Dear saints, we are now in the 21st century.
Nearly 2000 biblical years have passed since Jesus as Messiah made His
first epic entry into Jerusalem. He entered His city of shalom/peace
riding on a donkey to conclude the 69 weeks of years. He entered on the very day
Daniel had prophesied He would come.
This long awaited date was the 10th day of Nisan,
Palm Sunday of 32 A.D.
Since that time we have been living in a 'gap' period.
It is the time in between the terminus point of this
69 week period and a future time when the awesome days of the 70th week
open up. (See
Section 7 of the 10 part study
of
Daniel's Prophecy of the 70 weeks.
This 'gap'period we are now living in is a period of grace.
Since Pentecost back in 32 A.D. the Gospel has
gone out beyond Israel. It is now spreading into the Gentile nations
as an "Age of Grace".
This 'gap' or
'parenthesis period', unlike the 70 weeks of God's
determined dealings with Israel which includes the future 70th Week),
does not directly involve God's covenant dealings with
His covenant people as a nation. But when those final seven years open up
in some future year God will all out His Congregation for the final witness.
We have been told that this 'gap' we are now living in is of unknown duration.
Can this period of grace can be measured out in years?
And if so, where might we find evidence of this in scripture?
"HE HAS TORN BUT HE WILL HEAL US, .........
AFTER TWO DAYS HE WILL REVIVE US".
The prophet Hosea spoke forth this prophecy, and it concerns our time.
He said that "
after two days He will revive us".
Hosea speaks of a gap
in time. He tells of God's people being "torn to pieces"
and then
"after two days"
there would be a revival.
"Come, and let us return to the Lord,
For He has torn, but He will heal us,
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us,
And on the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight." -Hos 6:2 NKJV
This is very interesting.
Hosea here speaks of God having "torn" and "smitten". Three verses later He
goes on to say,
"Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of my mouth:
and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth." -Hos.6:5 KJV
What does this mean?
It seems that there are many references in the
Old Testament in which the prophets bring a word that rends or hews
or 'cuts in pieces'.
It is a word of rebuke, of stern discipline,
and of judgement. Israel and her kings in times past were not inclined
to listen. They would not heed the word of warning. Nor would they turn and repent.
Accordingly the prophetic judgments continued took them off into captivity.
Only the southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin returned to the land in sovereign numbers.
The lost ten tribes have lost their identity. They are still out there, ..... in the west.
They are in partial blindness and unaware of their heritage.
They are just not focusing on these forgotten matters of long ago that link them with Israel's national covenant.
This is not surprising. They are lost. And they are suffering from amnesia.
REVIVAL!
IN A VALLEY OF DRY BONES!
In
Ezekiel 37 the prophet sees an awesome vision.
God's people lie scattered in a valley of utter destruction and desolation.
There they lie, sprawled out dead in a valley of dry bones.
This has been the story of God's people in the southern kingdom of Judah since he destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D..
And it has been the story of the lost ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom
of Israel for 2600 years. They never returned in numbers sufficient to re-establish any tribal
sovereign presence in the land of Israel.
They went into captivity under the Assyrians in 722 B.C.
And they lost their identity. Today they are cut off from their true national roots in Israel.
They would be totally cut off from the covenants of Israel were it not for the Gospel.
The Light of the God's salvation, which comes from Israel,
is shed abroad across this world as a "Light to the gentiles."
And the salvation message is heard by the heathen or goyim.
Ezekiel's vision is awesome beyond words.
It all seems all so totally devastating and final.
Yet it is precisely in this context that the glorious revival comes.
As Ezekiel speaks the redemptive Word
the bones begin to stir.
Then he sees them come together with a rattling sound.
Such is the marvelous drama of the latter days.
There will indeed be an
Endtime Revival. Many
mysteries are slated to be unveiled as Hosea's prophesied
revival powers up. While we have seen some
stirrings of revival in Israel and in the church
in modern history these are but the early showers of blessing.
The harvest rains or the true latter rains will come.
And this magnificent restoration of all God's people
has yet to be fully manifest.
The Old Testament prophetic poetry
paints a wonderful picture of this future promise of
a revival and restoration.
See Isa.35, Isa. 60-61, Ezek.37, Mic.2:12-13 etc. So it will surely come to pass.
AFTER TWO DAYS HE WILL REVIVE US
If we are going lay out a timeline for the "two days"
then we have to find a starting point.
That starting point must relate to this "cutting to pieces"
mentioned by Hosea. Presumably these "cutting"
prophetic messages
came to an end at some point.
When might this have been?
The scriptures reveal for us that the
final cutting prophetic word against Israel.
It was given
by Jesus Himself. This was the
Olivet Discourse
The final cutting words of judgement
were given in the days before His crucifixion.
Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed,
the city taken, and the people scattered.
Judgement did come on the nation of Israel.
In 70 A.D. the Roman armies under Titus entered the Holy City.
The Temple was burned and leveled and Judah was scattered into the nations
just as the lost ten tribes had been scattered 800 years before.
The long saga of the Jews in the Diaspora would go on for two thousand years.
Then the time for revival and restoration would come.
