29: Date Setting

Can we know when Jesus will return?

The answer depends on what you mean by His "return." As I pointed out in chapter 25, I believe His return will be in two stages - first the Rapture of the Church and then the Second Coming.

The Rapture is imminent. It can happen at any moment. There are no specific signs for it. No one can know its date.

The Second Coming is a different matter. First, the Bible teaches that we can know the season of the Second Coming and the period immediately preceding it - the Tribulation. The Bible also teaches that we can know the date of the Second Coming, once the Tribulation begins. That's because the Lord will return 2,520 days after the start of the Tribulation (Revelation 11:3 and 13:5). To put it another way, the Second Coming will occur seven prophetic years (at 360 days per year) after a peace treaty is signed between the Antichrist and the Jews, enabling them to live in peace and rebuild their temple (Daniel 9:27).

Knowing the Season

The reason we can know the season of the Tribulation and the Second Coming is because the Bible is full of signs which will signal the season of the Lord's return, and we are told to watch for them. These signs are found in both the Old and New Testaments, and there are a great number of them.

For example, one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament specifically concerns the Lord's return. But what is not so well known is the fact that there are over 500 prophecies in the Old Testament which also relate to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

In addition to the Major and Minor Prophets, the Psalms are full of Messianic prophecies regarding the Lord's return. In fact, Psalm 2 is one of the most important Second Coming prophecies in the Bible.

A great variety of signs are revealed in these scriptures. There are signs of nature, spiritual signs, signs that relate to the nature of society, international political signs, signs of technology and signs that concern the Jewish people.

An Area of Ignorance

Many, if not most, Christians have ignored the study of these signs because they believe that since "Jesus is coming like a thief in the night," it is a waste of time to try to interpret the signs to anticipate the season of His return.

When I was growing up in the Church this phrase was used as a big put-down. If anyone got excited about the Lord's return, someone would immediately try to stifle their enthusiasm by reminding them, “He's coming like a thief." That meant "Shut up!" because we were convinced there is nothing you can really know about the Lord's return.

It is true that Jesus said He would come like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:42-43). But Paul later explained that Jesus meant this statement for non-believers, not for Christians.

Paul's Revelation

Paul makes this point in his first letter to the Thessalonians. In chapter 5 he says that although Jesus is coming back like a thief in the night, there is no reason for His return to surprise Christians (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Why not? Because, as Paul puts it, “Brethren, you are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day" (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5).

What does Paul mean by this seemingly enigmatic statement? I think he was referring to the fact that when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are given the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Through the Spirit we receive the power to become spiritually enlightened. John says in 1 John 2:27 that the Holy Spirit can illuminate our minds to understand the Word of God.

In other words, Paul is saying in 1 Thessalonians 5 that we can know the season of the Lord's return because we have been given spiritual discernment through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But the spiritual discernment Paul is talking about is not gained by praying for God to zap us with it. It comes through the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we study God's Word. And because the study of prophecy has been so sorely ignored, many, if not most, Christians are going to be surprised by the return of Christ.

Jesus' Concept

In Matthew 24, Jesus compared the signs of His return to the Signs of a pregnancy. Think of it this way: You may not know the date when a pregnant woman is to deliver, but sooner or later, as you watch the development of her pregnancy, you will think to yourself “That baby is going to be born soon!" Why? You can tell by looking.

Jesus said the signs pointing to His return would be like “birth pangs" (Matthew 24:8). Any birth mother knows what Jesus meant by this remark. As the time nears for His return, the signs will increase in frequency and intensity, just like birth pangs. For example, there will be more earthquakes and more intense ones.

This is a crucial point that is usually overlooked. Thus, people often scoff at the signs by saying, "There have always been wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and famines." Yes, there have always been such calamities, but they are now increasing in frequency and intensity, just as Jesus prophesied.

Peter's View

Peter tells us that one of the signs of the end-times will be an outbreak of scoffing at the idea of the return of Jesus (2 Peter 3:3-4). We live in such times. The tragedy is that so much of the scoffing comes from Christians who are ignorant of God's Prophetic Word.

Peter also tells us that God does not wish that any should perish but that all should be brought to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). That's why God has given us so many signs to watch for. As the prophet Amos put it: “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

Jesus? Warning

Jesus condemned the religious leaders of His time because they refused to heed the signs of the times. On one occasion they came to Him and asked Him to perform a miracle to prove He was the Messiah. Jesus rebuked them severely. "Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky." He said, "but cannot discern the signs of the times?" (Matthew 16:3).

Jesus was trying to point out that although these men could predict the weather by reading the signs of nature, they could not interpret His significance by reading the signs of God's Word.

What did Jesus mean by the "signs of the times?" He was referring to the fact that the Hebrew Scriptures contain more than 300 prophecies about His First Coming, 109 of which are separate and distinct.

These same scriptures contain many more signs about the Second Coming of Jesus, and those signs point to this day and age as the season of our Lord's return.

Another Warning

But as we heed the signs of the Lord's soon return, we need to keep in mind another warning that Jesus gave. With regard to the exact date of His return He said, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matthew 24:36). This had to be a reference to the Rapture since the date of the Second Coming can be calculated, once the Tribulation begins.

As we get nearer to the era of the Second Coming, Satan is going to motivate people to set exact dates for the Rapture. Many of these will be very sincere people who will be sincerely deceived.

Satan loves date setting. It focuses people's attention on a date rather than on the Lord. It draws the ridicule of the secular press. It leads to bitter disillusionment as people put their faith in the date and then are severely disappointed when the date comes and passes without the Lord appearing.

Date setting turns people off to God's Prophetic Word. It has the same effect as a person constantly crying “Wolf!" when there is no wolf. People finally start disbelieving in wolves - and suddenly the pack is upon them.

Likewise, people who have been disappointed or embarrassed by fixing their hope on a specific date often react to the debacle by turning off to prophecy. Then, when a responsible prophecy teacher comes along teaching we can know the season, they respond with skepticism, saying, “I've heard that line before, and you're not going to make a sucker out of me again!"

Knowing the Season

Knowing the season does not mean knowing the date. A season is a general period of time.

A few years ago after I had preached a sermon trying to prove that we are living in the season of the Lord's return, an elderly man came up to me and said, "That was a pretty good sermon young man, but I've got news for you. You see, when I was a boy, my pastor preached the very same sermon during World War I."

What that man did not realize is that his boyhood pastor was right on target, for - as we shall see in the next chapter - we have been in the season of the Lord's return ever since the final year of that war.

Noah preached for 120 years that people were living in the season of the pouring out of God's Wrath. People laughed and scoffed at him. Can you imagine what they must have been saying about him 50 years into his ministry? "That crazy old fool Noah is a one-issue- obsessionist! He's been preaching the same message for 50 years and nothing has happened yet!" Some of them laughed until they could tread water no longer.

God's Character

God is incredibly patient. David expressed it this way in Psalm 103:8 – “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness." Peter tells us why: “The Lord is . . . patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

This is precisely the reason that God gives us so many signs to watch for that will mark the season of His Son's return. You see, Jesus is returning to this earth in incredible wrath (Revelation 6:12. 17). He is coming to pour out the wrath of God upon those who have rejected the love, grace, and mercy of God.

Because Jesus is returning in wrath, God is obligated by His character to warn us. The Bible teaches that God never pours out His wrath without warning. God is not interested in catching anyone by surprise with the return of His Son.

But tragically, most will be surprised, even shocked, because they will fail to heed the signs of the times. The Word says that the political leaders of the world will cry out for the rocks of the mountains to fall upon them (Revelation 6:15-16).

Those who are surprised will have no one to blame but themselves. God is shouting from the heavens in many different ways that the time is fast approaching when His Son will return "to judge and wage war" (Revelation 19:11).

A Challenge

Jesus is coming soon. All the signs point to it. He is “right at the door" (Matthew 24:33), and for all those who have studied God's Prophetic Word, He will return as their "Blessed Hope” (Titus 2:13) and not as a thief in the night.

Are you ready? If Jesus were to return today, would He come as your Blessed Hope or would He catch you unprepared?

The choice is yours. The time is short. God is patient, but He will not be mocked. Here's how the prophet Nahum put it: "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:3).

30: The Signs of the Times

What are the indicators?

In Hebrews 10:25 we are told that we are to "encourage one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." The context is the Second Coming of Jesus.

This passage makes it clear that we can know the season of the Lord's return - that tangible things will be visible to alert us to the Lord's soon return, what are those things? What are the signs the Bible tells us to watch for?

There are a great number and variety of these signs. In fact, there are so many that it is difficult to get a handle on them. They tend to overwhelm you.

The best way I have found to get a grasp on them is to group them into several broad categories. Let's take a look at them in that manner.

1) The Signs of Nature

The signs pertaining to nature have gained the least respect. Often when I point to these signs, people react by saying, "You've got to be kidding!"

The problem is twofold. First, people are prone to think, “There have always been earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and famine. So, what else is new?" As I pointed out in the previous chapter, they are either ignorant of or have ignored the fact that Jesus said these natural signs would be like "birth pangs" and would thus increase in frequency and intensity as the time draws near for His return.

The second problem is more philosophical. We are a very rationalistic people and, as such, we tend to be skeptical of the supernatural. If we can't see it, weigh it and measure it, we can't accept its existence. Yet, the Bible teaches there is a whole realm of reality that is not normally perceptible to the senses - the realm of the supernatural that includes angels and demons (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Because we are so rationalistic, we tend to scoff at the idea that God would speak to us through signs of nature. But the Bible affirms this over and over. The Old Testament prophets repeatedly pointed to signs of nature and claimed that they indicated the judgment of God or His impending wrath.

The book of Joel is a classic example of this point. The book begins with the prophet pointing to a locust invasion that has stripped the land barren. He declares that this is no accident of nature or just bad luck. Rather, the locusts were sent by the Lord as a warning, calling the nation to repentance. And the prophet makes it clear that if they do not heed the warning, God will send something worse than the locusts - namely, a foreign army.

A Biblical Tradition

God has always spoken through signs of nature, just as He did when He put a special light in the heavens to mark the birth of Jesus. Likewise, on the day Jesus was crucified, Jerusalem experienced a great earthquake and three hours of unusual darkness. On the day Jesus returns, we are told that the greatest earthquake in history will shake the world. Every mountain will be lowered, every valley will be lifted, and every island will be moved (Revelation 16:17-21).

It is no wonder that Jesus told us to watch for “famines and earthquakes" (Matthew 24:7) and for plagues and "signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11).

Nor is it any wonder that a glance at the statistics in a world almanac will confirm that all of these natural calamities have been increasing in frequency and intensity since the start of the 20th Century. As earthquakes continue to shake our west coast, as scientists proceed to make startling new discoveries in the heavens, as famine sweeps Africa and as pestilence stalks the world, we need to get serious about the signs of nature.

Keep in mind, too, that God often uses natural calamities as remedial judgments remedial in the sense that He works through them to call people to repentance. Examples in our nation's recent history would include the Vietnam War, the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. The coronavirus pandemic should be viewed as a planetary remedial judgment, calling the whole world to repentance.

Just as He has always done, God is speaking today through signs of nature. Are you listening?

2) The Signs of Society

Jesus said He would return at a time when society would resemble "the days of Noah" (Matthew 24:37).

The Old Testament tells us that Noah's age was one of immorality and violence because the thoughts of men's hearts were continually focused on evil (Genesis 6:5-13). The New Testament reveals even more about the degraded nature of Noah's society. Romans 1:18-32 gives a chilling description of a society wallowing in immorality.

In this passage Paul says the root cause of all the problems was man's rejection of God: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). In other words, they put their faith in Man, giving their allegiance to Humanism, the religion of Satan.

Paul says that because they turned their backs on God, He removed some of His restraints on evil and "gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity" (Romans 1:24). The result was an outbreak of sexual sin in the form of fornication and adultery.

When they continued in their idolatry and immorality, God further removed His restraints on evil and “gave them over to degrading passions" (Romans 1:26). The result was an epidemic of homosexuality which produced woeful diseases, for men received “in their own persons the due penalty of their error" (Romans 1:27).

As the homosexual plague gained momentum, and there was no repentance, God turned the society over to a "depraved mind" (Romans 1:28). The result was a cesspool of wickedness as people were filled with greed, envy, deceit, hatred, arrogance and malice. These attitudes were reflected in a growing tide of unrighteous acts. Slander, rebellion and violence increased (Romans 1:28-31).

Paul speaks in the first chapter of Romans as an historian, telling us what the days of Noah were like. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 he speaks as a prophet, using almost the identical language of Romans to tell us what the society of the end-times will be like. In doing so, he confirms the statement of Jesus that He will return at a time when society has gone full circle, returning to the depravity of Noah's day.

Characteristics of a Collapsing Society

Paul says that the society of the end-times will be characterized by great stress (2 Timothy 3:1). It will be a society in which Man will love three things: self, money, and pleasure (2 Timothy 3:2-4). What Paul identifies here is the religion, the god, and the lifestyle of the end-time society.

The religion will be the same as in the times of Noah. It will be Humanism, the love of self. Whenever Humanism is the religion, the god is always Materialism, the love of money. And when Materialism is the god, the lifestyle is always Hedonism, the love of pleasure.

These three Satanic loves - self, money, and pleasure -combine to produce a fourth characteristic called Nihilism. It is the payoff. We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), and the harvest of Humanism, Materialism and Hedonism is Nihilism or despair.

Paul describes the resulting despair in graphic terms: “men will be. . . boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited . . .” (2 Timothy 3:2-4).

Application to America

Does this sound familiar? It sounds like the evening news to me. We call ourselves a Christian nation, but our predominant religion is really Humanism. Humanists control nearly all aspects of our government as well as our schools.

We are a nation of materialists who worship the dollar. Greed is the motivating force of big labor, big business, big government, big religion, and big sports.

And do I really need to say anything about our hedonistic lifestyle? "If it feels good, do it!" is the philosophy of our age.

