King Of The Jews - Part 3

Yasser Arafat (part of the Hussein Clan) lied repeatedly. To the West he proclaimed a desire for peace and to his followers he spoke his true goal: first Jericho, then Jerusalem and finally the destruction of the Jewish state. To this day, Israel does not appear on any map in Arabic lands. Arab school children are taught to hate and revile the Jews.

But the day of judgement is nigh. As the storm clouds continue to gather over the Middle East, "Peace" is the watchword of the day. "Peace, Peace" they shall cry and then comes destruction. "For when they shall say, 'Peace and safety': then sudden destruction cometh upon them..." 1 Thess. 5:3

My intention here is not to paralyze with fear. "God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind". 2 Tim. 1:7 The terrorists are not on Yahweh's team, they serve a god of terror, of lies, of darkness, of counterfeit peace. Satan is called the father of lies.

Yes we are in a war. A war of dark against light, lie against truth, God against god, man against God, man against other man, evil against good. The battle ax is in God's strong hands and the threshing machine is being oiled up and the teeth sharpened.

Against all odds, the Jews have survived the onslaught of overwhelming numbers of the enemy. They are surrounded on every side, forced by the world to relinquish their God-given land, even to the point of their own destruction. The Jews have given up the cities and lands of their fathers, even their ancient cities of refuge. The Golan was just such a city, and until recently it provided Israel with protection against the modern-day Phillistines lobbing missiles into their midst.

No nation on earth can prevail against Israel. God has said so. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper". Isaiah 54:17

"And they SHALL fight against thee: but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee". Jeremiah 1:19 We are coming into a time when the only option left to Israel maybe the "Samson Option". A loosely-guarded secret, the "Samson Option" is the infamous cobalt bomb: a nuclear weapon which unleashes a cataclysmic chain reaction which exponentially detonates from the point of ignition, turning earth into a sun. The gift that keeps on giving.

"Be not dismayed" Jer. 1:17

As Israel is marginalized, her lands occupied and desecrated, God's wrath is building. Just as Samson brought down the temple of Baal destroying the chief Princes of the Philistine, so Israel, backs to the wall, press the button which spells doom for themselves and all flesh. This is the day of Jacob's (Israel's) trouble.

All the world will be gathered against her, yet God will intervene to save a remnant for His own name's sake. "Except those days be shortened, there should be no flesh saved". Matt. 24:22

"All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him less than nothing, and vanity". Isa. 40:17

In these days of political turmoil, National agony and international discord, be assured that the Creator has everything in control. Don't be sidetracked by Nationalism. Rather pray that our leaders do not offend God. He is our only hope.

If you see the storm clouds gathering, know that there is a way out. God has provided an escape route. The blessed hope, the Rapture. If you are a redeemed child of God, you are saved from the wrath and should you be alive at His appointed time for the Rapture, you won't have to experience the first death. What glorious good news!

If you're not His child yet. "Behold, now is the day of Salvation". Corinth. 6:2 "Call upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved". "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved". Acts 16:31

"But ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief". 1 Thess. 4:4

"And this Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come". Matt. 24:14

In these days of instant communication globally and beyond our planet, even into outer space, no human is beyond the reach of the Good News, i.e. the Gospel. Neglecting the prophetic aspects of God's Word to mankind concerning endtime events is to leave out the blessed hope of Christ taking His bride home. Surely, the "Rapture" is part of the great "Good News". The double imperative of receiving the pardon from sin that Christ offers to every person becomes plain in light of the times in which we live.

Escaping the wrath that shall be poured out upon the earth is a large part of the "Good News". Certainly salvation offers to all escape from eternal damnation, but added to that is the promised hope of escape from the sting of all death; namely the first death that all those who believed in times past tasted. The second death, that of eternal separation from God, which awaits all those who refuse His precious blood-bought gift will never be experienced by those who accept Christ as Saviour.

Imagine never having to die. "Oh death where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Corinth. 15:55. These words are doubly directed at believers in the last days. Never, ever having to experience the throes of dying, escaping the coming global holocaust in which most of planet earth and its peoples are destroyed, and being lifted up into Heaven to be forever with our Lord bespeaks a joy which is unspeakable.

If that is not a "Blessed Hope" I cannot fathom what else could be. I sincerely believe that in the lifetimes of most of you reading these words that the prophesied time of tribulation, "Jacob's Trouble", shall come: a time so violent that should God delay, "All flesh would be destroyed". However, it is not too late to find the escape hatch.

Just as Noah and his family entered into the ark and were spared death by drowning, those who enter into Christ shall be spared the judgement by fire which is coming on earth. Christ is our ark, our refuge from the coming firestorm. "Now is the appointed time of salvation". II Corinth. 6:2. Don't wait.

"Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment in the twinkling of an eye". 1 Corinth. 15:51 & 52

The Rapture

The word "Rapture" comes from the Greek language and is closely akin to the word "Raptor". Raptors are birds of prey which fly at incredible speed and with deadly accuracy.

I recently went for a bike ride down a quiet country lane. As I pedalled along I saw a shadow descending upon me and felt the rush of wind as a huge golden eagle swept over me from behind, his great wings beating as he flew above me. Dangling from his strong talons, I beheld a squirrel, tail swinging in the breeze. I was close enough to witness the stunned surprise and look of fearful resignation on his tiny face, knowing that his time had come, without warning, silently and instantaneously. Moments before I'd seen the same squirrel, peeling a walnut in the brush at the side of the quiet lane. Now he was gone.