After two millennia of wanderings among the nations
God would start by regathering His royal tribe, the Jewish people of Judah.
During the 20th Century they started to come back into the land of Israel once again.
At the same time a Light would go out to the Gentiles.
The Gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth.
The greatest missionary outreaches we have ever seen are now
going forth around the world.
What other signs of revival do we see? The hard pressed persecuted church overseas
is expanding wonderfully. In China we have gone from one million Christians
before the Maoist persecutions began in 1949 to over 120 million today.
Open Doors with Brother Andrew reports a growth rate of 8% per year
in the persecuted Church worldwide. This is extraordinary.
Revival has started in national Israel as well.
In the past century we have seen the Jewish House of Judah
coming back to restore the land of Israel even as Ezekiel saw
the bones coming together. -Ezek 37
Of late we have also seen signs of spiritual revival.
More Jews, are embracing the Gospel message and converting to
Christ Jesus/Yeshua,
than at any time in history.
The 'Breath of Life' is coming into the Jews at long last!
God is beginning to revive both houses of His moribund Judeo-Christian people!
Hosea prophesied that "after two days He will revuive us".
When will this mighty Revival come?
It will come "two days" after the last rending, cutting ,
prophetic word of judgment was pronounced
on Israel and on the people God was calling out to Himself.
And who gave that prophecy?
Our Bibles reveal that
these words were given by Jesus Himself.
He made that final prophecy during the Passover of 32 A.D.
in the days before His crucifixion. On Palm Sunday,
the 10th day of Nisan, He announced
His Messianic office to Israel.
As the
69 weeks ended Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
Later on that day, after His final
cleansing of the temple, He went up
into the mount of Olives. His trusted disciples, Peter, James and John
came to Him privately there. They asked Him specifically about the
sign (singular) that would
usher in the end of this present evil age and the coming
of His Millennial Kingdom.
Jesus proceeded to launch out in a long dissertation,
at times pretty hard to take.
These tearing words get so heavy, in fact, that many modern evangelicals
have responded in the flesh and in effect
torn Matthew 24 out of their Bibles saying,
"These harsh words are certainly not for us!"
When they are asked just who the scripture might be
addressed to the answer, as usual comes back,
"This word of judgement is for the Jews."
This is a very sad state of affairs.
It seems that many Christians believe that "the church"
is due all the words of blessing. Any words of correction and
judgement are all to be reserved for "the Jews".
Is this the case as we see it in scripture? Hardly!
The Word of God is for all the people God is calling to Himself.
Matthew 24 is for all of His "called out" company, all the people of
His Judeo-Christian ekklesia/congregation/assembly.
The scriptures only speak of one Elect.
There is but one covenant people of God to be seen in the Bible.
We are going to have to deal with that in a
way that is consistent with the holy scriptures.
Any doctrine that tries to cut the Jews off from the flows of Grace
or some arbitrary 'dispensational'
Age of Grace that stops seven years short
of the end of this evil age is completely arbitrary and concocted by man.
Furthermore, it amounts to theological
Antisemitism.
In the
Olivet Discourse, - Mat.24,
Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem.
He also spoke of
the scattering of His people.
The prophet Daniel said quite clearly that this scattering of the power
of the holy people would come to a climax and then end with the "time, times, and half a time,
or the final three and a half years of the 70th week of Daniel.
This is the time period of the trampling of Jerusalem (Rev.11) and the Great Tribulation. (Rev.13)
Our Apostle Paul spoke of the endtime apostasy,
and a coming false messiah. (2Thes 2:3)
Jesus spoke of the
Great Tribulation, and the preaching of the Gospel
to the ends of the earth. (Mat.24)
He clearly stated that
His second coming as Messiah would come after
the Great Tribulation.
These were and are the last rending prophetic words given in scripture.
They were given on or soon after Palm Sunday, Nisan 10, or April 9 of
32 A.D..
If the crucifixion Passover season marks the beginning of the timespan then what
would these 'two days' of Hosea 6:2 represent?
The context indicates that these are not likely to be
two ordinary 24 hour days.
If we look at the context of the verse and the phrase;
"and on the third day we shall live in His sight",
we can see that it is a reference to the one thousand years
of the coming Millennium.
So the "two days" which precede the Millennium of Messiah.
represent the two millennia we are living in right now.
Could this time interval mark out for us
the current 'gap'
between the end of the 69th week and the beginning of the
70th week? That would mean that even in the midst of tribulation
God is going to fire up His final climactic Holy Spirit revival.
Is this possible? Can Tribulation and Revival co-exist?
They certainly did in the early Church. And they are most definitely co-existent
today in the suffering church.
The Christian Church is doubling every 8 years in places like Vietnam, the Sudan, China, Egypt etc, etc.
And all this revival is going on in spite of, (and perhaps because of), intense persecution.
Can we understand this? Unfortunately we do not.
We shall be looking into this very important issue just up ahead.
HOSEA PROPHESIES A REVIVAL AT THE END.
SO DO SOLOMON, ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, JOEL, EZEKIEL, ZECHARIAH, AND OTHERS.
Hosea states that "after two days
He will revive us".
