The Imminent Coming of Christ - Dr. Renald Showers

The Concept of Imminency

A. The Meaning Of Imminency

1."Hanging over one's head"

2. "Ready to befall or overtake one ,

3. "Close at hand in its incidence , In other words, close at hand in the sense that it could happen at any moment.

4. Other things may happen before the event, but nothing else must take place before it occurs. If something else must take place before an event can happen, then that event is not imminent. The necessity of something else occurring first destroys the concept of imminency.

5. When an event is truly imminent, a person never knows exactly when it will occur. A. T. Pierson stated, "Imminence is the combination of two conditions viz,: certainty and uncertainty. By an imminent event we mean one which is certain to occur at some time, uncertain at what time. ,

B. Truths Associated With Imminency

Since a person never knows exactly when an imminent event will occur, three things are true.

1.A person cannot count on a certain amount of time transpiring before the imminent event occurs. Thus, he should always be prepared for it to occur at any moment.

2. A person cannot legitimately set a date for the occurrence of an imminent event. As soon as a person sets a date for an imminent event he destroys the concept of imminency. By setting a date he says that a certain amount of time must transpire before that event can occur. A set date is contrary to the concept that the event could occur at any moment.

3. A person cannot legitimately say that an imminent event is soon. The term "soon" implies that an event must occur "within a short time (after a particular point of time specified or implied)." By contrast, an imminent event may occur within a short time, but it does not have to in order to be imminent. Thus, "imminent" is not equal to "soon." Evidence Christ's coming to rapture the Church was as imminent when the New Testament was written as it is today; however, today, over 1900 years later, it hasn't happened yet. Thus, from today's historical perspective it is obvious that, although Christ's coming to rapture the Church was imminent in New Testament times, it was not soon then.

II. The Concept Of The Imminent Coming Of Christ

A. The Meaning Of The Imminent Coming Of Christ

1. Christ's coming to rapture the Church is always hanging over the believer's head.

2. Christ's coming to rapture the Church is constantly ready to befall or overtake believers.

3. Christ's coming to rapture the Church is always close at hand in the sense that it could happen at any moment.

4. Other things may happen before Christ comes to rapture the Church, but nothing must take place before He comes. If something else must take place before Christ can come, then His coming is not imminent. The necessity of something else taking place first destroys the concept of the imminent coming of Christ.

5. Since Christ's coming to rapture the Church is truly imminent, a believer never knows exactly when He will come.

B. Truths Associated With The Imminent Coming Of Christ Since a believer never knows exactly when Christ will come, three things are true.

1. A believer cannot count on a certain amount of time transpiring before Christ comes to rapture the Church. Thus, believers should always be prepared for Christ to come at any moment.

2. A believer cannot legitimately set a date for Christ's coming. As soon as a believer sets a date for Christ's coming he destroys the concept of the imminency of that coming. By setting a date he says that a certain amount of time must transpire before Christ can come. A set date is contrary to the concept that Christ could come at any moment

3. A believer cannot legitimately say that Christ's coming to rapture the Church is soon just because it is imminent. The term "soon" implies that Christ's coming must occur within a short time. His coming may occur within a short time, but it does not have to in order to be imminent.

III. Selected New Testament Passages Related To The Imminent Coming Of Christ

Does the New Testament teach the imminent coming of Christ? J. G. Davies, the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham, stated that the expectation of Christ's "imminent coming" is "so vivid in the New Testament. , J. Barton Payne declared, "In fact, no natural reading of Scripture would produce any other conclusion. ,

A. 1 Corinthians 16:22 - "Maranatha"

1. Its meaning. The term "Maranatha" consisted of three Aramaic words: "Mar" - Lord; "ana" - our; "tha" - come. Thus, the entire term meant "our Lord, come."

2. Its form. The term "Maranatha" had the form of a petition.

3. Its origin and significance. The term "Maranatha" was an Aramaic expression begun by Jewish Christians in the land of Israel. Why, then, did Paul use it in a letter to a Greek church? Barclay explained the significance of this as follows:

It is strange to meet with an Aramaic phrase in a Greek letter to a Greek Church. The explanation is that that phrase had become a watchword and a password. It summed up the vital hope of the early Church, and Christians whispered it to each other, identified each other by it, in a language which the heathen could not understand.

Morris asserted that the term "Maranatha"

must have expressed a sentiment that the early Church regarded as supremely important, else it would never have been taken over in this way by the Greek-speaking Christians.

Kuhn concluded, "Thus maranatha is an important and authentic witness to the faith of the primitive Palestinian community. ,, Concerning the term "Maranatha' in 1 Corinthians 16:22, Robertson and Plummer stated, "It warns them that at any moment they may have to answer for their shortcomings. ,,

It would appear, then, that the fixed usage of the term "Maranatha" by the early Christians was a witness to their strong belief in the imminent return of Christ. If they knew that He could not return at any moment because of other events or a time period which had to transpire first, then why did they petition Him in a way that implied that He could come at any moment?

B. 1 Thessalonians 1:10

1. The literal meaning of anamenein translated "to wait," is "to wait up for." It is used of persons who "wait for someone who is arriving. , Thus, the word refers literally to the activity of persons who "wait up for" someone who is arriving. Those persons do not go to bed at their normal time because they are expecting someone to arrive at any moment. Their understanding is that there is no time period which must elapse before that person can come; thus, they do not go to bed for a period of time.

2. anamenein carries "the suggestion of waiting with patience and confident expectancy. , Thus, it refers to the activity of persons who wait patiently for someone to arrive because they are confident that he could come at any moment.

3. Paul used the present tense form of the infinitive. A. T. Robertson indicated that the present tense of this specific infinitive gives it the sense of "to keep on waiting for." In other words, it refers to the continuous action of waiting for someone. It can be concluded, then, that the Thessalonians were continuously and patiently expecting or waiting up for Christ to return from heaven because they were confident that He could come at any moment.

4. From whom or what did the Thessalonians derive this concept of the imminent return of Christ? Since Paul had been their teacher when he was with them prior to writing 1 Thessalonians (Acts 17; 1 Th. 1:6; 2:13; 2 Th. 2:5), it seems apparent that he was the one who taught them to expect the Lord to return at any moment.

5. It should be noted that Paul did not tell the Thessalonians that they were wrong to have this expectancy. Instead, he referred to their waiting up for the Lord in an approving manner (vv. 7-10).

C. James 5:7-9

1. The Greek verbs translated "draweth nigh" (v. 8) and "standeth" (v. 9) are in the perfect tense and indicative mood. Thus, each of these verbs refers to an action which was completed before James wrote his epistle and which continues on in that completed state.

2. The implications of James' statements.

a. Christ's coming drew near before James wrote his epistle, and His coming continues to be near.

b. Christ as judge began to stand before the door of heaven before James wrote his epistle, and Christ as judge continues to stand before that door. James wanted to impress his readers with the fact that Christ could come through the door of heaven at any moment and cause them as Christians to stand before Him at the judgment seat of Christ. He could do so today.

In light of James' statements C. Leslie Mitton wrote, "James clearly believed, as others of his time did, that the coming of Christ was imminent. "

On the basis of James' statements we can conclude that Christ's coming was imminent in New Testament times and continues to be so today, and that this fact should make a difference in the way Christians live.

IV. An Implication Of Imminency

The concept of the imminent coming of Christ has a strong implication relative to the time of the Rapture of the Church. Earlier it was demonstrated that, in light of the meaning of the term "imminent," the concept of the imminent coming of Christ involves several principles: Christ could come at any moment. Other things may happen before His coming, but nothing else must precede it. If something else must occur before Christ comes, then His coming is not imminent. The necessity of something else taking place first destroys the concept of the imminent coming of Christ. A person cannot count on a certain amount of time transpiring before the Lord's coming.

In light of the concept of the imminent coming of Christ and the fact that the New Testament teaches His imminent coming, it can be concluded that the pre-tribulation rapture view is the only view of the Rapture of the Church which comfortably fits this New Testament teaching. It is the only view that can honestly say that Christ could return at any moment, because it alone teaches that He will come to rapture the Church before the 70th week of Daniel 9 or Tribulation Period begins and that nothing else must happen before His return.

All other views teach that at least part of the 70th week must transpire before Christ can come to rapture the Church. The mid-tribulation view claims that one-half (the first three and one-half years) of the 70th week must elapse before He can return. The pre-wrath view asserts that approximately three-fourths of the 70th week must run its course before Christ can come. The post tribulation view declares that the entire 70th week (all seven years) must pass before the Lord can come. Thus, none of these views can honestly say that Christ could come at any moment. In reality, all three of these views are saying that a person can count on a certain amount of time transpiring before Christ's coming, and, therefore, are destructive of the New Testament teaching of the imminent coming of Christ.

It can be concluded, then, that the concept of the imminent coming of Christ strongly infers a pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church.

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Israel, Roadmap to Peace, or … Roadmap to the Rapture (Part 1) - Gary Stearman

Many Christians continue to watch the Middle East, and Israel in particular, for indications that might point to the approach of certain key events. They know developments there will one day initiate the Tribulation. Just before that, the church will be caught away.

For the last fifty-six years, prophecy watchers have maintained the central belief that modern Israel, born on May 14, 1948, is God's timepiece for the latter days. Hundreds of books have laid out proposals for prophetic fulfillment. As early as 1893, E. W. Bullinger viewed Israel as God's timepiece. In, The Witness of the Stars, he used eclipse cycles to calculate the years from the foundation of Babylon to the end of the Muslim possession of Jerusalem. He predicted, "From this it appears that 1896-97 would mark an important year in connection with the "times of the Gentiles."

And indeed, it did. That was the year of the First Zionist Congress, convened in Basle, Switzerland. This series of meetings left a major mark in Israel's timeline. From that date forward, the idea of a regathered Israel attained growing prominence. Toward the end of his book, Bullinger wrote, "Therefore we are not dealing here with the coming of the Lord; either for His saints, or with them. We are not referring to what is commonly and erroneously called 'the end of the world.' We are merely pointing out that the end of Gentile dominion over Jerusalem is drawing near!"

How right he was! On the 24th of Chislev (Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication), Jerusalem was taken from the Turks. The Gentile date was December 9th, 1917. Troops led by British General Edmund Allenby swept across Israel toward Damascus. A little over a month before, Arthur James Balfour, writing from the British Foreign Office, had drafted a letter to Lord Rothschild, who represented the Zionist cause. Its key phrase was momentous: "His Majesty's Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people …"

God has placed a certain excitement in the hearts of His people. It is intimately connected with the progress of latter-day Israel. We know that the Lord has a special plan for Jerusalem. We remember that, "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob" (Psalm 87:2).

Indeed, there is even a special blessing for those who diligently attempt to unravel the timing enigmas of Christ's coming for the Church. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:8, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

Not everyone loves His appearing with such zeal that they are deeply motivated to study prophecy. Some, however, take Scripture at face value, and find it natural to follow a line of thinking that leads to discernment of the times and seasons. This is not a bad thing. Quite the contrary, the Bible urges watchfulness.

A good example of such vigilance is found in Volume Three of Kenneth Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament. Dr. Wuest, department chairman of New Testament Greek at Moody Bible Institute, wrote many interesting biblical articles. One, entitled, "Jesus of Nazareth – His Coming for His Church," laid out various terms that describe the rapture. The tone of his comments was strongly influenced by the recent emergence of Israel as a nation.

In that context, he noted, "The language [of New Testament prophecy] is clear that the believer is to expect Him at any moment, not to look for Him in connection with some predicted event for which signs have been given to Israel and not to the church."

He continued, "Events on earth are not yet in readiness for the Great Tribulation. Indeed, at this writing (1951), that period cannot come for years yet. But the Lord may return for His church at any moment."

But then he added, "All indications point to the fact that the Second Advent is near at hand. The Church has been in existence almost two thousand years. It would seem logical that God would repeat His custom of doing something of great importance at or near the turn of these two millenniums, that is, within the next half-century or so. That would be His coming to earth a second time. But the Rapture must take place before the Second Advent. All of which, means that we are fast approaching the wind-up of things. The rapture should occur within the next fifty years or so."

We are now about three years beyond Dr. Wuest's estimate. But after all, he did say, "… half-century or so …," therefore, it's quite possible that his opinion wasn't really that far from the actuality. What must be remembered is that he was enthusiastic about the Lord's return.

Should We Look Toward Israel?

Wuest's idea that signs have been given to Israel, not the Church, is absolutely correct, and it leads to some intriguing questions. First, is it still legitimate and profitable to observe contemporary Israel, with an eye toward latter-day timing?

The answer to this question lies in simply observing the politics of the Middle East. For well over a century, Jews from all over the world have returned to Israel. Hebrew emerged as a living language. This is just as the Bible predicted:

"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land" (Ezekiel 36:24).

Zephaniah 3:9 speaks of what many Jewish scholars believe to be a reference to the reemergence of Hebrew as the official language of Israel:

"For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent."

There are literally dozens of similar references to regathered Israel. It would be strange if we were not interested. Furthermore, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that Israel is regathered for a specific purpose. Namely, that she be cleansed and purged of unbelievers prior to the establishment of the Kingdom.

