Category Archives: End of this universe

Keys to Prophecy: Yes, There is Protected Elect.

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Modern men very smugly assert that they make their own choices. Many ministers confidently assure people that they make the final choices about their salvation. In their zeal to deny Calvinism, I have heard others strongly assure people that God would never violate their free will. For a fact, that makes most people feel more confident about their salvation. I mean, who would decide to go to eternal punishment? However that seriously overlooks plain things like,

There is a final “judgment” of all men.

“For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2Cor 5:10

So there is final judgment, and God does at the end pass judgment on you and me. So God makes the final choices! Not men.

And God makes choices.

One of the key words in Greek for those chosen or elect, is the Greek word eklektos. God, being all knowing, is able to foresee how you and I will turn out, and thus able to make His decisions ahead of time. So it says,

“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;”
Eph 1:4

Contrary to what some Calvinists teach, Peter writes to,

“1 … to the chosen … 2 according to the foreknowledge of God”
1Pe 1:2

God knows ahead of time what will happen, so makes His choices. Some say God only chooses classes of people, not the individuals; but that is not true per Rev 17:8.

To be chosen brings many benefits.

Jesus says of the last days of this universe.

“Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.”
Mtt 24:22

Or again,

“Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, …”
Lk 18:7

Will anyone be able to shoot us down?

“Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies.”
Rom 8:33

Or on a sterner note.

“What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.”
Rom 11:7

And of God in His infinite wisdom, it says,

“27 but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;”
1Cor 1:27

And can we be chosen and then “blow it”?

Indeed we can, just we can for many things in everyday life. So Peter summarizes,

“Therefore, brothers be more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble.”
2Pe 1:10

But if we neglect these things we may stumble and perish.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.

Keys to Prophecy: Yes, God Does Spare Us Some Trials.

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I am reminded of some events in my own life. I became a Christian as a young adult, and was aghast at how much I had been deceived both about life, and current events and Scripture. I wasn’t sure that I should ever become a preacher, but I did know that I should do whatever I could, and that I needed to know more about the Bible. In that spirit I went back to college to seek a degree in Bible. Part of the requirements was a minimum of one year of Koine Greek, and an English proficiency test to be taken before a degree was conferred! Where I went to college, no English proficiency, then no degree, no matter how many hours one had!

But whoa! My worst subject in school had been English,

although I had good grades overall. And in High School Latin, my teacher passed me on a “D,” if I promised to not come back next year! And I did promise!

For my college entrance exams, my worse scores were in English!! Even so, I really wanted to know the Bible, and I didn’t want anyone shoot the bull to me about the Bible, especially along the lines of, “Well if you could read the Greek you would know, …”, and so on. So I made up my mind, no matter what … I was going to master Greek! So with no little anxiety, I dove into that course.

I passed with good grades, and then a strange thing happened. At the end of my Freshman year we were administered another set of standardized tests, and guess what! On those tests now my English scores jumped from the bottom of the heap, to very top! My English scores were higher than those in any other subject. Amazing! The truth of course is that often we really do not understand our own language, until we come understand some other language.

Then came the real surprise. Because my scores were so high on that test, I was automatically exempted from any English proficiency test before graduation. Such was simply not necessary. I had already proved myself.

Such also happens in the spiritual world.

“Blessed is he who considers the poor:
Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.”
Psa 41:1

In Luke 21 Jesus speaks of more than one subject, including those special stresses which will come upon men at the end of our age. Jesus says we should be careful and sober and alert,

“Therefore be watchful all the time, asking that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Lk 21:35

Even whole churches may escape special testing.

The church at Philadelphia has been faithful in the little things of life, and in the everyday testing that goes on, They are told,

“Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
Rev 3:10

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.

A Yet to Come Gospel Triumph, Part 3 of 3

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Jew and Gentile will yet literally become one in Jesus Christ, Ephesians chapter two. Although still unrepentant in our present time, the Jews will finally repent and confess their sins and bring great glory to God, to the gospel, and to themselves.

