 1966. If the Jews were still keeping the Jubilee years, the Jubilee would then have been announced in the seventh month (Sept/Oct of 1966) and officially commenced the following March/April, which would have been 1967 on our calendar, i.e. the 50^th year (of Jubilee). The Six-Day War, therefore, would have taken place in the year of Jubilee, because it occurred in June, 1967.

(Photo of Israeli Troops Entering Jerusalem, Six-Day War)

However, when the secular Jewish calendar was introduced after the Babylonian Captivity, the new Jewish year–for purpose of counting and recording the years–began on Rosh Hashana, the first day of the month of Tishrei, September/October of the Gregorian calendar. Thus, the Jewish year 5776 began on September 13, 2015.

Confused? That’s okay. In part the confusion is healthy. Why? Because it prevents us from precise date setting as to the Rapture which will usher in the Day of the Lord and all end-times events thereafter. Moreover, the seven to eight month overlap provides some built in flexibility when trying to match up (for example) the November, 1917 Balfour Declaration with the June, 1967 Six-Day War. Same thing when adding 49 or 50 years or something in between from the 1967 Six-Day War to the present year 2016.

If we hold to what I believe is the Biblical formula, then the next Jubilee would be proclaimed in the fall of 2016; but actually begin in the Jewish month of Nisan (March/April) of 2017, not the calendar year of 2015 or 2016 as some suggest. This would also be the Jewish year of 5777, a tremendously important set of numbers to both the Jews and those who are students of Biblical numbers. With five representing the number of Grace (God’s favor poured out) and the three sevens a perfect three-fold extension of the divine number seven.

It Is God Who Has Restored the Jubilee

Whatever month or months we choose in 2017 or 2016 or even 2015 as the beginning of another year of Jubilee, the most important feature of this entire study is to realize that the Year of Jubilee is a phenomena that God has taken the initiative to restore as part of his spectacular plan for the last days.

In fact, it is God who introduced the New Covenant of Grace through his Son, who sealed that covenant with his very blood … with his death, burial, and resurrection from the grave. It is God who providentially planned and instigated the return of the Jews to Israel. It is God who sovereignly orchestrated the rebirth of Israel as a nation, and who has divinely renewed the Jubilee cycle. All the while opportunely matching the Jubilee of 1917 and 1967 with the two definitions of generations found in Scripture, i.e. 100 years and 70 years, which more than coincidentally correlate with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the United Nations Resolution granting Statehood rights to Israel in 1947.

Then the entire 26^th chapter of Leviticus is God’s promise of his blessings on Israel if they worshipped only him; if they loved, respected, and obeyed him and the commandments given to them for their own good. Followed by God’s warnings if they did not, “…listen to me and obey all these mitzvot (commandments or more broadly—general principles for living), if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all my mitzvot but cancel my covenant, then I, for my part, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you … I will set my face against you—your enemies will defeat you, those who hate you will hound you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you” (Leviticus 26:14-17, New Jewish Bible).

Throughout this stunning 26^th chapter of Leviticus, the Lord specifies four successive seven times over punishments that he would inflict on his people if they began and continued their disobedience. Which is exactly what they did leading up to the Babylonian Captivity, but also following their return to Israel after seventy years of exile. Then continuing without interruption to and through the Diaspora that began with the Roman conquest of Israel and destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

The worst of this divine discipline took place during the horrible Holocaust; which, however, led to the rebirth of Israel in 1948 and the final end of Gentile domination of the Jews in 1967.

Here I want to pause and refer you to an astounding disclosure that the Lord gave to me nearly ten years ago (October, 2006). Namely, that these four cycles of seven times correction of God’s people was administered consecutively in actual years, both in principle and practice, to correlate with the seven-year Sabbath land cycle and the fifty-year Jubilee cycle. In order to see the amazing details of how this developed historically, coming to an end in the phenomenal year of 1967, please read the three-part Eye of Prophecy series entitled, Seven Times Seven (to the 4^th power!) Parts I, II, III, published 1-25-14, 2-1-14, and 2-8-14, followed by the summary article The Omega Generation, posted on 2-15-14.

In that regard, let’s review some excerpts from The Omega Generation article, as follows in italics:

Is it, then, possible to select or identify events/dates in Israel’s contemporary history that correspond to the Biblical definition of a generation … that is one hundred years and/or seventy years? The answer is a resounding, YES. In fact, we’ve already touched on these dates in the previous three articles. In addition, I partially addressed these events some time ago in the Eye of Prophecy article, entitled, When the Rapture, published 8-10-13, as well as The End of the Age article published 11-23-13.

Some Christians are confused about or don’t entirely understand the role of the Church and Israel during the last days beginning with the Rapture. Please fathom one critical premise/truth: Although the Mount of Olives discourse indirectly applies to the Church (composed of all Jews and Gentiles who have been redeemed by Messiah Jesus), the whole purpose of Christ’s majestic return is to set up the Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God) on the earth IN the Holy Land and THROUGH / FOR his chosen people, the Jews. And what triggers the need for Christ to return to Israel is none other than the ultimate and final rescue of the Jews (Israel) from conquest and destruction at the hands of Antichrist.

Concerning the Church, the sole purpose of the Rapture is to snatch away believers from the earth so that we do not have to experience the final wrath of God poured out on an ungodly generation of unbelievers. Otherwise, ALL of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Last Days or End Times focus on Israel, not the Church; in fact, the Church (consisted of all Jews/Gentiles who place their trust in Christ’s sacrificial death) doesn’t even come into existence for over 400 years after the last book of the Old Testament was written. Moreover, from the 4th Chapter through the 18th Chapter of the book of Revelation, the Church is not even mentioned, as such.

So, let’s look again at the three monumentally crucial events of the last 100 years, relating to the return of the Jews to Israel.

Balfour Declaration of November, 1917: England extended official support that Palestine could be a home for the Jews. This was the beginning of Jewish autonomy in Israel, although the land was still called Palestine at that time.

Recognizing this very important event/date, we can then apply the Biblical generational measurement of 100 years. Once again, however, we need to convert Roman calendar years to Jewish years. Doing the math we come up with 101.4 Jewish years which translates to 101 years and 5 months. From November, 1917, this would take us to March or April, 2019.

United Nations Resolution of November, 1947: UN voted to grant statehood rights to the Jews; the nation would be called Israel. (May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the reborn existence of the State of Israel!).

This was the 2nd significant milestone in fulfillment of hundreds of Biblical prophecies concerning the Abrahamic Covenant, i.e. the physical restoration of Israel. Most Bible scholars and historians select the statehood date of May 14, 1948 as the historical landmark, which it certainly is; however, the actual declaration of statehood was almost anticlimactic. Reason: officially, the British Mandate (rule) over Palestine expired on that date. But it was the UN Resolution that delivered the pivotal turning point or breakthrough. Without the UN resolution of November, 1947, there would have been no recognized Israeli State in May, 1948. Yet, there is only a period of 6 months separating these two events; thus, selection of either one would be a legitimate application to the 70-year generational measurement of time.

Again, doing the conversion math, we arrive at a total of 70.97 or (rounding it off) 71 Jewish years. Adding 71 years to November, 1947, we arrive at November, 2018. If we utilize May, 1948 as the benchmark date, the 71 years would take us to May, 2019.

June, 1967 Six-Day War (Jubilee Years): In addition to the two Biblical measurements of a generation (100 years and 70 years), what happens if we also select the Jubilee time-frame of 50 years? As stressed in the previous seven times seven articles, the 50-year Jubilee was part of God’s formula for disciplining Israel, as the Jews also failed to keep the Jubilee. Consequently, I believe the Jubilee will also be a component part of God’s magnificent restoration of Israel.

In this instance, we will use the next epic milestone in Israel’s brief modern-history … that of the June, 1967 Six-Day War. We talked about this at great length in last week’s article, to include the fact that it occurred 50 years (not coincidentally, a Jubilee period of time) from the Balfour Declaration of 1917.

Once again we convert 50 Roman calendar years to Jewish time and we come up with: 50.7 years which is 50 years and 8.4 months (8-9 months). From June, 1967, this would take us through February or into March, 2018.

…What other specific events have occurred relating to Israel during the 20th or 21st century that would surpass or supplant the 1917, 1947 (48), and 1967 highlights that we’ve selected as commencement dates for both the 100 and 70-year generations, as well as the equally important Jubilee? In answer to this question, I’ll give you a hint: There are NO other events that even come close to these historical mileposts. In fact, take a look at what constitutes the Jubilee year in Leviticus Chapter 25. Among other things, it is a time to free servants, debts, and captives, which is exactly what happened when the IDF captured Jerusalem and freed all Jews to return to and live in all of Jerusalem—at least in principle.

I then summarized these pivotal milestones in the 20^th century with the following conclusion:

Here’s what we find when we combine all three projected dates of generational or Jubilee time-lapse… meaning 100 years, 70 years, and 50 years (Roman calendar). From our three (four, if we also use Israel’s statehood of May, 1948) examples, we will select the earliest possible month/year all the way to the latest month/year.

It’s conceivable that we will hear the blast of the last Rapture trumpet: BETWEEN FEBRUARY, 2018 and MAY, 2019!!

Back to today’s article. (In hindsight, I would have added 2017 to the above quoted time frame, as March/April of 2017 is the beginning of Jubilee, while still within the parameters of the generational period of time).

Once again, what we’re trying to demonstrate is that there have been three incredibly significant events in the 20^th century that match up with the two monumentally important factors that give us a time-frame (not the exact time, but a span of time) when the Day of the Lord will begin. One is the Old Testament celebration of the Jubilee Year, which the majority of Jewish scholars and Rabbis strongly believe is connected to Messiah’s arrival. The other is the New Testament discourse of Jesus, himself, concerning the signs of the last days; culminating in his statement that the last (Omega) generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have been accomplished.

Moreover, the Jubilee signifies and represents the restoration of both land and the people living in the land. Concerning the nation of Israel, this began with the right of return of the Jews to Israel afforded by the now famous Balfour Declaration of November, 1917 … a year that could, (and in my opinion did) by definition and by actual experience, be considered a year of Jubilee. But one that also began the countdown of the final generation, based on the oldest Biblical definition of such a generation, i.e. 100 years.

Followed by the second generational event of November, 1947 … the UN Resolution granting statehood rights to Israel. Then the soon to follow formal declaration of Jewish Statehood in May, 1948. I’m firmly convinced that the evidence determines this to be the end-times beginning of the 2^nd Biblical definition of a generational period of time … seventy years.

Next is the extraordinary recapture of Jerusalem in June, 1967; which, as I’ve written about, did two things: (1) Ended completely God’s seven times over discipline of his people, along with the Gentile domination of the Jews. (2) Restored the Holy City of the Holy Land to the Jews. Both of these results are part and parcel of a Jubilee. In this case the next to last Jubilee before the magnificent return of Messiah Jesus to begin the final Jubilee, with respect to the nation of Israel and with regard to the Rapture of the Church that will propel us into the Millennial Messianic Age of complete restoration and redemption of God’s chosen people, the Jews.

Here is a quote from an August 12, 2015 article in Breaking Israel News online news source which was written on the subject of the year of Jubilee:

“If it is a positive religious commandment with a clear Biblical source, what is the reason Jews do not currently mark the Jubilee year? According to rabbinic tradition, there are three conditions for the observance of the Jubilee year and none of them are completely fulfilled today.”