The Tribulation Period is precisely aimed at accomplishing this end. The books of Daniel and Revelation are coordinated texts, laid out to clarify the details of the Tribulation. Daniel 12:1 reveals that Daniel's people, the Jews, will be divinely delivered during that dark period:

"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

Here, Daniel's people … regathered Israel – are specifically named as the central objects of the Tribulation. Without divine help, they would be headed for certain death. But the archangel Michael musters forces, which come to their rescue. Daniel 12:7 adds another important detail from this period:

"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished."

The Tribulation will bring judgment to the nations. Equally as important, it will cause Israel to realize that without their God, they are nothing. Over the years, they have been a proud people, convinced that their own talent and initiative will deliver them safely into the Kingdom.

Here, we learn that their power will be scattered (or broken), and they will at last, admit that they need to place the Lord at the center of their lives.

Jesus' own words tell us that all this activity will center around Jerusalem. The terrors of the Tribulation will take the Jews completely by surprise. Just as the angel told Daniel, the Jews will one day be assaulted in a fierce and unrelenting barrage of cataclysmic events.

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

"Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains" (Matthew 24:15,16).

These verses pinpoint the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel as the focus of the Tribulation. Detailed in the book of Revelation, the Jews must flee for their very lives. But, as Daniel said, divine forces will intervene on their behalf, and they shall be delivered.

Over the years, many Bible scholars have pointed to key dates, which they sincerely believed were end-time indicators. Recalling the 1917 capture of Jerusalem, many believed that the 24th of Kislev was a direct fulfillment of Haggai 2:18:

"Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it."

This date marks the festival of dedication. It recalls the oppression of Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, when the Jewish Temple was rescued by the Maccabees. Did Allenby's capture of Jerusalem fulfill the prophecy of Haggai? Some would say that it does, since Allenby's action was similar to the Maccabean liberation of Jerusalem. Some would dismiss it as insignificant.

Christians were especially excited when Israeli forces regained the Temple Mount in 1967. In the decade following this event, there was widespread anticipation that the Third Temple would soon be built. That, of course, would establish conditions thought to be necessary for the Antichrist to set up his headquarters in Jerusalem.
 

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The End Times According to Jesus ... Part 1-4 - by Jack Kelley - www.gracethrufaith.com

The Olivet Discourse is the name scholars have conferred on a private prophecy briefing our Lord gave to Peter, James, John and Andrew on the Mount of Olives. It's recorded in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13-14, and Luke 21. John, while present at the briefing, did not include it in his gospel preferring instead to focus on the time Jesus spent with His disciples in the Upper Room on the night He was betrayed. In reviewing the Olivet Discourse, we'll rely mainly on Matthew's account, it being the most detailed, adding excerpts from Mark and Luke where they add to or clarify the message. And we'll try to stay as close to the Lord's own words as possible to avoid reading any false conclusions into the passage.

As Matt. 24 opens, Jesus had left the Temple area and was headed for Bethany, where He and the disciples were staying at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was two days before the crucifixion.

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matt 24:1-3)

Based on His prediction that the Temple would soon be destroyed, the four disciples had three questions for the Lord.

1) When will this (Temple destruction) happen?

2) What will be the sign of your (2nd) coming?

3) What will be the sign of the coming of the End of the Age?

In the Matthew account the Lord ignored the first question and went straight to question 2. For His answer to question 1 we'll go to Luke 21. Having begun like Matthew with an account of the End Times in verses 10-12, Luke backtracks to their first question in verses 12-24.

"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life." (Luke 21:12-19)

Having told them what the rest of their lives would be like, and that their eternal destiny with Him was assured, the Lord finally answered their question about the Temple destruction.

"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24)

In what appears to be poor advice, He told them to get out of town when they saw the city being surrounded by enemy troops, an event that took place nearly 40 years later. The objective of a besieging army was to trap everyone inside so the plight of starving women and children would have a discouraging influence on the leadership. Non-combatants were not allowed free passage through enemy lines for this reason.

But a strange thing happened in the siege of Jerusalem. After surrounding the city, the Roman army was suddenly told to abandon their position and prepare for an immediate departure to Rome. General Titus, who commanded the army, was the son of Vespasian, a man striving to become the Roman Emperor. Fearing he would need extra help in consolidating his power, Vespasian ordered Titus to bring the army home to assist. But before they could depart, another message arrived saying that all was in order and to resume the siege of Jerusalem. For one week the siege lines had been abandoned, and during this time Christians who heeded the Lord's earlier warning escaped. Although 1.2 million Jews died in Rome's defeat of Israel, according to the historian Josephus not one Christian perished in the siege of Jerusalem. The Lord's advice had been sound and even strategically clever.

Roman soldiers were paid from the valuables they confiscated in battle, and the Temple was a huge prize. Titus wanted to preserve it, which would have deprived the soldiers of a tremendous bonus. Defending the Temple entrance with his sword raised against his own troops, he watched helplessly as a flaming torch was thrown over his head into the Temple starting a fire. The ensuing blaze generated such heat that the gold plating covering the wooden plank ceiling began to melt and run down the stone walls, seeping into the cracks between the stones. When the blaze was finally extinguished, the soldiers dismantled the ruined walls to get the gold. By the time they had finished, not one stone was left standing on another, graphically fulfilling the Lord's prophecy to His disciples.

The Lord's prophecy concerning the duration of Jerusalem's captivity bears another look as well. Jerusalem either ceased to exist or was under Gentile authority from Roman times until June of 1967, when for the first time the Star of David flew over a unified city. This marked the end of Gentile Dominion, and a return to Israel as the focus of Biblical Prophecy, a clear sign that we're fast approaching the End of the Age.

Now, let's go back to Matthew 24 for the Lord's answers to their other questions, picking up the narrative in verse 4.

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matt 24:4-9)

The coming Church Age would be characterized by the appearance of false messiahs, conflict between nations, natural disasters, and famine. Luke adds pestilence and great signs from heaven to the mix (Luke 21:11), as does the King James Version of Matthew. The comparison to birth pains reveals that while these events would occur all through the Church Age, they would be more and more frequent and more intense as the end comes nearer.

Next time we'll look at the clear signs marking the beginning and duration of the Great Tribulation. Until then, if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the Footsteps of the Messiah.

The End Times According to Jesus ... Part 2 - by Jack Kelley - www.gracethrufaith.com

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt 24:9-14)

The words here are very similar to those in Luke 21:20-24 covered in Part 1, but in Matthew the focus is clearly the End Times. Believers will be severely persecuted at the End of the Age (Matthew's version) just like they were at the beginning (Luke's version). Just before the Lord's return, the Good News will be preached in every nation to prepare the people of Earth for His coming and to deny them a plausible excuse for rejecting Him, or pleading ignorance.

"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. (Matt 24:15-21)

This portion pinpoints the beginning of the Great Tribulation, a time of judgment whose very name comes from here (translated in the NIV as great distress), one that will surpass anything the world has ever seen. The Prophet Daniel had written of a time in the future when the Temple would be desecrated by an event he called "the Abomination that causes Desolation" (Daniel 9:24-27) and the Lord was now informing them that this event would trigger the Great Tribulation.

Since Daniel's time something like it had only happened once. In 168 BC the Syrian Ruler Antiochus Epiphanes (the name means God made manifest), after muscling his way into Israel, seized the Temple and converted it to pagan worship. He erected a statue of Zeus in the Holy Place in his own likeness, requiring everyone to bow down before it on pain of death. The Jews called this desecration the Abomination that causes Desolation, borrowing language from Daniel 9:27. It so angered them that they rose up in arms against the Syrian invaders. The 3 1/2 year long Maccabean Revolt, as it was called, resulted in the Syrians' expulsion from Israel and a Temple cleansing and re-dedication ceremony that's still memorialized annually in the Feast of Chanukkah.

Today, students of the End Times see a frighteningly clear model of the Great Tribulation in the Maccabean Revolt, with a foreign invader calling himself God and demanding worship, a Temple desecration, and unbelievable persecution ending in a 3 1/2-year war of liberation. As we'll see that's just what the Lord intended in mentioning Daniel's Prophecy.

193 years after the Maccabean Revolt, Jesus spoke of the Abomination that causes Desolation as something still in the future. And a careful reading of his 70 weeks prophecy shows that Daniel placed it in the middle of the 70th week, long after both the Messiah's arrival and rejection, and the destruction of the city and sanctuary. Since nothing like this has happened since the Lord gave His warning, it means that one day soon another foreign invader will muscle his way into Israel, calling himself God and demanding worship. There'll be another Temple desecration, and more unbelievable persecution ending in another war of liberation, only this time the entire planet will be affected, not just Israel. According to Daniel, it will begin half way through the last 7 years of human history establishing its duration as 3 1/2 years just like it's earlier model. In 2 Thes, 2:4 Paul expanded Daniel's account, connecting it to the antichrist at the End of the Age. These things confirm that the sacrilege that kicked off the Maccabean Revolt serves as a preview to help people recognize the sacrilege that will kick off the Great Tribulation. (See also Rev. 13:14-17)

There are three factors here that underscore the "Jewishness" of the Lord's warning. First there will be a desecration of their Temple, second the warning is given specifically to those in Judea, the region of Jerusalem in Israel, and third there's an admonition to pray that it won't happen on the Sabbath, a day when Jewish law forbids traveling. Clearly the Lord was saying that there will be a nation of Jewish people observing His Law in Israel at the End of the Age and they will have rebuilt their Temple prior to His return.

If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. (Matt. 24:22-28)

The Great Tribulation is the most specifically documented span of time in all of Scripture. In one place we're told it's 3 1/2 years long (time, times and half a time; one year plus two years plus half a year as in Rev. 12:14), in another 42 months (Rev. 11:2) and in still another 1260 days (Rev.12:6). Use the original calendar for Earth, 12 months of 30 days each for a 360 day year, and you find all three measurements identical from a time standpoint. Moreover there isn't a single hint anywhere that it will be of a shorter duration. Most scholars who read the passage above literally, conclude that the phrase cut short means that for the sake of His elect the Lord will step in on the 1260th day and put an end to the warfare instead of letting it run to its logical conclusion; the destruction of every human on the planet. And when He does, it won't be a big secret. Nor will He be emerging from a previously secret hiding place. Everyone on Earth will witness this intervention from Heaven.

"Immediately after the distress of those days, " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matt.24:29-31)

In bringing the Great Tribulation to an end, the Lord will appear in the sky just as He promised Caiaphas, the High Priest, at His trial 2000 years ago (Matt. 26:64). All the nations will mourn because apparently His sign in the sky rings the closing bell for the Age of Grace. Too late, the people of Earth will realize that He is just Who He's always claimed to be, and they've missed their last chance at salvation.

At His signal, His angels will gather His elect (believers) from all over Heaven to return with Him to Earth to establish His Kingdom. This is one of two vague hints in the Olivet Discourse that there'll be a body of believers in Heaven awaiting His 2nd coming. As we'll see next time, it would be nearly 20 years before the identity of this group would be revealed. According to Mark's account, believers on earth will also be summoned (Mark 13:27) to witness His triumphant return.

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matt. 24:32-36)

The fig tree is the last to bud, so when it does we know Summer's almost here. Through His disciples, the Lord told the people on Earth at the End of the Age that when all these things begin to happen, it means the end is very near. Indeed, of the 6000 year history of Man only 3 1/2 will remain.

The Greek word translated generation also means race, and can be interpreted as the Lord's promise that the Jewish race wouldn't be extinguished before the End comes. And that's remarkably true. The vicious and oft repeated attempts to rid the world of its Jewry have all failed, and Israel has risen from the grave after a 2000-year absence to once again become the focus of world attention.

Yet there's also a sense in which the Lord's promise can be rendered, "I tell you the truth, the generation that sees the beginning of these signs will also see their culmination." In other words, they will all be concluded during the lifetimes of those being born as they begin. There's precedent for this too. All the prophecies concerning the Lord's first visit were fulfilled within the lifespan of the generation into which He was born.

Please note that if this view is the correct one, as I believe it to be, the Lord didn't promise that, once they begin, all End Times prophecies would be fulfilled before the next generation is born, but only that they would be fulfilled during the lifetimes of those being born at their commencement. A Biblical generation is nominally 40 years, but a lifetime is more like 70 (Psalm 90:10). The folks who added 40 years to Israel's 1948 rebirth and predicted the Rapture would happen in 1988 were off on two counts.

1) They should have added a lifetime, not the length of a biblical generation, and

2) It's the 2nd Coming that will happen within a lifetime of the first signs. The Rapture could happen at any time prior to that. In fact one of the most likely days in any year is Pentecost, which happens to be today! Please, Lord!

If we're still here next week, we'll finish up this series and show you why those who're looking for signs of the Rapture of the Church in the Olivet Discourse are looking in the wrong place. Until then, if you listen closely, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

The End Times According to Jesus ... Part 3 - by Jack Kelley - www.gracethrufaith.com

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. (Matt 24:36-41)

Don't let this passage confuse you like it has so many others. Note that the first sentence reads, "No one knows about that day or hour." Plenty of people on Earth at the End of the Age will know exactly when the Lord is due to return. Remember, both the kick-off event and duration of the Great Tribulation are clearly and unmistakably described. On the day when the antichrist stands in the Temple and declares that he's God they'll just have to count off 1260 days and look up into the sky. But just exactly how the related events will all unfold is anybody's guess, and that's what this passage says.