“40 If they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary to me, 41 I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity; 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.”
Lev 26:40-42 KJV

The sorrow of the Jews for their sins
will be great.

Severe times will come on both Christians and Jews, before the Jews turn to Jesus the Christ. Available from your bookseller.

“I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to mea whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.”
Zech 12:10

This description goes on into Zechariah thirteen. The third part of the Jews which escapes the sword at the hand of the nations will then be purified.

“I will bring the third part into the fire,
And will refine them as silver is refined,
And will test them like gold is tested.
They will call on my name, and I will hear them.
I will say, ‘It is my people;’
And they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’””
Zech 13:9

The cartels will be stripped of their unjust gains.

“…
And you will beat in pieces many peoples:
And I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mic 4:13

God will choose some of the Jews to finish declaring the salvation of God to all the nations.

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, who have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.”
Isa 66:19

The earth will finally be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. ALL nations will have an opportunity for salvation.

How long will this take? I do not know. I does not tell. But it will be a time of great glory for the Jewish nation.

And then comes the end!

“11 Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. 12 Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Mtt 24:11-14

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.

The Jews Coming to Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth will NOT be heaven on earth!

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Not ALL Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled with the coming of the Christ in the first century of our age. For instance, many New Testament prophecies of the end of this present universe are quotes from the Old Testament. For instance Heb 1:10-12, and 1Cor 15:54-55, and much more. So it is with many things concerning the Jews. Their conversion will be in a time of severe stress on both Christians (first), and then the Jews. Of the Jews it says,

“11 He will pass through the sea of affliction, …
12 I will strengthen them in Yahweh;
And they will walk up and down in his name,” says Yahweh.”
Zech 10:11

Jesus will NOT be on earth again.

Instead we will meet Him in the air, 1Thes 4:16-17.

“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner chambers,’ don’t believe it.”
Mtt 24:26

You may or may not believe that, but that IS what Jesus says. In fact, Jeremiah tells us that no descendant of Jeconiah/Coniah will ever rule “in Judah.”

“Thus says Yahweh, Write you this man childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.”
Jer 22:30

However, Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah/Coniah, Mtt 1:11-12. Now that fits 1Thes 4:16-17, but not premillennialism.

Jesus has NOW “ALL authority … in heaven
and on earth,” Mtt 28.18

Jesus NOW rules over the kings of the earth, Rev 1:5, from heaven!

In prophecy there are often subtle shifts in subject.

Prophecy commonly ties the immediate things talked about, with the ultimate things which will happen. A prophecy of Israel’s sins of old will often jump from ancient Israel’s punishments by Assyria and Babylon, to the ultimate punishments at the end of this universe. Also many prophecies of the good that will come from the church or the Jews being faithful to God, jump from temporal benefits in this world to eternal benefits in “the world to come” (Heb 2:5).

An example is Isaiah 65.

Jewish Chronicles, to be released Friday November 6, 2020, described how Ezekiel 37 (pictured from an engraving by Dore, on the book cover) will be fulfilled in world history, and the glorious results that will have. See your book seller.

God speaks of the new heavens and new earth, Isa 65:17-19. There will be no weeping or crying, Isa 65:19. That is only in heaven itself, Rev 21:4. But a child will die at age 100, and the sinner dying at age 100 will be considered cursed, Isa 65:20. But that does not fit heaven -or- this world so far. A shift of subject matter.

The faithful Jews will cause an astonishing extension of human life on earth. This will be the golden age of the church in this world, but it will not quite be heaven. The Jews will still just be men, converting to Jesus. Jew and gentile will truly be one in Christ, Eph 2:18-22. Even so, “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse,” 2Tim 3:13. Mystery Babylon the Great (Revelation 14 to 18), and the Mystery of Lawlessness (2Thessalonians 2) will still be biding their time.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 12 of 12

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We should always remember two things of prophecy. First,

“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.”
Lk 16:17

Jesus here seems to using the word “law” to be the entire Old Testament. So we may not understand how, but there is nothing we read in prophecy which will fail.