The author goes on to list these three conditions as: (1) observance of Jubilee is contingent on the majority of Jewish people living in the land of Israel. (2) The Jewish people must live in their Biblically assigned portion of the Land of Israel (each of the twelve tribes). Because ten of the tribes are still considered Lost Tribes, this condition also has not been met in modern times. (3) A fully functional Sanhedrin, which in today’s Israel has not yet been accomplished, i.e. a full complement of 71 judges.

Much could be said in response to these three rabbinical conditions; however, suffice to say that none of them are found, as such, in Scripture. Meaning they are not valid reasons for the continued historical lack of setting apart the Jubilee years. Having said that, however, there is much more to the matter than these or other conditions to first be met before Jews can again celebrate the year of Jubilee in particular and their final redemption in general.

In fact, it is not the implementation of certain conditions in Israel or prescribed actions by God’s chosen people before the Lord will keep his promises to fully restore and reconcile Israel to himself. Instead, it is (as already alluded to) a matter of God, himself, reintroducing the year of Jubilee into Israel’s history, as an integral facet of what is shaping up to be a God-controlled and God-orchestrated plan to restore and redeem the Promised Land to the Jews and the Jews, themselves, back to God.

Another significant condition cited by Jewish Rabbis is that Israelis and Jews the world over must begin to repent (of several things) and intensify their righteous acts or good deeds in order for Messiah to return, whether 2016 or 2017 is a year of Jubilee or not. But then they offer few boundaries or guidelines to say when enough repentance is enough for the Lord to act, and they differ on exactly what form this penitence should take.

I believe we can answer their questions and concerns by pointing to the New Covenant of Grace established by God for Jew and Gentile alike. The only thing that the Lord now requires in terms of repentance is for the Jew (for everyone) to change their minds about Jesus Christ … to believe in him and receive him as Messiah and Savior. That’s what it means to repent … a change of mind. When that takes place individually and within Israel as a nation, then the Lord will change their heart.

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Things to Ponder

There are dozens of Old Testament prophecies about Israel’s restoration that both state and imply that God will take the initiative; in fact, he already has. Although the Jews will express their heartfelt sorrow when they see and acknowledge Jesus as the true Messiah at the end of the seven-year Tribulation, the Lord will not wait for the Jews to first “repent.” As individuals but also as a nation their repentance will be commensurate with recognition of their Messiah … who he was all along.

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me (Messiah) whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son…” (Zechariah 12:10).

The following is just one of many passages that clearly confirm it is the Lord who takes the lead to redeem Israel, beginning with the New Covenant sealed by the blood of Messiah Jesus, culminating in the final restoration of the Promised Land and redemption of its people:

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations … I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again…” (Ezekiel 34:11-16).

Then later the Lord said to Ezekiel regarding Israel: “I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from sinful backsliding. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:22-23).

As for me, I’m already celebrating by means of eager expectation for Messiah Jesus to take us (believers in Christ Jesus) home during the next Jubilee year. If not then, soon afterward! If not the Rapture taking place in the year of Jubilee, then Israel’s Knesset government sovereignly declaring the right of all Jews and Christians (Muslims already have the right) to visit and worship on Temple Mount anytime they choose.

Once again, listen to the words of Messiah Jesus:

“…When you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:33-34).

That time will truly be a Jubilee jubilation like never before! And that time is near, so very near!

Messiah’s Arrival … On Whose Authority?

28 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Jewish Council, Rabbis, Second Coming

Who Determines When Messiah Will Appear?

The Time Has Come for God to Reveal the Messiah, Says Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi.

This is the headline of a November 13^th article posted by columnist Rivkah Lambert Adler in the on-line news source Breaking Israel News.

Your reaction to what the author labels a “surprisingly under-reported story” might be: (1) The Chief Rabbi is simply imploring God to bring Messiah to Israel soon, because this is the passionate prospect of rabbis and Jews in Israel and the world over. (2) Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi is saying that God is obligated to reveal Messiah … the sooner the better.

If you chose option number two, you would be correct!

The author, Rivkah Alder, continues but with clarification that Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who issued the proclamation, is one of several chief rabbis who hold to the concept (teaching) that, as expressed by Ms. Adler: “…God must bring the messiah and expedite the ultimate redemption (of Israel). The ruling was delivered during an all-night spiritual gathering of rabbis from the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and a recording of the moment was posted to YouTube (in Hebrew).”

With the clear connotation that God really has no other choice but to comply with this ruling.

The pronouncement was delivered at the conclusion of an annual conference held by the Chabad-Lubavitch society in Brooklyn, New York, in which some 6,000 Rabbis and Jewish leaders attended from over 75 countries around the world. In reporting this event and the extraordinary ultimatum that invoked/reminded God of his responsibility to respond to the virtually unanimous consensus of a large cross-section of Judaism’s religious leaders, Ms Adler writes:

“During this spontaneous gathering … Rabbi Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s two chief rabbis, reminded Amar that 25 years ago, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the last head of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, who passed away in 1994, had asked Amar to issue a psak din (a formal rabbinic ruling) on the issue of the redemption of the Jewish people. Twenty-five years later … Amar agreed that the time had come to rule that God must hasten the arrival of the messiah.”

Said Rabbi Amar: “We hereby rule according to the demand of the audience—we see the plaintiff but can’t see the defendant—that God Almighty speedily bring an end and reveal the Moshiach (messiah) in front of our eyes in actuality.”

Although it was late in the evening, Rabbi Amar’s invocation produced a chorus of “Amens” from the audience. Immediately they began singing, “We want Moshiach now! We don’t want to wait!” According to the article’s author: “These words come from a song that Lubavitch children are taught to sing from a very early age.”

Breaking Israel News is one of a few Jewish internet news and/or religious sites that have recently published several columns pertaining to the exponentially growing hope for Messiah’s arrival in Israel; thereby, to accomplish Israel’s ultimate redemption and to rescue them from their many enemies. Accordingly, BIN has quoted several Rabbis who have commented (with varying degrees of agreement, disagreement, and some prophetic inconsistency) on Messiah’s imminent appearance. Whether the religious or even secular interest in Messiah’s arrival is at least somewhat based on Scripture or not, I have identified this remarkable trend as one of the phenomenal consequences of the twelve modern-day indicators that clearly signal the last days of the end-times. Please see the Eye of Prophecy articles entitled, Look Up, Redemption is Near Part I & II, posted 7-11-15 and 7-18-15.

It Is Not Kept In Heaven!

However, even the Messianic oriented BIN site was apparently astounded by this audacious announcement, as reflected in Ms. Adler’s final probing remarks:

“How is it possible that a rabbi, even one of the chief rabbis of Jerusalem, can make a ruling in Jewish law that obligates God? Breaking Israel News posed this question to senior Chabad Rabbi Uri Kaploun who said, ‘All that comes to mind is the axiom in Chazal (the Jewish sages) that Lo BaShamayim Hi (it is not in Heaven); once the Torah was given, the earthly court makes the rulings, and the Heavenly Court is, as it were, bound by them.’”

Astonishing! Is Rabbi Kaploun’s reply correct? Is it legitimate? Is the axiom quoted by the Rabbi—obviously supported by many other Rabbis and Jewish leaders—found somewhere in the Bible; specifically in the Torah, which is the first five books of the Old Testament, considered superior even to the rest of the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) by most Orthodox Jews?

Either Breaking Israel News didn’t feel qualified to challenge this stunning verdict nor the explanation given as to its justification; or they chose not to, as it undoubtedly would result in a much longer article than intended on the subject. Most likely it was a combination of the two.

Photo of Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Council

If there is an answer regarding the Biblical authenticity and accuracy of the rabbinical premise (axiom) that warrants such a bold edict, would you like to know what it is? If your answer is, No, then there’s really no reason for you to continue with today’s Eye of Prophecy article! But if you want to know more about Messiah and whether God is obligated to reveal him because the Heavenly Court is bound by decrees of the (Jewish) earthly court, then stay with us.

The answer is both yes and no. Yes, the axiom (one of hundreds of extra-Biblical traditions and commentaries handed down through the ages by Jewish Rabbis primarily recorded in the Talmud) is derived from a passage in the Torah. No, it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an accurate application (interpretation) of the passage that purportedly transfers God’s authority to men, be it a rabbinical council or not … especially not the timing of Messiah’s arrival (return).

The passage is found in Deuteronomy, and contains what the Rabbi would only describe as “the axiom” which has been given precedence by Jewish sages as the traditional rendition down through the ages over the clear content and intent of the text, itself.

The Biblical setting is just a very short time before the Israelites would finally (after forty years of wandering in the wilderness because they refused to trust the Lord their God) enter the Promised Land. The entire book of Deuteronomy contains a “refresher” course of God’s laws and requirements beginning with the exodus from Egypt, in order for his people to be blessed and remain in the land. In summary of the first twenty-nine chapters filled with reminders of his people’s obligations to him, the Lord through Moses declares:

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach. It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’ No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commandments, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy” (Deuteronomy 30:11-16, italics for emphasis).

Moses then summarizes this magnificent message that God said was not (no longer) confined to heaven (to God alone); but a message that had, indeed, been liberally and lovingly given to his people. One that could immediately and logistically be placed in their hearts and expressed by their lips … if only, they would trust and obey the Lord their God.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

It was faith (trust) in God’s Word (commandments) and the Levitical sacrificial system of shedding innocent blood for forgiveness of sins that would lead to obedience. This principle (message) had been clearly demonstrated by God through Abraham long before the Law was given through Moses to the people.

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6).

Who Is Obligated to Whom?

Whereas, I’m certain that the 6,000 Jewish Rabbis/leaders who attended this conference and many other Jews who share the same convictions were respectful toward God in their enthusiasm for Messiah’s (immediate) appearance; they, nevertheless, misunderstood, misapplied, and inappropriately substituted the real meaning of this stirring passage of Scripture with one of their traditional interpretations.

Read the passage again. Where do you see or how is it possible to conclude that God is obligated to send the Messiah based exclusively on their presupposition that the Lord (apparently) relinquished heavenly authority to the Jewish leaders (earthly court) when God gave them the Torah? Or, for that matter, that God must comply with any ruling—whether found in the Torah or not—of chief Rabbis that once consisted of seventy members of the ruling body known as the Sanhedrin?

The context of this passage is crystal clear. Both prosperity and continued presence (existence) in the Promised Land of Israel and life everlasting depended upon whether the people trusted and obeyed God; thereby, choosing life. Or abandon the Lord their God and go their own way; thereby, choosing the horrible alternative, death. Since it was already all too evident that everyone must die physically, the text is referring to the eternal spiritual destiny of the people, but also their continued right to live collectively as a nation in the land. For sure, the Abrahamic Covenant was unilateral … God’s promise that (invariably or inevitably) the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants was in perpetuity.

But equally evident is that the people would suffer the ultimate penalty of God’s judgment (curses rather than blessings) if they rebelled against the Lord and rejected his commandments. This was a foregone conclusion; so much so that several passages in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, warning Israel about the consequences of disobedience, are written as though they had already happened. It was not a matter of if, but when. In fact, Moses subsequently announces this (directly from the Lord) when he in the frankest of terms states: “For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are … I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions” (Deuteronomy 31:27-29).

The Law was given to establish God’s standard of holiness and right action expected of his people, for their own good and welfare. It was also intended to show them than no one, absolutely no one (including the most religious priests or rabbis) could or would keep God’s laws. The Lord’s incredible patience gave them hundreds of years to prove to him and themselves that they could keep God’s Word. But they couldn’t … they wouldn’t.