Also the Lord compared the time of His return to the time of Noah, so we should expect to find similar circumstances leading up to these two events. And we do. Both involve worldwide judgments that occur at a time when most people are caught unaware. Although in both cases the people of Earth are given repeated warnings of what's coming, those warnings are ignored by almost everyone. In the case of the Great Flood, judgment came in the form of rain, which fell on the Earth for 40 days and 40 nights. In the case of the Great Tribulation 21 separate judgment events unfold over a 3 ½ year period. This is why although only 8 people survived the Flood, the Lord warned that the Great Tribulation would be the worst time of judgment in human history.

Here's where the second hint of a body of believers in Heaven awaiting His return appears, and this one's even more vague than the first one, back inMatt. 24:31. You see, both the Great Flood and the Great Tribulation have three components; judgment, preservation through judgment, and escape from judgment. In the Days of Noah, the unbelievers were judged, Noah's family was preserved through the judgment, and Enoch escaped it altogether. At the End of the Age, unbelievers are judged, the remnant of Israel is preserved through the judgment, and the Church escapes from judgment. So if you're looking for a hint of the rapture in the Days of Noah, look at Enoch, who happened to be born and taken live into Heaven on the same date as the Church's birth, Pentecost.

Now let's consider those words "taken" and "left" in Matt. 24:40-41 a little more closely. The Greek word translated taken literally means received, and the one translated left means put away. They refer to the disposition of those remaining alive on Earth when the Lord returns, the Tribulation Survivors. Those who've become believers will be received into the Kingdom, and those who haven't will be put away into the place prepared for the devil and his angels. Folks who try to find the rapture of the church in these words are simply looking in the wrong place.

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matt. 24:42-44)

This warning is given to those Tribulation Survivors who are not believers. As I stated above, once the Great Tribulation begins, all believers on Earth will know when it will end. In writing to the Church at Thessalonica Paul clearly distinguished believers from unbelievers where the signs of the end times are concerned. "But you brothers are not in darkness that this day should surprise you like a thief." (1 Thes. 5:4) No, this warning is to the undecided, who aren't counting up the prophecies being fulfilled around them, and don't realize that if they waver too long, they'll be taken by surprise and miss their last chance at salvation. Don't get me wrong, they'll be only too aware of the massive disruptions to their lives caused by the End Times judgments. They just won't understand what's behind it all. Remember, confusion and deception will be the order of the day.

Think about the analogy of the thief. As the Lord returns unexpectedly (like a thief) He'll be breaking into a place the enemy thinks belongs to him and his followers. "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Phil 3:19-20) He won't be coming as a thief in the night as far as believers are concerned, stealthily breaking into their world. They'll be eagerly watching and impatiently waiting, counting the days, praying for His coming, longing for Him to take them home to be with Him forever.

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 24:45-51)

The worst punishment is reserved for those in charge, heads of organized religions who, instead of "feeding" their flocks with the Bread of Life and encouraging them with the promise of His return, confuse and deceive them with false doctrines, and deny the validity of God's prophetic Word. By their actions they demonstrate the depravity of their own souls, showing themselves to be devoid of the Holy Spirit and worthy of punishment. Knowingly or not, they're infiltrators from the enemy's camp, like tares among the wheat.

Having forsaken the truth they no longer watch for the Lord's return, ignoring the obvious fulfillment of prophecy all around them and ridiculing those whose child-like faith sustains them. These "Christian Atheists" as they sometimes call themselves, are worse than the enemy because they look and talk like friends. They're like the one John describes as appearing to have the authority of the Lamb but who speaks the words of the Dragon (Rev. 13:11). They will be also be assigned to the place prepared for the devil and his angels.

But the Lord will elevate to a place of authority in His Kingdom those who keep the word of God through the intense hardship and persecution of the times, and teach sound doctrine to the flocks entrusted to them. Just as some among the common folk alive when the Lord returns will be received into the Kingdom with honors, while others are put away in everlasting shame and contempt, so it will be with their leaders.

In chapter 25, Matthew recounts two parables, the Ten Bridesmaids and the Talents, and a warning to Tribulation Survivors, the Sheep and Goat judgment. In all three the emphasis is on separating the faithful from the unfaithful following the Lord's return. The faithful will be received with honors into His Kingdom, while the unfaithful are left out to be judged. Since all three include a reference to time that places them in the aftermath of His 2nd coming, the entire chapter expands on the "taken and left" statement of Matt. 24:40-41.

Because there's been so much confusion, let's make this perfectly clear. Of all the views on the timing of the Rapture of the Church, none place it after the 2nd coming. But look how clearly that time frame is indicated in each portion of Matt. 25. Backing up a little to establish the order, we read;

"Immediately after the distress of those days," signs in the Heavens after the end of the Great Tribulation (Matt 24:29)

"At that time," His appearance in the sky after the end of the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:30)

"No one knows about that day," the day of the 2nd Coming, after the Tribulation (Matt: 24:36)

"At that time," connecting the parable of the ten virgins to the 2nd Coming (Matt 25:1)

"Again," referring to the same time frame in beginning the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14)

"When the Son of Man comes in all His Glory," beginning the Sheep and Goat judgment which describes the judgment of Tribulation Survivors after the 2nd Coming (Matt 25:31).

As you see, they all occur chronologically after the Tribulation and 2nd Coming, and all describe the situation on Earth following the Lord's return. Therefore none of them can be used to describe the Rapture or any other aspect of the Church. The Church Age ends with the Rapture and that occurs before the 2nd Coming. (I've written commentaries on each of these passages and have included links to them at the end of this article.)

It's clear that the only questions the Lord answered in the Olivet Discourse are the three the disciples asked. "When will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the End of the Age?" Having chosen to delay the announcement of the Rapture of the Church until nearly 20 years after His resurrection, the Lord neither taught it to His disciples nor, as we've seen, did He address it in the Olivet Discourse. No, the Olivet Discourse was a summary of Jewish Eschatology given to Jews in Israel, before the birth of the Church, and only vaguely hinting at its existence.

So in coming to the end of our commentary we're left with one big unanswered question. Why didn't the Lord teach something as important as the Doctrine of the Rapture to his disciples? Obviously there's a good reason and I'll explain it next time. That way we'll keep something intended exclusively for the Church separate from this very Jewish passage of Scripture we call the Olivet Discourse. In the meantime, if you listen closely, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
 

The End Times According to Jesus ... Part 4 - by Jack Kelley - www.gracethrufaith.com

In 51 AD, almost 20 years after the Resurrection, the Apostle Paul became the first to reveal the incredible secret that would come to be known as the Rapture of the Church. He did this in his earliest written communication, his first letter to the Thessalonians (1Thes. 4:16-17), repeating it four years later in a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:51). In doing so, Paul finally identified the group mentioned in Matt. 24:31 who would be in Heaven waiting to return with the Lord at his 2nd coming.

From Thessalonians we know that, at the Rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first to be followed immediately by we who are left and still alive. Concerning the living, Paul's letter to the Corinthians explains that in the twinkling of an eye, we'll be changed from mortal to immortal, bypassing death altogether. Because everyone who believes in the Rapture of the Church agrees it will take place sometime before the 2nd coming, the group in Heaven that the Lord mentioned in Matt 24:31 has to include resurrected and raptured church age believers. As an aside, those who dispute this doctrine claim that the word rapture doesn't appear in the English translation of either of Paul's letters cited above, nor anywhere else in scripture for that matter, and of course they're correct. The original Greek word Paul used to describe the rapture in 1 Thes. 4:17 is harpazo, usually rendered "caught up" in English translations. Because of the growing dominance of the Roman Empire in Biblical times, Latin was replacing Greek as the world's common language and so about 400 AD the Bible was translated from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. Harpazo became raptus, the Latin root of the English word rapture. It means "the transporting of a person from one place to another, especially to heaven." So it's the Latin version that gave the event its name. Our current English translations are taken directly from the earlier Greek texts, and that's why the word rapture doesn't appear in them. Why The Delay? But why didn't the Lord announce the Rapture during his time here? Two reasons. First, Israel had to receive a bona fide offer of the Kingdom. His commitment to them was clear. The first time He sent the disciples out to minister, He told them, "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. (Matt. 10:5) And later when the disciples asked Him to respond to a gentile woman whose daughter needed healing, He at first declined saying, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." (Matt. 15:23-24) Before He could expand His ministry to the gentiles, He had to fulfill His promise to Israel.

So even though He knew they would reject him, the Lord extended His offer to Israel just as he had offered reconciliation to the Amorites in Abraham's time, knowing in both cases that they would reject Him. (Gen. 15:16) And of course Israel did reject the Lord's offer by attributing the power behind His miracles to Satan (Matt. 12:22-37), a fact confirmed to them in the parable of the tenants (Matt. 21:13-44). But the pre-determined order of first the Jew then the Gentile (Rom. 1:16) had to be observed.

Second, knowing before history began that the Jews would reject Him, the Lord had always determined to save the Gentiles too, and that meant something really dramatic had to happen. Gentiles were even worse sinners than Jews, who at least made periodic attempts to obey. But for 4000 years the Lord had shown His people that their behavior could never meet His requirements for salvation. And even with the most complex religious system ever devised, the most expensive house of worship ever built, the most detail conscious people ever created, and the most aggressive sacrifice of innocent blood ever undertaken, the final score at the end of the Dispensation of Law was zero souls saved through religious works. (Rom. 3:20)

At Least Somebody's Listening
Well, He didn't convince them but He did convince Satan, who believed that eventually all of humanity would wind up with him in the lost column of the ledger, Jew and Gentile alike. Surely then the Lord would have to rescind his judgment against Satan (Isaiah 14:16-21). After all, was he any worse than sinful mankind? Hadn't they also rebelled, tried to set up their own kingdoms, and even tried to become their own God? The God Who is Love couldn't bear to let all his precious children go to hell just to punish Satan, could He?

Surprise, Surprise
But no one knew what the Lord had cooked up to solve the problem. Having known from the beginning that we couldn't save ourselves by our works, He had determined in advance that He would save us by our faith. That meant someone qualified to do so had to step in and pay the penalty for our sins for us. Then could God promise us that if we accepted this substitution in faith, we would be saved. Of course the only One qualified to die for us was God Himself. So He did. And as a special blessing for "believing though we have not seen" (John 20:29) He even went so far as to make His Church a separate classification of humanity, (Ephe. 2:15) giving us a pre-imminent place in His Kingdom, and taking us out of this world to be with Him forever in a secret, sudden departure we now call the Rapture. And though we can look back and see hints of His plan all through the Old Testament, (Isaiah 49:6 for example) neither Satan, the leaders of Israel, nor even the Lord's closest disciples realized that His death on the cross was intended to accomplish all this.

"None of the rulers of this age understood it," Paul wrote, "For if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." (1 Cor. 2:8) Implicit in the phrase "rulers of this age" is a reference to Satan, whom Paul called "the god of this age" in 2 Cor. 4:4. If Satan had known that his efforts to defeat the Lord by killing Him would result in his own total defeat, he would have done anything he could to prevent it.

I've Got A Secret
For these reasons the Rapture had to be kept secret. It was part of God's secret wisdom, Paul said, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began (1 Cor 2:7). Paul was not authorized to reveal this until nearly 20 years after the Lord's death, when it was too late for anyone to do anything about it, but it's what he meant when he wrote to the Colossians, "And having disarmed the powers and authorities (by paying the penalty for our sins) He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Col. 2:15).

What was to have been Satan's great victory has resulted in his total defeat. Now the only ones on his side of the ledger will be those who choose to be there by rejecting God's offer of pardon. Their choice relieves God of the responsibility. He still grieves over them, but can't override their sovereign right to choose their own destiny. And since they've chosen to join him, Satan can't use them as leverage to get a better deal for himself.

In Closing …
The enormity of God's Gift of Grace, made available to Jew and Gentile alike and sealed with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, is something so spectacular that neither Paul nor any other Apostle was ever able to adequately describe it. The best Paul could do was to borrow a passage from Isaiah, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor, 2:9). Amen to that.

And so one day soon, with no prior warning and at a time when the world least expects Him, the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thes. 4:16-17) There is no precedent condition, nothing that must happen first, except that if you want to be taken you have to give your heart to Him who's coming before He gets here. Better do it right away, for if you listen carefully you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

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Letter To a Skeptic - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com

"Hal:
I saw you on TBN and boy, I am impressed. Why don't you pick up a science book and learn the real truth? All religion is mythology. People of many religions have been predicting the end of world for years. The Garden of Eden, The Flood, The Last Supper, the Resurrection story, The Trinity, etc. were all in religions before Christianity. Do you deny that? Do you honestly believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old? That we lived with dinosaurs? That we did not evolve from apes? Do you think there is a conspiracy of scientists in all different fields against the Bible? Einstein, Darwin, Sagan, etc. were not out to disprove the Bible, they were seeking knowledge. Because of them the world is a better place."

I often get letters like the one above, but I usually answer them privately. This one deserves a wider hearing.

Dear Sir:

You argue that because of Darwin and others the world is a better place. A woman has a "right to choose" to kill her unborn baby – the baby has no right to "life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness." Families are breaking up, kids are turning schools into war zones, perjury is no longer a "real crime," gangs run rampant in our cities and serial killers are now commonplace. Sure, things have never been better.

