Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
But of that Day and Hour - Part 2 - By Randy Nettles -
https://rev310.com/2019/10/but-of-that-day-and-hour-part-2-by-randy-nettles "But of that day and hour, no man knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:36-37). These verses are in reference to an event known as the Day of the Lord which will come upon the earth in the last days. Matthew, a Jewish tax collector and one of the original twelve disciples, wrote these words in AD 60. He heard the exact quote decades earlier from the lips of Jesus himself. The question from part 1 of this article still remains: Was Jesus talking about his 2nd Coming in Matthew 24:36-51 or was he referring to the Rapture of His Church? I hope to answer this question completely in the remainder of this article. Mark, a Jewish believer in Jesus Christ, and companion of Paul and Barnabas wrote similar words in his gospel of Mark. "But of that day and hour, no man knows, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. Take heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is" (Mark 13:32-33). Mark relied heavily on Peter's testimony in his writing of this gospel. Peter was an eyewitness to these words spoken by Jesus at the Temple. Mark wrote these words (approximately AD 58) some 25 years after Jesus first uttered them Luke, a Gentile physician, was a Christian believer who traveled and ministered with Paul during his third missionary journey. He had fellowship with the other disciples and could interview them as well. He also had access to other historical and reliable accounts at that time. Luke was an eyewitness to the birth and growth of the early church. He wrote his gospel in about AD 60 and wrote Acts about two years later. Luke's version of the "coming of the son of man" is recorded in two different places: Luke 12:35-48 and Luke 17:20-37. Luke 12: 35-38 is a parable that compares Jesus' return to a wedding where the groom has left a wedding to prepare a place for the bride, and no one knows when exactly he will return. "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching." Luke 12:39-40 compares the timing of Jesus' coming to a thief that breaks into one's house: "Know this, that if the owner of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be you therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not." Verses 42 through 48 describe another parable where the master of the house is on a long trip and no one knows the day or hour when he will return. In Luke 17:20-37, Jesus is talking to his disciples about the coming of the Kingdom of God and his 2nd Coming to the earth. He compares those future days to the evil days of Noah (also recorded in Matthew 24:34-37) and Lot when the heathens were destroyed by God. "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed" (Luke 17:30). In this verse, Jesus is referring to the start of the Day of the Lord. The narrative then shifts to the middle of the Tribulation (in verses 31-33) and describes the after-effects of the antichrist's Abomination of Desolation and subsequent persecution of the Jews (also mentioned in Matthew 24:15-22 and Mark 13:14-20). The narrative shifts again in verses 34-37 (also in Matthew 24:40-41) back to the very beginning of the Day of the Lord...the Rapture. The exact phrase, the "Day of the Lord' is used 28 times in the Old Testament and five times in the New Testament. It is always referred to as a time of judgment and punishment by God against ungodly sinners who worship false gods. The day of the Lord is a term used by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Solomon, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi, and others. Sometimes it is referring to the end days (such as Isaiah 2:12 and Joel 3:14) and sometimes it is referring to a near-future event when God would judge their enemies at that time in history (such as Amos 5:18-20 concerning the Assyrians and Obadiah 1:15 concerning the Edomites). In the Old Testament, The Day of the Lord can refer to the actual 24-hour long day of the 2nd Coming or the entire 7 years of the Tribulation, otherwise known as Daniels' 70th Seven or Jacob's Trouble. Joel 2:11 is an example of the actual day (24 hours) of the Day of the Lord: "And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" An example of the alternative 7 year-long Day of the Lord is found in Isaiah 13:9-22): "Behold the day of the Lord comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners out of it" (Isaiah 13:9). In the remaining verses, Isaiah describes the conditions of the earth during the Great Tribulation and of the slaughter of mankind during that period. Babylon, the evil ancient city mentioned so many times in the Bible is especially in focus for total destruction. Chapter 18 in Revelation reinforces this prophecy. In the Old Testament the term "son of man' is used in reference to mankind. It is most often used in Ezekiel and is the name God called him. In the New Testament, it is nearly always used in