What can we say about God's mention of a revival?
It seems that the 70th week and those
final 7 years may open up with a great revival. The prophet
Isaiah saw the end-time saints as a wedding party.
He saw them going forth with
lamps shining brightly, even in the midst of thick darkness. - Isa.60
His inspired poetry bears witness to this end-time revival
going forward in a time of thick darkness. What is God telling us?
Even in these times of trials and tribulations God is bringing us
a message. It is a word of exhortation and encouragement.
Brothers and sisters, these words were written for God's people as they come to the end of this age.
These words are for us!
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Photo by the author.
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1. 'Arise, shine; For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2. For behold,
The darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3. The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4. "Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5. Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy.'
-Isa 60:1-5 NKJV
Hosea goes on to say,
"And on the third day He will raise us up"
That we may live in His sight",
indicating, as we shall see, that this revival
will carry on into the Millennium that follows the 70th week.
This is quite a bit different from what we have been told
by today's popular preachers of end-time themes.
They have painted those
final 7 years of the 70th week as little more than
a chamber of horrors, a hellish wrath zone.
We have been erroneously taught that during those final seven years
there will be no Holy Spirit,
no heavenly grace extended and no faithful witness
by the elect people of God.
Our fast talking popular prophecy teachers speak of wrath and horror in those
final 7 years of this age and little else. This is all very unscriptural.
And it is also very demoralizing to God's covenant people.
And yet the Holy Spirit here
in Hosea 6 is speaking of a latter day glory, an
Endtime Revival
of all things!
THE PROPHET JOEL SPEAKS OF AN EPIC BLOCKBUSTER REVIVAL.
IT CLIMAXES IN THE DAYS OF A DARKENED SUN AND A BLOODY MOON.
These are not the only scriptures that
speak of a revival in the last days.
The prophet Joel saw the Holy Spirit outpouring
coming to a peak even as this age was coming to a tumultuous climax.
The context clearly indicates this epic revival comes to a magnificent crescendo
and peaks in the last 30 days of the age.
28. "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit
on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
29. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out
My Spirit in those days.
30. "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
32. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the
Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant
whom the Lord calls." - Joel 2:28-32 NKJV
We know for a certainty that this revival is coming to a climax right
at the end of this age.
The revival peak that Joel saw is time tagged.
The timing of this revival peak is marked out in time
by his mention of those cosmic disturbances
of the
sun turning to darkness, the moon to blood etc..
We know that these epic heavenly signs will be coming
very late in the
70th week and indeed will go on beyond the 1260 + 1260 days
of the 70th Week. Since the tribulation ends on day 1260 we are speaking now
of those last thirty days that lead up to day 1290. (Dan.12:11)
We can be sure of this
because Jesus gave us the details in the
Olivet Discourse. He said that it would be,
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." - Mat.24:29
The cosmic signs of the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood
are the clincher here. We know from the words of Jesus that
the Great Tribulation, and with it the 70th Week
of Daniel, has just ended. Now as holy history enters the 70th Week extension
beyond those 1260 days and time marches on
toward the climax of the age and the 1290 days spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, (Dan. 12:11), we see from the passage in Matthew 24
that the heavens are in a state of tumult and upheaval.
It is in this time context that the prophet Joel
saw the peak of the
Endtime Revival.
From his vantage point around 800 B.C. Joel saw the peak
of the Holy Spirit outpouring. This is the final climax of the very same revival
Peter saw and commented on at
Pentecost two
millennia earlier.
Joel saw the mountain peak of the revival. And he said it was "afterwards".
So as we have seen, this would surely refer to the last days.
Our apostle Peter spoke of Joel's prophecy. We can read about it in Acts 2.
When those momentous events opened up on the Day of Pentecost
in Jerusalem back in
32 A.D. Peter tagged the revival he was seeing as that same revival Joel saw,
the one that would climax at the end of the age!
Like the classic fireworks festival
Joel witnessed the Holy Spirit revival starting with a bang at Pentecost
Then he saw it riding up to a glorious crescendo
and peaking with the cosmic events that will be seen in the heavens
at the end of this present evil age.
It was in the context of the final Battle of Armageddon
and right in the end-zone that Joel saw the Holy Spirit
poured out in a blaze of glory upon all flesh.
Like Zechariah (Zech 12:7-13:1), Joel
saw the salvation and deliverance the Jewish house of Judah
in Jerusalem. (Joel 2:28-32)
All this splendor and and overshadowing glory
was coming to a magnificent climax in the context of
these cosmic signs of the 6th seal
where the sun was turning to darkness and the moon to blood. - Joel 2:28-32
Even at that late hour people were repenting and being saved.
Joel saw the Word of God go out to bring many to salvation, even up to the very last day of this age.
"And whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be delivered/saved."
- Joel 2:32
From Jesus's own words we know that these cosmic disturbances
are associated with the 6th seal. They precede and lead up to the
climactic final
Day of Atonement. And it
heralds the opening of 7th seal, the Day of the Lord, Judgement Day for the wicked, and
His second coming as Messiah. - Mat.24:29-31
We have been led to believe that the end-time revival
spoken of by the prophets is all in the Millennium.