What's worse is that we are exporting our pagan values and lifestyle to the rest of the world through our degrading television programs and movies. The American dream of money, sex and power has become the world's dream.

And we are reaping what we have sown. Our society wallows in despair as people seek to fill the vacuum in their lives with drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence. Prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes - indicating that Jesus is coming soon.

3) The Spiritual Signs

There are numerous spiritual signs that we are to watch for, both negative and positive ones.

The negative ones are very negative indeed. They include such things as the appearance of false Christs and their cultic groups (Matthew 24:5,11,24), the apostasy of the professing church (2 Timothy 3:5), the persecution of faithful Christians (Luke 21:12-19) and an outbreak of Satanism (1 Timothy 4:1).

We are in the midst of the fulfillment of all these prophecies. The cults began their major assault on the Church with the founding of the Mormon Church in the 19th Century. Since that time, the cults have multiplied profusely to the point that today they are operating all over the world, deceiving millions with their preaching of a false Jesus and salvation by good works.

Meanwhile, much of mainline Christianity wallows in apostasy. Many of the old-line denominations have rejected the authority of the Scriptures and are now ordaining homosexuals and preaching New Age philosophy. Some Charismatic groups have rejected the true Gospel for a pollyanna gospel that promises health, wealth, and power. Others have decided that preaching the Word is too offensive to the world, and so they are spooning out a positive-thinking pablum that is designed to make people comfortable with their sins.

The apostasy has become so widespread that even some of those calling themselves "Evangelicals" are approving of abortion and same-sex marriage. And some are teaching the heresy of "many roads to God.”

True Christians - those who live their faith, speak out against ungodliness and stand for righteousness are being submitted to increasing persecution. Their rights are being denied in schools. They are discriminated against in the workplace in both hiring and promotion. They are mocked by the entertainment media. Their churches are increasingly harassed by zoning codes and vandals.

Satan is on the prowl. He knows Bible prophecy, and He knows his time is short. He is attacking the Church with a vengeance. He has also gone public, and the consequent outbreak of Satanism is something to behold. It is pervasive. Satanic themes dominate books, movies, television programs and music. People are enthralled with astrology, numerology, transcendental meditation, channeling, crystal-gazing and many other such manifestations of occultic entrapment.

Positive Spiritual Signs

I warned you that the negative signs are very negative, pointing to a society that is spiritually sick to its core. Let's move on to the positive spiritual signs and do some rejoicing!

One is the proclamation of the Gospel to all the world (Matthew 24:14). This prophecy began to be fulfilled in the 20th Century as a result of modern technology such as shortwave radio, satellite television and the Internet. With the advent of computer technology, the Bible has been rapidly translated into hundreds, even thousands, of languages and dialects.

Another positive sign is the increasing understanding of Bible prophecy. Many of the prophecies concerning the end-times were not even understood by the prophet who received them from God. A good example is Daniel. He was mystified by many of the end-time prophecies which the Lord gave him. When he complained about this, the Lord told him to stop worrying about it because “the words are concealed and sealed up until the end-time” (Daniel 12:4,9).

As we get nearer to the day the Lord will return, we understand more and more of Bible prophecy. Some of the new understanding is due to the development of world events, such as the re-establishment of the nation of Israel. Other mysterious prophecies can now be understood due to modern technological developments. But some of our greater understanding is due to the illumination of the Holy Spirit - not the giving of new revelation, but the provision of enlightenment concerning the revelation that has already been given in God's Word.

One of the most glorious spiritual signs is the rich outpouring of God's Spirit that the Church is receiving in these end-times. The Bible prophesies that a great Holy Spirit empowerment will come in the latter days to enable Christians who are open to the Spirit's power to stand against the assaults of Satan.

In Joel 2:23 this is put in the imagery of an “early rain and a latter rain," The early rain was at Pentecost and continued through the early history of the Church when it was young and struggling to get established. The latter rain is occurring today to enable the true Church to stand firm against the final assaults of Satan.

4) The Signs of Technology

The explosion of scientific knowledge and its technical application to communications, transportation, data processing and weapons of war is definitely a sign of the soon return of the Lord (Daniel 12:4).

Consider, for example, how many prophecies we can now understand for the first time due to technological developments. Revelation 11 says that two great prophets of God will preach for 3½ years during the first half of the Tribulation and then be killed by the Antichrist. Their bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 1/2 days and all the people in the world will look upon them (Revelation 11:3- 13).

Prior to 1957, when the first satellite was put into orbit, it was very difficult to understand how all the people of the world could look upon two bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem. Today we don't even stop to think about it because we know the capability of satellite television.

How could all the people of the world be given the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-18) before the invention of lasers and computers? How could the False Prophet make an image of the Antichrist that would appear to be alive (Revelation 13:14-15) before the development of robotics and holograms?

Jesus said that in the end-times one of the signs will be “men fainting from fear over the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:26). It sounds like the splitting of the atom to me, and the subsequent development of nuclear weapons.

5) The Signs of World Politics

Bible prophecy forecasts the coming together of a certain international pattern of nations in the end-times. We took a detailed look at this in chapter 11.

We saw that the nation of Israel will once again exist, and all the nations of the world will seek to destroy the Jewish state (Zechariah 12:1-3). Particularly menacing to Israel will be a superpower located in “the remote parts of the north" (Ezekiel 38:6). This nation is identified in Ezekiel 38 in terms that can only be interpreted to mean modern day Russia. The existence of the Jewish state will also be threatened by its Arab neighbors (Ezekiel 35).

The resurgence of China as a superpower is also prophesied (Revelation 9:12-16 and 16:12), as is the reunification of Europe (Daniel 7:7-8, 24).

The world will be characterized by wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). The nations will also be afflicted with internal political strife that will often lead to "kingdom against kingdom," or civil war (Matthew 24:7). Lawlessness will increase everywhere (Matthew 24:12) a prophecy that has been fulfilled on the international scene with the advent of modern terrorism.

It is particularly interesting that the word translated "nation" in Matthew 24:7 (“nation will rise against nation"), is the Greek word ethnos which refers to an "ethnic people group" rather than a political nation-state. Since the break up of the Soviet Union, we have seen great outbreaks of ethnic violence - not only in the former Soviet republics, but also in areas like Yugoslavia, the Middle East and even here in the United States, as manifested in riots in some of our largest cities.

There is no doubt about the fact that we are living in a world where the end-time political pattern has come together.

6) The Signs of Israel

The most important group of signs, more important than all the rest put together, is the group that pertains to the nation of Israel. These signs are outlined in detail in chapter 8.

The reason they are so important is because the Jewish people are God's prophetic time clock. By this I mean that very often when the Lord is revealing that an important event will take place in the future, He will point to the Jewish people and assert that when a certain thing happens to them, the important event will also occur.

An example of this principle is found in Luke 21:24, where Jesus told His disciples to watch Jerusalem. His point was that Jerusalem would be conquered and then “trampled under foot by the Gentiles" until it was time for Him to return. In other words, He was saying that whenever the Jews win back the city of Jerusalem from the Gentiles, it will be a sure sign that His return is near.

The Romans conquered Jerusalem about 40 years after Jesus spoke these words. They were succeeded by the Byzantines who were, in turn, succeeded by a host of Gentile nations until June 7, 1967 when the Jews finally re-occupied the city of Jerusalem for the first time in 1,897 years.

The Gentile world may not recognize the importance of this event, but the Orthodox Jews certainly do. They know the Old Testament prophecies and they therefore now that the Messiah is coming when they are back in their land and their city. That's why you can see banners all over Israel today that read: “Prepare for the Coming of the Messiah!"

The Most Important Sign

The signs pertaining to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel may very well be the most important group of signs, but the single most important sign is one that I have not yet identified.

What I have in mind is a sign that can be summed up in one Word: CONVERGENCE. What I mean by this is that for the first time in history, all the signs have converged. None are missing.

Are You Ready?

God in His grace and mercy has provided us with a host of signs to prepare us for the soon return of His Son. Prophecy is being fulfilled daily before our eyes. Jesus said in Luke 21:28 that when these signs begin to appear, “straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

We are living on borrowed time. Are you ready? Are you yearning? Can you say with Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 that you are a candidate for a "crown of righteousness" because you are living your life in the love of His appearing?

31: Modern Day Signs

Are there signs that are unique to our day?

Whenever I present an overview of the signs of the times that point to the soon return of Jesus, I am often confronted by someone - often a professing Christian - who will say, "Come on David, these signs you are talking about have always existed in one degree or another, so what else is new?"

They will then proceed to point out that there have always been wars and rumors of war, there have always been natural calamities, and throughout history, Christians have always been persecuted. Then comes the inevitable challenge: "Show me something really new and unique that clearly points to our day and time as the season of the Lord's return."

The challenge is understandable, but it is not entirely legitimate. That's because Jesus said the end-time signs would be like "birth pangs" (Matthew 24:8). In other words, the signs would increase in frequency and intensity as the time draws near for Jesus to return. There would be more earthquakes, and more intense ones. Wars would be more frequent and more horrible in their degree of devastation.

And that, of course, is exactly what happened in the 20th Century. All the signs began to increase exponentially in both frequency and intensity, as I will show in the next chapter.

But still, it is legitimate to ask if there are any signs that are truly unique to our day and time - signs that have never existed before. Are there new signs that clearly point to this period of history as the time of the Lord's return? The answer is yes.

A Key Prophecy

A verse that immediately comes to mind in this regard is found in Daniel 12. Daniel was given many prophecies by the Lord. Those relating to his day and time he clearly understood. He even seemed to understand prophecies that the Lord gave him relating to distant times, such as the succession of Gentile empires that would ultimately lead to the establishment of the Roman Empire. But when it came to prophecies about the end-times - the period leading up to the Lord's return as King of kings and Lord of lords - Daniel did not understand what was revealed to him.

He wrestled mightily with the prophecies and finally cried out to the Lord in despair. "I have heard," he said, "but I do not understand! What do these events mean?" (Daniel 12:8). The Lord, in effect, responded by saying, "Cool it, Daniel, because it is not for you to understand!" The Lord's actual words were: "Go your way, Daniel. for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end-time" (Daniel 12:9). It was Daniel's responsibility to deliver the prophecies, not to understand them.

Note that Daniel was told the prophecies would not be understood "until the end-time." In fact, in the very next verse the Lord told Daniel that at the proper time "those who have insight will understand" (Daniel 12:10).

Accordingly, there are many end-time prophecies that have never been understood until now, either because their understanding depended on historical events or because they were dependent upon technological developments. The fact that these prophecies have become understandable in recent years for the first time ever is proof positive that we are living in the end-times. Let's look at some examples from the book of Revelation.

Revelation Examples

1) The Tribulation Slaughter - Revelation 6 says that the Tribulation will begin with a series of judgments that will result in the death of one-fourth of Mankind. The world's population has passed 7.5 billion. If 1.5 billion are taken out in the Rapture, leaving 6 billion behind, that means 1.5 billion people will die in the initial judgments, reducing the world's population to 4.5 billion. The next series of judgments, recorded in Revelation 8 & and 9 will kill another third of Mankind. One-third of 4.5 billion is another 1.5 billion. Thus, in the first 3½ years of the Tribulation, a total of 3 billion people will die. That's half the population of the world!

Is this possible apart from the use of nuclear weapons? Only if it is a supernatural intervention of God. But God normally works through natural processes.

The unparalleled carnage of the Tribulation seems to me to point to nuclear weapons. Revelation 8 speaks of one-third of the earth being burned and one-third of the seas being polluted (Revelation 8:7-8). Later in the Tribulation, near the end, we are told that people will suffer from “loathsome and malignant sores" (Revelation 16:2). That sounds like one of the effects of radiation poisoning.

The advent of nuclear weapons makes possible for the first time the overwhelming Tribulation carnage portrayed in Revelation. I think nuclear power was what Jesus referred to in His Olivet discourse when He said that the end-times will be characterized by “men fainting from fear over the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:26, emphasis added).

The prophecies concerning the Tribulation carnage have clearly depended upon a major technological breakthrough for their understanding. We are living in the time of that breakthrough.

2) The Army of 200 Million - Chapters 9 and 16 of Revelation state that an army of 200 million soldiers will march “from the east" toward Israel. Daniel 9 indicates that this will be an army representing nations in revolt against the Antichrist.

Demographers estimate that the total population of the world at the time the Apostle John wrote Revelation (95 AD) was only 200 million. How could an army that size march out of the east? It made no sense. In fact, it took 1,650 years for the world's population to double to 400 million! At the beginning of the 20th Century the total world population was only 1.6 billion, still too small for an army of 200 million to march from the east.

But the 20th Century witnessed an exponential increase in population. The population count at the end of the century was 6 billion, meaning that the world's population increased 4.4 billion in 100 years! Today, just one country to the east of Israel namely, China could field an army of 200 million.

Here we have a clear example of a prophecy about the end-times that could never be understood apart from historical developments.

3) The Two Witnesses - Revelation 11 reveals that two great witnesses of God will preach in the city of Jerusalem during the first 3½ years of the Tribulation. Then, in the middle of that terrible period, the Antichrist will kill them.

We are further told that their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3½ days and that all the people of the world will look upon them. How could that be? Prior to 1957 that prophecy was not understandable in natural terms. There was just no way that all the people of the world could look upon two dead bodies in the streets of Jerusalem.

All that changed on October 4, 1957 when the Russians sent up the first Sputnik satellite. Today, our planet has many manmade satellites circling it, making possible all sorts of instantaneous communication. When those two prophets lie dead in the streets of Jerusalem, all someone will have to do is point a TV camera at them, send the signal up to a satellite, and all the world will be able to look upon them. Once again, modern technology has made an ancient prophecy understandable for the first time.

4) The Nation of Israel - Revelation 12 focuses on the nation of Israel. It makes clear that in the middle of the Tribulation Satan will motivate and empower the Antichrist to annihilate the Jewish state and its people. A remnant of the Jews will flee into the “wilderness" where they will be supernaturally protected by the Lord (Revelation 12:14).