Thus, God exiled them to Assyria, to Babylon, and ultimately to nations the world over in the disastrous Diaspora when the Romans ransacked Jerusalem and utterly destroyed the second Temple, thus ending the Sacrificial system of atonement.

But by that time, God had initiated the New Covenant that he promised to his people (and the whole world), a covenant purchased and sealed with the innocent blood of God’s very son, Messiah Jesus. Yes, the one and only Messiah, who many refused to recognize, then and now.

Many Eye of Prophecy articles have included Biblical and historical evidence to validate the birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. As have countless other books, articles, messages, commentaries, and the testimony of millions of believers the world over—including thousands upon thousands of Messianic Jews and their life-changing, destiny-altering personal decision to believe and receive Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord and Savior.

As clearly reflected in some Eye of Prophecy articles, my love and passion for Israel—the Jewish people’s physical return to their God-given land and their soon-to-be nation-wide spiritual restoration to their Lord when they fully recognize and acknowledge Jesus as Messiah— constrains me to express this compassion by sharing the truth of the source of their salvation.

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:5-6, italics for emphasis).

Listen to the writer of Hebrews (New Testament) who quotes Jeremiah’s prophecy of this New Covenant when he contrasts the Old Covenant with the New; thus providing a reason for this more excellent Covenant:

“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said:

‘The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors … They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel … I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, I will be their God, and they will be my people’” (Hebrews 8:6-10, italics for emphasis; see Jeremiah 31:31-34).

At God’s appointed time (just the right time in history) Messiah came to this earth as the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world. At just the right time, Messiah Jesus will return to this earth as the Lion from the tribe of Judah to make all things right on this weary, war-torn, terror-filled earth.

But Yeshua HaMashiach (Messiah Jesus) will come when he and God the Father chooses … when least expected, with the day and hour known by no one until it happens (Matthew 24 & 25).

Misdirected Enthusiasm

I fully realize and sincerely appreciate the fervor that many Jews have toward God, particularly the observant among them and especially concerning the Messiah. But as the Apostle Paul said to the believers in Rome, both Jew and Gentile:

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God” (Romans 10:1-4).

It is no different today, with millions of God’s chosen people, the Jews, still holding onto good deeds, righteous conduct, and tradition after tradition to gain favor with God, and to hopefully be accepted by the Lord into and throughout eternity. To the tragic point that their traditions, especially the Rabbinical rulings or decisions (often with disagreements among rabbis, themselves), become more dominant and decisive than Scripture, itself.

Jesus recognized this and bluntly told the Jewish religious leaders in words of what we would call, in today’s jargon, tough love. We know Jesus loved his people more than we can imagine; not only because of what he constantly said (words of love and life) and did (miracles of healing and helping) but most of all because he died for them to save them from their sins.

Said Jesus: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition … You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own traditions” (Mark 7:6-9). Jesus then provided an example of how the Pharisees and Sadducees and teachers of the law didn’t even keep the law of honoring their father and mother.

By quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus was also referring to our central passage from Deuteronomy Chapter 30 regarding God’s primary message to his people—forgiveness and righteousness is graciously given if they would only choose to trust the Lord … choosing life over death. For to trust is to listen and obey. Moreover this message had been freely and generously extended to them from heaven and could be readily understood in their hearts and expressed with their lips.

Returning to Romans Chapter 10, the Apostle Paul makes the same connection when he continues:

“For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, ‘Don’t say in your heart, Who will go up to heaven (to bring Christ down to earth)’ … In fact, it says, ‘The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.’

“And that message is the very message about faith that we preach. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved … Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:5-13, quoting Joel 2:32).

This is what the New Covenant, the Good News of the Gospel, is all about. Faith, not works. Trust in God’s Word which is revealed in both Old and New Testaments (Covenants), not traditions. We can joyfully celebrate (remember) traditions such as Sukkot (Festival of Shelters) but we are not to trust in them for salvation … being made right with God. Any more than Abraham was made right with God hundreds of years before the Law was given, by anything other than believing and trusting in the Lord God.

Of anyone, the Apostle Paul would know. Before his amazing life-changing and destiny-altering encounter with the Risen Messiah (Jesus), Paul says about himself:

“…I want you to understand that the gospel I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles…” (Galatians 1:11-16).

Like the Apostle Paul, and hopefully as much like my Messiah and Savior Jesus as possible, I, too, have a deep concern for Israel’s physical and spiritual restoration, and share their great expectation for Messiah’s arrival. Which is why I write so much about Israel’s miraculous rebirth and other remarkable events that unmistakably point to the imminent return of Messiah.

That they would as Jesus said: “So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation (redemption) is near!” (Luke 21:28). Indeed, many Jews—Orthodox, Reformed, Conservative, and Liberal—are eagerly looking for their redemption. But, adapting from the words of the song, “They’re looking in all the wrong places.” If only they would look to their own prophets (Scriptures) and to the New Covenant (Testament); they would find their Messiah, who is Yeshua … The Son of David, The Son of Man, and the Son of God.

But there are times like today’s Eye of Prophecy post, that I’m also compelled to challenge rabbinical traditions substituting for or taking precedence over the Bible, as well as misuse of Scripture itself. We find both of these occurring in this misguided rationale for the ruling based on the equally erroneous supposition that God’s Torah message to his people was tantamount to God relinquishing (heavenly) authority to the earthly court; which, in turn, mandates God’s compliance with such rulings.

I’m sure the Rabbis have the utmost respect for God. That they did not willfully intend to usurp God’s divine authority by telling him that it is time for Messiah to appear, especially or exclusively because (they think) such authority was given them to make such a ruling. Rather, they mistakenly reverted back to an axiom that was inaccurate in the first place, much like the one the Roman Catholic Church has copied/borrowed from Judaism: that the religious hierarchy is empowered to issue decrees and rulings that directly or indirectly contradict Scripture. That traditions created and added by Jewish religious leaders (elite) and later the Roman Catholic clergy (Vatican) supersede even the Bible itself.

Neither Deuteronomy Chapter 30 nor any of the Torah conveys that kind of authority at all. It’s just the opposite. It’s everyone’s responsibility—including (especially) those in authority—to listen, to comply, to respond, to make a decision whether to trust and obey God or not … to choose life or death. To opt for blessings or curses. And this mostly certainly means replacing the Old Covenant with the New; because God, himself, as already done that through none other than the Messiah.

Bring in the New

Now that the Old Covenant has been exchanged for the New Covenant, that Grace has replaced Law, to exercise the choice of believing in a Messiah who has already arrived; thereby, choosing God’s eternal pardon for their sins and assurance of live everlasting with the Lord and the host of heaven.

Do I and millions of other believers ardently anticipate the imminent return of Messiah Jesus to establish his glorious kingdom of righteousness, justice and peace (Shalom)? Indeed, we do; but only because of what the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, tells us. Not because of an Orthodox Jewish ruling that requires God to act accordingly.

Yet out of admiration for the sincere enthusiasm expressed by Jewish Rabbis and many Jews (and Gentiles), I truly hope that they are right about Messiah’s any moment (re)appearance. On the other hand, I earnestly hope and pray that they will acknowledge Yeshua as their Savior now, before it’s too late … before he returns as both King and Judge.

With respect and love for the hearts and souls of these Jewish Rabbis and for Jews everywhere, I must caution them: Be careful what you wish for. It’s true that Messiah will bring redemption to Israel; in fact, he already has done that individually … to every Jew and Gentile who places their personal trust in his once and for all atoning sacrifice on the Cross.

The national redemption spoken of in Scripture and often mentioned by observant Jews in today’s world will come at a great price, identified in Scripture as Jacob’s troubles, during the ruler’s march against Israel (Daniel 7, 9, 11, and graphically depicted by Zechariah 11 through 14). So great a salvation will be available only to those who recognize and accept the one whom they (for they are the same as their ancestors) pierced, as prophesied by Zechariah.

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died” (Zechariah 12:10).

Pay special attention to the pronouns in this remarkable prophecy. Who is speaking (“then I…”)? “I” is the same “me” whom they pierced. Messiah is speaking. This is referring to none other than Jesus of Nazareth who was nailed to a cross and “pierced” for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5, NASB).

Things to Ponder

A member of the first century Jewish Sanhedrin (religious ruling body of seventy) by the name of Nicodemus came after dark one evening to learn from the greatest Rabbi of all time. He began the meeting with these words:

“Rabbi … we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you” (John 3:2).

Jesus of Nazareth replied to Nicodemus: “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (Verse 3).

When Nicodemus asked what Jesus meant by being born-again, Jesus explained it to him. Included in this enlightenment is perhaps the most well-known verse in all of Scripture, Old or New Testament:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

This esteemed member of the powerful Sanhedrin became a believer in Jesus; because he set aside his traditions long enough to listen. He opened his eyes, ears, and heart to the written and Living Word of God, and realized that Jesus is the Messiah. This belief would be conclusively confirmed when Jesus arose from the tomb where Joseph of Arimathea, another member of the Jewish High Council, and Nicodemus had buried him.

The tomb is empty to this day!

“Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying…’” (John 11:25).

What about you?

Do you believe?

Who do you say that Jesus is?

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)

03 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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New Bodies, The Rapture

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)

Everyone wants to live forever. Both rich and poor, famous and common seek immortality. However, many think, act, and live as though this earthly life is all there will ever be. They want to experience all the pleasure, achieve all the prestige, and acquire all the possessions possible during this life; then hope that they’ve been just good enough to merit God’s favor in the hereafter. Others blindly follow false gods and the false promises of the men who made those gods to a paradise that doesn’t exist for them.

Either way, they end up ignoring or rejecting the life-giving truth proclaimed by Jesus, himself. “…whosoever believes in him will not perish (spiritual death) but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

They disregard the profound warning that Jesus issued regarding the eternal life or death consequences that a person’s belief system and life’s pursuit would bring: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mark 8:35-37).

What many don’t fully grasp is that immortality is a reality, but only on their Creator’s terms … according to God’s eternal plan for the human race. But this existence will either be Life or Death. Life in spiritual bodies equipped to live in heaven forever. Or, what Scripture calls the Second Death … eternal separation from God also in a body but one that is spiritually dead. One that is more like the Walking Dead depicted in the television program of the same name, but without the Hollywood imitative inaccuracies.

Resurrection to Life? Or, resurrection to Death? We have a choice.

In last week’s Part I article, we examined what it is that has compelled and persuaded millions of people since the first century AD to place their personal trust and destiny in Jesus Christ. Permit me to quote from that article (in italics).

We are compelled by the amazing love of God expressed in his Grace freely bestowed through the precious gift of his son, Messiah Jesus. It is the greatest gift ever given, purchased by the highest price ever paid (not our purchase with good works or self-worth, but God’s purchase), the very blood and life of Jesus Christ—the righteous for the unrighteous, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty.

We are persuaded by the very cornerstone of our belief and trust: the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man reigns from heaven and will soon return to reign on this earth … in the same glorified, spiritual body that was his when he left the grave. All other religious founders or leaders are still in their graves. But not the Lord. Our Redeemer lives!

Now let’s take an up-close and personal look at the who, what, how, and when of the mysterious, but nevertheless astounding actuality of the spiritual body. Because without this transformed body which is a new extreme make-over of our original earthly body, there’s no way that we will be equipped to live forever in heaven. Or be able to do extraordinary things on this earth during our rule and reign with the King of all kings … our Lord and Savior Messiah Jesus.