(Who told you I believe that the earth is only 6000 years old? The Bible does not teach or require that belief.) Also, please explain the fossilized human footprint in the same impression as a dinosaur footprint located in the Permian Basin outside Midland, Texas. So far, science has been unable to. Apparently, you are willing to put your faith in science books alone. I'm sure it provides you with plenty of hope for the future.

I agree people have been predicting the end of the world. Indeed, that comes as no surprise to those who eschew the "real truth of science" ("man will never fly" – "bloodletting will cure disease" – both once scientific truths) for the "myths" of the Bible. How many people do you think have tried to prove the Bible wrong in the last 20 centuries? Philosophers, thinkers, scientists and doctors from every generation, on every continent, for 2000 years have tried to conclusively disprove the Bible – archeologically, historically, medically, scientifically – the one who found a single provably incorrect statement in any of these fields would prove the Book was written by a man.

Such a one would utterly destroy the underpinnings of the Judeo Christian ethic and would be the most famous philosopher who ever lived. The man who proved the Bible wrong! Surely history records such a genius – it's not like the Bible and its precepts haven't been under constant attack throughout history. But, sadly, there is no record of our historical genius.

You can't really believe you are the first to question it. I challenge you to conclusively disprove the Bible. While you're at it, can you conclusively prove evolution? Science demands empirical evidence that can be re-created in a laboratory before it labels something as "fact." Consequently, we teach evolution as fact in schools, but call it the "theory" of evolution. Look up "theory" and you'll find it means "a supposition" – an unproved fact.

On the other hand, the Bible is made up of 66 books, written by at least 40 different men in different cultures and places over a period of 2,000 years. Yet the message is perfectly consistent, homogenous, connected and progressive.

The Bible details history, medical information, scientific information (the Book of Job tells us, among other things, the world is round, wind moves in cyclonic patterns rather than a straight line and that light is in motion), without contradicting the latest findings of science. Archeological information has never disproved but rather confirmed the details of the Bible. Archeology has proven the existence of such key figures as Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas the High Priest, and we also have the record of Flavius Josephus, the secular Roman historian who mentioned the life of Jesus.

You are entitled to your opinion, as am I. And if you're right, the same thing happens to me as happens to you when we die – nothing! If you're wrong, however, you will pay for all eternity.

I'm unwilling to gamble on a discipline (science) that has been wrong so many times before, when I have before me a discipline (Biblical Christianity) that has never been disproved a single time in history.

So, I thank you for your suggestion that I pick up a science book and learn the "real" truth. But I already have and found that "truth" wanting. When I was a boy, science told me it was impossible to split the atom. Science told my dad that man would never fly. I've lived to see both scientific truths disproved, yet I still await the disproval of a single point in all 77,000-plus verses of Scripture.

I've studied science. I've read dozens of books on dozens of scientific theories and breakthroughs. Have you read the Bible? Or are you basing your condemnation of me on only half the evidence necessary to support your argument? Surely you aren't saying to me "I've read science, but not the Bible, and I conclude the Bible is wrong and science is true," are you? That wouldn't be very scientific, would it?

I'd like to invite you to know the One Who not only wrote the "real" Truth, but has kept it to this day.

Sincerely in Christ,

Hal Lindsey

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The Marriage of the Lamb - by Dr. John Ankerberg with Dr. Randall Price, Dr. Zola Levitt and Dr. Renald Showers


"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7)

Dr. John Ankerberg: Welcome! Welcome. We're here in warm and wonderful Dallas, Texas with a wonderful audience today and we're glad that you've joined us today. We're going to start with a topic that is dear to the heart of all Christians across the country, and that is the doctrine of the Rapture. Very few non-Christians know that Jesus Christ said that He was coming back when He was here the first time. They know about the fact that He was born in Bethlehem and the Christmas story, but they have very little recollection about the fact that Jesus said He would come again. So it's brand new stuff.

Now, concerning those that believe in a sense that at the time Christ comes to establish His Millennial Kingdom and rescue Israel and establish His righteousness on earth, if that were true, and we were to meet Christ in the air, make a "U" turn and come down, why is it that at that point John 14:1,2 enters into our discussion?

Dr. Randall Price: Because in John 14:1,2, Jesus is giving a word of assurance to His disciples. He's saying, "I'm not going to leave you alone as orphans in this world. If I go, I go to prepare a place for you and I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." And so there is a place prepared to which believers on this earth, the church, the Body of Christ, must be taken. He will come and take them to that place. There's no sense in which they will meet Him and then come to the earth first and then go to that place. The next promise that He has made for His church is that He will take them personally Himself to that place of promise.

Ankerberg: Zola, we're so glad that you're here. I mean, we talk about these things that are really Jewish in nature and Jesus was talking to other Jews and especially that one about John 14:1,2, "I'm going to prepare a place for you; I'm going to come again and receive you unto myself." He's got other things that talk in terms of a Jewish wedding. Would you fill us in and tell us why you believe it applies to the Rapture.

Dr. Zola Levitt: Yes. It's a very romantic statement. Every culture had its own custom of matrimony, and in Israel in Jesus' time, a wedding was a two-part thing. There was a going away. First, the bridegroom came to the bride and he brought a contract of marriage. That was the first date, the proposal. There was no dating under Jewish law. Oh, they thought nothing of marrying strangers. In "Fiddler on the Roof" in one of the songs it says, "The first time I saw you was on our wedding day." Rebecca married a stranger.

Really, the bridegroom comes and brings a contract—money, a price for the bride; that was the custom—and he pours a cup for her. If she'll pick up that cup and drink it, as they did at the Passover table that night of John 14, then it's "Yes." But he doesn't say, "Then come with me" and they go to the rabbi and get married. He says, "I go to prepare a place for you."

He leaves; he goes back to his father's house and he builds her a little mansion, a bridal chamber, for their honeymoon. His father is the judge on when this is done. So if you asked the young man, "When is the big day?" he would say, "I don't know; only my father knows."

There are many clues in Scripture that the Lord did all these things and on purpose. We're in the "going away." He's building this mansion in Heaven—you characterized it perfectly. It's a honeymoon chamber. It's a bridal chamber. And when His Father says the time is right, then He will come and, as you said, "like a thief." It is sudden but it is not unexpected. The bride is engaged. She's been going around getting her trousseau.

Dr. Renald Showers: Jesus, the night before He went to the cross, gathered with His apostles in the upper room. At the end of chapter 13 of the gospel of John where we have the record of this gathering, Jesus forewarned His disciples that He would leave them soon. That really caused them to be disturbed. In order to calm their fears He made a great promise to them in John chapter 14:1-3. This is what He said: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. 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 so that where I am there you may be also."

Now Jesus was referring here to a future coming of His and we are convinced that He is talking here about His coming to rapture the church from the earth. How do we know that He is referring here to His coming to rapture the church instead of His Second Coming after the end of the great tribulation? Well, for one thing He indicates here that when He comes, He will receive the believers unto Himself. Notice in this coming He's not coming to come down to where they are and live where they are. In other words, He's not the only one that's going to be moving here. He's going to be removing them from where they are to be where He is. And so He says here, "I will come again and receive you unto Myself."

And then notice the purpose of this coming, it's a purpose clause—that where I am there you may be also. He's saying here the whole purpose of My coming in this particular coming I'm referring to is so that you can be where I am not so that I can be where you are. So He's not saying in this coming "come so I can live where you are on the face of the earth," but "I'm going to come in this coming so that you can be where I am," namely in the Father's house. And the very fact that He ties this promise in with the concept that He's going to be preparing dwelling places for them in the Father's house in Heaven strongly infers that when He receives them to Himself He's going to take them back to live with Him in those dwelling places in the Father's house in Heaven. This is definitely a Rapture passage.

Now, you and I who live in this twentieth century world do not catch the full impact of the promise that Jesus made here and the reason we do not is because in delivering this promise Jesus inferred in analogy with the way which Jewish people conducted their weddings in Bible times. The first major step in a Jewish wedding between a young man and young woman in Bible times was the establishment of the marriage covenant. The Jews called the establishment of such a covenant betrothal or espousal.

Usually the way that covenant would be established was as follows: the groom would leave his father's house and travel to the home of his prospective bride. By analogy Jesus over 1900 years ago left His Father's house in Heaven and traveled to the home of His prospective bride, the church, here on planet earth.

When the Jewish bridegroom would arrive at the bride's home, he would come for the purpose of establishing a marriage covenant and in order to establish that covenant he had to pay a purchase price. Jewish young men had to buy their wives in Bible times. By analogy when Jesus came in His first coming to the earth He also came for the purpose of establishing a covenant, a covenant through which He would obtain His bride, the church. And the covenant He came to establish is the one that the Bible calls the New Covenant. And He did that when He died on the cross and He too had to pay a purchase price in order to establish that covenant and through that purchase price to obtain His bride, the church.

The purchase price that Jesus had to pay was the shedding of His own life blood. That's why Paul at the end of 1 Corinthians 6 says, "What, know ye not you're not your own; you've been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and spirit."

After the Jewish bridegroom had established the marriage covenant at the bride's home and thereby had obtained his bride to be his wife, he would leave her at her home and would return to his father's house and they would remain separated for a period of time—normally for approximately one year. And during that year of separation the Jewish bridegroom would be busily engaged in his father's house preparing living accommodations to which he could bring his bride later on. By analogy Jesus, less than two months after He established the new covenant through the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary, left the home of His prospective bride, the church, here on planet earth, and on the day of His ascension He returned to His Father's house in Heaven. And He's been away ever since

And you and I right now are living in the period of separation between the time of His departure and the time of His return. And as He promises here in John 14, while He is away from us in the Father's house in Heaven right now, He's busily engaged preparing living accommodations or mansions to which He can bring His bride, the church, later on.

The Jewish bridegroom at the end of the year of separation would come on an unannounced night to take his bride to be with him. The bride never knew exactly what night he would come. She knew it would be some night near the end of the year of separation but she never knew exactly when. And so on that unannounced night the Jewish bridegroom would call to himself at his father's house his best-man and other male escorts and together those young men would begin a torchlight procession through the streets of the city from the groom's father's house over to the home of the bride.

Here was the bridegroom coming to take his bride to be with him. As those young men would be weaving their way through the streets of the city, bystanders recognizing what was happening, would pick up a shout, "Behold the bridegroom comes." That shout would be carried from block to block to block until finally it would arrive at the bride's home. The major purpose of that shout was to forewarn the bride to the effect that she'd better get ready in a hurry because tonight was the night and her groom was already on his way to take her to be with him.

As soon as she would hear that shout, she sent out word to her bridesmaids to come to her home, get her dressed in her bridal garment and all prepared because this was the night. Now by analogy the Bible teaches that at the end of the present period of separation from Christ in which we are now living, Jesus, too, will come from the Father's house in Heaven toward the earth, toward the home of His bride here on the earth, at an unannounced time. The Bible makes it clear that nobody living on planet earth knows exactly when the Lord Jesus will come for His bride, the church. It's an imminent event. It could happen at any moment. In fact, it could even happen today.

And the Scriptures also teach by analogy that when Jesus will come, at that unannounced time for His bride, He, too, will come with an escort. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 refers to one great archangel who apparently will be the escort for the Lord Jesus from the Father's house in Heaven. And Paul also indicates in 1 Thessalonians 4 that just as the Jewish bridegroom's coming was accompanied by a loud shout so Jesus' coming will be accompanied by a loud shout.

And I surmise that the content of that shout will be the same, "Behold, the bridegroom comes." Now interestingly, when the Jewish bridegroom came on that unannounced night, he and his male escorts would wait outside the bride's home until she was ready, and then she and her bridesmaids would come out of her home and meet her groom and his male escorts in the streets of the city. By analogy Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4 when Jesus comes for His bride, the church, He will not come the whole way down to planet earth where His bride is living. He will stop outside the earth in the air and wait there, and then His bride, the church, will come out and meet Him in the streets of the city.

After the Jewish bride would come out of her home with her bridesmaids and meet her bridegroom and his male escorts, now the enlarged wedding party would have a return torchlight procession back to the groom's father's house. By analogy, after Jesus has caught up His bride, the church, from the earth to meet Him in the air, we are convinced in light of this passage in John 14 that He will return with His bride from the air above the earth back to His Father's house in Heaven to begin living in the living accommodations He's prepared there.

After the Jewish bride and groom arrived at the groom's father's house, they went into hiding privately into a room that the Jewish people called the huppah, in English that means the bridal chamber and there in the privacy of that room, they would enter into physical union with each other for the first time and thereby consummate their marriage.

Now intriguingly they would stay hidden in that bridal chamber for seven days. This is known therefore in the Jewish encyclopedia as the seven days of the bridal chamber. And then at the end of the seventh day, the groom would come out of hiding from the bridal chamber and he would bring his bride out of hiding with him out in the open with her veil removed so that everyone could see who his bride truly was.

Now by analogy with this aspect of the Jewish marriage customs, after Jesus and His bride, the church, will arrive by Rapture at His Father's house in Heaven, He and His bride will also go into hiding for a period of seven, but in this instance for seven years. For while the seven year tribulation period will be transpiring down here on planet earth, Jesus and His bride, the church, will be hidden away from the view of everyone who is still living down here; they will be hidden away in the Father's house in Heaven.