At the time the book of Revelation was written, Jerusalem had already been destroyed by the Romans and the worldwide distribution of the Jews had begun. Until the 20th  Century, there was never any prospect that the nation of Israel would ever exist again. There were, of course, prophetic scholars who pointed to the many promises in Scripture that said the Jews will be regathered in the end-times and the nation of Israel will be reestablished once more. But people laughed at these scholars and wrote them off as “dreamers" who were out of touch with reality.

Then, on May 14, 1948 the “dream" came true. The independence of the nation of Israel was proclaimed, and the Jewish state came back into existence for the first time in almost 2,000 years.

All the end-time prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures make it clear that the Lord will return when the Jews are back in the land (Ezekiel 37) and back in their capital city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12). Jesus emphasized these two events in His teaching. He pointed to the re-establishment of the state in his fig tree parable (Matthew 24:32-35), and He stressed the importance of the re-occupation of Jerusalem in His Olivet discourse (Luke 21:24). He stated point blank that when Jerusalem is no longer under Gentile control, all the end-time events would take place. Jerusalem ceased to be under Gentile control on June 7, 1967.

The central piece of the end-time world political puzzle is now in place for the first time.

5) The Image of the Beast - Revelation 13 says that the Antichrist's religious leader, the False Prophet, will make an image of the Antichrist that will appear to come alive and speak. This trickery will amaze most of the world's population and will cause many of them to give their allegiance to the Antichrist.

What is the explanation of this event? Many have concluded that Satan will empower the False Prophet to give the image life. But Satan does not have the power to create life. Satan is a liar and a deceiver.

So, again, how can the False Prophet give an image life? I don't see any way for him to do it apart from modern technology. The illusion can be created through the use of modern robotics and holograms.

Many years ago I took my family to Disneyland. We went into a theater where we saw a man who looked exactly like Abraham Lincoln get up out of his chair in stage center, walk to the edge of the stage, grab the lapels of his jacket, and proceed to quote the Gettysburg Address. When he finished, a lady behind me exclaimed, “Wasn't he a good actor!" He was not an actor. The "actor” was a robot. That was 1967. Think what could be done today with the advances in computer technology.

6) The Mark of the Beast - Another prophecy in Revelation 13 that is dependent on modern technology is the famous one that states the Antichrist will control the world's economy by requiring people to bear his mark or name on their hand or forehead in order to buy or sell anything.

Again, how could this be possible before the invention of laser and computer technology?

The Uniqueness of our Age

After reviewing the prophecies listed above, I don't think we need any handwriting on the wall to indicate to us that we are living in a unique age. Historical developments and technological inventions are making it possible for us to understand many end-time prophecies for the first time.

Nor is the list above an exhaustive one. I could name many other signs unique to our day and time - such as the reunification of Europe, the exponential increase in travel and knowledge, and the preaching of the Gospel to the whole world.

The Significance of Prophecy Books

Even the phenomenal success of Bible prophecy books is a unique sign of the times. Consider, for example, Hal Lindsay's book, The Late Great Planet Earth. This book was the number one best seller in the world, with the sole exception of the Bible, for ten consecutive years, from 1970 to 1980 (as authenticated by Time Magazine).

But its success pales in comparison to the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. This series of 16 books, which began publishing in 1995, has sold over 80 million copies!

What was it that the Lord told Daniel? “Seal it up to the end of time when those who have insight will understand."

The bottom line, my friends, is that we are living in the final days of the end-times, when prophecies that have always mystified people are suddenly being understood and fulfilled. We are living on borrowed time, because Jesus is coming soon!

32: The Exponential Curve

What is it, and what does it mean?

Have you noticed how almost everything in life seems to be accelerating in growth? Knowledge has exploded. We are traveling faster and farther than ever before. Instant, world wide communication has become common place. And the power at our disposal is mind boggling.

A Sign of the Times

The Bible teaches that this acceleration of technology which we are experiencing will be a sign of the end-times - a sign that will signal the soon return of the Lord.

Consider Daniel 12:4. In this verse the Lord tells Daniel that one of the signs of the end-times will be an acceleration of travel and knowledge. Here's how the verse reads in the Living Bible paraphrase:

Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret . . . Seal it up so that it will not be understood until the end-times when travel and education shall be vastly increased.

The same concept of end-time acceleration is found in the New Testament. Jesus spoke about it when He talked with His disciples about the signs of the end-times that would herald His return (Matthew 24:5ff). He mentioned a great variety of signs - spiritual, natural, societal and world political - and then He said these signs would be like "birth pangs" (Matthew 24:8).

As the birth of a baby approaches, the birth pangs increase two ways. They increase in frequency and intensity. Thus, Jesus was saying that the closer we get to the time of His return, the more frequent and intense the signs will become. There will be more earth- quakes and more intense ones. Likewise things like famine, pestilence and war will increase in frequency and intensity.

The Mathematical Concept

In mathematics this acceleration is called an "exponential curve." This term comes from what happens when rapid growth is plotted on a chart. When graphing the growth of something, the growth is considered to be on an exponential curve when the plot line starts moving vertically because the growth is so rapid.

Now, the point is that the Bible indicates that the exponential curve will be one of the signs of the end-times, and my thesis is that we are living in the midst of the exponential curve. Therefore, we are living in the end-times.

Examples of the Curve

The 20th Century was the century of the exponential curve. Let's consider some examples.

Population - Demographers estimate that the population of the world at the time of Christ was only 200 million. It took 1,650 years for the world's population to double! But thereafter it began to double very rapidly because the Industrial Revolution produced modern medicine, which, in turn, reduced infant mortality rates and increased longevity. As the statistics below indicate, the rate of doubling has now reached exponential proportions.

Time of Christ 200 million

1,650 years 1650 AD 400 million

200 years 1850 1.3 billion

100 years 1950 2.5 billion

30 years 1980 4.5 billion

20 years 2000 6.0 billion

10 years 2010 7.0 billion

Power - Throughout most of recorded history, the maximum power at man's disposal consisted of bows and arrows, spears, and catapults. Even at the beginning of the 20th Century, war was still primitive. World War I turned into a stagnant war of attrition because neither side had sufficient power to break out of the trenches.

Eighty years later, we had air power, armored power, nuclear weapons, and sophisticated bacteriological and chemical weapons. We have ICBM's that can deliver a nuclear payload half way around the world. We have laser guided missiles that can guide a bomb down a smoke stack. And we have nuclear submarines that can circle the globe without surfacing. Incredibly, just one of those subs today has more firepower than all the bombs dropped in World War II! It is no wonder the Bible says that in the end-times "men will faint with fear” over the expectation of "the things which are coming upon the world" (Luke 21:26).

Transportation - In 1900 the major methods of transportation were what they had always been throughout history - namely, walking and riding a horse. Bicycles had been invented, and the steam engine had been applied to ships and trains. But steam powered transportation was too expensive for most people.

I have photos that were taken in my home town of Waco, Texas in 1912, and they clearly show that people were still getting around in horse drawn wagons and carriages.

Today we have automobiles (usually two or more to a family) and airplanes. We have bullet trains that travel 150 miles per hour and planes that travel faster than the speed of sound. And then, of course, there are rocket ships that take people into orbit around the earth.

In 1866 Mark Twain traveled to the Holy Land from San Francisco. It took him two months to get there. Today, a group can get on a jet plane in New York and be in Tel Aviv in 13 hours (and most will complain about how long the trip took!).

In 1900 the average number of miles traveled per year by a person inside the United States was 1,000. Today it is 25,000 miles per year, and many of us put twice that much mileage on an automobile in a year's time.

Communications - At the beginning of the 20th Century the telegraph had speeded up communications considerably, but the fundamental means which most people used to get information was still word of mouth and newspapers.

Today our communication resources are overwhelming. We have telephones, radio, and television. We have exotic devices like fax machines, pagers and cellular phones. And we can communicate world wide through satellites and the Internet.

I never cease to be amazed when I see someone use a credit card in an Arab shop in the Old City of Jerusalem. The shop may be nothing but a primitive hole in the wall, but over in some dark corner there will be a machine where the merchant can insert the card. A few moments later he receives an authorization. During those few moments, the card number has been transmitted to Tel Aviv, from Tel Aviv to New York by satellite, from New York to the credit card processing center somewhere in the States, and then back to the Arab shop in Jerusalem!

I am equally amazed at the way I can sit down at a computer at my home or office and use the Internet to send a letter in seconds to almost any place in the world.

Computers – Computer technology has contributed to the rapid acceleration of many aspects of life, but it is interesting to note that the exponential curve applies to the development of computers as well. Anyone who tries to stay on the cutting edge of what is new in computer equipment knows that it is a never ending battle that requires a lot of money. Advances are so rapid that equipment is out of date within a few months.

In 1970 I was a professor at a college where we bought an IBM computer for $100,000. The computer filled a room and generated so much heat that we had to have the room equipped with additional air conditioning. Basically, all it did was process punch cards. The computer's memory was only 64K!

Now, if you are not a computer buff, that may not mean much to you, but keep reading because I'm going to make it understandable; and in the process, I'm going to illustrate how rapidly computer technology has developed.

Ten years later in 1980, the ministry I represent bought one of the first desk top computers made. It was a Tandy TRS 80, Model II. It cost $4,800. When I turned it on, I was astounded by the first thing that appeared on the screen: "64K Memory." In ten years time we had gone from a computer that weighed more than a ton to one that sat on a desk top, and the price had dropped 95%. But the memory was the same!

Ten years later in 1990, I went to Radio Shack and bought an electronic Rolodex small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. It cost $90. And when I turned it on, guess what? The first message that appeared on the screen was "64K Memory."

The first floppy disk that we used in the TRS 80 was eight inches in size! It held 300,000 bytes of information. A few years later the 5 inch disk appeared. It would hold 700,000 bytes. Then came the 3½ inch disk. Its capacity was 1.4 million bytes! The storage units kept getting smaller while their capacity continued to multiply. Then came the CD disk. I recently read an advertisement for a CD that contained 134,000 pages of theological documents, the equivalent of 1,400 pounds of books! And the capacity of a CD is nothing compared to that of a DVD or a tiny thumb drive that may have the capacity of 60 gigs or more!

Knowledge - The prophet Daniel was specifically told that knowledge would vastly increase in the end-times, and it has. In fact, we have become so overwhelmed with the flood of new information that it is difficult to find wisdom anymore, because wisdom comes from reflection on knowledge.

When I was in graduate school in the early 1960s. there were only two or three major academic journals in each field of study. Today there are dozens in each field, and they cannot begin to publish all the academic articles that are being written. Many have to limit the articles to one page abstracts, and even then most articles are rejected for a lack of space.

Encyclopedias started being out of date as soon as they were published, so they are no longer published. I read recently where a research organization has determined that one Sunday issue of the New York Times contains more information than the normal person in the 19th Century was exposed to in a lifetime!

The most amazing thing to me in the area of information is the World Wide Web that can be accessed through the Internet. Using it, I can access the documents of the Vatican in seconds, and then in a matter of moments, I can go to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem or I can dart back to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In short, I can access information all over the world without ever leaving my office.

Violence - I don't think I have to emphasize that violence and lawlessness have been increasing. But it is hard to comprehend how rapid the increase was in the 20th Century.

It is estimated by experts that the number of people killed in all the wars fought from the time of Christ until 1939 totaled 50 million. In the next six years (1939 through 1945), 57 million people died in World War II. Since that time, almost 60 million have died in armed conflicts, either in wars between nations or civil wars within nations.

The 20th Century was a century of unparalleled carnage. Within the United States, violent crime increased 500% between 1960 and 1990. During the same period, the country's population increased only 41%.

Society - The disintegration of society has multiplied in speed as violence, wickedness and immorality have increased exponentially. Jesus prophesied this would happen when He said that end-time society would be like it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39).

I have witnessed the decaying of society with my own eyes. I was born in 1938. When I was born, abortionists were sent to prison. Pregnancy out of wedlock was thought of as scandalous. Homosexuals were considered queer. Pornography was despised as a sickness. Marriage was sacred. Living together was taboo. Divorce was a disgrace. Homemaking was honored, and day care was provided by mothers in their homes. Child abuse was unheard of. Ladies did not curse or smoke.

In 1938, the word, “damn" was considered flagrant language in a movie. The movie, Gone with the Wind (1939) ended with that word, and it caused a sensation. To illustrate how far we have come since then, consider the film, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), starring Leonardo de Caprio. It contained the “f-word" 569 times in 180 minutes!

I could go on and on about the many ways in which our society (and societies around the world) have decided to "call evil good and good evil" (Isaiah 5:20). But the most dramatic way I can think of to illustrate how rapid the deterioration of society has become in America is to consider the results of a poll concerning public school

discipline problems.

Consider the differing results between the 1940s and the 1980s (and weep!):

The Top Public School Discipline Problems

1945

#1 Talking

#2 Chewing gum

#3 Making noise

#4 Running in the halls

#5 Getting out of turn in line

#6 Wearing improper clothing

#7 Not putting paper in wastebaskets

1985

#1 Drug Abuse

#2 Alcohol Abuse

#3 Pregnancy

#4 Suicide

#5 Rape

#6 Robbery

#7 Assault

(Source: Time Magazine, February 1, 1988)

The Gospel -Not all the exponential curves are bad. Modern technology has made it possible for the Gospel to be preached to billions of people through the use of such media as short wave radio, motion pictures and satellite television.

A series of Billy Graham sermons broadcast from Puerto Rico in March 1995 were carried by satellite to 185 countries and territories in a total of 116 different languages! Plausible estimates indicate that, when network television telecasts and delayed videotape presentations were included, as many as one billion people heard at least one of Graham's sermons during this campaign, aptly titled "Global Mission." That means more people heard these sermons than had heard the Gospel in all the recorded history of Christianity!

In 1800, portions of the Bible were available in only 71 languages. Today, there are over 3,312 languages in which at least one book of the Bible has been published. The complete Bible is available in 680 languages. Although these numbers seem minuscule when you consider that there are 7,100 languages and dialects presently in use in the world, the complete versions of the Bible include the primary languages of well over 90 per cent of the world's population. Most of the translations currently in process are for tribal groups of 100,000 or less.