If you like, think Superman … without the kryptonite! But for a vastly superior purpose: To worship, praise, and serve the true and living God, undefiled. Without the earthly hang-ups and baggage that the very best of men and women bear daily on this weary, wicked world we live in. To fellowship and rejoice with the host of heaven in a paradise so wonderful that even the most vivid human imagination cannot envision or comprehend.

Who Will Live Forever with a Spiritual Body? (Who is Qualified?)

Scripture precisely and powerfully proclaims in dozens of passages that only those who personally believe in the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ will be saved from the penalty of their sins, which is eternal separation (death) from God. Instead, we have been freely given the awesome privilege of everlasting life with an immortal body that will surpass our highest expectations or attainable aspirations.

This Gospel is both simple and profound, easy to understand yet difficult for so many to believe; because they mistakenly think that they must do something to earn whatever kind of salvation they have imagined or have been taught by (their) religion. How much they must do or how much will be enough depends on the religion they follow.

As I have said several times in prior Eye of Prophecy articles: Christianity is not a religion. It is the only belief system which asserts that God did for the human race what it could not do for itself through good works, self-worth, or meritorious conduct. That is why it is called the Gospel, which means, Good News. Jesus Christ did it all! He perfectly fulfilled the Law of Moses, so that mankind can stop trying to earn salvation by keeping the law, which couldn’t be done in the first place. Moreover, the very essence and heart of the Christian faith is a personal relationship with God available to all those who have been restored and reconciled to God by simply believing and receiving Jesus Christ and what he accomplished on the Cross. Then confirmed by his mighty resurrection from the dead. That same resurrection will be graciously given to all who have placed their faith in Christ. The same spiritual body possessed by Messiah Jesus after he arose from the dead will be part of the believer’s eternal inheritance.

Let’s return to I Corinthians Chapter 15 and quote again Paul’s definitive summary of the Good News: “…Christ died for our sins … was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (Verses 3-4).

Yet even some believers in the Corinthian Church doubted whether there was or would be such a thing as a resurrection from the dead. Others believed in a resurrection, but only of the human spirit, not the body; in spite of the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was seen bodily, not merely as a spirit. Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after he arose. She touched him … the Bible intimates that she most likely hugged him! By very definition a spirit cannot be touched.

Jesus dispelled all doubt to his disciples (and hundreds of others) who at first couldn’t fathom that he had arisen and returned from the dead as a whole person. When Christ suddenly appeared to them behind locked doors, “…the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! ‘Why are you frightened?’ he asked. ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do’” (Luke 24:37-39).

What an absolutely stunning reality this was to the disciples!

Then he actually ate some food to further prove that he was not merely spirit. Since when do ghosts eat food?!

Thus, Paul challenges and even reprimands the Corinthians by asking: “But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either” (I Corinthians 15:12-13).

Paul continues: “And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam (born physically), everyone who belongs to Christ (born again spiritually) will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back” (I Corinthians 17-23).

Those who belong to Christ, by means of believing and receiving Him as Lord and Savior, will qualify to be part of the spectacular harvest of brand new spiritual bodies when the Lord takes his people to heaven at the Rapture.

What Is a Spiritual Body & How Is It Possible?

The Apostle Paul then goes on to pose a probing but perfunctory question; yet, it was not his own query. Instead of embarrassing the Corinthians by directly accusing them of asking such a question, Paul politely points to a hypothetical “someone.” With, however, the not so subtle inference that even some of the believers were harboring the same thoughts as non-believers, which is expressed by Paul as follows:

“But someone may ask, ‘How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?’ What a foolish question…!” (I Corinthians 15:35-36)

Let’s pause here for a moment and return to the word oxymoron, discussed in last week’s article. Which is a glaring contradiction of two terms or ideas. With the first part of the word referring to someone or something that is quite sharp … meaning (intellectually) perceptive or even brilliant. And the second part of the word denoting something or someone rather dull … more like foolish. In fact our English word moron is the second half of this word!

To some extent Paul is using such a strong word (foolish) to chide those who would pose these kind of questions, but that is not his primary purpose. Rather, he’s employing the word foolish in the oxymoronic sense. That the concept of resurrection from the dead is a profound spiritual and physical fact (as he had already demonstrated by reminding them that Christ arose from the dead); but also an obviously simple thing to grasp in case someone is not seeing the forest because of the trees.

How else will those in Christ be raised except bodily, as part of the great harvest of believers when Christ returned? What other kind of form would they have but one like the Lord’s? What was it that Christ arose from? Answer: The grave, the dead. Before he could arise, he had to die. Thus, Paul seizes the opportunity with an analogy to the most fundamental explanation of life:

“…When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish” (I Corinthians 15:36-39).

When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying clear instructions from God, death entered the world. From that point the cycle of life was only possible when the seed of all living things first died, thereby, producing life again. Until the biological seed of plants or the sperm and egg seed of animals and humans first dies, there’s no way that life can begin. And when it is born and does begin, it’s a whole new and different form of life from the original seed that died. Paul initially refers to the seed of plants because without plant life there could be no other life … birds, fish, animals, or humans.

Paul then amplifies this analogy with the example of heavenly bodies possessing their own glory, or distinct innate essence, each different from the other (Verses 40-41).

Then he drives the point home by completing the correlation.

“It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory (meaning a new and much better essence or being) … They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies” (I Corinthians 15:42-44).

*Note: Jesus used a similar comparison when he said that all who wanted to live forever in the Kingdom of God must be spiritually reborn. Just like we are born physically with our earthly body, so can and must we be born-again spiritually if we are to live forever with the Lord in heaven. (John Chapter 3).

So, Paul is saying that it’s silly to think that there is no resurrection. Didn’t Christ, himself, rise from the dead? Or, once past that point of doubt, to think that we would be raised with the same earthly body in which we were born. As a result of sin, it was all too clear that our bodies grow old, deteriorate and eventually die. And why on earth would God raise us in spirit form only; when in fact he originally created us with a spirit and body to live forever. It’s foolish to think otherwise; meaning that our eternal existence in heaven will surpass the Garden of Eden paradise given to our original parents, Adam and Eve. Furthermore, this everlasting life will be lived in and with a superbly superior body … a spiritual body!

Paul goes on to say: “Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever” (I Corinthians 15:47-50).

When Will Those in Christ Receive Their Spiritual Bodies

We already know that our earthly bodies will be transfigured into everlasting heavenly spiritual bodies at the resurrection. But when will that take place? Most believers know the answer to that question, but not necessarily all the intricate details. Though no one knows the actual day and time when Christian believers are caught up to meet Messiah Jesus, commonly called the Rapture, we can otherwise know a great deal about this magnificent event. (Please refer to the first five articles posted on the Eye of Prophecy website in July, August of 2013, on the What, Why, When, Who, and How of the Rapture).

In the very next verse Paul discloses an astonishing revelation given to him directly from the Lord. One that he had already conveyed to the Thessalonian believers as found in I Thessalonians Chapter 4, but absent some of the details he imparts to the Corinthians.

“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (I Corinthians 15:51-53).

Now, That’s Life!! Not the short time here on the planet then we’re gone without taking anything with us life—dramatically but deceptively summarized, for example, in Frank Sinatra’s song, That’s Life, or in the song written for him by Paul Anka, I Did It My Way.

You might want to check out the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, To Be or Not to Be … in Heaven. Posted 11-1-14.

Things to Ponder

By and large, Scripture doesn’t elaborate on the new glorified spiritual bodies that believers in Christ will possess when the dead in Christ are raised from the dead and those alive will also be transformed and immediately follow them. Suffice to say, our spiritual bodies will far exceed anything we could imagine. Neither, however, does the Bible leave us clueless.

There is a general overview and reliable supposition that we can make about our glorified bodies: They will be multi-dimensional. How many more dimensions than we currently have is unknown for now.

But here are a few of the distinguishing characteristics:

Physical Barriers Are No Problem

We’ve already touched on this earlier in the article … Luke Chapter 24. That account is also recorded in John’s Gospel. Even after they had been told that the Lord had arisen, his disciples were still in hiding from the Jewish leaders—meeting behind closed and locked doors.

“…Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side…” (John 20:19-20). Jesus didn’t knock or break down the door. He was just there! Picture entering the famous Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico without going through or down the entrance shaft.

Time and Space Are No Barriers

Remember Jesus walking with the two men on the road to Emmaus, after his resurrection. He verbally took them through all the prophetic Scriptures that spoke of him as the Messiah, then agreed to go to their home to eat dinner with them. Jesus, “…took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them … And at that moment he disappeared!” (Luke 24:30-31).

One minute he was there and the next second he was gone! Gone, as in abruptly vanishing. How long it took him to get to his next destination is not known. But a spiritual educated guess tells us it was fast, very fast. Perhaps we will be able to travel at the speed of sound, or light, or even thought.

Eating, Drinking (Presumably Sleeping) Will Still Be Possible, but Optional

Notice in the account we just looked at with the two followers of Jesus that Jesus chose not to eat. He blessed the bread, gave it to the two men, and disappeared. The very evident implication in this scene is that the seven-mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus followed by the time spent at the house preparing dinner and whatever else occurred would have taken several hours. The men were hungry and so could have been the Lord. But he chose not to eat most likely because he didn’t need to.

On the other hand, he ate with his disciples in the account later in Luke Chapter 24. Our spiritual bodies will be such that eating, drinking, and probably sleeping will be optional. With exception that we will periodically partake of the water of life and tree of life in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22). Thus, we will have the pleasure of eating … who doesn’t want or like to eat! On the other hand, there are times when we just don’t want to take the trouble to eat. We will eat when we want to; won’t eat when we don’t want to!

Gravity Does Not Affect the Spiritual Body, Either in a Positive or Negative Way

“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider (Jesus) was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses” (Revelation 19:11, 14).

During the final epic battle of Armageddon, believers will follow our Lord directly from heaven; with the obvious conclusion that it will be from the sky above to the earth below, all the while riding white horses. Included in all the glorious features our spiritual bodies will possess, gravity will have no power over us. Suspended animation? Any time or place we choose.

Flying fast or flying slow. Look out earth, away we go!

Please, take a few more minutes and listen to this beautiful and powerful song by Nicole Mullen. My Redeemer Lives

http://www.godvine.com/Uplifting-Video-My-Redeemer-Lives-by-Nicole-C-Mullen-590.html

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part I)

26 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Messiah Jesus, Resurrection

Spiritual Bodies, Mutually Exclusive Words?

What in the world is a spiritual body? Is there such a thing? At face value, these two words compared, contrasted, and simply put side by side are mutually exclusive. Absent a Biblical definition and explanation, they are a contradiction of terms. A human body plus a human spirit equal a human being. Right? Of course, right! But a body that is a spirit or a spirit that is a body (spiritual body) just doesn’t compute. Spiritual body is a striking example of that odd but also ordinary word, Oxymoron.

Webster’s dictionary tells us that oxymoron comes from two Greek words: Oxys, meaning sharp or keen. Plus, moros, which means foolish. The resulting definition from Webster’s Dictionary: “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness).”

In other words, what otherwise keenly intelligent person would foolishly identify someone as cruelly kind? But when it comes to things spiritual such as what God accomplished through his amazing grace and kindness when Jesus Christ willingly died on that cruel cross, Scripture tells us: “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18).

Referring again to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul states: “It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:22-24).

What exactly is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And how does that relate to or explain whether there is or can be such a thing as a spiritual body? Not the human body that houses the human spirit, one in which the spirit is separated from the body at death; rather an indivisible union of spirit and body in which the two distinct entities are inseparably one essence. So much so that it takes two words to describe this phenomenon … spiritual body.