But finally at the end of the seventh year of the tribulation period, Christ will come out of hiding from the Father's house in Heaven in His glorious Second Coming, this time the whole way down to planet earth to take over the rule of the earth on behalf of God. And when He will come out of hiding at that time, He will bring His bride out of hiding with Him from the Father's house in Heaven, now out in the open on full public display so that everyone who's still living here on planet earth can see who His bride, the church, truly is.

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ISRAEL: Her Past, Present and Future (Part 1)- by:Dr. Robert Gromacki

The general theme of the Book of Romans is the revelation of the righteousness of God (1:17). All men, both Jews and Gentiles, stand in the need of divine righteousness. All are morally guilty before the just God of the universe because all are "under sin" --under its penalty, power, and effects (3:9-19). All manifest their enslavement to sin by their rejection of truth that God has revealed in the created world, in the image of God within man, and in the Holy Scriptures (1:18-3:20).

All men, both Jews and Gentiles, cannot do anything to merit the righteousness of God. Rather, all must admit their moral guilt and condemned state before God. When that confession occurs, then sinners are in a position to hear the good news - the gospel wherein Christ satisfied the righteous demands of God for sin through His redemptive death on the cross and His victorious resurrection from the dead (1:16; 3:21-31). Any person, either Jew or Gentile, can receive the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ. After a believing sinner has received the righteousness of God, he can be justified, or declared to be righteous by God (3:21-5:21).

In the first eight chapters of Romans, the Jewish apostle Paul argued that we believing sinners can trust God through Jesus Christ for deliverance from the penalty of sin (justification), for victory over the power of our sinful disposition (sanctification), and for ultimate liberation from the effects of sin demonstrated in our mortal, corruptible bodies (glorification).

In the next three chapters (9-11), Paul relates the redemptive program of God for believers to His covenant promises to the nation of Israel. The main issue is this question -- How can we believers trust God to complete His redemptive plan for us when He has not yet finished his covenant program for Israel? Can there be an eventual loss of salvation through our personal moral failure and unbelief? Has Israel lost its promised future?

The "gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (11:29). No genuine believer will ever lose the divine gift of salvation and righteousness received by faith in Christ. Nothing will ever sever him "from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (9:38-39). In like manner, God will complete every unconditional promise to the real Israel because Israel is "beloved for the fathers' sakes" (11:28). Eternal security for the believer is inseparably connected to the assured future of Israel. To deny one truth is to deny the other, to affirm one means to affirm the other.

ISRAEL: BLESSED YET UNSAVED

CONCERN FOR ISRAEL'S SALVATION (9:1-3)

Paul was an Israelite (11:1; Philippians. 3:5). He loved his people, Israel. But he also had a heavy emotional and spiritual burden for the nation. He shared his concern: "...I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, by kinsmen according to the flesh" (9:2-3). Paul thought that he was in a right relationship with God before he placed his trust in Jesus Christ as his Messiah and Saviour, but he was mistaken. By the grace of God, he was convicted of his unbelief and experienced spiritual conversion.

He knew that the great majority of the Jewish people was like he was before his genuine birth into the family of God. He knew that the Jewish people were trying to satisfy the righteous demands of God through their own self-righteous demands of God through their own self-righteous efforts. They were religiously zealous, but apart from biblical understanding (10:23). Thus, Paul prayed that Israel "might be saved" (10:1).

In fact, Paul asserted that he would be willing to spend eternity in hell if his loss of salvation would result in the total salvation of Israel. Paul's wish was sincere; yet hypothetical. No believer can lose his righteous standing before God. And, no believer can bear the eternal condemnation of another person, and certainly not of an entire nation. Paul's disclosure, however, revealed his passionate love for his people.

To affirm the authenticity of his concern, Paul gave three exclamations for his truthfulness: (1) "I say the truth in Christ"; (2) "I lie not"; (3) "my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit" (9:1). Paul knew that his readers would have difficulty in accepting his spiritual concern for Israel. He used the best language possible to manifest that his inner feelings were completely free of deceit and falsehood.

THE PRIVILEGES OF ISRAEL (9:4-5)

Israel is a distinctive nation. God gave them special advantages. Paul listed nine.

First, the people are known as "Israelites" (9:4). They take their name from one of the three patriarchs, namely Jacob. God changed the name of Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28). Thus, the name was divinely given. The names of the twelve sons of Jacob thus became the names for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Second, Israel possesses "the adoption" (9:4). God told Moses to return to Egypt and to say before Pharaoh: "Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn" (Exodus 4:22). Adoption is a legal term. God legally put Israel into the privilege of covenant sonship. As the legal firstborn son among the nations of the earth, Israel was to serve as the theocratic nation through whom God would administer His royal dominion over all of the nations.

Third, Israel had "the glory" (9:4). This term refers to the manifested presence of God. God revealed His local presence to Israel by the "pillar of a cloud" during the day and "a pillar of fire" during the night (Exodus 13:21-22; 16:10). The two pillars led Israel during their wilderness wanderings. Later, the glory of the Lord filled Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:11).

Fourth, God established unconditional covenants with Israel (9:4). God said to Abraham: "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:2-3). The Abrahamic covenant, latter reiterated to him (Genesis 13:14-17; 15:18-21; 17:1-8), gave to his physical descendants, specifically the nation of Israel, the eternal ownership of the land between the Euphrates River and the river of Egypt.

God also gave to the nation the Palestinian covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-10), the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:4-17), and the New covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-37; Ezek. 36:22-32).

Fifth, God gave to Israel "the law" (9:4). At Sinai, God delivered those regulations which would govern the moral, civil, and religious life of the nation (Exodus 19:1-20:26; Deuteronomy 5:1-33).

Sixth, Israel enjoyed the privilege of religious "service" toward God (9:4). The complex system of animal, bird, grain, and drink offerings and sacrifices could only be conducted by the high priest, the priests, and the Levites through the divinely given order at the prescribed time and place.

Seventh, God gave "the promises" of the coming Messiah-Redeemer to Israel (9:4). The Saviour was to be human (Genesis 3:15), a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), a greater son of David (2 Samuel 7:4-17), and also divine (Psalm 110:1).

Eighth, God constantly identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (9:5). (Exodus. 3:6) These fathers, known as the patriarchs, establish the covenant relationship between God, the heavenly Father, and the people of Israel.

Ninth, Israel produced the Saviour of both the nation and the families of the earth (9:5). That Redeemer is none other than Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh. Paul wrote: " ...of whom (Israel) as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever" (9:5). Jesus Christ is the promised "son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1). The Messiah had to be both divine and human. He had to be one person with two natures, divine and human. Israel was privileged to be the nation through which God would superintend the human ancestry of the Messiah.

In spite of these privileges, Israel needed to be saved. All peoples need to receive the righteousness of God which comes only through faith in the saving God (Genesis 15:6; Habakkuk 2:4).

ISRAEL: Her Past, Present and Future (Part 2)- by:Dr. Robert Gromacki

ISRAEL: ELECT OR NON-ELECT

(ROMANS 9:6-13)

Does God always keep His word? Yes, He does. Then why does Israel not experience the reality of the covenant promises which God made to her? Why is Israel still in a state of unbelief?

TWO FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES (9:6)

First, God always keeps His word (9:6a). Paul wrote: "But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect" (9:1a). No promise of God has ever failed. God is both omniscient and omnipotent. He is sovereign. No person can frustrate His divine purpose.

God said concerning Himself: "I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure" (Isaiah 46:9-10). Later, He added: "Indeed I have spoken it: I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it" (Isaiah 46:11).

Whenever we analyze history and prophecy, we must never conclude that God's word has been in error. God will fulfill every unconditional promise He has made to Israel and to the Church.

Second, all of the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob do not constitute the genuine Israel (9:6b). Paul wrote: "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel" (9:6). The phrase "who are of Israel" refers to those people who can trace their family ancestry to the patriarchs of the nation. Mere ethnic identification with Abraham is not a sufficient basis to receive all of the covenant promises given to Abraham.

Earlier in the epistle, Paul wrote: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one inwardly: and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God" (Romans 2:28-29).

Christ affirmed that His critics were the descendants of Abraham, but He denied that they were the real children of Abraham (John 8:37-39). In fact, He asserted that their father was the devil (John 8:44).

These descriptions by Paul and Christ are consistent with the history of Israel. Should the wicked, idolatrous kings of Israel and Judah be recognized as the true Israel who would receive both the spiritual and materialistic blessings of the covenant promises? Certainly not! In the Old Testament era, there was a vast difference between the true Jewish believer and the apostate, idolatrous Jewish unbeliever.

TWO KEY ILLUSTRATIONS (9:7-13)

First, Ishmael or Isaac (9:7-9). The first child born to Abraham was actually Ishmael whose mother was Hagar (Genesis 16:1-16). However, God had determined that the rightful heir to the Abrahamic Covenant promises would be Isaac, born of Sarah, the lawful wife.

Paul thus observed: "nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham: but, In Isaac your seed shall be called. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. For this is the word of promise: At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son" (9:7-9).

Ishmael had a genetic, ethnic connection to Abraham, but that fact did not establish him to be the sole heir or even one of the heirs. He was actually a "child of the flesh." He was the product of the merger of Abraham's faith and human effort, prompted by Sarah and the submission of Hagar. In a spiritual sense, he was born out of faith and works.

Paul used the historical birth accounts of Ishmael and Isaac to form a spiritual allegory (Galatians 4:19-31). His conclusion was that it is impossible to be born of two mothers at the same time. Sarah represented the promise received by faith alone in the provision and power of God. Hagar symbolized the self-produced works produced by a legalistic conformity to the Mosaic Law.

The Scriptures teach that we receive the righteousness of God by faith apart from physical ancestry and legalistic obedience. It was so with Abraham. He "believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis. 15:6). Earlier in this epistle, Paul wrote: "For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13).

Isaac was the child of promise received by faith alone through the proper mother, namely Sarah. On the other hand, Ishmael was the child of the flesh. Both sons were physically related to Abraham, but only Isaac received the covenant blessing.

Second, Esau or Jacob (9:10-13). Isaac and Rebecca had twin sons, the elder Esau and the younger Jacob. God, however, chose Jacob to be the heir of the covenant promises earlier given to Abraham and Isaac. Esau, who became the father of the Edomites, thus stood outside of the "true Israel" even though he was a physical descendant of both Abraham and Isaac.

Paul wrote: "And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.' As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated'" (9:10-13).

God's choice was based upon His sovereign elective will. He chose before the boys were born. He chose before they had done any good or evil works.

CONCLUSION

God's word has come to pass. His covenant promises are always kept to those whom He has chosen. The covenant promises, therefore, were given to elect Israel or to those Israelites whom God chose to salvation. The elect are known because they are the ones who believe the promises of God. They receive the righteousness of God by faith, even as Abraham did.

Non-elect Israel is composed of those who can trace their genetic ancestry to Abraham but who, like Ishmael and Esau, are not children of promise. They were not chosen by God to receive the promises. They manifested their lack of faith by their persecution of the divinely chosen heirs.

HARD QUESTIONS AND DIFFICULT ANSWERS

(Romans 9:14-24)

God chose Jacob rather than Esau (9:10-13). God selected Isaac rather than Ishmael (9:7-9). God covenanted with Abraham to be the father of the elect nation of Israel (9:4-5). Historical and theological truth has demonstrated that God, out of His sovereign purpose, has chosen some to salvation, but not others. In anticipation of objection to this divine action, Paul asked two rhetorical questions.

IS GOD UNJUST? (9:14-18)

Paul wrote: "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God" (9:14)? His answer was clear: "Certainly not!" God is just in His being, and He always acts justly. Through His redemptive death on the cross, Jesus Christ satisfied the righteous demands of God for the penalty of sin. On that basis, God can remain just and justify anyone who places his faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:25-26). If Christ had not died, then God in His justice would have condemned all men because all men are under sin (Romans 3:9). God's elective purpose, rather, manifests His mercy and grace. Paul then quoted a statement that God made to Moses: "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion?" (9:15; cf. Exodus 33:19). Divine mercy and compassion are expressions of God's sovereign choice. No person deserves divine mercy, and no person can do anything to merit it. Paul added: "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (9:16). God is under no obligation to show mercy to anyone. Neither human desire ("him who wills") nor human effort ("him who runs") moves Him to select. God acts; He does not react. His redemptive choice is unconditional.

Paul then quoted a statement made by God to the Egyptian Pharaoh: "Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the land." (9:17; cf. Exodus 9:16). God elevated a sinful person out from a fallen human race and idolatrous nation to the position of the highest ruler in Egypt and in the Middle East. Pharaoh had the opportunity to glorify God and to bless the covenant nation of Israel, but he refused to do so. God knew about this rejection, and said to Pharaoh through Moses: "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?" (Exodus 9:17) God then manifested His power by pouring out His plagues of wrath against the Egyptians, by delivering Israel out of her bondage, and by causing other nations to know that the God of Israel was the one and only true God of the universe (Joshua 2:8-14).

Paul then concluded his argument: "Therefore hath He (God) mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardenth" (9:18). All humans deserve the wrathful judgment of God. Whenever God wills to have mercy on an undeserving sinner, that sovereign action reveals His redemptive grace. Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, experienced that merciful touch. On the other hand, God can will to harden a sinner who deserves divine wrath. For example, Pharaoh expressed his moral rebellion and lost human condition when he hardened his own heart in the face of the displays of divine power (Exodus 8:15,19,32). Thus, when God willed to harden Pharaoh (Exodus 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27), God simply confirmed Pharaoh in his unbelief and allowed him to suffer the consequences of his sinful choices.