Yet here in these scriptures we see clear evidence
that the Holy Spirit outpouring will come before the Millennium and in fact
will be rising up to a crescendo right inside the very
darkness of the 70th week and its 30 day extension.
Dear saints, this may be a bit new to us.
But the scriptures are clear.
The peak of the Pentecostal revival comes after
the 1260 days of the Great Tribulation. - Dan.12:7
This is after
the 42 month (or 1260 day) reign of the Antichrist. - Rev.13:7
This is after
the 42 month (or 1260 day)
trampling of Jerusalem. - Rev.11:2
We are looking at a peaking of the revival
coming in the interval
between the 1260th day, which marks the end of the 70th Week,
and the end of the age which will come the end of the 1290 days.
The 1290 days were outlined for us by the prophet Daniel. - Dan.12:11.
The 1290th day will probably
come on a future Day of Atonement.
Indeed, it will probably fulfill that feast in the New Covenant
and be the 6th of the
Seven Feasts of Israel.
The very next feast which awaits fulfillment in holy history
is the 5th feast, the
Feast of Trumpets.
This feast will probably mark out a future epic watershed event
every Christian should be fully informed about
which is the signing of the
7 peace covenant outlined for us in that all important scripture,
Daniel 9:27. This peace treaty will be signed
between the nation of Israel and the coming Antichrist or
false messiah.
For a fuller explanation of just how remarkably accurately
the next two upcoming Fall Feasts of Israel mark out the
beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel
and the end of this age with an exact timeline of 1260 + 1290 = 2550 days
see the article on the
yet to be fulfilled
Fall Feasts of Israel.
God is so patient. He is so gracious.
He is giving wayward mankind one last chance to repent and be saved.
This is indeed an encouraging word from the scriptures
for all mankind and for the end-time saints.
If we are on approach to a great revival,
(and an epic climactic revival at that),
when might we expect it to open up? Fortunately we are not left to guess.
Hosea gives us a clear and unequivocal answer.
The prophecy states,
"AFTER TWO DAYS HE WILL REVIVE US,
AND ON THE THIRD DAY HE WILL RAISE US UP,
THAT WE MAY LIVE IN HIS SIGHT". Hos 6:2 NKJV
Let us take a closer look at these 'two days'
and particularly at the
'third day'
that Hosea spoke of.
The identification of these "two days" as two millennia is given
further credence by Hosea's reference to the
"third day" when His people "live in His sight".
The phrase "we shall live in His sight"
sounds distinctly millennial. 2,000 years ago Jesus ascended into heaven.
He is now with the Father. He will return to this cosmos and this earth.
In the coming 1,000 year Millennium of Messiah
Jesus will be Emmanuel, or
'God with us'.
Surely this "third day" when "we shall live in His sight" speaks of
the 1000 year Millennium of Messiah. See the chart below.
This would fit the outline seen by
the ancient sages of Israel. They saw six millennia of man's rule
followed by a rest, a sabbatical 7th Millennium.
During those final 1,000 years mankind and the created order would enjoy
peace under the glorious rule of Messiah.
HOSEA'S 'TWO DAYS' = TWO MILLENNIA.
A TIME FIX ON THE ENDTIME REVIVAL?
Hosea's prophecy of the 'two days' is truly remarkable.
It may in fact be giving us an accurate measurement
of the timespan that would connect the years from from Palm Sunday
entry of 'Messiah the Prince' and His cutting
prophetic pronouncements given in the
Olivet Discourse to the year of a great revival in the last days.
Such a revival might open up in a certain year.
In what year might that revival come?
Hosea said " after two days He will revive us".
As we observed earlier, the context
indicates that these are not likely to be two ordinary 24 hour days.
Elsewhere in scripture we read that
"a day with the Lord is as one thousand years
and a thousand years as one day......" -2Pet.3:8 NKJV
If these "two days" do indeed refer to two millennia then when
would this time-span begin and end?
If we reckon each 'day' as a thousand years and
the "two days" as 2,000 years then we can lay out a timeline from when the
last cutting prophetic words were given by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse.
HOSEA'S "TWO DAYS" = 2,000 BIBLICAL YEARS
OF 360 DAYS EACH = 720,000 DAYS. THIS
= 1971 SOLAR YEARS PLUS 108 DAYS.
If Hosea's "two days" are in fact 2,000 years
what sort of years would they be?
Are they two millennia of our solar years of 365.2422 days?
Or are they
2,000 prophetic or biblical years of 360.00000 days each?
Well again we will understand that
this prophecy was issued to us from the throne of God
up in the third heaven. As we discussed in
Section 4 of Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks,
the decrees of years that come to us from
God's throne are always issued to us in the holy time currency of God.
They are perfect holy years of
360 days.
If that is the case, then what time period would we be looking at for
the 2,000 biblical/prophetic/holy years?
2,000 x 360 = 720,000 days
If our "two days" is to run for 720,000 days then
how many of our earthly solar years would that be?
One solar year = 365.2422 days
720,000 divided by 365.2422
= 1971.29466 solar years
=1971 solar years plus 0.29466 x 365.2422 days
=1971 solar years plus 108 days.
