Last week we were reminded from the Book of Nehemiah that it was God who chose a leader to rally the people to finish the work He planned. In this the year of the 46th president, God carried me back to the words of Isaiah 46 that gives us cause to ponder as to where we are at this time. “Earnestly remember the former things which I did of old; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure and purpose, Listen to Me, you stiff-hearted and you who have lost heart, you who are far from righteousness (from uprightness and right standing with God, and from His righteous deliverance). I bring near My righteousness; it shall not be far off, and My salvation will not tarry; and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel My glory.” Jonathan Cahn in the study “The Dragon Prophecy” makes this profound conclusion: “If Israel and the church are intrinsically joined, if one corresponds to the other, then would not the return and resurrection of Israel point to a corresponding return and resurrection of the Church? If, at the end of the age, the Jewish people have returned to where they were at the beginning of the age, to Israel, then would it not also be the time for the followers of Messiah to return to where they were at the beginning of the age in the Book of Acts?”
It was at the advent of the Church Age that Peter connected the words of Joel 2: 30-32 concerning Israel to Acts 2: 16-20 to the Church. Peter said “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy…And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Peter did not state that Joel’s prophecy was completely fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Peter quoted Joel’s prediction as an illustration of what was taking place in his day regarding the Church, and as a guarantee that God would yet completely fulfill all that Joel had prophesied as it relates to Israel as well and therefore points to a future day of deliverance of Israel when the LORD openly intervenes in the affairs of men in the latter days when Israel turns to the LORD. The “last days” as related to the Church began with the advent of Christ and culminates when Jesus returns for the Church in the Rapture.
It is because the Jews rejected Jesus Christ as Messiah and were instrumental in His death on the cross, that God has paused His promises to them. According to Romans 11: 25, a “partial hardening” or blindness in part” has come upon Israel until “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” which is the fulfillment of God’s plan to include the Gentiles in His redemptive purposes. However, this does not mean that individual Jews will not come to faith; rather, it indicates a collective national blindness which we see today in the modern Zionist movement that still rejects Jesus as Messiah.
It is important for us to revisit the words of James in Acts 15: 13-18 which reveals God’s attempt to convince the Jewish people to recognize Jesus as Messiah. James made it clear that the out-calling of Gentiles agrees with the promises to Israel. He said: “After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” (vv. 16-18) With the exception of the first five words of v. 16 James quoted Amos 9: 11-12 speaking of the Lord’s second advent and the re-establishment of the Davidic kingdom. “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; That the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, and all the nations upon whom my name is called, says the LORD, who does all these things.” (verse 12 from the Ancient Greek translation) Hosea gives us a clue about the time frame involved between the rejection by the Jewish people of Jesus the Messiah at the first advent and when He returns to re-establish the Davidic kingdom. God said this concerning Israel: “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face; in their affliction they will seek me early. Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” (Hosea 5:15-6:3) This refers back to the passage quoted in Joel 2: 23 and repeated by Peter in Acts 2: 17 about the former and latter rain of God’s Spirit upon the Church and then Israel! We are quickly approaching the 2,000 year milestone between the first and second advent of Christ!
In 1917 the Balfour Declaration gave the Jewish people the authority to return to their land. In 1948 the United Nations recognized Israel as a State. In the Six Day War in 1967 Israel captured the Sinai, Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. It was on the Jubilee in 2017 that Donald Trump signed a declaration moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing it as the capital of Israel. These accomplishments have given momentum to the modern Zionist movement who are hastening the arrival of the building of the Third Temple for their Messiah. Rabbi Yosef Berger had this to say on November 11, 2024: “Trump’s election is a necessary element of the redemption and a sign that Messiah is imminent. His name in Hebrew numerology equals 424, which is the same as Messiah from the House of David. This certainly does not mean he will be the Messiah, but it indicates that he will play a role in preparing the way for the arrival of the Messiah. He clearly has this inclination. Like Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1), God put Donald Trump in power in order to build the Temple and pave the way for Messiah.” Rabbi Berger emphasized that the Third Temple will be built by the descendants of Rome, i.e. Christianity.”