IS GOD UNFAIR? (9:19-24)

Paul put it this way: "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" (9:19)? At issue here is the execution of the divine will, and the human perception of that execution. Paul anticipated a human protest against the actions of God's sovereign will--the election of some to salvation and the hardening of others to retribution. In either case, the critics would claim that God's will was being carried out.

Paul's reply was direct: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (9:20) The contrasts are obvious: between man and God, between the creature and the creator, and between the clay and the potter. God is God; thus He can will to do anything that He pleases. Man is man; thus he cannot dictate to God what the Almighty can or cannot do. Another question followed: "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishounour" (9:21)? All humans constitute the clay. They are of the same lump. They all belong to a fallen human race. They are all under sin--unrighteous, guilty, and deserving of eternal wrath (Romans 3:9,10,19). If God chooses to shape a sinner into a son of God, a vessel for honor, He has that prerogative. If God chooses to shape a sinner into a vessel for dishonor, He also has that prerogative. In the first illustration, the sinner gets what he does not deserve; in the second, the sinner gets that he deserves. God can receive praise from both the saved person and the unsaved person. Both salvation and judgment bring glory to Him. The Psalmist said: "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee" (Psalm 76:10).

Paul then raised this lengthy question: "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (9:22-24)?

All unsaved men, the vessels of wrath, are prepared for destruction in that destruction is the necessary consequence of sin. Earlier Paul wrote: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). God does not predestine a morally neutral person to condemnation. However, He has determined that sinners will pay for their sin and their rejection of divine truth. God manifests His longsuffering toward sinners in that He puts up with their rebellion throughout their earthly experiences. On the other hand, the saved are the vessels of mercy, the ones who will share in the eternal glory of Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles, being human and fallen, deserve divine wrath. However, in His mercy, God has called both Jews and Gentiles to Himself through justifying faith in Jesus Christ. God is the Saviour of all who believe; God is also the Judge of all who reject.
 

ISRAEL: Her Past, Present and Future (Part 3)- by:Dr. Robert Gromacki

ISRAEL: NATION OR REMNANT?

(Romans 9:25-33)

In this section, Paul demonstrates that only the believing remnant within the nation of Israel constituted the real covenant people. The basis of their spiritual acceptance before God is the same as that for believing Gentiles. Thus, the genuine family of God in this dispensation is made up of believing Jews and believing Gentiles who together are formed into one body, the true church (Ephesians 2:11-22). Both believing Jews and believing Gentiles are divinely called (9:24), the "vessels of mercy which (God) had prepared beforehand for glory" (9:23).

PREDICTION OF THE REMNANT (9:25-29)

Paul selected three portions of Old Testament prophecy to show that "they are not all Israel which are of Israel" (9:6). The first passage is from Hosea and the next two are from Isaiah.

Hosea ministered at the time of the divided kingdom, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and also during the reign of Jeroboam, king of Israel. God directed Hosea to marry Gomer so that his marriage would symbolize the spiritual adultery of the land (Hosea 1:23). To this union, three children were born: Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi (Hosea 2:4-8). The meanings of the children's names depicted God's relationship to Israel. Jezreel meant "scattered," Lo-Ruhamah meant "no mercy," and Lo-Ammi meant "not my people."God said that He would bring an end to the northern kingdom of Israel (Hosea 1:4), that He would no longer have mercy on the house of Israel (Hosea 1:6), that Israel would no longer be His people (Hosea 1:9), and that He would no longer be their God (Hosea 1:9). These prophecies were fulfilled when the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. and scattered many of its inhabitants.

Paul used this historical background to show the spiritual truth that God would take His people out of those who previously were not His people. This reality could only be applied to the believing remnant within Israel and in an extended way to believing Gentiles. Both groups were once unsaved, but through divine grace and human repentant-faith, both have become His people.

Here is the quotation from Hosea: "I will call them My people, which were not My people. And her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, You are not My people, there they shall be called the children of the living God" (Romans 9:25-26; cf. Hosea 2:20; 2:23).

Whereas Hosea basically ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel, Isaiah primarily declared his messages to the southern kingdom of Judah (Isaiah 1:1). He described the nation thusly: "Ah, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward" (Isaiah 1:4). God subsequently judged His people by allowing the Babylonians to destroy the southern kingdom in 586 B.C.

In the midst of his predictions of judgment, Isaiah declared this message of hope: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness: Because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth" (Romans 9:27-28 cf. Isaiah 10:22-23). The contrast is between the sand of the sea (the great number of racial Jews) and the remnant (the small number of believing Jews who will experience the righteousness of God.)

Isaiah then praised the gracious preservation of Israel by God: "Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah" (Romans 9:27-28 cf. Isaiah 1:9). The two wicked cities of the Jordan plain suffered total permanent destruction in the days of Abraham and Lot. Nothing remained and no one survived.

God, however, did not judge the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah in like manner. In his sovereign grace, He preserved a "seed." That seed goes beyond the obvious survival of physical Jewry to the divine calling of a believing remnant within Israel. Later on, Paul will argue: "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace (Romans 11:5).

BASIS FOR THE REMNANT (9:30-33)

The approach to God is the same for both the Gentile and the Jew. The means of securing a righteous standing before the God of holiness has always been the same for Israel and all other nations. It is the procedure which Abraham followed: "And he (Abraham) believed int the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). Abraham knew that he could not do anything to merit the imputation of divine righteousness. Rather, as a guilty undeserving sinner, he placed his trust in Jehovah-God who alone could save and forgive him. Abraham received the gracious gift of a righteous standing before he was circumcised and before the law was given to Moses.

In this age, both Gentiles and the remnant within Israel have come to God on the same basis-unconditional faith in God part from human effort. Paul knew that truth, and thus argued: "What shall we say then?" (Romans 9:30). The contrast is now between believing Gentiles and unbelieving Jews. Why is it true in this present dispensation that more Gentiles are saved than Jews? From Abraham to Jesus Christ, that situation was reversed. In the Old Testament era, there were more righteous, saved Jews that Gentiles. What makes the difference? Two reasons are given.

First, the gentiles received the righteousness of God by faith in total dependence upon the gracious provision of God (9:30-32). Israel, however, sought to gain divine righteousness through outward conformity to the Law of Moses in total dependence upon the ability of self to do so.

Paul wrote: "That Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith but as it were by works of the law" (Romans 9:30-32). Israel had the advantage of receiving the law of Moses directly from God (Romans 3:1-2; 9:4). God never gave the Law so that men would try to keep it in order gain salvation. God gave the Law to show men how holy He is and how unrighteous men are. The Law was designed to create a conviction of moral inadequacy with man. In its moral blindness and hardness, Israel refused to acknowledge their insufficiency.

Second, Israel stumbled over the provision of the divine human Messiah who alone could save them (9:33). Paul wrote: "For they stumbled at that stumbling stone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed" (Romans 9:32-33 cf. Psalm 118:22). In their attempt to work for their salvation, Israel tripped over the provision of the Messiah to do that work for them. To the child of God today, whether Jew or Gentile, Peter can say: "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, The stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner" (I Peter 2:7).

ISRAEL: RIGHTEOUS BUT UNSAVED

(ROMANS 10:1-13)

Paul loved his people, the nation of Israel. He had a burden for them. Earlier, he confessed that he had "great sorrow and continual grief" in his heart over the nation (9:3). He now expressed his "heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel" (10:1). He wanted his Gentile "brethren" in the family of God to see the longing of his heart (10:1; 11:13). He wanted them also to agonize in prayer for his beloved nation.

ISRAEL'S SPIRITUAL CONDITION (10:1-3)

Paul described the spiritual condition of Israel in five ways.

First, Israel was unsaved (10:1). The apostle's prayer was "that they may be saved." Both Jews and Gentiles are "all under sin" if they have not received God's gracious provision of redemption through Jesus Christ (3:23).

Second, Israel had "a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge"(10:2). She was sincere in her religious devotion, but she was sincerely wrong. The nation actually reflected Paul's past spiritual condition. Paul gave this testimony before the Jews in Jerusalem: "I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day" (Acts 22:3). Paul's zeal for God, Israel, and the Mosaic Law caused him to persecute Christians and to vote for their deaths (Acts 22:4; 26:9-11). He further stated: "And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers" (Gal. 1:14).

Third, Israel was "ignorant of God's righteousness" (10:3a). They were ignorant of the fact that the Old Testament taught that men received the imputed righteousness of God by faith apart from the work of the law (Romans 3:20-22; cf. Genesis 15:6; Heb. 4:2). They were ignorant of the magnitude of God's gracious provision of redemption. They were ignorant, not because they were not told, but because they chose not to learn. When Paul analyzed his faulty zeal, he confessed: "Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (I Tim. 1:13). In like manner, Israel's ignorance manifested her lack of faith.

Fourth, Israel was "seeking to establish their own righteousness" (10:3b). Human pride and self-sufficiency provide the basis of a self-produced righteousness. Again, Israel was ignorant of Isaiah's clear statement: "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Can any person, by his own attempts, create a righteous standing whereby God will sense an obligation to receive him? Absolutely not.

Fifth, Israel had "not submitted to the righteousness of God" (10:3c). To be saved, one must be humble not proud. God's plan for man to receive His righteousness calls for man to trust what God has provided and done. We submit to the righteousness of God when we humbly accept by faith God's gracious gift of forgiveness and redemption. In faith, we admit that we cannot do anything to merit His favor.

Israel, however, refused to repent in spite of the appeals of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Christ Himself said to Jerusalem, the personification of the Jewish people: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37). Christ pronounced judgment upon the cities of Galilee because they refused to repent (Matthew 11:20).

RIGHTEOUSNESS: OF LAW OR OF FAITH? (10:4-13)

In this section, Paul put forth seven characteristics of the faith which appropriates the righteousness of God.

First, faith achieves the desired end of the law (10:4). Paul wrote: "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth" (10:4). Christ was the object to whom the Law pointed. There was no power in the Law to produce the necessary righteous standing before God. The Law revealed the moral inadequacy of man. The "law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). The "righteousness of the law" is found within those individuals who walk according to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:4).

Second, faith does not assist God in the making of His provision of salvation (10:5-7). The righteousness of the law begins and ends with the attitude and actions of man. Paul quoted Moses: "which if a man do, he shall live in them" (10:5; cf. Leviticus 18:5). In legalism, man alone bears the responsibility for the provision of his own salvation.

In contrast, the righteousness of faith affirms that only God can provide salvation and prescribe the means by which one can obtain it. Paul then freely quoted from Moses to show that the land of Canaan was given to Israel by divine promise and provision, not by the self-produced righteousness of the nation (see Deuteronomy 9:4-6; 30:12-14). In fact, Moses reminded them: "Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people" (Deuteronomy 9:6). Israel gained the land by obedient faith in God's promise and enablement. In like manner, genuine faith does not cause God to provide and apply salvation; rather, it humbly accepts Him whom God has provided as the Saviour of the world.

Third, faith accepts the proclaimed word of salvation (10:8). As they anticipated entrance into Canaan, the nation heard the words of Moses (Deuteronomy 30:14). The message of obedient faith was both available and accessible to them. They had no excuse for not knowing. Paul then equated that truth with "the word of faith which we preach." Saving faith in Jesus Christ is inseparably joined to historical truth and genuine interpretation and application of that truth. Faith has substance and content. It has direction. And it must be declared to those who need to hear.

Fourth, only faith in Jesus Christ secures personal salvation (10:9-10). What must a person do to be saved. Listen to Paul's declaration: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (10:9-10). Confession and belief are soteriological Siamese twins. The heart and mouth complement each other. Christ said: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34). There is no hint in this passage that a person could conceivably believe without confession or confess without believing. In genuine salvation, a person confesses what he believes and he believes what he confesses.

Fifth, faith is confident (10:11). The Scripture says: "Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." (10:11; cf. 9:33; Isaiah 28:16). Christ is the cornerstone which the builders rejected. Genuine faith is proud to name the name of Christ. It is never embarrassed. It will be eternally and completely accepted by the Father. Nothing will be able to take away the confidence of a child of God who has put his complete trust in Jesus Christ rather than in his futile attempts at self-righteousness.

Sixth, faith is the one means for all (10:12). Paul wrote: "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him" (10:12). God has only one provision of salvation--found in His Son Jesus Christ and in His redemptive death and resurrection. And He has only one means for all-both Jew and Gentile--to come to Him (see Romans 3:22-23).

Seventh, faith means to call upon Jehovah-God for salvation (10:13). Paul now quoted from the Old Testament prophet Joel: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered" (Joel 2:32). The name of God stands for all that He is (His essence) and all that He does (His acts). God alone is the redeeming God. God alone is the covenant-keeping God. God alone keeps His promise.

ISRAEL: Her Past, Present and Future (Part 4)- by:Dr. Robert Gromacki

ISRAEL: REJECTION OR ELECTION

(ROMANS 10:14-11:6)

God will save all, both Jew and Gentile, who call upon Him. In salvation, there is no discrimination (10:12-13). God is rich toward both groups of the human race.