THE TERMINUS OF THE "TWO DAYS" TIMESPAN -------> 2003
The last year in which
God sent His cutting prophetic word
to His people was with the words of Jesus
in the Olivet discourse. This was during Passover of 32 A.D.
If the 720,000 days began at that point in time
then in what year would these 720,000 days terminate?
32 + 1971 = 2003
The time-span terminates in 2003.
Is this the year that saw the beginning of a great revival?
THE 70 WEEKS. A PERIOD OF TIME THAT GOD HAS DETERMINED, FIXED,
ESTABLISHED, "CUT OUT OF TIME", FOR COVENANT DEALINGS
WITH HIS COVENANT PEOPLE. A MATTER FOR THE 'EKKLESIA',
THE 'CALLED OUT', THE CHURCH, AND NATIONAL ISRAEL TOGETHER.
As we consider the final 7 years of this age
many Christians are asking, "OK, so the last 7 years involve covenant issues.
These involve Israel. What has this got to do with us in the church?"
Well the 70th week is a time in which covenant faithfulness and
Kingdom of God loyalty issues are up front and center.
These matters involving the surrender of the
sovereignty of nations "under God" to a prince who denies the
"God of His Fathers" -Dan.11:37-38 will involve the western nations
once known as "Christendom" and the church.
There will be a clash of two covenants. One is the 7 year
covenant of a humanistic man. And the other is the
Everlasting Covenant of God.
This is the central drama of the 70th week.
While many will fall away the end-time saints will embrace the
grand adventure and the divine romance.
They will take center stage in this climactic time of witness.
They will have their eyes on the Mighty One of Israel.
Like our Apostle Paul they will,
"Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus". -Phil. 3:14 NKJV
And some will ask, "Just how is the church involved
with the covenants of Israel of all things?
Are we talking here about
a return to the Mosaic law?"
The answer is "No, not at all." We know that the
law was given to us as a schoolmaster to show us our need
of God's mercy and grace and to bring us to faith in Christ. -Gal. 3:24
This Mosaic Law has been fulfilled and superseded by the New Covenant
through the sacrificial death of Jesus for us at Calvary.
Because the law is now being written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
the Mosaic law which had been binding upon national Israel
during old testament times is no longer binding on the saints.
Nevertheless, our salvation through Jesus is still every bit a blood covenant
matter since it came to us by the shed blood of Christ, our Sacrifice Lamb.
The only difference is that now instead of the law being
policed externally the law in the New Covenant economy is now being
written or downloaded into our hearts by the gracious ministry of the
Holy Spirit and as we surrender to Him.
We find ourselves being gently wooed
by His gracious leading, His righteousness, yes even His law.
Our New Covenant is still linked to Israel. Jesus is our coming Messiah,
the Lion of the Jewish Tribe of Judah.
He will come to rule upon this earth for 1,000 years
presiding from the Throne of David at Jerusalem.
If we are "in Christ" then we are "Abraham's seed and
heirs according to the promise". -Gal.3:29
We are as a wild olive branch grafted into Israel. -Rom.11
In Christ we come into those covenants of promise and
into the "commonwealth (or citizenship) of Israel". -Eph. 2:12-13NKJV/GWF
So when we speak of coming into the
'covenants of Israel' we are simply talking of a new awareness of our
call to normal or standard
blood covenant Christianity.
This, our Apostle Paul tells us, 'is our reasonable service'.- Rom. 12 :1
This is the Christianity that involves a Spirit led
relationship of commitment up to the same level
as our wedding vows or "unto death do us part".
Will this be different from the typical antinomian Christianity
that we see practiced in the decadent west today?
It most certainly will.
Our current western 'churchianity' does not even
match the commitment level called for
in our earthly marriages. That is why our western Christian ladies at present
spend more time absorbed in earthy novels and
medieval Arthurian romance fantasies
than they do in living out personally
the divine romance in the Christ of the
holy scriptures.
The commitment level of our current Western Christianity does
not even match the covenant commitment level of the mafia
or the gangs in the streets.
That is why our Christian men
are more absorbed in spectator sports or
pagan crusader tales of sexual conquest and bloody
violence on the screen. They have not yet realized that they have been called
into a vital role as part of the divine adventure of the end-time.
Western Christians, at the moment, are predominantly spectators.
We are not doing much to live out the
Great Commission by
taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.
In the times to come that will change dramatically.
There is plenty
of romance and adventure out there as our brothers and sisters
in persecuted lands and our missionaries will attest to.
They witness quite frequently under the threat
of discomfort and death.
And they routinely see the miraculous Providence of God.
Yet these inspiring stories often remain untold.
The true Christianity to which we are called comes through
communion with Christ Jesus in an 'upper room' as it were.
Traditional religion or popular religion remains down at earth level.
This just won't "cut it". Our God has always been calling His Judeo-Christian
people to "come up higher" into a direct unmediated
blood covenant relationship
with Him! He is calling us
right at this very minute as a matter of fact.
This will certainly become abundantly clear and evident to all
as we face our God in future days. Because the time will surely come
when the saints enter the 70th week.