Let’s continue in I Corinthians where we will find one of the most basic and precise descriptions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. The Apostle Paul writes:

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

First, a brief comment on, “just as the Scriptures said.” There are several things that distinguish the Bible and Christianity from man-made religions in the world, but three that irrefutably confirm that the Bible is the Word of the true and living God; therefore, that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation, i.e. being made right with God.

Hundreds of prophecies that have come to pass. No other religion or so-called sacred texts have such eschatological proof to back up their claims. In fact, they make few, if any, predictions about the future because they know their god or gods or prophets cannot make them come to pass.
Numerous supernatural miracles performed by God, Messiah Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles.
Above all, Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. “…and he was raised from the dead on the third day…”

Resurrection from the Grave … That’s What It Is All About!

Just a few days before he would lay down his life as a ransom for our sins, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Shortly before that he explained to his disciples, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” (John 12:23-25).

The Apostle Paul used this same analogy of a seed dying only to produce new life. That this renewed life will, in turn, produce the oxymoron marvel of spiritual bodies.

Jesus declared to Martha (and the whole world): “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:25-26).

Just minutes after Messiah Jesus made this remarkable claim about himself, he raised Martha and Mary’s brother, Lazarus, from the dead! But notice that Jesus asked Martha if she believed that he was (I AM) life itself—the author and essence of life and life everlasting—as well as the very source of (bodily) resurrection before he raised Lazarus from the grave. Would she, could she believe on the basis of what Jesus had said and done up to this point in time—his claims of being Messiah, Son of God, and his mighty miracles to demonstrate that he was who he said he was—that he could do something about the tragic untimely death of her brother? Both Martha and Mary firmly believed that Jesus could have healed Lazarus before he died. But the Lord didn’t and Lazarus died.

Even before that, Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” With Martha’s response conveying what some Jews believed, “Yes … he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day” (John 11:23-24). However, many Jews and most Gentiles, especially the Greeks and Jewish Sadducees, did not believe in a bodily resurrection; if there was a resurrection, it would only be the human spirit. This, despite the fact that Job long before had recognized this astonishing truth: “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives; and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!” (Job 19:25-26).

Then Jesus raised Lazarus right then and there to prove two primary things to Mary, Martha, and the watching world: (1) I love you and Lazarus, and I’m bringing him back to you and to me. (2) I will prove to you and to everyone that I have the power over life and death.

This mighty and moving demonstration of resurrection by the Lord was a real-life application experience of the dramatic doctrinal truth of John 3:16. As a result, “Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen” (John 11:45).

Lazarus and the little girl raised by Jesus, as well as each boy raised by the prophets Elijah and Elisha, were prototypes, because each of those raised from the dead had to die again. They were primarily proof that there can be and will be a resurrection from the dead. When Jesus told Martha that he was the resurrection and the life, he was looking ahead to his own (special) resurrection; followed by a great resurrection harvest of all who believed in him. But Jesus was referring to the immortal, incorruptible spiritual body that the Apostle Paul would further explain to believers in I Corinthians Chapter 15.

Just a few days later Jesus proved beyond doubt that he was the Son of God and the reality of the eternal spiritual body resurrection by being the first to rise from the dead with a glorified body—the very body that he now has and forever will have. And though he was the first and the greatest to be given such a body, he has promised that all those who believe and receive him as personal Savior and Redeemer will also be given such a glorified spiritual body.

Not a body that contains a spirit, but a body that is spirit!

That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “…The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him” (John 13:31). Glory in Scripture means the very essence of whom or what is being described, i.e. the glory of God and a glorified body.

The Power of the Gospel

What is it that has compelled and persuaded me and millions of people down through the ages, including some who are reading this article, to believe and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Thereby, staking our eternal destiny on this faith and the object of our faith which convinces us that God can be trusted to save us from our sins and from the Tribulation to come, and give us eternal life through His Son.

It is a historical fact that Jesus Christ arose from the dead. Returning to our passage in I Corinthians Chapter 15, immediately after Paul encapsulates the good news of salvation into the simple truth of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, he affirms: “He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time … Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him” (Verses 5-8).

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people for so long have denied the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or are essentially indifferent to it. Most of those who deny or seriously doubt it do so for two main reasons: (1) they don’t believe or don’t want to believe the authenticity of the Bible. (2) They simply don’t want to accept the clear evidence as it doesn’t fit with what they want out of life. Which was emphatically expressed by Jesus in a verse quoted earlier: Those who love their life in this world will lose it.

Time and space does not permit an in-depth validation of the reliability of the Bible in this article. Except to say that as important as the Bible is to eternal doctrinal truth of mankind’s lost and sinful condition and God’s majestic plan of salvation for the human race, these truths are interwoven into and throughout an incredibly meticulous historical account of individuals, nations, places, times, and events. Both religious and secular scholars who are truly objective consider the Bible to be even more historically reliable than many secular historians. There are thousands more complete or partial manuscripts of the books of the Bible than the closest number of manuscripts to it, which is Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, both of which are fiction.

In other words, if someone is going to deny or even seriously question the historical fact that Jesus arose from the grave, as confirmed by hundreds of witnesses who saw him sometime during the forty days after his resurrection (before his ascension back to heaven), then they should also reject any and all secular historical accounts of, for example, the life and times of Augustus Caesar. Once again: Although the Bible is indeed a book of faith, it is much more than that. It is a historically reliable account of people, places, and events that provide an authentic backdrop of God’s interaction with the human race from the first Adam to the last Adam and beyond.

Then there are those who acknowledge the fact or at least the possibility that Christ arose from the dead but who are nonetheless indifferent to his resurrection. That is particularly true of 20^th & 21^st century folks. It’s like, “that’s nice, even pretty impressive, but what does it have to do with me?”

Well, if Jesus, himself, said it has everything to do with every person on this earth, might that not be a strong clue to listen up and take what he said and did to heart. As indicated earlier, when Jesus asked Martha, he asked everyone, “Do you believe this…” Believe what? Believe what Jesus had just told Martha and every person on this planet: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Don’t miss next week’s Part II article when we’ll do some in-depth examination of the Spiritual Body.

Things to Ponder

Shortly after Jesus had fed a multitude of thousands with just five barley loaves and two fish, some in the crowd said, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” (John 6:28).

Jesus didn’t give them a long list of religious requirements or do-good philosophies, because he knew they couldn’t keep the Law of Moses, nor does the law or good works bring salvation in the first place. Thus, his answer was simple. Only one thing is required:

“This is the only work God wants from you. Believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29).

That’s it, that’s all, you might say.

Yes, that’s all.

The Philippian jailor pleaded with the Apostle Paul and Silas who had just prevented the jailor from committing suicide. The jailor asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…” Acts 16:30-31).

As the Apostle John said in one of his epistles, “And this is what God has testified. He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life” (I John 5:11-12).

Do you believe this?

Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation

06 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Casualties of War

Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation

Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Color. This was the title of a newly televised two-part, four-hour documentary shown this past Sunday on the History Channel 2. Around ten thousand photographs were taken by photo journalists during the greatest struggle our nation has ever faced—one that pitted Americans against Americans, brother against brother, father against son. Considering that photography had only been around for about twenty years, the sheer number of photos was an amazing accomplishment. As reflected in the title, one of the main features of the film was a digital conversion from black and white to color prints.

This well-made and skillfully interview-narrated documentary displayed dozens, if not hundreds, of photographs, many of which had never been shown before. Most of them had been colorized to enhance what were already high quality photographs. The clarity of many photographs was stunning—pictures of ordinary citizens, of slaves, of Union and Confederate soldiers, officers, and generals. Of President Abraham Lincoln. And, yes, of death and destruction as graphically portrayed with the corpses of soldiers that littered the battlefields and with the rubble of southern cities.

In terms of sheer numbers, the Civil War eclipsed all past and future American wars. With a total of some 620,000 Americans killed (some estimates go as high as 700,000), the death toll exceeded the combined total of Americans killed in World War I & II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.

Which leads us to the next phase of this article: The abysmal number of casualties suffered by the human race during wartime in just the last one hundred years. We won’t even include regional wars or any number of sectarian or ethnic conflicts before, during, or after World War I and II, such as the Ottoman Turk onslaught against the Armenians, the Korean War, Bosnia-Serbia, or Vietnam (including the French Indochina war before that).

World War I was nicknamed, The Great War. For two primary reasons: (1) it truly was the First World War, involving multiple nations that formed two main coalitions, one against the other. Never in the history of mankind had such a war been waged with such modern and massive weaponry, with unequaled destruction and cruelty, including the use of poisonous gas. (2) The atrocious death toll: A total of nearly 17,000,000 deaths, military and civilian … in just 4-5 years of fighting. Unheard of … an impossible number to consider (at the time).

It was also labeled, The War to End All Wars; because it was simply inconceivable that the nature of man would ever again harbor such hatred, let alone express (act on) this hostility knowing what another world-wide war could do to the human race. The staggering loss of life and ongoing suffering of millions more wounded would preempt any notion of another world war. The League of Nations was formed to ensure that this was the War to End All Wars.

Alas! Apart from God and his salvation, the human race doesn’t grasp nor really wants to come to terms with just how evil people can be. “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The answer to that question is all too experientially evident … meaning it’s bad. Some worse than others, but bad is bad. Which is why there will never, I repeat sadly—never be peace on this earth until the Prince of Peace returns to make all things right.

Incomprehensibly, in less than thirty years, another World War began and ended, with unimaginable bloodshed. Moreover, the ultimate conclusion to this war was apocalyptic in scope … the atomic bomb. The results of Japanese casualties in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, indeed, horrific, but all the experts agree: Not only would American casualties have been extraordinarily high (hundreds of thousands) but also the Japanese would have suffered even more deaths and injuries from protracted American assaults on the shores of Japan.

Some Sobering Statistics

Heads of state and people the world over were appalled at the shocking scale of fatalities and injuries inflicted during the Great War. Yet, the deplorable death and repulsive ruin of the First World War pale in comparison to World War II. Though the numbers vary, a fairly reliable figure places the total number of dead at 72,468,900. Let’s write this out and read it that way: Seventy-two million, four hundred sixty-eight thousand, and nine hundred.

Absolutely staggering! That’s over four times the number of dead in The War to End All Wars. It borders on the unbelievable. The number exceeds the population of most nations of the earth. As gut-wrenching as it was to lose nearly 405,000 Americans in this devastating war, that was only slightly more than 1/2 of 1% of the total fatality count.

It wasn’t just the stunning scope of World War II compared to the First World War; it was also the detestable increase in civilian casualties that shocked the sensibility and scarred the psyche of the whole world. It doesn’t matter that reasons can be provided for such carnage. For example: indiscriminate bombing by the Axis powers, carpet bombing by the Allies, slaughter of a vast number of Chinese civilians by the Japanese, and, of course, the horrendous extermination of some 11,000,000 non-combatants by the Nazis, six million of whom were Jews.

Of the approximate 17 million killed in the First World War, only 5% were civilians. The ugly fact of WWII is that civilians comprised 67% of the 72+ million killed. With regard to the Axis powers, particularly Germany and Japan, killing of civilians was often deliberate, disgraceful, dreadful, and depraved (diabolical if you will) and was sometimes done after they conquered a territory, or nation, or ethnic group. With respect to the Allied nations, civilian casualties were mostly inadvertent because the enemy had refused to surrender even when it became clear that neither Germany nor Japan could win the war. War is war, and War is Hell, but the treatment of enemy civilians partly defines the difference between waging war justly and unjustly. Still, the loss of so many civilians was poignantly tragic in the Second World War.