reference to the name/description Jesus gave himself. Even though he was the son of God, he was also born of a woman, thus the son of man. This term is mentioned in all of the Gospels of the New Testament as well as in Acts, Hebrews, and Revelation. The phrase "coming of the son of man" is only used in three of the Gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Another term that is used for Jesus' return is the "coming of the Lord" or the "coming of the Lord Jesus Christ: It is mentioned in the following books of the New Testament: 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, James, and 2 Peter. This phrase is used mostly in regard to the Rapture. Long-time president of Dallas Theological Seminary and one of the most prominent evangelical scholars and biblical prophecy experts of his generation, John F. Walvoord, had this to say on the subject: "How does the Coming of Christ for his church relate itself to the Day of the Lord which precedes the second coming of Christ by a number of years? This Day of the Lord will come suddenly and unexpectedly. What is the point? The point is that just as the translation (rapture) of the church is the end of the day of grace; it also marks the beginning of the Day of the Lord. In other words, one event seems to do two things: it serves as the closing of one day and the beginning of the other." {1} Day 1 is the Age of Grace. It started with the giving of the Holy Spirit to Jesus' disciples at Pentecost (start of the Church) and will end with the Rapture of the saints (end of the Church). Day 2 is the Day of the Lord. It will start with the Rapture and will end with the 2nd Coming of Jesus to the earth. Day 3 consists of the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords over all the nations of the earth. "Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for he has torn, and he will heal us, he has smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth" (Hosea 6:1-3). The prophets who spoke regarding the Day of the Lord only knew it was to be a time of great judgment and punishment for the inhabitants of the earth and then their Christ would come and set up his kingdom on earth. The prophets and authors of the Old Testament knew nothing of the Rapture or the Eternal Order. When Jesus came the first time and delivered his word as recorded in the gospels and later revealed to Paul the secret of the Rapture, the Day of the Lord was expanded. It now included the Rapture itself and the gap of time between the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation (confirming of the covenant). Matthew 24:37-39 compares the Rapture to the time of Noah and the great flood. Notice verse 37: ("But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be"). Notice verse 37 says days, not day. In other words, it is talking about the days/years before the flood, not the day of the flood itself. This verse is comparing those Antediluvian days to the days before the 2nd Coming, not the exact day (24 hours) of Jesus' return. The Rapture is included in those days and is essentially the start of the Day of the Lord (but not the start of the Tribulation). The Day of the Lord is a day of judgment. Those left behind after the Rapture will either die or have to endure the terrors of the Tribulation. Regarding the "hour" in Matthew 24:36, here are some interesting verses that contain this word: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself; and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth" (John 5:25-27). The Book of John was written in approximately AD 85. This was after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and before John's exile to the island of Patmos. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians more than 30 years earlier than John wrote his first book. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, Paul first describes this hour mentioned much later by John: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead) that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then those which sleep in Jesus God will bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." This is, of course, a reference to the Rapture. The Rapture is the day and hour (minute, second, micro-second, etc) mentioned in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and is the beginning of the Day of the Lord. So the question that was originally asked is now answered. Matthew 24:4-8 is describing the time we are in now, the day before the start of the Tribulation. Verses 9-26 include the entire Tribulation: start, middle, and end. Verses 27-31 describe the 2nd Coming of Jesus. Verses 32-35 explain which generation would see the Day of the Lord. Just as Jesus answered his disciple's questions out of order, so did he describe the Day of the Lord. He described the very first part (the Rapture) last in Matthew 24, verses 36-51. The Rapture is the supernatural sign the Jews (and Gentiles) will receive before the 2nd Coming of Jesus to begin his 1000 year reign on earth. If the