Second, prophecy is conversational, and topical, not sequential

And what will be cut off “in that day.”

It apparently is speaking of the days of the ruler of Mic 5:2, and it says,

“It will happen in that day,” says Yahweh,
“That I will cut off your horses out of the midst of you,
And will destroy your chariots.”
Mic 5:10

Ancient Israel was not to trust in horses and chariot, Deut 17:16 and so on, but in the Lord. Neither should we trust in tanks and fighter jets. But that has been neither ancient or modern Israel. But it will be at some point. Then in this rambling discussion it seems to refer to the first fall of Judah in 586 BC, in Mich 5:11. Then he says,

“I will destroy witchcraft from your hand;

“ And you shall have no soothsayers.”
Mic 5:12

That was a big problem with ancient Israel, and was still a problem in the first century, and is with many modern Jews in the Kabbalistic lore.

The Kabalah (also Cabbala or Qabalah) was a writing down of the ancient Gnostic traditions of the occult, by Spanish Jews of the 12th and 13 centuries AD. It is the fountain head of almost all modern witchcraft and magic and the occult, and is very influential among many Jews even of today. It is even a support for some idolatry.

But one day, when Jesus draws the Jews to Himself, it will all go away.

Also all idolatry will pass away

“13 I will cut off your engraved images and your pillars out of your midst;
And you shall no more worship the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot your Asherim out of your midst;
And I will destroy your cities.”
Mic 5:13-14

The Asherim are images of Asherah, we might call her “mother nature.” Sadly, goddess worship still exists among some Jews and gentiles. These issues are dealt with in Jewish Chronicles, to be released in the fall of 2020. And lastly, Micah seems to deal with,

A Judgment day which is coming.

“I will execute vengeance in anger,
And wrath on the nations that didn’t listen.”
Mic 5:15

Everyone will have to appear before this ruler of Mic 5:2.

“I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
Mtt 12:36

““But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered …”
Mtt 25:31-32

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 8 of 12

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Now the nationS gather aginst Israel in Micah 4, she defeated them, and took their profits, and dedicated them to the Lord God of Glory. Remember it said,

This distress in which most of the Jews perish, and those left both win the conflict and turn to Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah of Israel, is within history! This is discussed in detail in Jewish Chronicles., to be released in the fall of 2020.

“Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs brass;
And you will beat in pieces many peoples:
And I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mic 4:13

But there are evidently TWO giant assemblies of the nationS against BOTH the Jews and Christians, that are discussed in Scripture.

One of these is the great distress of the Jews in which they turn to the Lord as a group, Deut 4:30, Deut 30:6, Zech 10:11-12, and so on. This time evidently also includes a major assault on Christianity world-wide. This happens within history, and seems to be the assault described in Micah 4.

The second great assembly of the nationS against both the Jews and all Christians is, of course, at the end of this universe, as described in the Gospels, and Revelation 20, and all through the Old Testament. It is addressed in all three of my books on prophecy and especially in Revealing the Christian Age.

But first comes the rejection of their own Messiah by the Jews,
AS FORETOLD IN SCRIPTURE!

It is a broad subject in Scripture. Isaiah says, speaking of the Lord,

“14 He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
Isa 8:14-15

Certainly that is exactly what has happened over the last two thousand years.

Now you can say that this is just about Yahweh, the Lord God Himself, but it is in the grand context of the Messiah, all the way from being born of virgin in Isaiah 7, to again speaking of the Messiah’s birth as a “child” in Isaiah 9, and saying of this “child,”

“… and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ”
Isa 9.6

The son, the child is called Mighty God, and Everlasting Father! The child … even in the Old Testament … is clearly God. As the apostle John put it,

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”
Jn 1:1-5

And again,

“10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.”
Jn 1:10-11

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 5 of 12

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Please excuse this small aside on some
basics about prophecy.

Time after time we see the prophets turn from the immediate thing they are forecasting, to the end of all things. An excellent example can be seen in Hebrews chapter one.

