Process
There is a mistaken belief that Jesus could come any minute. He could, but He won't. Jesus wont violate His own written and prophesied plans to return. Jesus is the greatest prophet...everything he prophesied will come to pass:
Matthew 21:11So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus himself said he would not return until Jewish leaders in Israel invited Him back as the Messiah rejected from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This will fulfill the prophetic promise of Psalm 118:
Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38“See! Your house is left to you desolate;
39“for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”
Not only that, but this intense process of Israel being sifted among the nations until she declares Jesus is Messiah....this process will literally sift the nations, cause the Antichrist to be revealed, and cause many in The church to fall away, or quit. This was commonly known in the early church, and all these events will precede the return of Jesus and the rapture:
2Thessalonians 2:1Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
1 Thessalonians 4:15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
The false idea that Jesus will not fulfill these realities in full before he returns keeps people from agreeing with Jesus about what must be done before His return on the part of His followers. This makes many unwise. Jesus warned that we should be busy agreeing with Him and should be found busy in His specific business when he comes:
Matthew 24:44“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46“Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47“Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
48“But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’
49“and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
50“the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
51“and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many live like the world and hope Jesus just "comes back" ASAP. This is not what the Bible describes, at all. There is so much to be done in this hour. Hoping for Jesus to come, but doing nothing to agree with that very return, particularly in the area of praying for Israel, will make the night many hope for actually a day of dread:
Isaiah 21:3Therefore my loins are filled with pain;
Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
Matthew 25:1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2“Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3“Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
4“but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
7“Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
8“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9“But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’
12“But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
This Palm Sunday, remember: Jesus is waiting for the leaders of Israel to release the "great Hosannah"... And when the church prays for it like they really mean it, Israel surely will. All of creation is groaning for this to happen...even the palm trees themselves:
Romans 8:19For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
What will it take to get the people of the earth to groan with creation?...seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls.
Watch. Pray. Be Ready.
Matthew 21:11So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Jesus himself said he would not return until Jewish leaders in Israel invited Him back as the Messiah rejected from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This will fulfill the prophetic promise of Psalm 118:
Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38“See! Your house is left to you desolate;
39“for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”
Not only that, but this intense process of Israel being sifted among the nations until she declares Jesus is Messiah....this process will literally sift the nations, cause the Antichrist to be revealed, and cause many in The church to fall away, or quit. This was commonly known in the early church, and all these events will precede the return of Jesus and the rapture:
2Thessalonians 2:1Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
1 Thessalonians 4:15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
The false idea that Jesus will not fulfill these realities in full before he returns keeps people from agreeing with Jesus about what must be done before His return on the part of His followers. This makes many unwise. Jesus warned that we should be busy agreeing with Him and should be found busy in His specific business when he comes:
Matthew 24:44“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46“Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47“Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
48“But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’
49“and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
50“the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
51“and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many live like the world and hope Jesus just "comes back" ASAP. This is not what the Bible describes, at all. There is so much to be done in this hour. Hoping for Jesus to come, but doing nothing to agree with that very return, particularly in the area of praying for Israel, will make the night many hope for actually a day of dread:
Isaiah 21:3Therefore my loins are filled with pain;
Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
Matthew 25:1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2“Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3“Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
4“but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
7“Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
8“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9“But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’
12“But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
This Palm Sunday, remember: Jesus is waiting for the leaders of Israel to release the "great Hosannah"... And when the church prays for it like they really mean it, Israel surely will. All of creation is groaning for this to happen...even the palm trees themselves:
Romans 8:19For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
What will it take to get the people of the earth to groan with creation?...seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls.
Watch. Pray. Be Ready.
Comments
Post a Comment
I appreciate your comments.