With regard to world mission activity, I attended a mission conference in the 1995 where one of the key speakers told us that up to that time, 70% of all mission work in history had been done since 1900, and 70% of that since 1945, and 70% of that since 1985 - all due, of course, to the implementation of modern technology. Each of those statistics should probably be changed now to read 80%! One of the key elements has been the “Jesus Film." Since it was produced in 1979, it has been shown to 8.1 billion people worldwide in more than 1,800 languages.

The results of all this mission activity are phenomenal. In 1900, there were only 10 million Christians in Africa. Today, there are more than 600 million. Latin America is being swept by revival. The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily, despite severe persecution, that it is estimated that there will be more Chinese churchgoers in 2030 than in the United States. Among Muslims, more have been converted to Jesus in the last 20 years than in the previous 1,000 years. Jews have also been discovering their Messiah. In 1967, there was not a single Messianic congregation in existence. Today, there are more than 400 in the United States, with over 100 in Israel.

World Politics – The exponential curve also applies to world events. Habakkuk 1:5 is as relevant today as if it were written yesterday: "The Lord replied, ‘Look, and be amazed! You will be astounded at what I am about to do! For I am going to do something in your own lifetime that you will have to see to believe.’"

I took a sabbatical in 1987 and wrote a book called Trusting God. Seven years later, in 1994, I took another sabbatical and completely rewrote that book. The exercise gave me an opportunity to reflect back over the seven years between the two sabbaticals. I was astounded even overwhelmed - by the rapidity and “stupendity” of world events.

Who could have dreamed in 1987 that within the next seven years any of the following events would have occurred?

• The tearing down of the Berlin Wall.
• The peaceful liberation of Eastern Europe from Communism.
• The collapse of the Soviet Union.
• The reunification of Germany.
• The resurgence of Islam and its emergence as the greatest threat to world peace.
• The sending of 500,000 American troops to the other side of the world to defend a country most Americans had never heard of (Kuwait).
• The handshake between Rabin and Arafat that has led to Israel surrendering its heartland to the PLO.

In 1987 if you had predicted any of these developments, you would have been written off as "nuts." The rapidity of these events and their radical nature is breathtaking. They underscore the possibility of the impossible. And they certainly reveal that man is not in control.

The Significance of the Curve

So, what does all this mean to you and me? I would mention at least three things.

First, the exponential curve is proof positive that Bible prophecy is true. The Lord has told us what He is going to do in the end-times. Now, He is doing it, and we had better pay attention to it.

Second, the fulfillment of prophecy related to the exponential curve shows that God is in control. Even when it appears that everything on this earth is out of control, we can be assured that God is orchestrating all the chaos to the ultimate triumph of His Son in history (Psalm 2).

Third, the exponential curve is very strong evidence that we are living on borrowed time. It points to the fact that Jesus is at the very gates of Heaven, waiting for the command of His Father to return.

A Warning

I Want to conclude by issuing a strong warning against taking time for granted.

Many people are doing that today. They are saying, "I'm going to get serious about the Lord when I get out of school;" or "after I get a job;" or "after I'm established in my career;" or “after I get married;" or "after I get my children raised." Time is precious. There is very little left. Now is the time to get serious about the Lord.

Let me illustrate how critical the timing is by returning to the exponential curve. Suppose you put one bacterium in a jar, and assume it doubles every second. How many bacteria do you think would exist in the jar at the end of 30 seconds? The answer, incredibly, is over one billion – 1,073,741,824 to be exact. That's more than a billion in thirty seconds! That's the ferocity of the exponential Curve.

Now, let's carry the illustration a step further. If at the end of 30 seconds the jar is half full, how much longer will it take for the jar to become full? The answer is one second (because it will double in the next second). That is the suddenness of the exponential curve.

That's what the Bible means when it states that people in the end- times will be saying, "Peace and safety!" when “sudden destruction” will come upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Are you taking time for granted? Don't do it. If you are not a Christian, now is the time for you to commit your life to Jesus by placing your faith in Him as your Lord and Savior. If you are a Christian, now is the time for a sincere and passionate commitment to holiness and evangelism.

33: Growing Apostacy in the Church

Are we witnessing the emergence of the One World Church?

The Bible clearly prophesies that the Church of the end-times will be characterized by apostasy. Paul said that the Antichrist will not be revealed until "the apostasy comes first" (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Jesus prophesied that "many will fall away" and "most people's love will grow cold" (Matthew 24:10,12).

In the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, the Apostle John records seven letters of Jesus to seven churches in the area of modern day Turkey. Among other things, these letters present a panoramic prophetic survey of the Church in history.

The last of the churches mentioned, the one that represents the Church of the end-times, is the church at Laodicea. It is pictured as a church that is neither hot (healing) nor cold (refreshing), but rather is lukewarm or tepid (Revelation 3:15-16). In short, it is a church that is apathetic. Jesus also pictures it as a worldly church enamored with its wealth (Revelation 3:17). The Lord is so dissatisfied with this church that He declares, "Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:16).

Clues from the Apostle Paul

Paul supplies us with some strong clues as to why the end-times Church will be weak, vacillating, and full of apostasy. One of those clues can be found in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 which says that “the time will come when they [Christians] will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths."

Another clue is located in Paul's famous prophecy about end-time society, the one in 2 Timothy 3. After describing in graphic detail how society will fall apart in the end-times, Paul adds that the basic reason will be due to people "holding to a form of godliness, al- though they have denied its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). There will be no lack of religion, says Paul, but people will deny the true power that is able to transform the heart of Mankind.

What is that power? First and foremost it is the power of the blood of Jesus. It is also the power that comes from accepting the Bible as the infallible Word of God. It is the power of believing in a Creator God with whom all things are possible. And certainly it includes a belief in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today, these essential beliefs, which constitute the power of Christianity, are being subjected to an unparalleled assault from within the Church itself. The Bible says that in the end-times people will mock the promise of the Lord's return (1 Peter 3:2-3). What is so shocking is that most of the mockery is coming from within the Church!

The Root of Apostasy

How have we reached this crisis point in the Church? It is rooted in the German School of Higher Criticism which invaded this country big-time in the 1920s. According to the "scientific approach" of this school of skeptics, the Bible is not the revealed Word of God. Rather, it is Man's search for God, and therefore it is filled with myth, legend, and superstition.

Today this viewpoint dominates the seminaries of America. The Bible is studied not to be believed and obeyed but to be analyzed, dissected, and criticized. The result is that the Scriptures have lost their authority.

Apostate Leaders

John Spong, the former Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey, has written books in which he denies the virgin birth, denies the miracles of Jesus, denies the resurrection, denies the Second Coming and argues that Paul and Timothy were homosexual lovers. Bishop Spong has become so enamored with other religions that he has announced he will no longer witness to those caught up in the spiritual darkness of pagan faiths!

Similar apostate thoughts were mouthed by Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) when appearing in 1984 on the Phil Donahue program. Peale announced, "It's not necessary to be born-again, Yon have your way to God; I have mine. I found eternal peace in a Shinto Shrine . . . I've been to Shinto shrines, and God is everywhere.”

Phil Donahue was so shocked that he actually came to the defense of Christianity. "But you're a Christian minister," he retorted, “and you're supposed to tell me that Christ is the way and the truth and the life, aren't you?"

Peale replied, "Christ is one of the ways. God is everywhere."

Look again at Peale's incredible statement: “It's not necessary to be born again." What did Jesus say? "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Who are we to believe?

Schuller's Apostate Gospel

Peale's leading disciple, Robert Schuller (1926-2015), outdid his teacher with the development of his "gospel of possibility thinking." In his book, Self Esteem: The New Reformation (1982), Schuller stated that the leaders of the Reformation Movement made a mistake in centering their theology around God instead of Man!

Schuller taught that the essence of Man's problem is low self- esteem. The Bible teaches it is pride. Schuller said that when Jesus referred in John 7:38 to "rivers of living water" flowing out of believers, He was speaking of self-esteem. The very next verse says He was speaking of the Holy Spirit. Schuller argued that sin is anything that robs us of our "divine dignity" (our “divine dignity"?). The Bible says sin is rebellion against God.

Like Spong and Peale, Schuller redefined the meaning of being born again. He said it meant being “changed from a negative to a positive self-image - from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love and from doubt to trust." The Bible denies that being born again is the result of changes in attitude. Rather, the Bible teaches that being born again relates to coming alive spiritually through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Being born again is a spiritual phenomenon, not a psychological one. The experience will certainly result in changes in attitude, but it is not produced by them. Schuller confuses cause and effect.

An Apostate Seminar

Another modern day apostate was Robert Funk (1926-2005), a New Testament scholar at Vanderbilt University. He was the founder of the notorious Jesus Seminar which began operating in 1985.

The avowed purpose of the Seminar was “to renew the quest for the historical Jesus." The Seminar conducted this quest in a very unusual way. Meeting twice a year for six years, the group voted on each of the sayings of Jesus recorded in the gospels. They voted by dropping colored beads in a box. A black bead meant Jesus definitely did not make the statement in question. A gray bead meant he did not say it, but it might have represented His thinking. A pink bead meant He probably said something like this, but not in the words recorded. A red bead meant He definitely made the statement.

As you can see, the very approach expressed contempt for the veracity of the gospel accounts. What a spectacle this must have been to the Lord as He watched these so-called scholars vote on passages from His Word. "Professing to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

The final product of the Seminar, published in 1993, was a blasphemy of God's Word. It was titled, The Five Gospels. The title comes from the fact that the Seminar decided to grant the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas equal standing with the four traditional gospels.

Only fifteen sayings of Jesus made it into The Five Gospels in red! In Matthew's account of the Lord's Prayer, the only words that made it in red were, "Our Father." Only one saying in the entire book of Mark was colored red. It is the statement of Jesus in Mark 12:17 where He told His disciples to “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Likewise, only one statement from the Gospel of John qualified for the red coloring: “A prophet has no honor in his own country" (John 4:44).

The chilling thing to keep in mind is that the men who produced this spiritual pornography are professors at seminaries across America. They are the ones who are training the current generation of pastors and teachers.

An Apostate Seminary

A classic example of an apostate seminary in America today is Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

The school garnered considerable publicity in September of 2019 when its students were directed to participate in a chapel service where, one at a time, they sat in front of a group of plants and confessed to the plants their sins against the environment.

The president of the seminary at that time was Dr. Serene Jones. She became the first female president of the school in July of 2008. In an interview with The New York Times in 2019, Dr. Jones mouthed one incredible apostasy after another.

She stated that "God is beyond our knowing, not a being or an essence or an object." Concerning the crucifixion, she observed, "The pervasive idea of an abusive God-father who sends his own kid to the Cross so He could forgive people is nuts." She scoffed at Christians for whom the physical resurrection becomes a sort of obsession." She added, "That seems to me to be a pretty wobbly faith." After all, she added, "What if tomorrow someone found the body of Jesus still in the tomb?" She blasted the virgin birth as a "bizarre claim," and she denied the existence of Hell.

Perhaps her most shocking statement was in response to the question, “What happens when you die?" She said, “I don't know! There may be something, there may be nothing. My faith is not tied to some divine promise about the afterlife."

Unfortunately, Union Theological Seminary is not the only one teaching this kind of theological garbage.

Inter-Faith Apostasy

The big move at the grass roots level these days is interfaith worship services. I'm not talking about inter-denominational - rather, the emphasis is on inter-faith. Christians are inviting Muslims, Jews, Hindus, American Indian practitioners of "native religion" and others to join in worshiping “the one true god, regardless of the name you may give to him or her."

Pope John Paul II got caught up in this inter-faith fad in 1986 when he invited the leaders of the world's religions to come to Assisi, Italy to join him in praying for world peace. One hundred sixty representatives came, including the Dali Lama (who considers himself to be a god). Each representative prayed to his own god at the Pope's request! Did the Pope believe their gods were real? Or did he believe that they were all praying to the same god, but under different names?

The Most Popular Apostasy

The most popular apostasy that is raging through Christendom today is the teaching that God has revealed Himself in many different ways to different cultures and that, therefore, all religions worship the same god, but just use different names. From this viewpoint, the Allah of Islam is the same as the Yahweh of Judaism.

The natural conclusion that is drawn from this apostate idea is that there are many different paths to God, Jesus being only one of them. This has led liberal leaders of groups like The National Council of Churches in the United States and the World Council to condemn Christian missionary activity as "arrogant” and “anti-cultural."

The Bible teaches that these apostate Christian leaders are eventually going to succeed, at least temporarily. Their triumph will occur when the Antichrist forms his one world religion (Revelation 13:12).

The Stanford Conference

Major steps have already been taken to establish a unified world religion. In June of 1997 over 200 delegates from religious groups all over the world gathered at Stanford University to begin drafting a charter for an international interfaith institution to be called The United Religions Initiative. As one conference leader put it, "The URI is meant to be for religions what the UN is for nations."

The meeting was convened and presided over by Reverend William Swing, the Episcopal Bishop of San Francisco. Since 1993 he has been traveling worldwide to set up a network of religious leaders interested in a one world religious organization. The Bishop told the San Francisco Chronicle:

"I've spent a lot of time praying with Brahmins, meditating with Hindus, and chanting with Buddhists. I feel I've been enormously enriched inwardly by exposure to these folks. I've gone back and read our own scriptures, and it's amazing how they begin to read differently when you're exposed to more truth from more people in other parts of the world."

This statement is the epitome of the new tolerance that is being evidenced by Christendom's apostate leaders. (Incidentally, I wonder what "new truth" he found outside the Bible!)

The New Charter

The United Religions Charter was ratified on June 26, 2000 at a meeting held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The preamble states: “The URI is a growing global community dedicated to promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, ending religiously motivated violence and creating cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings."

It sounds so good! It is all so touchy-feely and warm and fuzzy. The Charter is full of New Age type statements like the following: “We unite to celebrate the joy of blessings and the light of wisdom in both movement and stillness.”