“10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you continue.
They all will grow old like a garment does.
12 As a mantle you will roll them up,
And they will be changed;
But you are the same.
Your years will not fail.””
Heb 1:10-12

In Hebrew one the author is comparing the role of angels and the role of the Son, Jesus the Christ. In Heb 1:8-9 it quotes Psalm 45 “of the Son,” and then in verse 10 he says, “And,” and then quotes Psa 102:25-27 in verses 10-12 as seen above.

Now what does Heb 1:10-12 say?

Well, in the beginning (how far back is that?) God created the heavens and the earth. Then he points out in verse 11 that the heavens and the earth will grow old, and then in verse 12 the author says the heavens and earth will be rolled up and put away like an old coat that is worn out! Well! That clearly has not happened yet! So how much time is between Heb 1:10 and Heb 1:12? I honestly have no idea, but it is a great deal of time in human terms. Still there is no indication of the passage of time, except perhaps the assumption of time for the heavens and the earth to grow old!

Unfulfilled prophecies

Even so, notice clearly that Heb 1:12 is talking about the end of this present world! As we have noted, that has NOT happened yet. So here is an unfulfilled prophecy in the New Testament, and that is a quoted from Psa 102:26 and that is clearly an unfulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament.

And what does the author of Hebrews
do next?

He goes right back to discussing how things are setup in this world at this present time.

“But of which of the angels has he said at any time,
“Sit at my right hand,
Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?””
Heb 1:13

But wait a minute! That was the end of
the world in Heb 1:12!

Right! And then he goes right back to talking about the present in verses 13 and 14, and all the rest of the book of Hebrews. At times he comes back to the subject of the end of the world again, for instance in Heb 12:26-29.

And so do ALL the prophets!

They will talk about the subject at hand, as Mic 4:2 talks about the coming of the gospel, then relates how all of these things will turn out, as when Jesus makes all wars cease, as Micah 4:3, and later talk about other things which must happen before the end.

This is a consistent pattern in prophecy, and you should expect it.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 3 of 12

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But to get to Mic 5:2, and to see how we should have understood from that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, first we need to get our bearings in the book of Micah the prophet. First of course would be to see what the prophet says of himself.

“The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.”
Mic 1:1

So here we see the grand subject matter of the prophet. Jothham’s reign started around 750 BC and Hezekiah’s reign ended around 686 BC, so we can see the range of years in which included Micah prophesying. You can read of those kings in the books of Kings and Chronicles, and so get some historical background on conditions in those days. This would make Micah and Isaiah contemporaries of each other, and some of the verses in Isaiah chapter two and Micah four overlap each other, but we do not know how this happened.

These were turbulent times in Israel and Judah.

Crime and idolatry and unfaithfulness to the Lord were rampant in those days, and neither most of the rulers or the people were close to really repenting.

The first three chapters of Micah prophesy the destruction of both the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah, because of their bloodshed and idolatry and other sins.

In Mich 1:2-4 talks about the coming day of the Lord, when Yahweh will come out of His place and bring an end to this world. Some brush this aside as poetry which is irrelevant to us, but they SHOULD NOT! Almost always, the immediate things of history are related to the ultimate end of all things. Mic says that this things will happen because of their sins, Mic 1:5; and talks as if these things are pertinent to them, and to us. Indeed they are, for “they” and “we” will all be there on that final day when

“28 … for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice, 29 and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.”
Jn 5:28-29

These are common patterns in prophecy we should recognize: the present things are related to the coming ultimate things. Sometimes the present things seem very distant from the future things, so such things mystify some, but they shouldn’t

So Micah says Samaria, the capital of Israel will be (future) made a ruin, Mich 1:6-8. That happened during Micah’s day in 722 BC with the Assyrian conquest. Then he says that the same will happen to Judah, Mic 1:9. That didn’t happen until 586 BC, another 136 years later, well after Micah’s time. That was not nearby in human terms, but very close by in historical terms, and almost nothing in the grand time scale of Scripture.

Indeed, all of their things and our things are related to that final end which is coming.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901