And blood covenant matters are brought back
into the picture once again.
The Feast of Trumpets and indeed all 3 of the fall feasts
have yet to be fulfilled in the New Covenant.
The first three springtime feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread,
and Firstfruits were all fulfilled by Jesus in His first coming.
Every single one of these first three feasts were fulfilled
by Jesus to the very day. Jesus as our Passover Lamb was sacrificed
on Passover, the 14th day of Nisan. -Lev.23:5
This was on the very same day that the
Passover lambs were being killed.
He was buried as the sinless offering for many
on the eve of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th of Nisan. -Lev.23:6
And He rose again three days later on the Feast of Firstfruits,
the 17th day of Nisan, the "day after the sabbath". -Lev.23:
Jesus was the firstfruits from the dead. -1Cor.15:20&23
The 4th feast, the Feast of Pentecost, was fulfilled 50 days after
the Feast of Firstfruits.
The Holy Spirit fell on the 120 in the upper room.
This was right on the day of Pentecost
as recorded in Acts chapter 2.
These first four feasts have all been fulfilled
They were fulfilled back in 32 A.D., and to the very day.
Then we have 'the gap', this grace period of 2000 years in which we now live.
So if we are looking for a future Hebrew feast yet to come into its New Covenant
fulfillment that might mark the beginning of the 70th week
we might do well to examine the next feast on the Hebrew calendar.
The 5th feast, the next feast due to be fulfilled, is the Feast of Trumpets.
It comes in the fall. And it may be just up ahead.
It is the next feast on God's agenda. The Feast of Trumpets
will come into its New Covenant fulfillment just as surely as
the 4 feasts before it did. We can be absolutely sure of that.
But how? And by whom? Jesus has gone to the Father
awaiting the Word for His return.
The Holy Spirit is already at work amongst us.
Who is going to do this announcing of the coming of the Kingdom of God?
Well this is where things start to get very interesting.
Could it be that God's covenant people will be the active agents here?
The Feast of Trumpets will be an auspicious day that will herald
the coming Kingdom of God. It will begin the 'ten days of awe'.
Surely God's covenant people, His elect, will be in the loop here.
The question is this. What might trigger the saints to announce the coming
Kingdom of God to the world?
As we saw above, our 2000 biblical year 'gap' or 'grace period'
terminated in 2003.
Feast of Trumpets is the next feast coming up for fulfillment.
This is a date on the Hebrew calendar
upon which we should keep a very watchful eye.
Tishrei 1 is the beginning of the Hebrew civil year.
If we are looking for an auspicious connection point that
would mark the day in which God's covenant people in one epic day
rise up from their slumbers to announce the coming Kingdom of God
then this next date of the Hebrew calendar, the Feast of Trumpets
which is the first day of Tishrei would be such a time.
Some awesome event of extreme significance must happen on some future
Feast of Trumpets. It will revive the Judeo-Christian
people from their slumbers. What future epic prophesied event
might be expected to do that? That is the next
question we shall look into.
DAN. 9:27
ABANDONING OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT,
THE CHURCH AND ISRAEL MAKE A 'COVENANT WITH DEATH'
Since we are living in the 'gap' period between the 69 weeks
and the 70th week of Daniel we are naturally also interested
in what the Bible has to say about the circumstances in
which that future 70th week begins. Here is our scripture.
Daniel 9:27 NKJV
"Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to
sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate."
Here are the awesome facts concerning that future covenant.
A 7 year covenant with a man,
a global peacemaker, is signed by 'many'. This will surely involve
national Israel including the royal House of Judah. The Throne of David,
and the Scepter and land rights of Israel will be signed over to a man,
a global mega-dealer.
The G-7 nations, which once were called "Christendom",
will probably be parties to the 7 year covenant as well. But that's not all.
The established church will almost certainly
sign themselves over to this man as well.
Both the established church and national Israel will jump on the bandwagon
with the peacemaker antichrist.
How do we know this?
Jesus Himself told us as much. He said that His people
would make covenant with a false messiah. He would be a narcissistic
leader who apparently has no regard for the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob but as a Luciferian worships "self".
Here are His words.
"I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me;
if another comes in his own name, him you will receive".
- John 5:43 NKJV
This is a sobering truth. But we must face up to it.
This will be Nicaea session 2. It will make the
former deal the western church made
with the Roman Caesar Constantine back in 325 A.D.
look like a Sunday school picnic by comparison.
It will be a sellout by God's Judeo-Christian people of all the holy things.
The Holy Land, the Holy covenant and the holy people themselves will
all be thrown onto the table in the deal with this totally secular man.
We saw indications of this willingness to sell out
by Mr. Barak when he offered portions of Judea and territory
of the northern ten tribes to Mr. Arafat for
a Palestinian state. Arafat refused the offer.
The Philistines/Palestinians just want Israel destroyed.
That is their real agenda. It is their only agenda.
The established church too is selling out the holy things of God
to pander to this world. The apostasy of the theological seminaries
is alarming. Young men entering the seminaries to train for the ministry
generally believe in the virgin birth, the deity of Christ,
his bodily resurrection, a literal hell, the truth of holy scripture etc.