REJECTION OF THE GOSPEL BY THE NATION OF ISRAEL (10:14-21)

Unfortunately, Israel rejected God's gracious offer of salvation. Neither the majority nor a large minority received the righteousness of God by faith. Paul proved this evaluation by a series of logical, rhetorical questions with answers taken from the Old Testament.

First, Israel received the missionary message (10:14,15). In a series of four questions, Paul presented the cause-effect sequence in true gospel proclamation: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (10:14-15).

Paul followed the progression of effect back to cause: calling-believing-hearing-proclaiming-sending (by God, obviously). Warren Wiersbe stated: "This passage is often used as the basis for the church's missionary program, and rightly so, but its first application is to the nation of Israel" (The Bible Exposition commentary, I, 548). The context supports his conclusion. Paul then quoted a passage which is found in two Old Testament books: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things" (10:15). In Nahum 1:15, the good news was the announcement that God would destroy Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire. In Isaiah 52:7, the verse anticipated the regathering of Israel to her land and the reign of the messiah. In Paul's application of the principle, the good news was the offer of righteousness and judicial peace through faith in Christ.

Second, Israel did not obey the gospel (10:16). To obey the gospel and to believe the gospel are equivalent phrases. God has commanded all to repent (Acts 17:30). Paul commended the Roman believers: "But God be thanked, that ye were servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you (Romans 6:17).

Paul quoted Isaiah to prove that Israel did not believe: "Lord, who hath believed our report?" (10:16 Isaiah 53:1). The apostle John applied this verse to Israel who rejected the evidence of Christ's miracles (John 12:37-41). This verse from Isaiah opens up the greatest messianic chapter in the entire Old Testament. Philip demonstrated to the Ethiopian eunuch that the person mentioned in Isaiah 53 was the Jewish messiah; namely Jesus Christ (Acts 8:30-35).

Third, Israel heard the truth (10:17,18). It is clear that saving "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (10:17). The question was obvious: "But I say, have they not heard?" (10:18). The answer was direct: "Yes verily" (10:18). To prove his answer, Paul quoted from Psalm 19: "Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world" (10:18; cf. Psalm 19:4). That Psalm shows that God has revealed truth about Himself in the world of nature (19:6). This truth, called general revelation, is available to all men everywhere. In addition, the Psalm points to truth that God has revealed in the Law; namely the Old Testament (Psalm 19:7-11). This truth, called special revelation, was entrusted to the nation of Israel. Israel had an advantage over the Gentiles in that it possessed "the oracles of God" (Romans 3:2). To Israel of His day, Jesus Christ said: "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39).

Fourth, Israel knew the truth (10:19,20). Paul asked: "But I say, did Israel not know?" (10:19). The answer expected is that they did know. To prove his point, Paul quoted from the Torah, written by Moses: "I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you" (cf. Deuteronomy 32:21). Israel was the nation which knew that the righteousness of God came by faith. The Gentiles constituted a non-nation which did not have this understanding. Regardless, the Gentiles believed, and Israel did not. God sovereignly purposed to use this response to stir up non-repentant Israel.

Furthermore, Paul supported his conclusion with a reference to Isaiah: "I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me" (10:20; cf. Isaiah 65:1). The Gentiles neither sought God or asked for Him, yet God, in His merciful grace, saved them.

Fifth, Israel did not respond to God's invitation (10:21). Paul wrote, quoting again from the prophet Isaiah: "But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people" (10:21; cf. Isaiah 65:2). The "day" refers to the ongoing offer of salvation: "Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in a day of salvation I have helped thee" (Isaiah 49:8). Paul quoted that verse, then added: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2; emphasis mine). Throughout the history of Israel, God extended His hands in salvation to them, but the remained "disobedient and contrary." Christ Himself lamented: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37).

ELECTION OF THE REMNANT BY GOD (11:1-6)

Paul then gave this challenging question: "I say then, hath God cast away His people?" (11:1). Has God permanently and totally rejected Israel to the extent that He will no longer keep His covenant promises to her? Has He withdrawn His offer of righteousness by faith in the Messiah to every individual Jew? Has He turned exclusively to the Gentiles in this age? The answer to all of those questions is a firm NO; Certainly not! (11:1).

First, Paul gave two illustrations to show that God has always had a believing remnant within Israel in spite of her national unbelief (11:1-4). Paul cited himself as a believing Jew in this present age: "For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of he tribe of Benjamin" (11:1). The apostle did not surrender His Jewishness when he became a believer in Jesus Christ. He was proud of his racial and religious ancestry (cf. Philippians 3:4-6).

Paul then affirmed this key doctrinal statement: "God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew" (11:2). All believers are chosen or "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father" (I Peter 1:2). All foreknown, chosen believers are likewise predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:29-30). In eternity past, God sovereignly knew us as His own distinctive people even before He worked out His redemptive purpose in time in our individual lives.

In like manner, God knew Israel as His beloved, chosen, covenant nation even before He promised Abraham or redeemed Israel of her Egyptian bondage (Deuteronomy 7:6-10). Thus, both elect Israel and elect believers, both Jewish and Gentile, can be confident that God will never cast them away.

The second illustration shows that there were 7,000 believers within the idolatrous northern kingdom of Israel even though Elijah thought that he was the only one (11:2-4).

Second, Paul then argued that God had a believing remnant within Israel in the present age (11:5,6). "Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace" (11:5). Within the church, the body of Christ God has bonded believing Jew and believing Gentile into one entity. God is saving Jews today, even though the nation as a whole has rejected Jesus Christ.

This election is out of divine grace, totally undeserved by anyone. Paul said: "And if by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace, otherwise work is no longer work" (11:6). Neither Jew nor Gentile can do religious works to gain the righteousness of God. Salvation is a free gift, based upon trust in the giver of that gift, not a reward for meritorious effort.

ISRAEL: Her Past, Present and Future (Part 5)- by:Dr. Robert Gromacki

THE REJECTION OF ISRAEL AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF GENTILES

(Romans 11:7-24)

In this section, Paul contrasted the divine rejection of unsaved Israel with the divine acceptance of Gentiles. He also continued the difference between the saved remnant within Israel and the unsaved majority of Jews in this present age. In so doing, the apostle described Israel's spiritual condition in four ways.

ISRAEL HAS BEEN BLINDED OR HARDENED (11:7-10)

The nation, as a whole, "hath not obtained that which he seeketh for" (11:7). It sought the full blessings of God through the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3), but it did not obtain them because it sought them on the basis of self-produced righteousness. However, "the elect" within the nation obtained the spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant because those Jews received the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. In contrast, "the rest were blinded" (11:7), because they rejected Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah.

To support his presentation of the spiritual blindness of Israel, Paul referred to three passages from the Old Testament (11:8; cf. Deuteronomy 29:3-4; Isaiah 29:10; and 11:9-10; cf. Psalm 69:22-23). The first two show that hardening involves spiritual drowsiness, blindness, and deafness. God hardened the nation because of its hypocrisy. That reason can be seen in these words from Isaiah, quoted later by Jesus Christ and applied to His ministry: "Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" (Isaiah. 29:13; cf. Matthew 15:7-9).

The third passage shows that the divine provision for Israel ("their table") became a basis of judgement for the nation because it did not respond in faith and thanksgiving to God. Their advantage increased their moral accountability. Their rejection of Christ at His first advent caused their back to be bowed under the weight of their guilt and national punishment.

The blindness of Israel in this present age simply continued the blindness of the nation in the Old Testament era.

ISRAEL HAS STUMBLED AND FALLEN (11:11-14)

Paul then asked this rhetorical question: "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall" (11:11)? The question implies a negative answer, and the apostle responded with his own cry of protest: "God forbid!" When Israel rejected Jesus Christ as its Messiah, did it suffer a permanent, irreversible fall? Did God replace Israel with the church in His creative, redemptive purpose? Are all of the covenant promises given to Israel being spiritually fulfilled in the church? All of the answers to those questions are NO! God is not through with His ancient covenant people. But, in His wisdom and sovereign power, God can use the fall of Israel to accomplish His ultimate purpose.

First, the rejection of Christ by Israel led to His crucifixion and resurrection, the very basis for "salvation to the Gentiles" (11:11). God said to Abraham: "And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). That spiritual blessing is a provision for both Jews and Gentiles. In this present age, more Gentiles than Jews have received the blessings of divine forgiveness and imputed righteousness.

Second, God can use the salvation of Gentiles to "provoke Israel to jealousy" (11:11). Isn't it strange that Gentiles can know more about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob than the actual physical descendants of the patriarchs?

Third, God will enrich the world in the future through the "fulness" of Israel's blessings (11:12). Paul wrote: "Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?" (11:12) Paul anticipated a greater spiritual blessing for the Gentiles in the future, because he knew that God would one day fulfill all of His promises to the nation of Israel. That future day will occur when Christ returns to establish the Davidic, millennial kingdom on the earth.

Fourth, Paul, an apostle and a Jew, knew that his major ministry was to the Gentiles (11:13). Nevertheless, he wanted to use the salvation of Gentiles as a means to bring jealousy to the Jews and to "save some of them" in this age (11:14). The few Jews who are saved in this age constitute "the elect" within Israel and are part of the true church, the spiritual body of Christ.

ISRAEL HAS BEEN CAST AWAY (11:15)

Paul wrote: "For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the death?"(11:15) At the cross, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ introduced a new era in God's creative--redemptive plan: "the fulness of the Gentiles" (11:25). The church, although composed of both believing Jews and Gentiles, has a majority membership of Gentiles (Acts 15: 14-18).

The casting away of Israel is temporary, however. A day will come when God will accept the nation. When Christ returns to the earth, "all Israel will be saved" (11:26). At that time, God will raise the righteous dead of the Old Testament period (Daniel 12:2-3).

ISRAEL HAS BEEN BROKEN OFF (11:16-24)

Israel enjoys a distinctive, sanctified position before God. According to the law of the heave offering (Num. 15:17-21) the presentation of the firstfruit meant that the entire lump belonged to God. According to the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14), God sanctifies the whole when He accepts the part.

Using these analogies, Paul probably identified the lump and the branches with the entire nation of Israel (11:16). The firstfruit and the root probably refer to Abraham, the father of Israel, as the first one to receive the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3).

In the Old Testament period, the olive tree was often a symbol of Israel (Jeremiah 11:16-17; Hosea 14:4-6). In this context, the olive tree seems to represent all of the blessings contained within the Abrahamic covenant. Many Jews, representing the natural branches because of their physical relationship to Abraham and the other patriarchs, were "broken off" because of their unbelief (11:17; 19-20). In contract, the saved Gentiles, as symbolized by the branches of the wild olive tree, were grafted into the cultivated olive tree because of their faith in Jesus Christ (11:17,20). The Gentiles became "and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree" in that they entered into the spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic covenant extended to all of the families of the earth (11:17; cf. Genesis 12:3).

The breaking off of the natural branches (Israel) and the grafting in of the wild branches (Gentiles) occurs only during the present church age, an intercalation in God's prophetic program for Israel (Daniel 9:24-27; 16:18). For Israel, the spiritual dilemma is only partial because Jews are being saved in this age of Gentile spiritual blessing. For Israel, it is also temporary because God will graft the natural branches back into the cultivated olive tree when Christ returns to the earth.

Paul argued that Israel only needs to believe in order to be restored to national and spiritual blessing. He wrote: "And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again." (11:23). Later, he added: "...how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?" (11:24)

Thus, Israel's present spiritual condition is partial and temporary. Israel will be restored to complete and permanent blessings after the present era of Gentile salvation has run its course. Israel will be saved when the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, returns to the earth.

ISRAEL: Her Past, Present and Future (Part 6)(Conclusion) - by:Dr. Robert Gromacki

THE FUTURE SALVATION OF ISRAEL

(Romans 11:25-36)

Israel's future is bright, not bleak. In fact, her tomorrow will be far more glorious than her past. In this final section of the three-chapter exposition of the divine program for Israel, Paul exalted God for His manifestation of His gracious wisdom.

ISRAEL'S BLINDNESS (11:25)

Paul wrote: "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in" (11:25). This present age is the church age (Matthew 16:18). It is a mystery in that it was not revealed in past ages. It is an intercalation into God's prophetic program for Israel (Daniel 9:24-27). It is an insertion between the first 69 weeks and the seventieth week, as described by Daniel.

This present church age is also called "the fullness of the Gentiles." It is the time when God has "visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name" (Acts 15:14). Christ is presently building His church, made up of believing Jews and believing Gentiles, merged into one spiritual body (Ephesians 2:11-22). Although Jewish believers composed the majority in the early days (see the Book of Acts), they are now a small minority within the 2000 year development of the true church. The "fullness of the Gentiles" will end when the last Gentile is saved in this present age and the church will be raptured into the presence of Christ (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

In this age, Israel's blindness is partial ("in part") because some Jews have believed in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Her blindness is also temporal (note the time word "until") in that is will end at the rapture and in the subsequent seven-year period, the fulfillment of Daniels's seventieth week (Daniel 9:24-26), climaxed by the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.

ISRAEL'S MESSIAH (11:26,27)

After this church age, Israel will be saved by the coming of her promised Saviour. Paul wrote: "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (11:26). Israel will not find political or spiritual deliverance within her own efforts or from outside nations. Her help will come from a single Person, namely the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.