One of the key principles expressed in the Charter is worded as follows: "Members of the URI shall not be coerced to participate in any ritual or be proselytized." In other words, no member of the URI will engage in missionary activity since that would constitute an act of spiritual imperialism. It all makes sense from their viewpoint, since they believe all religions are equally valid.

The amazing thing is the degree of inclusiveness that the URI represents. In addition to the world's major faiths, the organization has embraced "neo-pagan" religions like Druids and Celtic Revivalists, Witchcraft and Norse Paganism.

Deceptive Tolerance

All of this is being done in the name of “tolerance." But it is a perverted tolerance. It is a subtle ploy of Satan to corrupt the Church from within.

The deception sounds so appealing: "Why draw lines of fellowship over doctrinal differences? The only thing that's important is sincerity. Reach out and embrace all those who profess to believe in God, regardless of who their god may be. Ignore doctrinal differences. Do it in the name of Christian love. Do it for the sake of religious unity."

The Coming World Religion

The Christian leaders who are advocating tolerance to the point of embracing apostasy are going to triumph in the near future, at least temporarily. The Bible makes that clear. Just as “one world'" thought is dominating the political and economic scenes today, it has captivated the thinking of both Catholic and Protestant leaders regarding religion.

In that regard, I think it is significant that in 1989 the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, Robert Runcie (1921-2000), called for all Christians to accept the Pope as “a common leader presiding in love." Runcie made his appeal at an evening prayer service midway through his first official visit to the Vatican. "For the universal church, I renew the plea," he said. "Could not all Christians come to reconsider the kind of primacy the bishop of Rome exercised with the early church, 'a presiding in love' for the sake of the unity of the churches in the diversity of their mission?"

That kind of thinking is paving the way for the establishment of the one world government of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:1-10) which will be supported by the one world religious system of the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11-18).

I believe the harlot church of Revelation 17 will most likely be amalgamation of the world's pagan religions, including apostate Protestants, under the leadership of the Catholic Church.

A Prophecy Fulfilled

Englishman William Booth (1829-1912), who founded the Salvation Army, was a man with a great zeal for the Lord and a passion for lost souls. He was also a man of vision.

On the eve of the 20th Century when Christendom was caught up in euphoria about how the Church would soon take the world for Christ, Booth predicted that the Gospel would not fare well in the new century. Specifically, he prophesied that by the end of the 20th Century, much of the Church would be preaching:

"Christianity without Christ

Forgiveness without repentance

Salvation without regeneration

Heaven without Hell"

Sad to say, we have arrived, and that fact is a sign that we are living in the season of the Lord’s return. 

 34: The Explosion of Cults

What is its importance?

Jesus warned repeatedly that in the end-times the world would witness many false Christs and false prophets. In His Olivet Discourse, when He listed the signs of the times that would point to His soon return, the very first sign He mentioned was an epidemic of false Christs. “Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many" (Matthew 24:5).

This is the only sign that He repeated in that memorable speech, and He repeated it twice. In verse 11 He focused on false prophets: "And many false prophets will arise and will mislead many." And, again, in verse 24, He mentioned both groups: "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect."

This latter statement is particularly chilling since it indicates that the cult leaders of the end-times will have supernatural powers and will therefore be able to deceive many people through the performance of miracles.

Apostolic Warnings

The warnings of Jesus are not the only ones in the Bible concerning cults. His Apostles warned repeatedly about the danger of false and deceptive teachers.

John warned that Christians are to be on guard against "antichrists" - whom he defined as those who deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:18,22). He also challenged believers to test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world"(1 John 4:1). The test He prescribed was to ask the questionable person to confess that "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh" (1 John 4:2).

Nearly all of John's second epistle is devoted to a warning against false teachers. As John put it: “Many deceivers have gone out into the world" (2 John 7). He then stated that “anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God." He also admonished believers in the strongest of terms to avoid association with such people: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [the teaching of Christ], do not receive him into your house. and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds” (2 John 9-11).

Likewise, Paul spoke out strongly against false and deceptive teachers. Paul said that if an angel of God were to come with a gospel different from the one revealed in the Scriptures, we should reject his message and "let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8-9). In his first letter to Timothy, Paul warned about deception in the end-times: "The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

Peter contributed to this chorus of warnings when he wrote that there will be false teachers “who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them” (2 Peter 2:1). He said some would be motivated by sensuality and others by greed (2 Peter 2:2-3).

Early Cults

All these apostolic warnings were much needed, for the early church was assaulted by false teachers and cultic groups from the beginning.

The first to arrive on the scene were the Judaizers who responded to the inclusion of Gentiles in the Church by demanding that they be circumcised in order to be saved (Acts 15:1). They also demanded that the Gentile converts observe the Law of Moses (Acts 15:5).

These demands caused such a crisis that a convention of church leaders was called in Jerusalem to discuss and decide the matter. The convention reaffirmed that salvation comes “through the grace of the Lord Jesus," and not through obedience to the Law (Acts 15:11).

The Judaizers were severely rebuffed by this decision, but they continued to plague the early church. At one point, Paul had to publicly rebuke Peter for playing politics to please what he called “the party of the circumcision'" (Galatians 2:11-14). Paul also devoted much of his Galatian letter to denouncing the teachings of the Judaizers.

The Gnostics were the second major cultic group that afflicted the early church. They refused to accept the truth of the incarnation because they did not believe you could mix the holiness of God with flesh. They took this position because they considered all material things to be inherently evil. They therefore taught that Jesus was a spirit being, an angel who was neither fully God nor man. In doing this they denied both the physical death of Jesus and His bodily resurrection. This is the reason that John told the early church to test all teachers by asking them to confess “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2).

Modern Cults

False Christs, false prophets and their cultic groups have continued to afflict the Church throughout its history from time to time. But the acute danger of the cults that Jesus warned would characterize the end-times did not begin to manifest itself until the early 19th Century when an American by the name of Joseph Smith(1805-1844) founded a religious movement that was destined to become the world's largest cult, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, better known as the Mormons. Today the Mormons number more than 16 million worldwide.

Before the end of the 19th Century several more cultic organizations had been founded, including the Jehovah's Witnesses and several spiritist groups like the Church of Christ Scientists.

The 20th Century witnessed an explosion of the cults. They multiplied with great rapidity to the point that some cult-watch organizations now list more than 500 cultic groups operating in America.

The Dangers of the Cults

These cults present a clear and present danger to the true Church. That danger takes two forms. First, the cults are converting many professing Christians. One expert on the cults who grew up in a cultic group once expressed this problem to me in these terms: “Christians convert pagans. Cults convert Christians.”

The statement is very true. The average cult member is thoroughly indoctrinated. He knows what he believes and why he believes it. The average Christian, by contrast, usually has little biblical knowledge. He's not sure what he believes and cannot defend his faith. The result, as cult expert Walter Martin once put it, is that "the average Jehovah's Witness can turn the average Christian into a theological pretzel in two minutes flat."

Tens of thousands of professing Christians are being deceived each year by the cults. They are being sucked into spiritual darkness by clever and deceptive peddlers of false messiahs, and the result is the damnation of their souls. The Church needs to face up to this problem and start responding to it by grounding its members in the fundamentals of the faith so that they will know what they believe and why.

Doctrinal Influence

The second danger of the cults is their penetration of the Church with their heretical doctrines. Their "doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1) are creeping into the mainline church in many forms. It is not at all unusual anymore to hear liberal denominational leaders deny the divinity of Jesus or His bodily resurrection or His Second Coming. One of the favorite liberal themes today is the teaching that there are many different roads to God, that God has revealed Himself in Buddha, Confucius, Abraham, Jesus, Mohammed and many other persons. The natural conclusion of such thought is that it is improper for Christians to seek to convert people of other religions to Jesus.

Even fundamentalist type groups have gotten caught up in cultic doctrines. A popular fad is the teaching that the power of prayer is not to be found in faith but in the imagination, or visualization. This is a heresy straight out of Eastern mystical religion. It is a practice of Shamanism that is being embraced by many Christian groups today.

Another cultic doctrine that has invaded the Church is the incredible teaching that our salvation was not won on the Cross by the shedding of the blood of Jesus, but was won instead at the hands of Satan as he tortured Jesus in Hell for the three days between His death and His resurrection. This nonsense ignores the fact that Jesus declared on the Cross, “It is finished!" (John 19:30). It denies the clear teaching of the Scriptures that we are saved by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). And it ignores the fact that there is no mention in the Bible of any visit to Hell by Jesus or any suffering on His part after His death.

Equally incredible is the cultic doctrine that is being taught on Christian television today which holds that those who are born again are "little gods." This is the lie that Satan told to Eve in the garden of Eden, and it is the same lie that is taught by many cultic groups like the Mormons.

Christian Involvement

Additional evidence of cultic influence on the Church is to be found in the growing acceptance of the cults by some church leaders.

A very well known Charismatic leader has stated that he felt it was time for the Church to embrace Mormons as brothers in Christ! Another endorsement of a cultic group occurred when one of Christendom's leading televangelists served as the featured speaker at the dedication of the new international headquarters of the Unity Church, a classic cult that teaches reincarnation! He even conducted a seminar for them on church growth.

Definition

What is a cult? The typical dictionary definition is so vague and general that the term could be applied to any religious group. For example, The American College Dictionary defines a cult as "a particular system of religious worship." In practice the term is used in many different ways and is usually utilized in a very indiscriminate manner.

Often the word is used in a very broad sense to refer to any religious group that is non-Christian in nature. Thus, people lump together pseudo-Christian movements (like Armstrongism and Mormonism) with completely non-Christian groups (like Muslims and Hindus).

I prefer to give the term a more technical meaning. To me, a cult is a religious group that masquerades as being Christian. It employs Christian terms, quotes the Bible and uses Christian symbols. But it is not a true expression of the Christian faith.

The fundamental thing that sets a cult apart from orthodox Christianity is its concept of Jesus. His nature is always distorted and perverted. In short, cults present a false Jesus.

This is a very serious matter because our salvation depends upon our relationship with Jesus, the true Jesus of Nazareth who revealed Himself to the world as God in the flesh (John 14:9-11). There is salvation in no other person (Acts 4:10-12). There is salvation in no other way (John 14:6).

We can be wrong about many things, but if we are right about Jesus, we can be saved. Likewise, we can be right about many things, but if we are wrong about Jesus, we can be lost. To be saved, we must put our faith in the true Jesus, the Jesus revealed by the Word of God (John 17:3).

The identity of Jesus is terribly distorted by the cults. For one, He is an angel; for another, He is a minor god; for many He was just a remarkable man who manifested the Christ consciousness. None view Him biblically as God in the flesh.

Other Characteristics

With respect to organization and operation, there are two types of cultic groups. One type, the rarer form, operates openly and encourages freedom of thought. The Unitarian Church and the Mind Science Churches are examples of this type. These usually teach universalism, the ultimate salvation of all people.

The more common type of cult are those that operate in some degree of secrecy and which exercise a large degree of thought control over their members. These groups share six characteristics:

1) Leadership - There is usually a dynamic, charismatic founder or leader who considers himself to be either the true Christ or the last prophet of God. Examples are Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the Mormons, and Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012), the founder of the Moonies.

2) Writings - There are always some extra-Biblical writings which are considered equal to or superior to the Bible. The Mormons have their Pearl of Great Price. The Children of God look to the letters of their founder, Moses David (David Berg, 1919-1994). The prophetic proclamations of Herbert W. Armstrong (1892- 1986) are revered as scripture by many Armstrongites. The Jehovah's Witnesses have their own eccentric “translation” of the Scriptures. It is actually a version that simply rewords all the verses that conflict with their theology!

3) Salvation - There is always a perverted view of salvation. Cults emphasize salvation by works. Their faithful followers are therefore zealous about knocking on doors or giving their time or money.

4) Doctrine - Cults always have some weird doctrines that are not biblically based. Many of the Mind Science groups teach reincarnation, and all of them deny the reality of evil, disease and death. Nearly all the cults deny the existence of Hell. The Children of God practice sexual permissiveness. Mormons believe in baptism for the dead. The Armstrongites teach that the Anglo-Saxon peoples are the true Jews.

5) Attitude - The groups are exclusivistic and sectarian, usually viewing themselves as God's only true church. They therefore refuse to have anything to do with any other group. They are often very secretive in nature, as evidenced by the secret temple rites of the Mormons.

6) Government - The groups are almost always authoritarian in nature, and some are even totalitarian in the control they try to exercise over their members. Someone at the top, either an individual or a collective leadership calls all the shots.

Borderline Groups

There are a number of religious groups that manifest many of the characteristics listed above, but I do not consider them to be cults because they have an orthodox view of Jesus as God in the flesh.

These groups tend to be sectarian, legalistic and exclusivistic to the point that each of them consider their particular group to be the one and only true church. Accordingly, they have almost nothing to do with other Christian groups.

I classify the borderline groups as sects. They include, among others, the non-instrumental Churches of Christ, the United Pentecostals, the Seventh Day Adventists and Catholics.

Like the cults, the sects manifest many unorthodox beliefs. The Seventh Day Adventists argue that Jesus entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven in 1844 to start an investigative judgment of the works of believers to determine their worthiness for salvation. The Churches of Christ believe instrumental music in worship is sinful. They also believe in water regeneration, and many of their members equate the Holy Spirit with the Bible. United Pentecostals believe you must speak in tongues in order to be saved. They are also unitarian in their view of God. And the Catholics believe in papal infallibility,

purgatory, prayer to saints, and other such unbiblical concepts.

The rest of Christendom falls into the category of denominations like the Baptists, Methodists and Assemblies of God. These are orthodox Christian groups who are non-sectarian and thus consider themselves to be a part of the body of Christ, but only a part. These groups view the true Church as being composed of all born again people, regardless of their denominational or sectarian label.

The Transformed Cult

There is only one example in history of a cult transforming itself into a mainline, orthodox Christian fellowship, and that is the Worldwide Church of God of Herbert W. Armstrong.