Alas, when they graduate they come out not holding to these basic
tenets of the Christian faith.
Many churches are even now compromising the faith in order to
embrace the ecumenical movement and the United Religions Initiative.
The departure of the church from her true Husband in Christ is as
Gomer departing from her husband Hosea and going off with her lovers.
This falling away from the true faith will go on until the
inevitable crisis at the end.
Gomer will find herself enclosed with thorns.
The church and Israel have both dallied with kings and princes,
with communist peasant rulers,
and with merchant moguls.
Now the end deal comes and Gomer will go on to make her final
"covenant with death". -Isa.28:15
It will be the final installment of
'Beauty and the Beast'.
This time Israel and the established church, (as Gomer)
will go "all the way" with her earthy prince.
But she will find out afterwards that the prince
she has kissed is really a toad.
This will be an awful thing. This great "falling away"
will lead to the ultimate apostasy at midweek.
And the compromising church
who has debauched herself with her earthly 'prince'
will be as the "Lady of Shalott",
drifting down the river, singing her last mournful song.
Who will warn her? Who will awaken her from her toxic slumbers.
BLOW THE TRUMPET IN ZION!
SOUND THE ALARM!
About 2540 years ago Daniel prophesied
concerning a "prince who is to come". -Dan.9:26
"Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week."
-Dan. 9:27 NKJV
How would the confirming of that 7 year covenant between
a false messiah and God's people in Israel and the Church
be received by the true saints of the Everlasting Covenant?
This would be an epic day for them too would it not?
This would be a shocking day for God's faithful elect.
For many it would be the end of their faith
in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It would be a
a day of apostasy!
God's true and uncompromised covenant people would
wake up in that day.
They would recoil in horror at what has happened.
How would God's watchmen respond?
Would they sound the alarm>
Would they blow the trumpet?
And could this epic blowing of trumpets,
calling all God's people to solemn assembly be the crucial
"wake up call" which will cause the saints to cry out to God?
Would this great awakening of God's covenant people
initiate the revival of which Hosea prophesied?
We see a shadow of this electrifying moment in Joel's
prophecy.
1. "Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:"
- Joel 2:1 NKJV
12. "Now, therefore," says the Lord,
"Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning."
- Joel 2:12 NKJV
This future epic Feast of Trumpets will be
an awesome moment in holy history.
The Trumpets will sound calling all of God's congregation out
from what they are doing to assemble themselves before Him.
And the dreadful question will again be asked,
"Who is on the Lord's side?!"
These are fearful issues to address.
Please pray for these scriptural truths to be discussed openly
in faithful Berean style.
There is a huge smokescreen of religious disinformation
going up to hide the
truth of the future 70th week and the confirming of the 7 year covenant
that will start it off. We shall see that covenant.
Now is the time to be aware of this and to prepare our hearts
Now is the time to "wake up and smell the coffee".
Gabriel, the angel of
God's throne told Daniel that this would
be the event that will start the clock ticking into the 70th week. -Dan.9:27.
There is an enormous amount of preterist and partial preterist
misinformation on the net and the airwaves trying to "cloak"
this critical end-time information given to us in Dan.9:27.
It is even now slipping into the halls of evangelical and charismatic
Christendom. The signing of this 7 year covenant
before the watching world will mark the beginning of the future 70th week.
Dan. 9:27 is a scriptural signpost on the
pilgrim pathway showing us the way ahead.
We need that signpost!
AN EXHORTATION TO WATCHFULNESS.
At present we do not know what this all means.
Jesus warned us to watch and be alert to the 'signs of the times'. -Mat.16:2-3
Until the time arrives we
can only speculate as to how this will all unfold.
Perhaps this two thousand biblical year grace
period will end with some sort of a crisis
this fall.
Perhaps some nuclear event will trigger an international furor
for "world peace" or "nuclear disarmament".
A call might go out around the world for
a "strong hand from somewhere" to guarantee this world peace once and for all.
And perhaps in that critical moment a global peacemaker
will step forward with an answer, and an offer, to Israel,
the G-7 sovereignties, and to the world.
The Feast of Trumpets and the Hebrew New Year would be an auspicious
time for this 7 year covenant to be signed.
This would initiate the first 3.5 years of the 70th week
and the saga of the harlot and her peacemaker prince.
And what is the purpose in bringing out
this word of warning right now?
The church in the western world is apathetic.
Like the Shulamite she is self absorbed and comfortable
in her private room. Couched
amidst her materialistic comforts she is not inclined
to rise when the knock comes at the door. - Song of Songs 5:2-8
Are we listening? Shall we rise to answer His gentle voice?
We have been instructed to be watchful.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for failing to watch and for
not observing the signs of the times.
1. "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came,
and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say,
'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';
3 and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today,
for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites!
You know how to discern the face of the sky,
but you cannot discern the signs of the times."
- Matthew 16:1-4 NKJV
41. Now as He drew near,
He saw the city and wept over it,
42. saying, "If you had known, even you,
especially in this your day,
the things that make for your peace!
But now they are hidden from your eyes.