That is how we shall be lifted up. Without warning and in an instant, a "twinkling of an eye", the time it takes to blink. However, our reaction shall be one of indescribable joy, not fearful resignation.

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so we shall ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words". 1 Thess. 4:17 & 18

Imagine now the turmoil that will result as millions of believers disappear at once, what chaos would ensue. No sector of the government, business world or world at large will be unaffected. As the "light of the world" is taken away, what great darkness must come. The excuses for the "Rapture" are already being devised. Alien abduction is high on the list of explanations currently being honed.

Those left behind will devolve into two camps. On the one hand, those who finally believe the truth of God's word and on the other, those that harden their hearts further and choose to believe the great "lie": the delusion that will be offered by those left in authority who reject God's Word. Believers then will suffer through the coming wrath of God. They will literally be beheaded for their faith. Beheading as a means of execution was curtailed many years ago, however as anyone with a T.V. might attest, the practice is enjoying a reprise.

Unity, Ecumenism, Religiosity will be paramount. Jesus, the rock of offense, the stumbling stone, the stone that the builders rejected will be the dividing line yet again. "Division" will not be tolerated. One "Religion" that claims exclusivity cannot be allowed to exist. Just as true Christianity was hounded by the powers of darkness in the early church years, so too will believers in Christ be hunted down and exterminated in the last dark days of planet earth.

"Knowledge Shall Be Increased" Dan. 12:4

We are commanded as Christians to share the foregoing knowledge, "I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren". I Thess. 5:27 (More about sharing knowledge with "The Holy Brethren" later).

The world stands at a crossroad. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" vs. believing the "Great Lie". With God everything comes down to a choice. We have free will to accept Him or reject Him. It is my understanding that every saved person's name is written down in the "Book of Life". Those who "believe will not perish but have everlasting life", those who do not, "the wrath of God shall abide upon them".

The rejecters will definitely believe something; with all their hearts, they'll cling to the empty promise of the "Great Lie". What is that lie? Satan, the father of lies, deceiving us since the very beginning.

When Jesus was rejected by the leaders of Israel he told them, "I come in my Father's name and you don't receive me, but another shall come in his own name and him you will receive". John. 5:43 "Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and LYING+ wonders". II Thess. 2:9 Who is this "another"?

The Anti-Christ. Anti has two meanings. In opposition or in place of as in "another"? The world will choose another Christ, the false christ who will ultimately oppose and even prepare to make war against Christ Himself. "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a LIE+. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness". II Thess. 2:11 & 12

Why will this happen? "Because they received not the love of the truth. THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED". II Thess. 2:10

Oh dear friend, harden not your hearts: today, at your desk in your office, or in your den at home or in that airplane or SUV or wherever you might be reading these words, make the decision for life, to receive God's gift of eternal life, Salvation from sin and a room in God's house.

When Jesus came there was no room at the inn. In His incredible grace we find a room in His inn for all of eternity, made ready for all who will believe. Make your reservation today. "Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house". Acts 16:31 "In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you, now I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also". John 14: 2 & 3

King of the Jews: Suffering Servant or King of Kings?

When Jesus told His disciples that to rule you must serve ("And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant". Matt. 20:27) He knew in infinite detail the depth of the suffering He was to endure on our behalf. The duality of Christ's nature was a mystery to the Jewish scholars of antiquity. There were theory's posited that perhaps there would be two Messiahs, one a Joseph type and one a David type.

Sadly, this misunderstanding could well be a factor in the State of Israel succumbing to the charms of the Anti-Christ. As plainly stated before, "I come in my Father's name and you don't receive me, but ANOTHER shall come in his own name and him you will receive". John 5:43 This prophecy spoken by our Lord is perilously close to fulfillment.

It was stated by one Rabbi in reference to the long-sought goal of peace for Israel, that they would make a deal with the devil himself to attain peace. It will happen just as Messiah prophesied.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". Hosea 4:6 This Old Testament utterance was proved true: The prophet Daniel was commanded to seal up certain knowledge for the end time. I recently read a treatise explaining that this special knowledge, only made known in these end times is given to the Jews so that they might recognize the one true Messiah. "Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one" a daily prayer for the Jews, hints not at the monolithic nature of God vs, His triune nature, ( a point that confuses many Jews, not to mention non-Jews) but the reality of a single Messiah, one who combines the suffering servant characteristics and the Royal aspects of King of Kings.

The Anti-Christ will come in on a platform of peace. "He will destroy many by means of peace". Dan. 8:25 This is not the peace that Jesus left with us. Jesus said, "The peace I give you is not of this world". John 14:27 "I came not to bring peace but a sword". Matt. 10:34 The Jews in Jesus' time longed for a return to their days of glory. Crushed under the heel of Rome, the longing in their breast for a deliverer, a Warrior King in the mode of David, was a national obsession. The reign of David's son Solomon, was the pinnacle of Israel's life as a nation. The wisest and wealthiest man who has ever lived or will ever live, Solomon ruled over a Kingdom which drew rulers from around the known world to marvel at his legendary wisdom.

The Jewish Royal House was promised tenure for only a limited time. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah... until Shiloh come": Genesis 49:10 It is my understanding that after Shiloh (one of the many names for Y'shua/Jesus) came and the Romans crushed the Macabean rebellion, taking away any Royal Rulership from the Jews that the limited time for their Royal House had come to its temporary end.

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