Rapture doesn't convince you that Jesus is coming again to the earth, I don't know whatever would! Amen. Even so, come soon Lord Jesus...in the twinkling of an eye. Randy Nettles [email protected] Endnotes: {1} https://bible.org/seriespage/5-day-lord Closer By The Day - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/10/27/closer-day-daymond-duck/ My good friend, Bible prophecy expert Dr. Phillip Goodman, recently noted that the situation in the Middle East (and the world) took a drastic turn in just one day, and it triggered a three-day frenzy in the news. He was referring to the fact that Pres. Trump pulled some U.S. troops from northern Syria; Turkey sent tanks into northern Syria; Russia took over abandoned U.S. territory, cities and bases; the Kurds initiated talks with Syria; and Iran is lurking in the background. Dr. Goodman believes this is "stage-setting" for the end-of-the-age fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39, but said if it isn't, then a scene very close to this will mount the same stage with the same cast very soon. Not everyone agrees for various reasons (differences over whether Israel is dwelling safely or not, prophecy about Elam needs to be fulfilled, perhaps a Psa. 83 war needs to take place, etc.), but I think Dr. Goodman nailed it. Russia (the main power in the coming Gog and Magog invasion of Israel) is the big winner in Syria; the Kurds are not likely to help the U.S. now that the U.S. has betrayed them and they have signed an agreement with Syria; Russia, Iran and Turkey are no longer afraid of the U.S.; the political situation in the U.S. and Israel is in chaos; the U.S. is preparing sanctions to hurt Turkey's economy (in addition to the sanctions on Russia and Iran), and these nations are hurting economically; Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia have destroyed the relationship between those two nations; etc. In the past, Dr. Goodman has pointed out that it is not a question of whether Israel is under attack, threatened, without peace, etc., but it is a question of whether Israel is safe from defeat or not. Dr. Goodman adds that there is no question that Israel is under attack, threatened, without peace, etc., but Israel will not be defeated because God promised to protect Israel (and God's promise is more reliable than walls, treaties, etc.). This is not a prediction, but if God can change the situation in the Middle East in one day (and He did), He can change the situation in Elam, or anywhere else, in one day or less, anytime He wants. Concerning other prophecy-related news: First, Jesus warned about persecution at the end of the age, and it is coming to the U.S. Some of the candidates that are seeking their party's nomination to run for president of the U.S. are openly admitting that they have socialist views. Franklin Graham recently warned that socialists shut down churches in eastern Europe and put pastors that disagreed with them in jail. Radio Host Todd Starnes recently said, "You cannot have one nation under God and have a socialist regime." U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr recently said militant secularists (non-religious people) do not have a "live and let live spirit"; they are not content with letting religious people alone to practice their faith; and they seem to take pleasure in forcing religious people to violate their conscience. Christians need to take these warnings seriously, consider the impact on their upcoming loved ones, pray about this and take a stand. Second, Paul warned that there will be a falling away or a departing from the faith in the Church at the end of the age; and a recent Pew Research Center survey found that Christianity is steadily declining in the U.S. The number of people in the U.S. that call themselves Christian has dropped more than 12% in the last ten years. The good news, if we can call it that, is that Evangelical groups are not declining nearly as fast as the non-Evangelical groups. Pastors that want their congregation to grow spiritually and numerically should become more evangelistic. Third, because there will ultimately be a peace treaty in the Middle East, there has to be a change in the Arab attitude toward Israel. The Saudi Arabia national soccer team recently visited Jerusalem for the first time ever; Saudi Arabia recently allowed a group of Christians to visit Christian sites in Saudi Arabia for the first time ever; the UAE, a Muslim nation, is going to help pay to rebuild two Churches and repair Christian holy sites that ISIS destroyed in Iraq; and a Muslim teacher at an Arab school called for the Temple Mount to be a place of worship for all religions. Until recently, nothing like this would be tolerated in Muslim nations. Fourth, dividing the land of Israel and scattering the Jews will trigger the Battle of Armageddon. On Oct. 16, 2019, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel said Pres. Trump's peace plan will not require the removal of a single Jew from their land. The PA vigorously