When Armstrong died in 1986 at the age of 94, he was succeeded as General Pastor by Joseph W. Tkach who immediately began to lead the group away from its cultic doctrines. He affirmed the traditional Christian concept of the Trinity, rejected the doctrine of British-Israelism and renounced Sabbath-keeping as a requirement for salvation.

In the spring of 1997 the church was admitted to the membership of the National Association of Evangelicals, becoming the first cult in history to make the transition to mainline Christianity.

The membership of the church has since dropped from 145,000 worldwide in 1988 to 75,000, and approximately 50 splinter groups have formed, most of which still teach the cultic doctrines. of the founder.

The Invisible Cult

Most modern day cults operate outside the Church, attempting to convert Christians to their perverse doctrines and their false messiahs.

The cult that presents the greatest danger to Christianity is the one that operates inside the Church. It seems to present no challenge to the Church. It does not attempt to draw members out of the Church. Most people are oblivious to its presence and its influence, which is why I refer to it as "the invisible cult."

I am speaking of the Masons. These are well-meaning men who have given their allegiance to a secret organization that teaches doctrines that run counter to the Gospel. They pray to the "Great Architect of the Universe" without mentioning Jesus. They subscribe to demonic oaths. Their official publications teach salvation through good works, and they therefore believe that people of all religions can be saved.

No Christian has any business being a member of a secret organization that teaches unbiblical doctrines. It diverts his energy and resources from his church, and it compromises his spiritual growth.

An Attractive Facade

Cults are incredibly deceptive. They not only use Christian language and symbols, but they also display worthy attributes like zeal, dedication and concern for the individual.

Another thing that makes them attractive is that they usually exhibit very fine moral qualities. Take the Mormons for example. They are a people committed to personal holiness, and they put great importance on the value of the family.

To put it another way, the cults are full of very sincere and religious people. But no one can be saved by sincerity or by being religious. No one can earn salvation. Again, salvation comes by grace through faith in a person, and that person is Jesus, the true Jesus revealed in the Bible.

Cults are a perfect example of what the Bible means when it says that “Satan disguises himself as an Angel of light . . . and his servants as servants of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). They are like the white washed tombs which Jesus said were full of dead mens' bones, beautiful to behold, but full of spiritual death.

A Challenge

The Word of God challenges us to test everything because we are all subject to deception. We are told to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

We are even exhorted to test ourselves. Here's how Paul put it:

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

The test of all teaching and all doctrine is the Word itself. We are called to be like the Bereans who tested everything Paul taught by the Word of God (Acts 17:10-11).

Cultic Views of Jesus

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) – Jesus is the brother of Lucifer. He is one of several gods created by the super god, Adam, an exalted man.
• Jehovah’s Witnesses – Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
• The Unification Church (Moonies) – Jesus was only a spiritual redeemer who failed to provide the physical redemption that the new messiah, Reverend Moon, will supply.
• The Armstrongites – Jesus is part of a Godhead that is open to perfected men.
• The Way International – Jesus was a created being who was sent by God to die for the sins of mankind.
• The Mind Sciences (Christian Science, Religious Science, Unity, Theosophy, ect.) – Jesus was only a man who manifested the Christ potential that resides in each person. He neither died for sins, nor was He resurrected. One spiritist group has referred to Jesus as “a medium of the sixth sphere of the astro-projections”!
• Church Universal and Triumphant – Jesus was just another “avatar” or Ascended Master, along with such people as Buddha, Enoch and Elijah.
• Freemasonry – Jesus was not God, nor is salvation available only through Him. He was a man who attained the state of Christ consciousness. 
  

35: The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

How is it manifested?

When the 20th Century began, the Holy Spirit was not alive and well in the Church. Christendom was in bondage to the theology of Cessationism which held that miracles had ceased, all aspects of the supernatural (such as angels and demons) had been laid to rest and that God was a grand old man in the sky, best identified as "The Great I Was."

A Deceptive Doctrine

The Church had been deceived into adopting a theological argument which had the effect of stifling and quenching the Holy Spirit. The argument was based on a statement in 1 Corinthians 13:10 which says, “. . . when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away." It was argued that the "perfect" was the completion of the perfect, inerrant Word of God. Thus, it was argued, all supernatural gifts of the Spirit, as well as other manifestations of the supernatural, ended with the completion of the New Testament canon around 95 AD.

To this was added the argument that gifts of the Spirit could only be passed along to others by the Apostles through the laying on of hands. Therefore, when the last Apostle died (John in about 100 AD), the gifts ceased.

Flawed Arguments

The arguments were so neat. But they were full of holes. For one thing, they flew in the face of experience. Throughout Church history, there is abundant evidence of spiritual gifts being experienced on the part of the small minority who continued to believe in them. There had also been major outbreaks of the supernatural, as in the camp meetings on the American frontier in the early 1800s.

The argument revolving around 1 Corinthians 13:10 was faulty because it denied the contextual meaning of the word “perfect." In context, the word refers to the return of Jesus. This is made clear in verse 12: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then [when the perfect comes] face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully . . .” The argument also overlooked the clear teaching of 1 Corinthians 1:7 that all the gifts of the Spirit will continue to be operative until Jesus returns: “. . . you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Finally, the argument about the Apostles passing the gifts along to others was a sham because it attempted to convert the gifts of the Spirit into gifts of the Apostles. The Apostles may have been able to lay their hands on people and pray for them to receive certain gifts, but the gifts came from the Holy Spirit, not from the Apostles. Furthermore, every believer receives at least one supernatural gift of the Spirit at the time of his or her salvation (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Paul put it this way: “To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

An Important Prophecy

The anti-Holy Spirit mentality of the Church in 1900 also ignored the clear teaching of Bible prophecy that the end-times would be characterized by a great outpouring of God's Spirit. The key passage is found in Joel 2:

28) And it will come about after this

That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and daughters will prophesy,

Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions.

29) Even on the male and female servants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Church's position in 1900 was that this prophecy had been fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD and was no longer applicable. It was argued that the “last days" began at Pentecost when the Church was established (Hebrews 1:2 and 1 Peter 1:20). Also, it was pointed out that the Apostles themselves quoted this passage from Joel when they were asked what was going on as they began "to speak with other tongues" (Acts 2:4).

More Flawed Arguments

But again, these arguments about Joel 2:28-29 ignored the context of the passage. Note that the passage beings with the words, “And it will come about after this . . ." After what? If you back up and read verses 18 through 27 you will see that the chapter is talking about the regathering and resettlement of the Jews in the land of Israel something that did not occur until the 20h Century.

Also, the preceding verses speak of the outpouring of the Spirit symbolically as the "early and latter rain," referring to the two rainy seasons of Israel. In other words, the prophet was saying there will be two great outpourings of the Spirit. The “early rain" was at Pentecost and continued throughout the early history of the Church, as recorded in the book of Acts.

The “latter rain" would immediately precede the return of the Messiah in judgment. This is made clear again by the passage itself in verses 30-31: “And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." This is classic language about the Second Coming of Jesus.

Yes, the Bible speaks of the Church Age as the last days: "He [Jesus] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you" (1 Peter 1:20). But it also speaks of the Lord's return as the last days when it says Christians are being protected “by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time . . . at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:5, 7).

We have been in the “last times" since the Day of Pentecost. We are now in the latter part of the last times.

Joel 2:28-29 was fulfilled in part on the Day of Pentecost. Its total fulfillment was yet future in 1900, awaiting the "latter rain" that would be one of the signs of the Lord's soon return.

A Move of God

The Church had its jaw set against the Holy Spirit as the 20th Century began. But God was ready to burst on the scene with a great move of the Spirit in order to prepare the way for the return of His Son. That move began at a poverty-stricken school in Topeka, Kansas in January 1901 when a student named Agnes Ozman received the gift of tongues. Three years later a great Holy Spirit revival broke out in the English area of Wales, led by a remarkable young man named Evan Roberts (1878-1951). Then, in 1906, the Spirit fell with great power on a home meeting in Los Angeles led by a black preacher named William J. Seymour (1870-1922).

At Seymour's meeting, spiritual gifts were manifested, spectacular healings occurred, people were “slain in the Spirit" and sinners were saved. The meeting grew quickly and had to be moved to a dilapidated building on Azusa Street. It continued for almost four years, with preaching every day, three times a day!

The Azusa Street meeting gave birth to the Pentecostal Movement. The latter rain had begun. But it was only a sprinkle in terms of its impact on Christendom at large. The Pentecostals were written off as “Holy Rollers," and their religion was considered appropriate only for the superstitious and uneducated. But they were paving the way for a rediscovery of the Spirit.

The Latter Rain

The latter rain did not become a downpour until after the regathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel (1900-1945) and the re-establishment of the state (May 14, 1948). Then, just as Joel had prophesied, the heavens opened and the downpour began first, with the anointing of Billy Graham's ministry in 1949 and then with the emergence of the Charismatic Movement in the 1960s.

Today, much of Christendom is caught up in the Third Wave Movement that grew out of the Charismatic Movement in the 1970s and 80s. It is made up of churches that fully recognize the ministry of the Holy Spirit, including the significance of Spirit-led worship, the continuing validity of spiritual gifts, the reality of spiritual warfare, and the importance of a Spirit-filled life in winning that warfare. However, unlike the Pentecostals and Charismatics, the Third Wave Movement does not put an emphasis on the gift of tongues as the sign of having been baptized in the Spirit.

Confusion About the Spirit

So, the 20th Century proved to be the century of the rediscovery of the Holy Spirit. Yet, widespread ignorance and confusion about the Holy Spirit still characterizes the Church. A 1997 poll by the Barna Research Group showed that only 40% of Americans believed in the existence of the Holy Spirit (as opposed to 90% who believed in the existence of God). But what was even more stunning was the response of “born-again Christians." More than 5 out of 10 born-again Christians (55%) agreed that the Holy Spirit is a symbol of God's presence or power but not a living entity! It appears that Christians have been brainwashed into believing that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal power like "The Force" in the Star Wars movies.

Why is there so much continuing confusion about the Spirit? I think it relates in part to the Spirit's self-effacing role. As we will see, one of the primary roles of the Spirit is to point people to Jesus as Savior and Lord. He does not draw attention to Himself. He works behind the scenes. Another factor relates to the many symbols that are used of the Spirit in Scripture, things like wind, rain and fire. These symbols seem to communicate an impersonal force.

Our Creator God has been revealed to us as our Father. That is a concept we can grasp. Jesus took on a human body and lived among us. We have biographies of Him by eye witnesses. But for most people, the Holy Spirit is a shadowy entity difficult to grasp. Trying to get hold of the concept for many is like trying to nail jello to a wall.

The Identity of the Spirit

So, let's look for a moment at the identity of the Holy Spirit. The first thing you need to keep in mind is that the Spirit is never referred to as an "it." The Spirit is not an inanimate object. The Spirit is not, for example, the Bible, as some contend. The Spirit is intimately related to the Bible because it was the Spirit who inspired the biblical writers (2 Timothy 3:16), but the Bible is the “sword of the Spirit," not the Spirit Himself (Ephesians 6:17). The Spirit works through the Bible to draw people to Jesus, although the work of the Spirit is not confined to the testimony of the Scriptures. The Spirit can witness directly to our spirits (Romans 8:16).

The Holy Spirit is a person. The Spirit is always referred to directly in the Scriptures as “He." Referring to the Spirit, Jesus told His disciples that when He left, He would send a "Helper." ("Paracletos" in Greek, meaning a helper or intercessor.) Jesus added, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment" (John 16:7-8). To Jesus, the Holy Spirit was “He" not “it."

The Bible says the Holy Spirit can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4). It also says the Holy Spirit can be quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and grieved (Ephesians 4:30). These are characteristics of a personality. You cannot lie to a chair or quench a wall or grieve a light fixture.

The Holy Spirit is the supernatural presence of God in the world today. Paul put it this way: "The Lord is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17). Luke stated that the Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:6-7). Peter equated the Holy Spirit with God the Father when he told Ananias and Sapphira that they had lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and then added, “You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:4). Remember that old axiom in geometry: "Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other."

The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons who constitute the One God. That's the reason we are told to be baptized "in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). As such He is co-equal to Jesus and the Father, but He plays a different role

The Work of the Spirit

This brings us to the work of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has two roles, one toward the unbeliever and another within the believer. With regard to the unbeliever, the Holy Spirit is the Father's Evangelist. With regard to the believer, He is the Father's Potter. Let's consider these two roles in detail.

Jesus summarized the work of the Spirit regarding unbelievers. He said that the Holy Spirit would “convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). Specifically, the Spirit convicts unbelievers of their sinfulness, impresses upon them the righteousness of Jesus, and points them to the ultimate judgment of God (John 16:9-11). The Bible makes it clear that no person can come to Jesus apart from the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Jesus put it this way: “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). And how does the Father draw unbelievers to Jesus? Through the Holy Spirit who bears witness of Jesus as the Father's only begotten Son (John 15:26 and 1 John 5:7).

When a person responds to the witness of the Spirit by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, he is “born-again" (John 3:3), and the Father gives that person a very special birthday present, the Holy Spirit! That's right, the Holy Spirit ceases to be on the outside drawing the person to Jesus. Instead, He moves inside the person and takes up residence within him (Romans 8:9). And when He does so, His role changes.

The Spirit in the Believer

Within the believer, the Holy Spirit is the Father's Potter. His role is to shape each believer into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29 and Galatians 4:19), a process which the Bible refers to as sanctification (Romans 6:22 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13). The Spirit does this by first of all gifting us. Each person, when he or she is born again, is given at least one gift of the Spirit, and sometimes more than one (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). And if we are good stewards of our gifts, using them to advance the Lord's kingdom, we may be given additional gifts during our spiritual walk with the Lord.

The Spirit also accomplishes His work of sanctification by guiding us (Romans 8:14), comforting us (Acts 9:31), strengthening us (Philippians 4:13 and 1 John 4:4), praying for us (Romans 8:26-27), encouraging us (Romans 15:5), defending us (Luke 12:11-12) and illuminating us as we study the Word (1 John 2:27).