Though hundreds of thousands all over the earth have been killed in subsequent wars and sectarian conflicts, and (ever so sadly) millions more by political purges, such as Russians killed by Stalin and Chinese by Mao tse-tung; it’s highly unlikely that the overwhelming figures of World War II will ever be repeated.

That is, until the Great Tribulation.

Incredibly, not just repeated, but exceeded in numbers that are mind-bending. Numbers that we simply cannot wrap our minds around. Numbers so great that they are indigestible … mentally, emotionally, and physically. The enormity of which could/should make us sick to our stomach. Not unlike the author of Revelation, John, who savored the pleasant taste of the scroll in his mouth, but which turned sour in his stomach while digesting it. (Revelation Chapter 10). This occurred with one Trumpet and all seven Bowl judgments still remaining. The scroll tasted good because it represented God’s final plan to eliminate all war and evil, a plan that was approaching its awesome conclusion and fulfillment. But the scroll was bitter to digest because of the countless number of deaths and extreme desolation still to come.

Just how bad will it be? “For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:21-22).

These are the words of Messiah Jesus, himself. And there’s no exaggeration for effect in his ominous apocalyptic warning. Through (world) war, famine, natural disasters, and disease, Jesus is saying the entire human race would cease to exist unless God directly intervenes. Further, this intervention is specifically on behalf of the chosen ones … Israel and the Jews. Not the Church, as all born-again believers will have already been taken from this earth in the glorious event of the Rapture. Let’s look at another passage (of many) in which the Lord announces to Israel and the whole world what to expect when the end of this age is upon us:

“Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm. Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!” (Isaiah 51:4-6, italics for emphasis).

Notice how sweeping and all-encompassing this magnificent prophecy is. It includes God’s judgment on the nations, but also salvation and mercy. It entails devastation on the earth, but also God’s righteous rule (of peace and justice) that will never end. And this Kingdom of Heaven, this Kingdom of God on earth will be centered in a New Jerusalem, on a New Earth, with New Heavens above (See Revelation 21:1)!

But in keeping with the theme of this article, most of all notice the italicized words of this passage: The people of the earth will die like flies. That is as graphic and ghastly as it can get. When God, himself, uses such strong words to depict the dreadful death and wreckage taking place in the Great Tribulation, all of us—both believers and unbelievers—would do well to listen. For believers to warn unbelievers, but in love and humility. For unbelievers to heed these warnings as they are from the true and living God. Time and time again throughout Scripture and throughout history, we see Bible prophecy coming to pass. What God says he will do, he does. What he says will happen, happens.

The Mind-Numbing Numbers

There are approximately 7.3 billion people on the planet. This number doesn’t escape my attention, nor should it elude your interest. Why? Because seven is an extraordinarily significant number in Scripture … in God’s creation of the world, interaction with mankind, and especially in the (soon-to-come) awesome Day of the Lord, that commences with the Rapture, then the Great Tribulation.

In fact, the seven plus three-tenths (7.3) adds additional impact, as the number three is also a substantially important divine number.

If the Rapture were to occur today, it’s entirely feasible that one out of every seven people on the earth would be taken … again, in deference to the divine implication and consequential meaning of the number seven. I realize this is speculation (1 of 7), but it’s what we might consider as sanctified or spiritual speculation! It’s not just some off-the-wall unreasonable conjecture.

This would include children of believers under the age of innocence. If you haven’t yet (or if you have, to refresh your memory), I would encourage you to read the first five articles published in the Eye of Prophecy website nearly two years ago, on the What, Why, When, Who, and How of the Rapture. That some children will be taken and some children will be left behind at the Rapture, the fourth article on the Who of the Rapture will provide more Scripture, rationale, and commentary to support this premise.

Let’s do the math: 14.3% (1 in 7) x 7.3 billion =s 1.04 billion, or 1 billion, 40 million. (A little over one billion).

Thus, 6.3 billion people would be left behind. But one billion people who were suddenly gone is a substantial number, certainly enough to create instant confusion, chaos, and consternation throughout the entire earth.

But this is only the beginning. Let’s turn to book of Revelation which provides some facts and figures that are infinitely incomprehensible. They defy the definable; they annul the ascertainable; they cancel the conceivable.

Who among us has not heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? They are a symbolic representation of the horrible reality that the earth will experience soon after the Rapture. They are the first four of the seven seals broken by Messiah Jesus early in the seven-year Tribulation. When Christ breaks the seals, it is effectively a release (God’s permission for this great time of anguish to begin) of the nations of the earth to begin what will be World War III, culminating in the greatest and most decisive battle of all time … Armageddon.

In order, the four horses and their riders represent Conquest (beginning with peace, but the kind of cold-war peace (in our time ) that erupted in World War II, e.g. Chamberlain’s pathetic agreement with Hitler; War & great slaughter; Famine of epic proportions; Death itself from any and all sources that cause people to die in large numbers. Here is the gruesome result: “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal … I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals” (Revelation 6:7-8, italics for emphasis).

This fourth horse and rider represent Death and the Grave, which is a composite result of the first three horseman accomplishing their horrifying agendas … massive death by war, famine, disease, and even by the animal kingdom. What is the sickening consequence? One-fourth of the world’s population will die.

Once again, let’s do the (awful) calculations: 25% x 6.3 billion people =s 1.6 billion (rounded off) dead on this planet. Which leaves roughly 4.7 billion survivors. Thus, in all likelihood, more people will die in a relatively short time than the number taken in the Rapture.

Although we’re certainly beyond the beginning phase of the Great Tribulation, it’s far from over. Let’s examine the next huge loss of life which is from a different source of terror, with the four horsemen depicting death and destruction at the hands of man, himself.

“And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.’ Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops” (Revelation 9:14-16, italics for emphasis).

Time/space does not permit in this article, except to say that I and several other Bible prophecy scholars firmly believe that these “mounted troops” (which is a natural expression to describe what are otherwise supernatural beings) are fallen angels or demons—as they are led by four angels who had been restrained and then released just for this purpose, at a very specific time during the Great Tribulation. How ironic that there are four of these evil angels, to rival the number of the four horsemen, which represent men and nations. In other words, demonic angels—those who are part of Satan’s rebellious kingdom—themselves will be released and given permission by God to wreak havoc and death on the earth. How many will they kill?

One-Third! This is a higher percentage than died during the oppressive onslaught of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Again, we must bite the bullet and do the cruel computations. Recall that there were about 4.7 billion left on the earth after the first four seal judgments. Thus, 1/3 x 4.7 billion =s 1.6 billion killed. The demonic army killed a higher percentage than the four horsemen killed, however, the same number died, 1.6 billion (rounded off); but only because there were fewer people left on earth when the demonic hordes began their killing spree.

How many people are left? Simple, but literal subtraction of these alarming figures shows us that there are now only 3.1 billion souls left on planet earth. That’s less than half of the world’s remaining population (6.3 billion) after the Rapture takes place: 49.2% to be exact.

The numbers are utterly shocking: 50.8 % of the earth’s population (3.2 billion) from virtually every nation on earth, dying in just these four seal and one trumpet calamities. I don’t know about you, but I simply cannot process those numbers, either emotionally or mentally. If you think you can grasp these numbers, then stretch your imagination with the domino phenomenon. First locate, then line up and lean three billion, two-hundred million dominos one against another, and see how long the line is. Hint: Think circumference of the earth at the Equator which is 24,901.5 miles. Then push the first one and see how long it takes for all of them to fall.

Or test your cognitive capability, your endurance, and your patience by counting to 3.2 billion. How long before you give up? Or if you don’t give up counting, how long would it take you counting one number per second? If my math is correct, I’ll tell you how long: Too long! Seriously, it would literally take (more than) a lifetime: 102 years to be exact! Does that help to better understand 3.2 billion? And, we’re talking about people, not dominoes or dollars or seconds. What a titanic tragedy the Tribulation will be.

But They Would Not Repent

But it’s not by any means over yet. Remember, there are three more seal judgments, six more trumpets, and all seven bowl judgments in which more people will perish. Millions of tribulation saints will be killed by Antichrist and his followers. Hundreds of millions of unbelievers (and other believing tribulation saints) will succumb from the supernatural and natural catastrophes which God will inflict on a violent and wicked generation of earth’s inhabitants.

Beginning with “a great earthquake” which causes the sun to become, “…as dark as black cloth, and the moon … red as blood … the sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places” (Revelation 6:12-14).

At this point, earth’s inhabitants, from the greatest to the least, will at least recognize that God, himself, has begun to administer divine justice. Here’s what is said by the “kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person,” after experiencing the sixth seal that was just quoted, which is the first judgment directly from God: “And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive’” (Revelation 6:15-17).

Does this acknowledgment of Divine sovereignty lead to global repentance (a change of mind and heart regarding God)? Not even close. Obviously some will believe and choose the true Messiah throughout the Tribulation period, but most will not. Let’s return to the sixth trumpet judgment, in which the demonic horde led by the four evil angels kills some 1.6 billion people. All seven seals had been broken and five trumpet judgments had already taken place. By this time, you would think that the vast majority of survivors would willingly and desperately turn to God and His Messiah.

Although many the world over will have conceded the reality that God is now releasing his righteous wrath on the world’s wickedness, both directly and indirectly by granting authority to Satan to unleash his forces, they continue to defy their only source of salvation. Here’s the hard-hearted reaction by most of the world: “But the people who did not die in these plagues (caused by the 200 million demons) still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons … And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

Astonishing! Does that tell you how incredibly foolish (stubborn) people can really be and get. In the face of overwhelming evidence of who is God and who is not, they loved their perverted lifestyle and pleasures more than everlasting life in heaven. One more trumpet judgment and four more (of the seven) bowl judgments later, we see the same obstinacy that is every bit as hard-hearted as Pharaoh who thumbed his nose at God until it was far too late.

“Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory” (Revelation 16:8-9). This is the ultimate solar flare!

Astounding! Not only do they not say, “Okay, Lord, we’ve had enough. We’re sorry. Please spare and save us.” Now they actually begin cursing God.

The Grand Finale

Although all of the apocalyptic events allowed or caused by God are exceptional, none more so than the final earth-shattering demonstration of God’s power. Every time I read it, I shake my head in disbelief. I repeat the words, but they still do not compute. My imagination lags far behind the stunning reality of it all. A comparative image comes to mind; however, I realize that it is a fully inadequate analogy. I’ll mention it anyway—in order to gain a partial perspective and picture of how the final bowl judgment of God will surpass of all the catastrophes preceding it. The imagery that comes to mind is that of a lengthy fire-works display that culminates in the greatest, most magnificent grand finale ever seen. But the resemblance is similar only in form, certainly not in substance. Here is God’s final Tribulation judgment:

“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple saying, ‘It is finished!’ Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth. The great city of Babylon (Rome) split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble … And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm” (Revelation 16:17-21).

Once again, absolutely incredible! Not just cities all over the earth crumbling into rubble, or every single island—think of the Hawaiian Islands—completely disappearing (giant tsunamis that not only inundate but sink the islands), and all of the earth’s mountains flattened into level plains. No, that isn’t what causes the unrepentant who are left on the earth to curse God once again. It was the giant hailstones that obviously were even more devastating than the other colossal calamities. The disaster depicted in the recently released movie, San Andreas, is nothing more than a tiny dot on a Seismograph compared to this unbelievably powerful world-wide earthquake, its aftermath, and the hailstorm to follow in this final and most fearsome judgment of all.