protested this because they want a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as their capital and all Jews evicted from the area they get. Fifth, in the 19th century, the richest family in the world was a family of Jewish bankers called the Rothschilds. Their wealth has declined, but they are still one of the richest families on earth. They are extreme globalists, with businesses all over the world, and owners of a publication in the U.S. called The Economist. The Economist Magazine recently called Pres. Trump a present danger to the New World Order, and said the Internationalists that formed the New World Order are spinning in their graves. The magazine called Pres. Trump a greater threat to the New World Order than jihad, terrorism, the growth of Communist China and the hostility of North Korea. It said perhaps the greatest danger in the world today is the re-election of an American President that despises international norms. Some believe that Pres. Trump's refusal to surrender the sovereignty of America to the New World Order is why people are so desperate to impeach him. Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc. Daymond & Rachel Duck [email protected] Israel Watch: No Time Like the Present - Jim Fletcher - [email protected] The present moment is a time to savor, as Israel is still led by a good man, and the White House is friendly. But political and military realities are liable to shift at any time. First, we have the ongoing chaos in Israel's political system, with neither Benjamin Netanyahu or Benny Gantz able to form a government. They are that evenly divided. It is rumored that Gantz's Blue and White Party is willing to bring Arab blocs into a coalition, and as one writer noted this week, can you imagine them having access to classified information? Then we have the American Democrat Party, a now-radicalized community holding frightening views both domestically and abroad. Writing in Israel Hayom, Caroline Glick noted the danger lurking for Israel in Washington: "The radicalization of the Democratic Party and party members in the media and government should be deeply worrying to Israel because as the party has radicalized it has shifted ever farther away from Israel." "With the Democrats in the media and the federal bureaucracy now full partners in their party's radical actions and initiatives, there is every reason to expect that after they finish with Trump, they will turn their attention to Israel." Enjoy this moment, while Donald Trump still sits in the Oval Office! Once he leaves office, Israel might face someone even worse than Barack Obama. Then there are the military threats to Israel, both in the north and the south. The shifting sands of Syria bring new challenges. From the Times of Israel: "The winds of war are blowing into Israel again, an event as common as an eastern Mediterranean 'medicane' [hurricane] is rare. On Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi warned that Israel is facing a threat of conflict in both the north and the south, forcing the military to rapidly prepare for war. "While it is the job of military leaders to keep their guard up and constantly warn of conflict (you don't want to be the general who says everything is fine before war breaks out - just ask Eli Zeira), Kohavi was described by Channel 13 news as 'very worried' following the announcement, and some are taking him a little more seriously than usual. "'The level of alarm varies according to the person speaking, but the underlying message is the same. It doesn't matter if it's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, or Mossad chief Yossi Cohen (who recently used an event for retired Mossad officials to sound the alarm over the Iranian threat) - all are warning of the looming danger rising up against us from the northeast,' writes Yoav Limor in Israel Hayom. "'A possible conclusion is that the next round of clashes between the two sides is imminent. This could be a result of pre-emptive Israeli action against an Iranian retaliatory attack or a deliberate IDF strike against growing Iranian power in the region or the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah,' Haaretz's Amos Harel writes. While Israel has been dealing with and meeting threats for several years-witness the bold airstrikes that have set back Syria's chemical and nuclear ambitions-the U.S. withdrawal from the region has left room for both Turkey and Iran to move in. Iran of course is the main threat. Rather than fret about these realities, l think it's really important right now to pray as never before. Pray for all Israelis as they navigate a potential third election in the spring. Pray for their military leaders, that they make good decisions. Pray that the Lord would blind Israel's enemies. And pray that America will continue to be a friend to the Jewish state. Finally, pray for opportunities to be a witness for Christ. The prophetic landscape is a perfect tool for this, so be sure to have confidence and be bold when you can