The work of sanctification is life long. It continues until we die or we are raptured to meet the Lord in the sky. The Holy Spirit wants to fine tune us into the image of Jesus because the Father is interested in nothing less than perfection in our lives (James 1:4 and 1 Peter 1:13-16). Yes, He is a God of grace who will accept us in all our imperfections, but He desires that we be perfected (Matthew 5:48).

Think of it this way - when a child takes his first step, his father rejoices. But no father is going to be satisfied with that one step. He will not be satisfied until the child can walk and then run without falling. For this reason, Christians are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

A Special Work

In these end-times the Spirit is doing a unique work as mentioned in Joel 2:28-29. He is giving believers a special anointing to witness Jesus to the world in preparation for the Second Coming. This special work is motivated by the fact that God “does not wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

There are several manifestations of this end-time anointing of the Spirit. The first is the one I have already mentioned namely, the rediscovery of the Holy Spirit that occurred in the 20th Century and which opened the Church to the gifts of the Spirit.

As the Church has become newly empowered by the Spirit, it has become bolder and more effective in its evangelistic outreach. Missionaries have been sent out to the remotest parts of the earth, and the Gospel is being proclaimed not only through them but through every imaginable type of modern technology, from radio to satellite television to the Internet.

Worldwide Evangelism

According to the Pew Research Center, there were only an estimated 600 million Christians worldwide in 1910. This figure has increased enormously in more recent years, with an estimated 2.4 billion Christians today! As of 2020:

Missions - There are more than 430,000 full-time missionaries scattered all over the earth.

Africa - In 1900, there were only 10 million Christians. Today, that number has expanded to over 600 million.

China - Despite all the restrictions on Christianity that exist in China, it is estimated that 25,000 people a day are accepting Christ.

Latin America - Christianity is growing exponentially. At the beginning of the 20h Century, there were only 50,000 Evangelical Christians in Latin America. Today, there are more than 60 million! Brazil now has more Evangelical Christians than practicing Catholics.

The Muslim World - More Muslims have been converted to Christ in the last 20 years than in the previous 1,000 years. Much of this success is due to the 10/40 Window prayer campaign.

Jews - In 1967 when the Six Day War occurred, there was not one Messianic congregation in existence. Today, there are more than 400 in the United States, with more than 100 in Israel.

Jesus Film - Since the "Jesus Film" was released in 1979 it has been shown to 8.1 billion people worldwide in more than 1,800 languages.

Conversions - Worldwide, 1.2 million people per week are accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Pentecostalism is the fastest growing branch of Christianity.

An Unrecognized Manifestation

A third manifestation of the Holy Spirit's special work in paving the way for the return of Jesus is one that many people have not realized. It is the re-establishment of the Tabernacle of David through the Holy Spirit's revival of Davidic praise worship. This work of the Spirit is directed toward believers with the purpose of drawing them into a closer relationship with the Lord and motivating them to holiness. Jesus is about to return, and the Father wants Him to return on a cloud of praise.

This particular manifestation is so significant and yet so little understood and appreciated, that the next chapter is devoted to exploring it in detail.

What About You?

Are you filled with the Spirit? Are you living your life daily in the power of the Spirit? Are you fully aware of your spiritual gifts, and are you using them to advance the Lord's kingdom?

If you can't answer these questions with a confident "Yes!" then I would urge you to contact your pastor and get involved in a Bible study that will introduce you to the gifts of the Spirit and help you identify yours. The time we have remaining is short, and you need to be utilizing your spiritual gifts to the maximum in the Lord's service.

Another important reason for determining your spiritual gifts is because after the Rapture of the Church, each believer is going to stand before Jesus to be judged of how he or she used their spiritual gifts to advance the Lord's kingdom. This will be what is called "The Bema Seat Judgment" (Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Its purpose will be to determine our degrees of reward, not our salvation. And these degrees of rewards will be determined by the quantity, quality and motivation of works we perform, using our gifts of the Spirit.

36: The Revival of Davidic Worship

How does it relate to the end times?

11) "In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;

12) That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles who are called by My name," Declares the Lord who does this.

Most Christians are familiar with this prophecy from Amos 9:11- 12 because it is quoted in Acts 15. The occasion was a special conference of church leaders that was called in Jerusalem to consider the momentous implications of Gentiles being added to the Church. In the midst of the debate, James, the leader of the Jerusalem church, quoted this prophecy from Amos to prove that it was God's intention to someday include the Gentiles in His scheme of redemption.

This usage of the prophecy has historically led to the conclusion that the term, "the tabernacle of David," refers to the Church, and perhaps it does in a spiritual sense. But the context of the passage in the book of Amos makes it clear that the prophecy will find its ultimate fulfillment in something other than the establishment of the Church.

Note that the prophecy begins with the words, "In that day." What day? A quick glance at the prophecy in its context shows that the "day" being referred to is the period of time when the Jews are regathered to the land of Israel (see Amos 9:14-15). That process began in the 20th Century. In 1900, there were 40,000 Jews in Israel. Today, there are more than seven million. They re-established their state on May 14, 1948, and they have regathered their people from the four corners of the earth.

Has anything happened since 1948 that could constitute a literal fulfillment of the restoration of the "tabernacle of David"? To answer this question we must first seek to understand the meaning of the term, "tabernacle of David." What did Amos have in mind when he used this term?

The Tabernacle of Moses

To fully understand the Tabernacle of David, we must first begin with a consideration of the Tabernacle of Moses. It was a nomadic temple that moved with the Children of Israel as they crossed the Wilderness of Sinai in search of the Promised Land. Its Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant where the Shekinah Glory of God resided.

When the Children of Israel entered the Promised Land, they settled the Tabernacle of Moses at Shiloh in Samaria. There the sacrificial ceremonies were conducted for 400 years during the period of the Judges. By the end of that chaotic period, the Children of Israel were engulfed in spiritual darkness, having fallen victim to idolatry and immorality.

One day, during the judgeship of Samuel, as the Israelites were preparing to fight the Philistines, they decided to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them, as if it were some sort of good luck charm. They evidently reasoned that God would never allow the Philistines to capture the Ark, and therefore they would win the battle.

The Lord was not pleased by this action, so He allowed the Philistines to defeat the Israelites and capture the sacred Ark (1 Samuel 4:1-11). They also proceeded to destroy the Tabernacle of Moses at Shiloh (Jeremiah 7: 12). Israel had become “Ichabod," (meaning, "no glory") for the glory of God had departed (1 Samuel 4:21).

The Odyssey of the Ark

Plagues afflicted the Philistines, so they sent the Ark back to Israel on an ox cart. It finally came to rest eight miles west of Jerusalem in a town called Kiriath-jearim (named Abu Gosh today) where it stayed for approximately 70 years (20 years under Samuel's

judgeship, 40 years under Saul's kingship, and almost 10 years into David's kingship).

Meanwhile, the Tabernacle of Moses was moved to Nob for a while (1 Samuel 21:1) and then on to Gibeon (about ten miles northwest of Jerusalem) where it remained until the Temple of Solomon was built (2 Chronicles 1:3).

Now, note something very important. During this 70 year period of transition between the Judges and the Kings, there was no Shekinah Glory in the Tabernacle of Moses located at Gibeon. The Holy of Holies was empty. The priests continued to minister at the tabernacle, offering daily sacrifices, but it was all dead ritual, for the glory had departed.

The astounding thing is that the Ark was located in a farmhouse situated only about five miles from Gibeon. It would have been easy to restore the Ark to the Tabernacle of Moses, but no one cared enough to do so. The Ark was ignored, and it became a symbol of Israel's apostasy.

Saul vs David

Saul did not have a heart for the Lord, so he ignored the estrangement of the Ark from its proper resting place. But when David became king, he was determined to correct this situation, for he was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), David had to wait seven and a half years until he became king of all Israel (he was king of only Judah during his first years in power see 2 Samuel 5:5).

David was determined to bring God back into the heart of his nation, and he recognized the symbolic significance of the Ark in accomplishing this purpose. He was so determined to provide a proper resting place for the Ark that it became the top priority of his kingship.

In this regard, we are told in Psalm 132 that when David became king of all of Israel, he “swore to the Lord" that he would not sleep in a bed until he could provide a proper “dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob" (Psalm 132:1-5).

The Tabernacle of David

The amazing thing is that David brought the Ark to Jerusalem rather than returning it to the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle of Moses at Gibeon. David pitched a tent in Jerusalem (probably on a slope of Mt. Moriah), placed the Ark inside and instituted a whole new concept of praise worship. Instruments of worship were introduced. Special psalms of praise were written and sung. And, incredibly, special priests were appointed to minister music before the ark continually (1 Chronicles 16:6, 37), whereas only the High Priest had been allowed to minister before the Ark once a year in the Tabernacle of Moses.

In fact, the Scriptures indicate that there was such great intimacy with the Lord, that David would actually lounge before the Ark (1 Chronicles 17:16). It is probably during these times of intimacy that he wrote new songs to the Lord (Psalm 40:3).

David's revolution in worship was very radical. There was no singing or celebration at the Tabernacle of Moses. The worship there was one of solemn ritual focused on sacrifices. The only joy that had ever been evidenced in the worship of the Israelites had occurred spontaneously, as when Miriam danced with a tambourine and rejoiced over the destruction of Pharaoh and his army (Exodus 15).

The Psalms make it clear that the praise worship inaugurated by David was a worship of great joy that was characterized by hand clapping (Psalm 47:1), shouting (Psalm 47:1), singing (Psalm 47:6-7), dancing (Psalm 149:3), hand waving (Psalm 134:2) and the dis- play of banners (Psalm 20:5). The worshipers were encouraged to praise God with every form of musical instrument, from the gentle lyre to the "loud crashing cymbals" (Psalm 150:3, 5).

The Davidic Revolution

But why? Why did David so radically change the worship of Israel? We are told in 2 Chronicles 29:25 that he did so in response to commands of God given to him through the prophets Nathan and Gad. But why didn't the Lord simply tell David to put the Ark back in the Holy of Holies in Gibeon? Why did God tell him to revolutionize the worship of Israel?

The Bible does not tell us why. We can only guess. My guess is that God wanted to give David a prophetic glimpse of the glorious Church Age to come when animal sacrifices would cease, worshipers would have direct access to God and worshipers would come before the Lord in rejoicing with a sacrifice of praise.

I think there was also another reason. I believe the Lord wanted to give the Church a model for Spirit-filled worship.

For one generation (about 30 years under David and 12 years into Solomon's reign), two tabernacles existed in Israel. In Gibeon there was the dead, liturgical worship that characterized the Tabernacle of Moses. In Jerusalem, there was the lively, spontaneous worship that characterized the Tabernacle of David.

The worship in Gibeon was the performance of ritualistic symbolism. The worship in Zion was the experience of the presence of God. At Gibeon, the priests offered the sacrifice of animals. At Zion, the offering was the sacrifice of praise: "Come before Him with joyful singing . . . Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise" (Psalm 100:2,4).

The Prophetic Significance

The Tabernacle of David served as a joyous bridge between the spiritual deadness that had come to characterize the Tabernacle of Moses and the Spirit-filled glory that would characterize the Temple of Solomon.

In like manner, since the re-establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948, God has been raising up the Tabernacle of David again to serve as a joyous bridge of transition between the dead worship of mainline Christendom and the glorious worship that will characterize the Millennial Temple of Jesus Christ. God wants His Son to return on a cloud of praise.

The Worldwide Spread

Appropriately, God began to focus His revival of the Tabernacle of David in the city of Jerusalem in the early 1980s. It occurred when the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem decided to host a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Zechariah 14 says that during the millennial reign of Jesus the nations will send representatives to Jerusalem each year to celebrate this feast and that any nation that fails to do so will not receive rain. The Embassy decided it would be appropriate for Gentiles to start rehearsing for the Millennium, so they sent out a call worldwide for Christians to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast and to show their support of Israel.

The Embassy also decided to give an emphasis to Davidic praise worship which was springing up all over the world at that time through a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit. They brought together Christendom's best practitioners of celebratory worship.

The result was an explosion of Davidic worship worldwide as the thousands of Christians who came to Jerusalem took what they had experienced back home with them in their hearts and on videos. The Embassy's celebration has continued to this day, with 4,000 to 6,000 Christians attending annually from every continent.

A Move of the Spirit

The Tabernacle of David today consists of those churches that have rediscovered the true meaning of worship and have given their people the freedom in Christ to worship God with all their energy, resources, gifts, and talents.

The renewal in worship that is sweeping Christendom worldwide is a move of the Spirit. It is a fulfillment of prophecy. It is a mark of the end-times. It is a sign of the soon return of Jesus. And it is preparation for that day very soon when:

The ransomed of the Lord will return,

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

With everlasting joy upon their heads,

They will find gladness and joy,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 35:10

37: The Most Important Sign

What do you think it is?

Prior to 1917, there was not one definite, tangible, objective sign that we were living in the season of the Lord's return. Today, the signs are everywhere. A person would have to be spiritually blind to be unaware of them. There are so many, and they are so intense, that they are like a neon sign flashing in the sky proclaiming, "Jesus is coming soon!"

In the early 1990s, I participated in a prophecy conference in Orlando, Florida. One of the speakers was Elbert Peak, a great man of God from Abilene, Texas, who was in his 80s. His topic was "The Signs of the Times." He began his presentation by saying, “I have been speaking on the signs of the times for over 60 years. When I first began, I had to scratch around like a chicken to find even one sign. Today, there are so many that I am no longer looking for signs. Instead, I am listening for sounds, the shout of an archangel and the blowing of a trumpet."

The Key Development

Yes, we are surrounded today by signs of the times, all of which burst on the scene during the 20th Century. Looking back on that century, what would you identify as the most important prophetic development? There are certainly a lot of crucial events to choose from:

World Wars I and II.

The Invention of Television.

The Development of Atomic Power.

The Advent of Space Travel.