Deferring again to the number seven: It’s entirely plausible that only one billion people will be left on planet earth by the time the Tribulation comes to an end. That was the population of the earth in the year 1800. In the year 1900, the world’s population was 1.6 billion. Where have we seen that number before? That’s right: the 1.6 billion killed by the Four Horseman or the 1.6 billion by the demonic army—each would have wiped out the population of the world in 1900. It would be like preparing for the Tribulation by lining six people up at a time, and telling them, “Sorry, but five of you are not going to make it.” (Starting with 6.3 billion after the Rapture)

Wouldn’t a reasonable conclusion be: If you’re going to die (or live), then why not die (or live) for Christ, instead of Antichrist or yourself? One leads to everlasting life, the other to eternal death.

Things to Ponder

How does anyone process these unfathomable events, these astronomical numbers? You don’t. You can’t, not really. Both emotionally and mentally, they are too vast to contemplate. But that doesn’t mean we should dismiss the totality and enormity of what Scripture is telling us.

“It is finished.” These were the very words of Jesus, the Lamb of God, as he died on that old rugged Cross. These words meant that God had finished pouring out his wrath on his beloved Son, who died in our place for all the wrong things we’ve done. To pay and satisfy the debt for our sin by setting aside God’s verdict of guilty which is: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).

As we have seen, these same words will be spoken from the throne of heaven (I’m sure by Messiah Jesus, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the King of all kings) as God finishes pouring out his wrath on those who belong to the world; those who reject God’s pardon by refusing to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. That is the way of it. That is true justice.

“And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just’” (Revelation 16:7).

It really is quite simple. Don’t wait until it’s too late … when you meet Christ as your judge. Meet him now as your Savior!

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, italics for emphasis).

“The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9, NASB, italics for emphasis).

Repentance means to change one’s mind about God and say, yes, to God’s invitation and promise: “…Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…” (Acts 16:31).

The Seven Year Treaty

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Palestinian State, Temple Mount

The Seven Year Treaty

Just a few days ago, United States Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, who along with Secretary of State John Kerry has participated in negotiations with Iran over nuclear issues, warned Israel that abandonment of the two-state solution in Israel would complicate America’s traditional support of Israel in the United Nations.

This was nothing more than a regurgitation of what President Obama and John Kerry said in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement shortly after he was reelected. A summary of the Prime Minister’s position on the possibility of a Palestinian State alongside (actually inside Israel’s sovereign borders) of Israel is that he couldn’t continue to pursue such a “solution” because neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas had budged an inch in their refusal to recognize Israel as a sovereign Jewish State.

Ms. Sherman qualified her comments by noting that the US Administration would withhold a final decision. She said: “We will be watching very closely to see what happens after a new government in Israel is formed on this issue of working towards two states living side by side in peace and security.”

According to Netanyahu, it simply isn’t feasible (at this point in time) to resume negotiations with the Palestinians, as they still maintain an avowed duty to reclaim a land that was never their land in the first place. They don’t really want peace in Israel, they want a piece of Israel … a piece here, a piece there; or, preferably, the entire State of Israel dismantled and the Jews destroyed or at least driven from the land. In some Eye of Prophecy articles, I have partially addressed this matter of a two-state solution and who the land actually belongs to. But in the article entitled, A Palestinian State? (No, say many Arabs), published 1-11-14, I dealt with it more extensively, particularly from the viewpoint of the Palestinians.

Here are a couple of excerpts from that article:

Why would so many Arabs NOT want a Palestinian State? Isn’t that what all Arabs long for in Israel? Isn’t that the reason for past terrorist attacks on Israeli Jews? Or, the incessant demands by the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas and its rival counterpart Hamas in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian rights? Or the greater majority of world opinion to end so-called Israeli settlement occupation of certain territories within Israel?

There are several divisive issues and obstacles to a peace accord between Arabs and Jews in Israel, including an independent Palestinian State within Israeli borders. But none more so than the question of Israeli control of Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley for national security reasons. And then for religious and political reasons—exclusive control of East Jerusalem by the Arabs which would, for all practical purposes, mean that Jerusalem is not Israel’s capital.

And as Palestinian journalist, Khaled Abu Toameh writes in his article for Gatestone Institute, “It was hard this week to find even one Israeli Arab who publicly supported the proposal.” Khaled goes on to say, “Arab Knesset members … do not want to wake up in the morning and discover that they are citizens of a Palestinian state. It is much easier for them to accuse Israel of racism than to admit that they do not want to be part of a Palestinian state.”

At face value that seems and sounds incredible—that Palestinians wouldn’t want to be governed by their own people. But after further review, it’s all too practical and easy to grasp. Pretty much ever since Israel became a nation, and especially since 1967 when hundreds of thousands more Arabs suddenly became citizens of Israel, those Israeli Arabs have been far better off than their Palestinian brothers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Although there’s still a lot of hostility emanating from Israeli Arabs toward Israel, they understand that Israeli citizenship affords them much more freedom, democracy, a higher standard of living, movement throughout Israel, more places to shop for and buy the things they want and need; in short, a better way of life. The last thing they want is an abruptly changed life in a Palestinian State, controlled by a Palestinian government that could just as quickly take away many of the privileges they currently enjoy as Israeli citizens.

Why a Palestinian State is Not the Solution

Not just many Israeli Arabs in Israel, but many citizens of Jordan (one of only two Muslim countries that have officially recognized Israel as a sovereign state … Egypt being the other) would pragmatically prefer Israel as the only state to its west. For you see, Jordan relies on Israel both politically and economically, as Jordan no longer trust its fellow-Arab countries. Recently a Jordanian columnist, Maher Abu Tair accused Arab countries of turning their backs on Jordan. Also, he and other Jordanians know all too well: virtually every other Arab nation has spurned the Palestinians within Israel. Actually, this has been going on for decades.

Said Tair, “This is the unfortunate reality, and those who follow events can see Jordan’s headlong rush towards Israel and the overlap of (their) political and economic interests. It is as if Jordan is saying one of two things: that all Arab doors are closed to it, or that Israel is its safest ally and the only refuge in the region. Alternatively, perhaps the former is pushing Jordan towards the latter. The naked truth is that Jordan no longer has any Arab allies, and today its only ally against the entire Arab east is Israel…”

This is absolutely astonishing! But it reinforces the undeniable practical reality of what is really taking place in Israel and the Muslim nations that surround her. Though not stated by Abu Tair, he and other knowledgeable Jordanians fully grasp the potential effect of thousands upon thousands more Palestinians who would seek refugee asylum in Jordan should a civil war break out between Muslims factions in a Palestinian State. In fact, Jordan has already absorbed thousands of Palestinians who (voluntarily … not by Jewish hands) fled to Jordan during the Independence War of 1948, the 1967 Six-Day War, or the Yom Kippur War of 1973, each of which was initiated by Arab coalitions, including Jordan itself in 1948.

For that matter, the so-called unity agreement of just a few months ago between the Palestinian Authority (Fatah) of the West Bank and Hamas (ruling authority in Gaza) has failed miserably. These two Palestinian organizations are at each other’s throat again in a heated dispute, both claiming the right to govern the Palestinians. Hamas is the more violent of the two, but both groups would use (misuse) a Palestinian State that suddenly would have sovereign boundaries to launch more terrorist’s strikes against Israelis. Moreover, the creation of a Palestinian State would require a route (highway) to connect the West Bank to the Gaza Strip right through the heart of Israel.

In actuality there would be no civil war (one that would last any length of time) between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas if there were no Palestinian State. Why? Because Israel would intervene to (1) protect its own citizens—both Jews and Arab Israelis in Israel proper; and (2) protect its settlements in the West Bank. However, if a Palestinian State was created, national borders would be drawn for such a State. Which, in turn, would exacerbate even more the hostility between Fatah and Hamas and more likely than not precipitate a civil war much like we have seen in other Muslim countries like Tunisia, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Anyone paying the slightest attention to Middle East events is aware of the bloody civil conflict between Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims in those nations.

Aleppo, Syria … Bodies Found After Water Drained

Theoretically, Israel would not be able to intervene in the affairs of a sovereign (Palestinian) State, and would be criticized even more harshly and unjustly by Muslim nations, by the European Union, and even by the United States. Any preemptive Israeli incursion into the boundaries of a Palestinian State would undoubtedly be condemned by the United Nations as an (unlawful) Act of War, with who knows what kind of repercussions.

No, it’s not the Palestinians or majority of Israelis that support a two-state remedy to the problem. And the reason is because most Arabs and Jews fully understand what the problem really is: an ancient animosity of Arabs against Jews that goes all the way back to Abraham’s sons—Ishmael and Isaac. Instead, it’s the United States, the European Union, Russia, and most Mid-Eastern nations that are feverishly working toward a “peace plan” designed to resolve an otherwise irreconcilable dilemma without truly grasping the real source of the problem, let alone the solution to that problem.

What is the underlying motive for the world’s insistence that Israel be divided into two states? Though somewhat of an oversimplification, the two fundamental reasons originate from two divergent sources:

Western Nations (primarily the EU and US): Some sort of conceited super-power desire to create a legacy of the nation or nations that successfully orchestrated peace in the Middle East.

Russia and Mid-Eastern Muslim Nations Hostile toward Israel (principally Iran but all nations other than Jordan and Egypt … for now): Their true agenda would be to usurp control of this Palestinian State (as a proxy) through massive economic and military aid. But it wouldn’t matter which nation exercised this kind of control and influence; as either Hamas or Fatah would continue to compete for supremacy (civil war), for reasons no different from those that have produced the current Mid-East civil wars, including Muslim radical groups fighting against other Islamic terrorists.

In short: Could there, will there ever be an Israeli State and a Palestinian State “living side by side in peace and security?” In my opinion based on Scripture, NO. That is: not until a spectacular occurrence that will shake the inhabitants of this earth like never before … The Rapture of true believers in Messiah Jesus. Soon after this colossal event, the reappearance of the Antichrist beast from the Abyss will stun the world to the extent that he will (easily) manipulate Israel and Muslim nations into signing a treaty.

Right now, the adversarial conditions between Israel and Muslims (including Palestinians) preclude any such pact for several geographical, political, religious, and social reasons, which will be soon explained in this article. But even if all of those disputes were somehow resolved, there is one monumental obstacle to a two-state solution. It is such a barrier that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinian Arabs (indeed, Muslims the world-over) will even place it on the table as a possible point of negotiation.

Jerusalem, a City Divided

I’m referring to Jerusalem. More specifically, what is now classified as East & West Jerusalem. Even more precisely, Temple Mount. The Palestinians demand complete control of Temple Mount and have said time and time again that East Jerusalem would be the capital of a Palestinian State. For the majority of Israelis this is unthinkable, not the least of which is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what will be his parliamentary coalition headed by the prevailing Likud party.

It was not always this way. It hasn’t been all that long since former Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert offered East Jerusalem to the Palestinians in exchange for recognition of Israel as a sovereign state (and other concessions from both sides). Each time the Palestinian Authority rejected this incredibly magnanimous offer; which, among other things, reveals their real (not so hidden) agenda of wanting all of Israel.

*Note: What part of the Muslim Palestinian (paraphrased) objective that, “We want all of Israel and will drive the Jews into the sea to get it,” doesn’t our United States President and the European Union understand!? Is the repeated menace from high-ranking Iranian officials including their Ayatollah of “Death to America, Death to Israel,” just an idle threat? Hello? I think not.