discuss Bible prophecy with an unbeliever. There's no time like the present. Someday you'll be very glad you did. What Did Jesus Do In Hell? - Commentary by Jack Kelley - https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/what-did-jesus-do-in-hell/ "I believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth and in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty" -Excerpt from the Apostle's Creed Recently a woman wrote with the following question. She said, "I have just discovered that some of my friends believe when Jesus became sin He took on the nature of Satan and went to hell where Satan and his demons tormented him until God called from heaven and said 'enough' and then the Holy Spirit entered Him again and Jesus became the 1st born-again man. I don't believe this is true and have been looking for Biblical answers for them can you help?" I've heard this teaching several times, and I'm convinced there are several problems with it. The verse her friends were referring to is 2 Cor. 5:21, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus bore the penalty for every sin humanity ever had or ever would commit as if He Himself was guilty of them all. This took place on the cross during the last three hours of His suffering that ended with His death. Becoming sin for us is what made God turn away from Him, taking the light from the world, and it's what caused Him to say, My God, My God why have you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:45-46). Taking on the sin of the world caused a separation between the Father and the Son that had never occurred before, and while Jesus had steeled Himself against the physical abuse He was suffering, He was not prepared for that. It's the only part of the whole ordeal He couldn't bear in silence. At the end of that time, knowing that all was completed and so the Scripture would be fulfilled, He asked for a drink. Then He said, "It is finished," and died (John 19:28-30). This was the end of His suffering. He had done what He came to do, and that's to die for the sins of the world (John 1:29). There would be no more suffering on our account. This is confirmed in the Greek word John used in the Lord's statement. It's tetelestai, a form of the Greek verb teleo, which means to accomplish or complete. It also means to discharge a debt, and in the Lord's day, it was an accounting term that meant nothing further was owing. The debt we owed to God was paid in full. There would have been no reason for the Lord to endure further torment. Here's Another Problem The Gospel of Luke refers to a brief conversation Jesus had with one of the two men being crucified with Him that gives rise to another problem. While one of the men hurled insults at Him, the other one declared the Lord's innocence and said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth; today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:39-43) Jesus said He was going to Paradise, and yet the Apostle's Creed I quoted from above said He descended into Hell. Which was it? For the answer, let's go to the Bible's most detailed description of the afterlife experience as it was before the cross. It's the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and it's found in Luke 16:19-31. Tell Us A Story "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'" Some call this story a parable, but I think it was the account of something that really happened. The Lord's parables generally weren't about actual people but were hypothetical in nature. In this story, we see real people in a real situation. It's almost as if He expected His audience to know who He was talking about. I think the Lord was pointing to His own future by saying that God gave us His word as a guide for life and death, but if people don't believe it, they won't be persuaded even if someone (Himself for instance) comes back from the dead. Because of this, I'm skeptical of the popular stories about people who claim to have been to heaven or hell and have been allowed to return and tell us about what it's like. If God refused to let Lazarus come back to warn the rich man's five brothers, why would He suddenly let all kinds of people come back to warn people now? Back To Our Subject But our topic here is what Jesus did after He died and the story of the rich man and Lazarus can help us understand that as well. The spiritual condition of these two men is not revealed in so many words. But by their destinations, we can tell what it was. Upon his death, angels carried Lazarus to Abraham's side. This term was the Jewish expression for a place of comfort in Sheol, the abode of the dead, that was also called Paradise. It's the place Jesus said He was going to in Luke 23:43. It was where all believers from the time before the cross went until the resurrection took them to heaven. In the early church, some believed that Paradise was the actual Garden of Eden and was neither in Heaven nor on Earth. Being taken there indicates Lazarus had died believing in a coming redeemer