-Luke 19:41-48 NKJV
The "day" that Jesus was referring to was Palm Sunday. This was the
day for "Messiah the Prince" to appear. Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks
had foretold the very day
He would be ride into Jerusalem as Messiah. -Dan. 9:26 (See the article on
Daniel's prophecy of the 69 weeks).
Alas the Pharisees had not done their homework.
When that day came they were not watching for Him.
Thirty years before this the Magi out in Persia
had been reading Daniel's prophecy. They had done some calculations and
had determined approximately when the Messiah would be born.
That set them to watching, hoping for a sign.
God honored their diligence in their study of His sacred Word.
The star appeared and led them to Bethlehem.
Wise men still seek Him, even today.
The shepherds were also honored at the birth of Christ.
They too were watching; keeping watch over their flocks by night.
Yet here as the 69 weeks ended and Palm Sunday dawned
the Pharisees were too busy in their business of religion
to calculate the time of the appearing of their Messiah,
the promised Lamb of God.
Pray God that we in the privileged western church
of the 21st century with access to all this electronic information
to help us search the scriptures will do a better job this next time.
Because our time to be watching carefully
may come up sooner than we had anticipated.
And let us pray that we show more interest
in knowing the season of
Messiah's second coming
than the Pharisees showed
for identifying the season of His first coming.
Let us make sure that we do our homework.
Jesus Himself has entreated us to watch, to be on the lookout.
"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour
in which the Son of Man is coming."
-Mat.25:13 NKJV
Our Apostle Paul exhorts us to,
13. "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."
-1 Cor.16:13 NKJV
THE FINAL LEG OF THE RELAY RACE
AND THE EPIC CLIMAX TO THE CONTEST OF THE AGES.
.......IT MIGHT BE JUST UP AHEAD.
In view of the possible signing of the 7 year covenant
on some upcoming Feast of Trumpets and Hosea's Revival breaking forth
now is the time for us to seek the face of our God.
He died for our sins as our Saviour. He deserves first place in our lives.
This article is sent out for two main purposes.
1. It is to alert the saints to watchfulness now that
the endtime drama could be quite near.
2. It is to encourage the saints in their critical role of witness.
We are to finish the race begun by the saints who have gone before us.
The world and the whole company of angels are watching.
1. "Therefore we also,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with patient endurance the race that is set before us,
2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God." - Heb. 12:1-2 NKJV
In the covenant we have with our God He has always made ample provision
for His witnesses. We have been given the Holy Spirit.
He is our Strengthener/Comforter and personal Guide.
Through many dangers, toils and snares He will lead us on
towards the gates of splendour.
NOW IS THE TIME OF SALVATION.
NOW IS THE TIME TO TURN OUR EYES UPON JESUS.
For those who do not know
Jesus Christ personally or have not given themselves totally to Him
now is the time to answer His call. Invite Him into your heart and life.
We are creatures of a fallen world.
We all need our character changed
from the inside out. We cannot do this ourselves.
Only Jesus/Yeshua has the power to do the job.
And He will do that work within us
just as fast as we get down on our knees and invite Him in
surrendering ourselves to His gracious rule.
If you are willing to take that step of faith
and to ask Him into your life click
here.
Then go out and find someone to baptize you under the water
before a crowd of witnesses.
This will help enormously as you set out on your walk of faith.
As we have seen, some coming Feast of Trumpets
may well bring in Hosea's Revival.
These will be times of awe and soul searching.
Our Jewish friends, many of them coming to Yeshua,
are ready to restore the sacrifices on the temple mount.
Perhaps the Ark of the covenant will be found.
Whenever the 70th week opens up in some future Feast of Trumpets
it will truly be a year for being 'sold out' for God.
It will be a season for liquidation of assets.
It will be an occasion to "remember Lot's wife".
Truly it will be a year of renewal and a time of new beginnings.
These will be awesome times for the Judeo-Christian people
and for the world at large. But we need not be concerned about the
final outcome.
Jesus is the One who opens the seals. - Rev. ch.5.
He alone controls holy history.
The trumpets announce His coming Kingdom.
He has set a time limit for the endtime drama. The 70th week
Will last seven prophetic years and not a day over that. -Dan.9:24-27
The nations are increasingly raging against the coming of Messiah. - Psalm 2
But at the second coming of Christ the Word coming from His mouth
will put a stop to the rampage of humanistic evil.
Jesus Christ will return just in the nick of time;
before godless human rule threatens to destroy all life on earth. -Mat.24:22.
As the 70th week ends He will come a second
time to stop the trampling of Jerusalem.
He will come as the Deliverer, and as the
Breaker at Bozrah.
He will come as a Conquering King,
riding upon a white horse at the
final judgement.
As the Lion of the Jewish house of Judah He
will bring the scepter of His righteous rule to this earth.
As the long expected Son of David
He will rule over this earth from the Throne of David. -Luke 1:30-33
In that magnificent future Millennium of Messiah, Jerusalem will be restored.
The Holy City will finally become the 'city of peace'.
The nations will find salvation under Messiah's glorious ministry and rule.
And this poor ruined creation will again be restored
to the beauty and order it once knew.
Grace and peace to all those who love his appearing.