Both times, many Israelis breathed a sigh of relief that these offers were rejected by the Palestinians, as they now realize what a stupendous blunder it was to even make such an offer. In the past few years, polls in Israel have demonstrated that even liberal leaning Jews currently comprehend that Palestinian control of East Jerusalem would, in no way, guarantee peace between Arab and Jew. This is particularly true given the realization that stronger Muslim countries (like Iran and Turkey and even Egypt) would seek some measure of control (as alluded earlier in this article) over a Palestinian State, which would endanger exponentially an already volatile, even explosive situation between Jews and Palestinian Arabs.

What about the other issues separating the two sides? Well, why don’t we listen to the words of an Israeli Prime Minister named Ilan Rosen who disclosed the details of an amazingly unprecedented treaty between Israel and Palestinian Arabs (indeed, all Arab nations)!

“Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Israel, we have a treaty with the Arab coalition. The Knesset and the IDF unanimously support this magnificent achievement. I must acknowledge the splendid efforts make by all parties, especially by the European Union, and specifically by its President, Juan Iago Castilla. Mr. Castilla mediated the more difficult articles of this covenant. He proposed the most radical compromise—one that your own government did not think to introduce. Now, then, are you ready for some details?”

Six million Jews replied in unison, “Yes!”

“Number one: the State of Israel will be unequivocally recognized and accepted by all Muslim nations and by all countries involved in this treaty. This will include parties with terrorist affiliations such as Hamas.

“Number two: Israel will be granted a seat on the security council of the United Nations. Number three: With the exception of two Muslim nations, an Israeli embassy will be placed in the capitals of Arab countries. Number four: All signatories to the treaty will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”

“Impossible!” The word reverberated throughout Israel. Muslims had sworn never to accept Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. But then most had sworn never to recognize Israel.

His extended hand had no effect on the deafening shouts, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!”

“My friends, we must reciprocate. There are times when we must allow even our enemies to be right, so long as it doesn’t jeopardize our security.”

Many (in the crowd) nodded, but some frowned.

Ilan continued: “All Gaza and West Bank checkpoints will be turned over to the Palestinians. Those residents will have free passage in and through Israel, as long as they have a stated purpose. Those purposes will be worked out by the time the treaty is signed.

“An allotment of the so-called (Palestinian) refugees in various Arab nations will be allowed to return if they desire. The number will be limited to 150,000. We will leave this to the Palestinian Authority, but they will probably resettle in the vacated Israeli settlements of Gaza and the West Bank. Subject to the normal citizenship procedures, they can become citizens of Israel if they choose to do so.”

More frowns, but Ilan had expected this reaction.

“If there are no terrorists attacks, mortar launchings, or threats of military mobilization against Israel within one year of the treaty, Israel will accept and recognize a Palestinian State within our borders. And at all times, Arab citizens of Israel will have a minimum of sixteen electorates in the Knesset.

“With the exception of convicted murderers, all Palestinian, Arab, and international prisoners will be released. They must return to their homeland, be it Gaza, the West Bank, or a country outside of Israel.”

Low grumbles and loud groans permeated the crowd, “We give too much,” some shouted.

At this point, Prime Minister Rosen was about to end this remarkable speech to Israel, but he was reminded by the Israeli Defense Minister of the most astounding accomplishment of this treaty. Which was a ploy by Ilan to increase the suspense and heighten the excitement of the moment. He continued with his message:

“This treaty would not have been possible without one additional article. It is the one I referenced earlier in my speech. It would appear that we have another miracle. This one has been two thousand years in the making. Effective the day after the treaty is signed, we will begin construction of Jerusalem’s third temple. The location of our temple will be none other than the Temple Mount.

“Religious or secular, for or against a rebuilt temple, it did not matter. Israel gasped as such a tremendous accomplishment, both real and symbolic. The bewildered crowd exploded in jubilation. All of Israel joined them with shouting, laughing, weeping, and dancing. Loud cries of, “Praise God,” erupted from the chief rabbi, who had leaped from his chair only a few feet from Ilan. Soldiers began to sing, Politicians praised their prime minister with a symphony of continuous adulation. An orthodox rabbi jumped in the air. He pointed in the direction of Temple Mount, fell to his hands and knees, and kissed the ground. Children screamed in delight. A young liberal rabbi did a backflip, then another one.

“Cars and buses screeched to a halt, doors flung open, and occupants pranced around their cars with outstretched arms. From every building in Israel, the celebration spilled into the streets. People held hands and danced in circles to the right. Circles within circles danced to the left. They struck beautiful chords of harmony as they sang “Hava Nagila.” Strangers hugged and kissed. The orchestra had become a concert ensemble, replete with singers and dancers. Like floodwaters from a breached dam, cascading chants filled the air.

“Eelan—Isra’el! Eelan—Isra’el! Eelan—Isra’el!”

“Such rejoicing had not been heard since Israel achieved statehood. Some would say not since the Exodus.”

Temple Mount Model

Perhaps not, but by now you have probably figured out that the above scene has not actually occurred in Israel … not yet anyway. You would be right, as this unheard of treaty comes from a fictional Israeli Prime Minister Ilan Rosen as found in Chapter 19 of my novel, O Israel … The end is the beginning for those left behind. And, as stated by Ilan Rosen, credit is given to Juan Castilla (Antichrist in the novel) for initiating and moderating this treaty, particularly the most troublesome item of a rebuilt Jewish Temple.

Though O Israel was published in 2007, this fictional treaty produced resolution of the core elements of the current and virtually impassable areas of disagreement between Jew and Arab in Israel. And, I’m completely convinced that some, if not all, of these disputed matters will be zones of concession and agreement in the treaty orchestrated by the Antichrist shortly after the Rapture. As, however, I later realized through an amazing disclosure from the Lord (the main theme of my subsequent non-fiction book Out of the Abyss), the Antichrist beast of Revelation will not be a modern-day born man; rather he is none other than the Roman Emperor, Nero.

The Seven-Year Treaty

First, where in Scripture do we find the announcement that there will be a Seven-Year Tribulation? What passage or verse? Is it found in the Book of Revelation? No, it is not found in Revelation. Surprised? Then it must be in the book of Daniel, you say? No, not there either. In fact, nowhere in the Bible do we actually see the phrase Seven-year tribulation. Yet it is, by far, the most commonly used expression by prophecy students.

Alright, to a certain extent these are trick questions, but only in part. The phrase is actually a hybrid of two passages in Scripture. (1) “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will” (Matthew 24:21, NASB). These are the very words of Jesus who, in response to his disciples request about the end times, warns about the cataclysmic events of the last days.

(2) The reason that this period of tribulation is given a seven-year duration is, of course, directly from Daniel’s astonishing prophecy of, “a ruler (who) will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple” (Daniel 9:26). For those who have read my book Out of the Abyss or some of the Eye of Prophecy articles on this subject, you have found ample documentation from this passage and several others than pertain to the little horn, king, ruler, man of lawlessness, beast (all designations of the most frequently used term, Antichrist); that Nero is the beast who returns from the Abyss (Revelation 17:8). These articles can be found in the category of Antichrist, most recently the three-part series entitled, A Beast by Any Other Name … Is Still a Beast.

More specifically, the seven-year tribulation finds its origin of time (seven years) in the following verse: “The ruler will make a treaty with the people (Israel) for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings…” (Verse 27).

Thus, Bible scholars and teachers have, by logical deduction and correlation, linked the one set of seven (Hebrew expression for seven years) to Jesus’s prophecy of the coming great tribulation, with the two prophecies combined together in the catchphrase, Seven-Year Tribulation.

This is further reinforced by companion language in Revelation that tells us the Antichrist’s (full) authority will last three and a half years (42 months), which undoubtedly will begin when he breaks the treaty with Israel half way through it. “Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5).

Actually, the first descriptive reference to this horrendous period of turmoil and terror is, in fact, from the prophet Daniel. It follows Chapter 11 in which Daniel is given detailed prophecies of the Antichrist prototype, Antiochus IV, then the Antichrist, himself. The angel continues this revelation by telling Daniel, “At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation (Israel), will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish (tribulation) greater than any since nations first came into existence” (Daniel 12:1).

Then later in this chapter, at Daniel’s request of, “how long will it be until these shocking events are over?” the angel’s response is: “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time…” (Verses 6-7).

As we know, neither Daniel nor anyone else could or would understand these phenomenal predictions until the Messiah was born, lived, died, and arose back to heaven. And even then, not until the (final), “revelation of Jesus Christ,” was given to John as recorded in the book of Revelation.

In returning to the main theme of this article (is peace or some form of peace through a covenant between Jews and Arabs possible), I believe Scripture is foundationally very clear that only a miraculous event or series of events can and will be the catalyst for an otherwise impossible treaty agreement between Israel (Jews) and Arab countries (Muslims). The first event is the divine supernatural resurrection from the dead of believers in Christ (hundreds of millions the world over) and transformation/transference of all living believers to heaven. Followed shortly by the reappearance of the beast from the abyss (Revelation 17:8) and his arrangement of a seven-year treaty. Culminating in the magnificent return of Jesus Christ to the earth to rescue Israel by soundly defeating the kings and nations of the earth aligned against him (Armageddon).

You might ask: “How will Nero achieve what no one else has accomplished, i.e. a treaty between Jews and Muslims? First to preface the answer on the scriptural clear premise that God gives this authority to Satan and, indirectly to the Antichrist. Second: this treaty of peace is anything but real peace. Rather it will be a deliberate deception perpetrated by Nero to accomplish his malevolent agenda which is to establish the kingdom of Satan over the earth. In reality it will be a false peace that will plunge the world into the greatest war induced carnage of all time.

The answer to your question is found primarily in Revelation Chapter 13. For two reasons, Nero will have virtually no problem with or opposition to this treaty.

“I saw that one of the heads (Nero is one of the seven heads or kings of Revelation 13 and 17) of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal would was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” (Revelation 13:3-4).

First, Antichrist Nero will dazzle the world with what they perceive to be the miracle of resurrection. Thus, many (including most Arabs and many Jews) will give him their immediate loyalty, even to the extreme of worship. Secondly, they will also fear him greatly. After all, who could possibly oppose or fight against someone who returned from the dead? How on earth can you even kill someone like that!? Their conclusion: you can’t, so the only choice is to do what he says. Thus, if he wants the Jews and Arabs to broker a treaty, neither side will have much of a problem with resolving all the irreconcilable issues listed earlier in this article, not the least of which is permission (accepted by the Arabs) for the Jews to rebuild the Temple.

Things to Ponder

Following the Seven-Years of Tribulation, Christ will return in great power and glory. At that time, “The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

It can’t be stressed enough: True, lasting peace will only be possible through the Prince of Peace, Messiah Jesus.

But before there can be national peace between peoples, there must first be individual peace with God. How can that happen? “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1).

Whether individual or national peace, the Hebrew word, Shalom, is by far the best expression for peace. It is much more than the absence of war. Shalom conveys wholeness, wellbeing, harmony, contentment, security, rest, and tranquility.

During the Millennial Reign of Messiah on earth, he alone will mediate disputes between nations. Likewise, now (until then), “…there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone…” (I Timothy 2:5-6).

Then there will be no need for treaties, whatsoever. For there will be one Man (the God-man Christ Jesus) who will be the very embodiment of Righteousness, Justice, and Shalom throughout the earth.

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~ "For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus" (Rev.19:10)

Category Archives: The Rapture

One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II

One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part I

There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!

There’s No Place Like Homs

Jubilee and Messiah … They Go Together!

Messiah’s Arrival … On Whose Authority?

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part I)

Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation

The Seven Year Treaty