This clearly indicates that the Zionist Jews and those Christians who support the building of the Third Temple are all a part of Satan’s great end-time deception leading to the Tribulation. The reign of the Antichrist at the end of the age is connected to the Temple Mount and the Third Temple. Read Daniel 9:27 about the covenant to be signed by the Antichrist. The timeframe for the covenant is in the middle—3 and ½ years of the total 7-year Tribulation. The Temple Institute has the prefab building and all the furnishings for the Temple ready, the priests trained and ready to serve and even two perspective red heifers ready to prepare the ashes for the purification of the Temple according to Numbers 19! If the Temple Mount is the central ground of God’s purposes, it will also become the central ground of the Enemy’s purposes. And if the Temple Mount is the nearest thing on earth to God’s throne, and the Enemy seeks to sit on God’s throne, then it is inevitable that he will seek to take possession of it! Further, if the Temple Mount is the place from which Messiah will reign on the third day known as the Millenium or 1000-year reign, then the Enemy seeks to stop the purposes of God, and he will seek to establish on that Mount his own reign but he will not succeed. Jesus will not reign from the Third Temple but from God’s Temple according to Ezekiel 40-47 to be built for converted Israel.
Without a doubt we are nearing the period of time when God openly intervenes in the affairs of men—in judgment and in blessing. It will begin with the translation of the Church and will terminate with the cleansing of the heavens and the earth preparatory to bringing into being the new heavens and the new earth. As with Israel, God has great and precious promises for His Church. According to Ephesians 5: 27 He by the power of His Holy Spirit is completing a Church—the Bride for His Son without spot or wrinkle which is the ultimate goal for the Church—spiritual purity and perfection. This is not achievable through human effort alone, but rather through the transformative power of God’s Word and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. While Israel is looking for an earthly Messiah, Temple and Kingdom, we as believers according to I Corinthians 3: 16 are the temple of God when we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord as His Spirit dwells within us. As believers, we are called to strive for the spiritual state whereby we decrease so that Christ can increase in our lives—growing in faith, wisdom and character and letting go of pride, selfishness and worldly attachments. It means prioritizing others’ growth and well-being over our own ego or desires; being salt and light to others; cultivating humility and surrender of our ambitions and allowing God’s work and glory to increase in our lives. All our hope is in Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We are to be Jesus to others that involves seeking out the lost, proclaiming Jesus as Lord according to Matthew 28: 18-20 and Ephesians 4: 11-13. We are called to serve others and use our talents and resources for the benefit of others according to Galatians 6:10. God has not finished with the Church according to 2 Peter 3:9 as He wants none to perish but all to repent and come to Jesus as Savior. While God desires none to perish, He also requires human cooperation and highlights the connection between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. God is patient and longsuffering as He delays judgment to give people opportunities to turn to Him. We must be prepared as we know not the day or hour of Christ’s coming for His Bride. I Thessalonians 5 reminds us as true believers in Christ we are children of light and not of darkness. Paul says: “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober…But let us, who are of the day, be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. (vv. 5-8) In the remainder of that chapter Paul further lays out a to-do-list as God gets us ready for the return of Christ: comfort one another, edify one another, esteem and love God’s shepherds, be at peace with others, warn the unruly, comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all, follow that which is good, rejoice always, give thanks in everything as it is the will of God, don’t complain, don’t quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesyings; test all things and hold fast to the good, abstain from all appearance of evil. We will then be ready for the Rapture of the Church that Paul lays out in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18.
God is real, God has a plan, God is in control and God loves us! The order of events in scripture appears to be: 1. The rapture of the Church just preceding the beginning of the Day of the LORD. (1 Th. 4: 13-17) 2. The fulfillment of Daniel’s seventieth week. (Dan. 9: 27), the latter half of which is the great tribulation (Mt. 24: 21) 3. The return of the Lord in glory to establish the millennial kingdom (Mt. 24: 29-30) 4. The destruction of the beast, the false prophet, and their armies, which is the “great and awesome” aspect of the day (Rev. 19: 11-21) 5. The judgment of individual Gentiles according to their treatment of Christ’s brethren, the Jewish people (Zech. 14: 1-9, Mt. 25: 31-46) and the judgment of Israel (Ezek. 20: 34-38) 6. The Millennial reign of Christ on earth (Rev. 20: 4-6) 7. The satanic revolt and its judgment (Rev. 20: 7-10) 8. The resurrection and final judgment of the wicked (Rev. 20: 11-15) 9. The destruction of the present earth and heaven by fire preparatory for the future “day of God” (2 Pet. 3: 10-12) 10. The creation of the new heavens and the new earth—no more curse (Isa. 65: 17-19; 66:22, 2 Pet. 3:13, Rev. 21:1, Rev. 22:3)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22: 17) “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (v. 20)