The Collapse of Communism.

The Reunification of Europe.

The Resurgence of Islam.

All of these events were very important, and all had prophetic significance. But none of them was the most important prophetic development. In fact, all of them put together were not as important as the event that dominated the century from a biblical perspective. That event was the regathering of the Jewish people to their homeland from the four corners of the earth.

Scriptural Proof

Now, lest you think I am exaggerating, let me prove this point to you from the Scriptures.

In Jeremiah 16 there is a statement that is mind-boggling from a Jewish perspective. Read it below and see if you can detect why it is so revolutionary:

14) “Therefore, days are coming," declares the LORD, when it will no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’

15) but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers."

For 3,500 years the Jews have annually celebrated the Feast of Passover which commemorates what they believe to be the greatest miracle God has ever performed, namely, their deliverance from Egyptian captivity. Yet, this passage from Jeremiah 16 (repeated verbatim in Jeremiah 23:7-8) says that when history is completed, the Jewish people will look back and consider their worldwide regathering to be a greater miracle than their deliverance from Egypt!

Accordingly, the Jewish people will no longer swear by the God who brought them out of Egypt; rather, they will point to the God who gathered them out of all the nations where they had been Scattered. Same God, but a greater miracle.

A Second Prophecy

Another significant prophecy can be found in Isaiah 11:

10) Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse; Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

11) Then it will happen on that day that the LORD Will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12) And He will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

I discovered this prophecy when I was a teenager. I took it to my pastor and asked him what it meant. He told me it had been fulfilled in the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity.

But this passage has nothing to do with the return from Babylon. First, it speaks of “in that day," which is the term Isaiah uses throughout his book for the end-times. Then it speaks of a "second" regathering. Babylon was the first. Further, it describes the regathering as being from “the four corners of the earth." Finally, it says the regathering will include both Israel (the ten northern tribes) and Judah (the two southern tribes). The regathering from Babylon involved only Judah.

A Third Prophecy

Another important prophecy can be found in Ezekiel 37:1-12. This is the famous prophecy of the “Valley of the Dry Bones." This passage has been spiritualized to death by applying it to the Church, despite the fact that it is clearly talking about the Jewish people.

In this passage, the prophet Ezekiel is given a vision. He sees himself standing in a valley full of dry bones. He is told to preach to the bones. He does so, and the bones start moving! They come together and flesh forms on them, but the reconstituted bodies have no breath. Ezekiel is told to keep preaching, and as he does, breath comes, and the bodies come alive and stand up, constituting a great army of people.

The Lord then gave Ezekiel an explanation of the meaning of the vision (Ezekiel 37):

11) Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off."

12) Therefore, prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.’”

What the Lord is saying is that a day will come when He will open up the "graves" of the Jews, that is, the nations where they have been dispersed, and He will bring them back to their homeland of Israel.

Even though the Jews were in Babylonian captivity at the time, the regathering promised in this vision applies to the worldwide regathering in the end-times. That is made clear by the subsequent verses that speak of both Israel and Judah returning to the land (verses 19-22).

Other Prophecies

The final specific prophecy I would like to bring to your attention is one that was written after the return from Babylonian captivity. It is contained in Zechariah 8:

7) Thus says the LORD of Hosts, "Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west;

8) and I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be My people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness."

There can be no doubt that this prophecy is speaking about a regathering other than the one from Babylon.

The prophecies I have quoted above are only four of dozens that exist in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning a great end-time regathering of the Jewish people, right before the return of the Messiah. The regathering prophecies are, in fact, the most prolific ones in the Old Testament.

A Latter Day Visionary

Almost 2,500 years after these prophecies were written, God raised up a visionary to lay the ground work for their fulfillment. His name was Theodore Herzl (1860-1904).

Herzl was an Hungarian Jew who became a Viennese journalist. In 1894 he was sent to Paris to cover the trial of a Jewish army officer who had been falsely accused of treason. When Herzl arrived, he was astonished over the virulent anti-Semitism which he  witnessed as the people of Paris surrounded the courthouse and chanted, "Death to the Jews!"

Previous to this experience, Herzl had assumed that the Jews of Europe could be assimilated into European culture. His Paris experience convinced him otherwise. It also convinced him that a holocaust was coming. When he returned home, he wrote a brief booklet in which he argued it was time for the Jews to return to their homeland in Israel.

Herzl's vision ignited the hearts of Jews all over the world. It led to the convening of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. At that conference Herzl proclaimed his belief that a Jewish state would come into existence within 50 years. His words proved to be prophetic, for 50 years later in November 1947, the United Nations voted to allow the creation of the state of Israel.

Herzl died in 1906 at the age of 44, so he did not live to see his vision become a reality. His efforts prompted only a handful of Jews to return to Israel. Still, the vision had been proclaimed and had become implanted in Jewish hearts. What was needed was a major stimulus.

The Balfour Declaration

That stimulus came on November 2, 1917 in the form of a proclamation by the British government called The Balfour Declaration. This important document became the very first, tangible sign pointing to the soon return of Jesus. It took the form of a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild, president of the British Zionist Federation. The letter was from Arthur Balfour, the Foreign Minister in the government of Lloyd George. It read as follows:

"I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine . . ."

Arthur Koestler, in his book, Promise and Fulfillment (1949), characterized this letter as “unorthodox, unpolitic and freakish." His analysis was right on target, for the British government was promising the Jews a land that belonged at the time to the Ottoman Empire!

Why would the British be so audacious? Well, what most Americans do not remember is that the Turks sided with the Germans in World War I, and thus the Allies intended to divide up the Ottoman Empire after they defeated the German-Turkish Alliance.

A Key Personality

The Declaration had been urged upon the British government by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a Russian Jew who was later to serve as the first president of Israel

At the outbreak of World War I, Weizmann was 40 years old and living in England where he was serving as a chemistry professor at the University of Manchester. He was also the leader of a committee of Zionists who were seeking a homeland for the Jews.

Because of his political interests, Weizmann made contacts with all the key British political leaders, many of whom, including Loyd George and Arthur Balfour, were Evangelical Christians. These men knew Bible prophecy and were sympathetic to Jewish desires to return to their homeland which was then called Palestine, a land which had been under Turkish control for 400 years.

Weizmann endeared himself to the British leaders when he solved a critical shortage of acetone, an ingredient necessary for the production of a propellant for artillery shells. After two years of research, Weizmann invented a method of producing synthetic acetone.

A Fulfillment of Prophecy

What I want to emphasize is that the Declaration started a series of events that were to lead to the re-establishment of the state of Israel, in fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

British Evangelicals in the 19th Century were well aware of these prophecies. They believed in them and looked forward to their fulfillment. That's what prompted them to build the first Protestant church in the city of Jerusalem. It was called Christ Church. It was constructed near the Jaffa Gate and dedicated in 1849. The church was built in anticipation of the worldwide regathering of the Jews prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was even designed to look like a synagogue.

The Declaration's Impact

With such expectations long established, it is no wonder that the Balfour Declaration electrified the British Evangelical community. The person who seemed to be impacted by it the most was Dr. F. B. Meyer, one of the best known and most highly respected Evangelical leaders of the time. He quickly huddled with other English Evangelicals and issued a manifesto to the press on the 8th of November (just six days after the issuance of the Declaration). Entitled “The Significance of the Hour," it included the following points:

1) That the signs of the times point toward the close of the times of the Gentiles.

2) That the return of the Lord may be expected at any moment, at which time He will be manifested as evidently as when He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection.

3) That the completed Church will be translated to meet the Lord in the air, to be forever with Him.

4) That Israel will be restored to their own land in unbelief and be afterwards converted by the manifestation of Jesus as their Messiah.

Meyer's group also called for an all-day meeting to be held on December 13 at Queens Hall in London. The purpose of the meeting was to provide an opportunity to emphasize “that the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24) were clearly drawing to a close and that consequently the return of Jesus for His Church might be expected imminently.

The Liberation of Jerusalem

Before the meeting could be held, General Edmund Allenby liberated the city of Jerusalem on December 11, 1917 after 400 years of Turkish rule. Allenby was a devout Christian, and on the day he entered the city, he refused to ride his horse. He walked into the city through the Jaffa Gate because the Scriptures say that the Messiah is the one who will enter Jerusalem on a white horse at the time of His Second Coming (Revelation 19:11).

The Arab world initially looked upon Allenby's capture of Jerusalem as a matter of divine intervention. This was due to the mistaken impression that the name, Allenby, was a combination of Allah (God) and Neby (prophet), and that he was, therefore, a prophet of God.

Evangelicals in England also considered the liberation of Jerusalem to be a divine act, as did Bible-believing Christians worldwide. As one minister put it, "Christianity the world over put on her garments of praise. Songs were sung, poetry was recited, prayers offered, and sermons preached.”

Birth of a Ministry

By the time Dr. Meyer and his colleagues gathered at Queens Hall on December 13, the atmosphere was electric. There was an Overwhelming consensus that God had begun the implementation of His end-time program for regathering the Jews to their homeland. A dozen preachers spoke that day to a packed house. Included among them was Dr. G. Campbell Morgan who asserted: “We all feel that never in the history of the Church have the signs seemed so definite to point to the fulfilling of Gentile times as they do today. Our loins should be girt about, and our lamps should be burning. We should be Occupying until He comes."

The meeting resulted in the formation of an organization called The Advent Testimony Movement. Dr. Meyer was appointed the president. The organization immediately launched a series of Bible prophecy conferences which were held throughout England.

The conferences rapidly spread to the Continent, to Australia and South Africa and to the United States. In America, the meetings were so large that it was impossible to find buildings big enough to accommodate the crowds. When a conference was held in Philadelphia, it filled the largest hall in the city and four other churches at the same time!

The ministry founded by Dr. Meyer in 1917 continues to this day under the name, The Prophetic Witness Movement International. It is the oldest Bible prophecy ministry in the world.

British Duplicity

At the end of World War I, Britain was given Palestine as a League of Nations Mandate, meaning that the English were responsible for tutoring the people within the area toward self-rule. Palestine at that time included all of present day Jordan. The Jews looked forward to the day when this territory would become their home.

But they were severely disappointed in 1922 when the British government suddenly issued a White Paper in which it announced that two-thirds of Palestine would be set aside for an Arab state to be known as Trans-Jordan. This decision was prompted by a desire to placate the Arabs in the area who opposed the Balfour Declaration.

And this is the reason that to this very day Israeli leaders point out that a Palestinian state already exists, the state of Jordan, as it is known today. In fact, over 70% of its population is made up of Palestinians.

William Hull, in his landmark book, The Fall and Rise of Israel (1954), states that British policy between 1917 and 1939 toward the establishment of a Jewish Home in Palestine could be summed up in one word: whittling. When the Jews were first promised a national home, the area included Trans-Jordan, a total of 45,000 square miles. In 1922 when Trans-Jordan was given to the Arabs, only 10,000 square miles were left for the Jewish home. The partition plan of the Peel Commission in 1937 would have given the Jews only 2.000 square miles. New regulations under a 1939 British White Paper tried to cut the area to 260 square miles!

Jewish Aid and Opposition

Despite the double-dealing of the British, Jews worldwide rallied to the British cause during World War II, doing everything they could to help the Allies defeat the Nazis. The Arabs sat on the sidelines, and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem actually collaborated with Hitler, encouraging his policy of Jewish genocide.

When the war ended, the Jews expected to be rewarded by the British with a lifting of the immigration restrictions that were contained in a 1939 White Paper. This failed to happen, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors were clamoring to get into Palestine. The result was the birth of the Jewish Revolt headed up by Menachem Begin.

Begin's revolt proved effective. Besieged by both sides, the British decided the time had come to terminate the Mandate. A United Nations committee recommended a Solomonic solution: “Cut the baby in half." The committee recommended that the remaining sliver of Palestine be divided between the Jews and Arabs, creating two patch-work states intermingled with each other.

The UN General Assembly agreed with the plan, and on November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted by a two-thirds majority to partition Palestine. Again, the Jews were disappointed with another division of their land, but they agreed to the partition. The Arabs denounced the resolution and prepared for war.

The True Arab Intent

On May 14, 1948, the Jewish state was proclaimed, and the Arabs launched an all-out war to destroy it. And war it has been ever since, simply because the Arab desire is not for the creation of an Arab state within Palestine, but rather, the incorporation of all of Palestine into an Arab state. Or, to put it another way, the true aim of the Arabs is to annihilate the state of Israel and drive the Jews into the sea.

The Arab goal will never be achieved. The Bible says that once the Jews are re-established in the land, they will never be rooted up again (Amos 9:15). The Bible clearly prophesies that the Arabs will lust after the land of Israel in the end-times (Ezekiel 35:1 to 36:7) and try to take it for themselves. But God promises that He will intervene and make the Arab lands a desolation (Ezekiel 35:15).

Recognizing the Season

Noah preached for 120 years that his generation was living in the season of the pouring out of God's wrath. We have been in the season of the Lord's return since November 2, 1917.

The Bible says the generation that witnesses the rebirth of Israel is the one that will witness the return of the Lord (Matthew 24:32- 35). The Bible also says that in the end-times, right before the return of the Lord, the Jews will be back in their land and their city, and the whole world will come against them over the issue of the control of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:1-4).

That's exactly where we are today on the prophetic timeline. We are living on borrowed time. The crucial question for every person is this one: “Are you ready for the Lord's return?"

A Final Observation about the Signs of the Times

As I close out this section of chapters about the Signs of the Times, I want to point out that although I have presented a plethora of end-time signs, I have not yet revealed the most important one.

Yes, it is true that I have pointed to the regathering of the Jewish people as the most important event of the 20th Century. And I have identified the consequent re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 as the single most important sign that we are living in the season of the Lord's return.

But there is an even more important overreaching sign. It can be summed up in one word, CONVERGENCE. What I have in mind is the fact that for the first time ever, all the Signs of the Times have converged. Not a single one is missing from the scene today. It is a fact that we are the first generation since Bible times to once again be living in Bible times!