who would pay the penalty for His sins and qualify him for the resurrection to eternal life. When the rich man died, he was taken to hell. The Greek word for hell is Hades. It's equivalent to the Hebrew word Sheol which, as I said, is the abode of the dead. That means it's the same place where Lazarus went, but while Lazarus enjoyed a place of comfort, the rich man's lot was agony in the fire. This tells us he was not a believer. He could see Lazarus, but he couldn't join him. The time for choosing his eternal destiny ended at his death, just like it does for us. Hebrews 9:27 tells us humans are destined to die but once and after that to face judgment. Paradise was only a temporary place for believers, who could not enter heaven until Jesus sprinkled His blood on the altar there (Hebrews 9:11-12). Since then, all believers who die go directly to Heaven (Phil 1:21-23, 2 Cor. 5:6-8). The part of Hades where the rich man went is also a temporary place. Rev. 20:13 tells us that at the Great White throne judgment, Hades will give up the dead that are in it and each person will face their final judgment before being cast into the lake of fire. So although it wasn't this way at the beginning, somewhere along the way Hades, or hell as we call it, came to be known as the place where unbelievers spend eternity in suffering and torment. I think this misunderstanding is at least partially responsible for the false teaching that Jesus was tormented by Satan there. When Jesus went into Hades, He went as a conqueror, not as a victim. In the Bible, there are only two references to the time between His death and His resurrection and both support this position. As we saw in Luke 23:43, He said He was going to Paradise immediately after He died and He was taking one of the men dying next to him along. And in 1 Peter 3:18-20 we're told that by the power of the Holy Spirit He preached to the disobedient spirits imprisoned there, so He must have visited the other side of Hades as well. But it was not for suffering. It was to remind them that their punishment was just and well deserved. But Wait, There's More Finally, our writer mentioned that her friends believe Jesus became the first born-again man after God put a stop to His suffering and the Holy Spirit entered Him again. But as we've just seen, the Holy Spirit was with the Lord when He preached to the disobedient spirits. More importantly, being born again is the result of accepting the Lord's death as payment for all our sins. Jesus never sinned, and He didn't have a sin nature. True, He became sin for us, but He did not need to be born again. On the contrary, He's the one who made it possible for us to be born again. In summary, there's no Biblical support for the belief that the Lord's suffering on our behalf continued after His death. Daily Jot: The Baghdadi saga-sordid, prophetic, ongoing - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that ISIS founder abu Bakr al-Baghdadi went to his self-inflicted death a whimpering, crying coward pursued by American Special Forces. But there is a lot more to the Baghdadi story that you may not know, including a brush with the prophetic. al-Baghdadi claimed to be a descendent of Mohammad. He was born in Samarra, Iraq, home of the al Askari Mosque, housing the 10th and 11th Imams and where the 12th Imam, the Mahdi, went into occultation, according to Islamic myth. This was once part of the Assyrian Empire and al-Baghdadi declared himself the Caliph, was taking spoil and threatening Israel. Keep reading and you will know the rest of the story. End time prophecy is full of foreshadowing, partial fulfillments and precursors. Throughout history, there has been rise and fall of those who were types of the end time apocalyptic figure--what many Christians call the "antichrist," what Holy Scripture calls the "beast" or, more specifically, the "Assyrian." This antichrist figure is alluded to as the Assyrian in Isaiah 10:5,10:24,14:25, 19:23, 30:31, 31:8, Micah 5:5-6, and Hosea 11:5. Ezekiel refers to him as Gog, chief Prince of Magog. The Lord speaks of the Assyrian or Gog in Ezekiel 38:17, "Art you he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring ye against them?" Ancient Samarra was re-founded by the Assyrian King Sennacherib, who is described in Isaiah 10 as a type of the antichrist and whose army was destroyed by the Angel of the Lord when it came against Judah and Jerusalem (2 Kings 19, 2 Chronicles 32). Given al-Baghdadi's background and what he did to anyone who got into his way-torturing and killing Christians-and how he swept through the Middle East, he may well have been a type and shadow of the end time Beast (antichrist). Some news stories are discussing that none of the Democratic Party leadership has praised Trump or the American troops for bringing an end to al-Baghdadi. Is it because they hate Trump, or is there more to the story? The Washington Post's lead story December 1, 2015 was about how the US was supplying military aid to the Islamic State (ISIS), reporting: "Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing U.S. helicopters airdropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion. Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion...The United States is supporting the Islamic State..." In September 2013, the UK Telegraph reported that Senator John McCain (R-Az) received assurances from the US "president" that a 50-man cell, "believed to have been trained by US special forces in Jordan," was deploying into Syria. That US "president" was complicit in the birth of ISIS. In June 2014, Aaron Klein of WorldNetDaily, whose sources in the Middle East consistently provide solid information, reported that Jordanian officials said "dozens of ISIS members were trained at the time as part of covert aid to the insurgents targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The Jordanian officials said all ISIS members who received U.S. training to fight in Syria were first vetted for any links to extremist groups like al-Qaida." This account was confirmed independently by Der Spiegel and the UK Guardian. Released in 2009 by the US "president's" closing of an Iraqi prison, the ISIS leader Abu Duaa, now known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, transformed al Qaeda in Iraq into the Islamic State. As you can see, there is a lot more to this story-sordid politics, hidden agendas, and prophecy in layers moving forward. Daily Devotion: Starving for a Holy Life - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.-Psalm 42:1 I don't know about you, but I'm not a happy person when I'm hungry. I get irritable. In fact, the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning isn't prayer. I'm just being honest. The first thing I think of is food. I want food. I need food. My wife, on the other hand, can go halfway through the day and then say, "I think I forgot to eat lunch." Meanwhile, I'm wondering if that is even humanly possible. How do you forget to eat lunch? I count down the minutes until lunch. By 9:30 I'm already wondering how long it will be until lunch. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of another kind of hunger, a spiritual hunger. He said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6 NKJV). The word "blessed" Jesus used here also means "happy." When you're emptied of sin, you're hungry for God. And a happy person will desperately, passionately desire a righteous life. When someone says, "I don't really feel like I need to read the Bible that much. And I don't really desire to be in church that much, either." If that is the case, then I'm sorry for them, because they're missing out. "Blessed [happy] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness," Jesus said, "for they shall be filled." The psalmist was hungering and thirsting for righteousness when he wrote, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God" (Psalm 42:1 NKJV). When you're hungry for God, the only thing that will satisfy you is God. Are you starving for a holy life? Do you hunger for God's best for you? If so, then you can take practical steps to get it. FROM THE HEART
IF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED THROUGH THIS MINISTRY, THEN WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR GIVING - WE ARE TRULY, TRULY, THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT Prophecy Update has no corporate sponsors. This ministry is paid for and prayed for by readers and supporters. Without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update, Please pray about becoming a monthly supporter - thanks! If ever there was a time to invest in God's Kingdom, it's now! What on earth are you doing for Heaven's Sake? "Share in the Blessings and Rewards that will last Forever!" "Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey 1) We need your prayers!- We proclaim the Truth of the Word of God and we are under constant spiritual and sometimes even physical attack. 2) We need your encouragement!- We need to hear from you, let us know how the Lord is blessing you through this ministry so that we can share it with others. 3) We need your input! - If you have a prophetic article or story or if there is a news related item we missed, let us know. 4) We need your financial support!- To put it quite simply, without your support, there would be no Prophecy Update. I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Remember, your gift, no matter how small, does make a difference! You will be helping to touch lives, around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thanks to the internet your generosity carries a global impact! - Thanks! Our Prayer for You- "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 If you have been blessed by Prophecy Update and would like to help support this ministry financially. You can make a secure donation online by going to: DONATE NOW Or Visit our website: http://prophecyupdate.com/donations/ Or write us at: Prophecy Update P.O. Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384-0516 |
|