This Old Testament quotation (Isaiah 59:20-21) complements other predictions of the coming Messiah. Jehovah God said: "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication, then they will look on Me whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). In that day, the Messiah will destroy the political foes of Israel (Zechariah 14:1-4). Christ Himself said that Jerusalem would remain desolate until she sees Him and shouts: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:39).

Paul earlier said that "they are not all Israel who are of Israel" (Romans 9:6). All Israel, thus, will be saved in that the elect, saved Jews within ethnic Israel will compose the true Israel who will be delivered when Christ returns to the earth. Ezekiel declared that God would purge out the rebels within Israel before He would redeem and restore Israel to the land (Ezekiel 20:34-38).

When Christ returns, He will forgive the sins of Israel as He bestows the blessings of the New Covenant upon His covenant people (11:27; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-37).

ISRAEL'S LOVE (11:28,29)

Paul made this distinction between Israel's practice and her position: "Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers" (11:28).

In this present age, Israel as a whole has opposed the outreach of the gospel into the Gentile world. In that sense, Israel has been an enemy to the gospel. Paul personally was evidence of that truth because he "persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it" (Galatians 1:13). Paul gave this indictment of his Jewish opponents: They ". . . Killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins" (I Thessalonians 2:15-16). If any people deserved to forfeit the blessings of God because of their hostile rejection of the gospel, it was the Jewish people.

However, God's future salvation of Israel is not based upon her past or present unbelief. Rather, God has chosen Israel to be His distinctive covenant people because He has set His love upon her through His unconditional promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses wrote: "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord you God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you and because He would keep the oath which he swore to you fathers" (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).

God always keeps His word. He is faithful to His promises. As Paul wrote: "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (11:29). God does not give, and later take back. The future salvation of elect, ethnic Israel is as secure as the immutability of God (Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6).

ISRAEL'S MERCY (11:30-32)

Saved Gentiles "were once disobedient to God" in their unsaved days (11:30). At that time, they were "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).

The Gentiles, however, obtained divine mercy through the disobedience of Israel (11:30). Israel, the builders, rejected the stone, namely Jesus Christ (Matthew 21:42). As a result, the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Christ became the chief cornerstone, the foundation stone for the building of the true church in which Gentile believers compose the majority.

God will use the mercy given to Gentile believers to bring mercy upon Israel (11:31). The reason is clear: "For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all" (11:32). This divine principle is also clear: Through human disobedience God can manifest His divine mercy. Out of love and grace, God withholds from men, both Jews and Gentiles, what they deserve. Earlier, God said: "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy" (Romans 9:15; cf. Exodus 33:19).

God thus will sovereignly use the salvation of Gentiles in this present church age to bring about the salvation of Israel in the seven-year period prior to the return of Christ to the earth (Daniel 9:24-27)

ISRAEL'S GOD (11:33)

In praise and worship, Paul exclaimed: "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out" (11:33)! Only God could purpose and complete such a complex, paradoxical program for both Israel and the Church. Only He could work in and through the action of Men, both good and evil, to accomplish His ultimate goal--His own glory and the blessing of His people. No creature could improve upon God's eternal counsel (11:34-35).

God alone deserves all the glory for the present salvation of Jews and Gentiles within the true Church and for the future salvation of His covenant people, Israel. Paul appropriately ended this section: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (11:36).

AMEN AND AMEN
 

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June 30, 2004

Test Marketing the Mark of the Beast - By Thomas Horn

A prototype of an implantable biometric chip capable of marking an individual's precise location and of monitoring him or her for life is gaining support. It was named Best in Show of 170 International Science Exhibitors last year, and released in its "First Phase" wristwatch format called Guardian Angel soon after. Most recently millions of Today Show viewers watched an American family get "chipped" with ADS's VeriChip™ live from a doctor's office in Boca Raton. Recent acts of terrorism have many calling for mandatory implementation of the implantable technology.

RNU.com – (Raiders News Update) - Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) received patent rights to Digital Angel (TM) technology on December 10, 1999. What set Digital Angel apart from the competition was the innovative design--a miniature digital transceiver specifically created for human implantation.

According to information released last year the implantable transceiver "sends and receives data and can be continuously tracked by GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) technology. The transceiver's power supply and actuation system are unlike anything ever created. When implanted within a body, the device is powered electromechanically through the movement of muscles, and it can be activated either by the 'wearer' or by the monitoring facility."

An Information Technology report recently verified plans to study implantable chips as a method of tracking terrorists. After first pulling back from the implantable version of its Digital Angel, ADS foresees a unique use of its product in the wake of terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

"We've changed out thinking since September 11," a company spokesman said, "Now there's more of a need to monitor evil activities."

ADS also claims the Digital Angel has a variety of other uses, such as "providing a tamper-proof means of identification for enhanced e-business security, animal tracking, locating lost or missing individuals, tracking the location of valuable property and monitoring the medical conditions of at-risk patients."

Following the Internet World Wireless 2001 award for "Best of Show: Client Services," Mercedes Walton, President and COO of Applied Digital Solutions, said: ``We have always had high expectations for the Digital Angel products. This award is truly a validation of our faith in Digital Angel's ability to capture the imagination of the public. Consumer anticipation has translated into accelerated interest from potential partners and allies. We are eager to bring Digital Angel to the marketplace in a very timely manner...."

To further advocate Digital Angel technology, Applied Digital Solutions launched a website http://www.digitalangel.net where viewers can peruse diagrams and read summary information.

Other manufacturers of sub-skin implants have quietly field-tested similar devices over the past few years. The London Times reported in October 1998, "Film stars and the children of millionaires are among 45 people, including several Britons, who have been fitted with the chips (called the Sky Eye) in secret tests."

Due to civil liberty and privacy issues, the ACLU announced opposition to mandatory microchip implantation when applied to humans. The ACLU is certain to be a strange bedfellow of Christians and conservatives concerning this issue.

THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY?

Many Christians believe that, before long, an antichrist system will appear. It will be a New World Order, under which national boundaries dissolve, and ethnic groups, ideologies, religions, and economics from around the world, orchestrate a single and dominant sovereignty. The system will supposedly be free of religious and political extremes, and membership will tolerate the philosophical and cultural differences of its constituents. Except for minor nonconformities, war, terrorism, and hunger will be a thing of the past.

According to popular Biblical interpretation, a single personality will surface at the head of the utopian administration. He will appear as a man of distinguished character, but will ultimately become "a king of fierce countenance" (Dan. 8:23).

With imperious decree the Antichrist will facilitate the one-world government, universal religion, and globally monitored socialism. Those who refuse his New World Order will inevitably be imprisoned or destroyed, until at last he exalts himself "above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess. 2:4).

The Antichrist's widespread power will be derived at the expense of individual human liberties. He will force "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six [666]" (Rev. 13:16-18).

For many years the idea that humans could somehow succumb to little more than branded cattle, and that rugged individualism would thereafter be sacrificed for an anesthetized universal harmony, was repudiated by America's greatest minds.

Then, in the 1970's, things began to change. Following a call by Nelson Rockefeller for the creation of a "New World Order," presidential candidate Jimmy Carter campaigned, saying, "We must replace balance of power politics with world order politics."

During the 1980's President George Bush continued the one-world dirge, announcing over national television that "a New World Order" had arrived. Following the initial broadcast, President Bush addressed the Congress, saying,

What is at stake is more than one small country [Kuwait], it is a big idea--a new world order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom, and the rule of law. Such is a world worthy of our struggle, and worthy of our children's future! Ever since the President's astonishing newscast, a parade of political and religious leaders have discharged a profusion of rhetoric aimed at implementing the goals of a New World Order. Developers of biometric implant chips employ similar language in announcing compatible global technologies, and many Americans consider electronically marking humans or implanting a series of digital equations under the skin to be the natural progress of advancing and necessary technologies.

A 1980 defense department cartoon showing a change taking place in Defense Management. A runner hands over plans for national defense to another runner with "666" on his track suit.

IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE

Some people believe implantable microchips will be the Biblical Mark of the Beast. These claim that acts of terrorism such as the ones in New York and Washington, encourage microchipping humans for identification purposes.

But even before the New York and Pentagon tragedies, a push was being made to brand and monitor humanity. Consider the following:

As far back as 1973, Senior Scholastics introduced school age children to the concept of buying and selling using numbers inserted in the forehead. In the September 20, 1973 feature "Who Is Watching You?" the secular high school journal speculated:

"All buying and selling in the program will be done by computer. No currency, no change, no checks. In the program, people would receive a number that had been assigned them tattooed in their wrist or forehead. The number is put on by laser beam and cannot be felt. The number in the body is not seen with the naked eye and is as permanent as your fingerprints. All items of consumer goods will be marked with a computer mark. The computer outlet in the store which picks up the number on the items at the checkstand will also pick up the number in the person's body and automatically total the price and deduct the amount from the person's 'Special Drawing Rights' account."

In the 1974 article "The Specter of Eugenics," Charles Frankel pointed out Linus Pauling's (Nobel Prize winner) suggestions that a mark be tattooed on the foot or forehead of every young person. Pauling envisioned a mark denoting genotype.

In 1980, U.S. News and World Report continued the warning, pointing out that the Federal Government was contemplating "National Identity Cards," without which nobody could work or conduct business.

The Denver Post Sun followed up in 1981, claiming that chip implants could someday replace I.D. cards. The June 21, 1981 story read in part, "The chip is placed in a needle which is affixed to a simple syringe containing an anti-bacterial solution. The needle is capped and ready to forever identify something--or somebody."

The May 7, 1996 Chicago Tribune questioned the technology, wondering aloud if we could trust Big Brother under our skin?

Then in 1997 applications for patents of subcutaneous implant devices for "a person or an animal" were applied for.

On April 27, 1998, Time Magazine ran the story, The Big Bank Theory And What It Says About The Future OF Money, in which they opined "Your daughter can store the money any way she wants--on her laptop, on a debit card, even (in the not too distant future) on a chip implanted under her skin."

In August 1998 the BBC covered the first known human microchip implantation.

That same month the Sunday Oregonian warned that proposed medical identifiers might erode privacy rights by tracking individuals through alphanumeric health identifier technologies. The startling Oregonian feature depicted humans with barcodes in their foreheads.

Senator Robb (Virginia) felt it necessary to add the MARC (multi-technology automated reader card) Card Amendment to the FY97 DOD Authorization Bill.

One can only speculate why bionics is attempting to create organisms that contain linked organic (human cells) material with biometric chips for human implantation (documentation site) Also see here (second story)

Recently millions of Today Show viewers watched an American family get "chipped" with ADS's VeriChip™ live from a doctor's office in Boca Raton.

Meanwhile, it's the year 2003. Terrorism has many people in the mood to sacrifice human liberties, and Digital Angel has opened its first mass production factory in Palm Beach, Florida.

[The ominous Oregonian feature]: WILL DIGITAL "MARKS" SOON BE MANDATORY?

Makers of implantable microchips claim the proceedure will be voluntary at first. But a report written by Elaine M. Ramish for the Franklin Pierce Law Center says:

"A [mandatory] national identification system via microchip implants could be achieved in two stages: Upon introduction as a voluntary system, the microchip implantation will appear to be palatable. After there is a familiarity with the procedure and a knowledge of its benefits, implantation would be mandatory."

George Getz, the communications director for the Libertarian Party agrees, saying:

After all, the government has never forced anyone to have a driver license, [but] try getting along without one, when everyone from your local banker to the car rental man to the hotel operator to the grocery store requires one in order for you to take advantage of their services, that amounts to a de facto mandate. If the government can force you to surrender your fingerprints to get a drivers license, why can't it force you to get a computer chip implant?

People like Mr. Getz are correct. Conservatives and liberals alike need to contact state and federal representatives and demand laws preserving individual rights before Digital Angel and similar forces lead humanity down a high-tech path of no return.

Just as Social Security numbers were first voluntary, then mandatory, biometric chip implants will eventually become mandatory unless citizens rise up in immediate and national opposition. Even Applied Digital Solution's chief executive officer Richard Sullivan envisions a scenario where ``people [are] required to be chipped or [have] some combination of a device requiring them to be scanned and monitored at all times.''

Note what the prophet said!

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark [charagma; from Greek charax meaning to stake down into or "stick into"] in their right hand, or in their foreheads....Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (Rev. 13:16-18) Did the prophet foresee a hypodermic needle injecting something beneath the skin? Probably.

A temporary victory was won against such ideas following the original news story by Raiders News Update concerning ADS's implantable microchip intentions in 1999. News services across the web ran our story resulting in an inundation by concerned readers. ADS's shares droped on the Nasdaq from $5.00 to .50 each. ADS then released this statement:

"We are not pursuing any applications for embedded chips and we have moved away from that for a couple of reasons....There are a number of privacy concerns and religious implications -- fundamentalist Christian groups [Raiders News Update] regard it [implanting computer chips] as the Devil's work."

More recently however an Independent news story claimed that if the Palm Beach testing center's wristwatch version of Digital Angel is successful, ADS "will start implanting them inside humans between the muscle and the skin on the forearm next year."

Then terrorism came along, the perfect incentive for mandating everything from face scanning to implantable chips as not only inevitable, but perhaps a good idea. These are differences in degree, not in kind, and forecasts a prediction made long ago:

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Rev. 14:9-11)

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