The Age Of Israel
The key to understanding the future has always lain with the nation and people of Israel. Many a Christian down through the last 2000 years have declared that someone of historical importance was the "anti-Christ" or some event was the beginning of woes or worse yet they thought something calamitous was the "end of times". I know some Christians thought that Hitler was the anti-Christ and certainly he did a lot of bad things however, as history now clearly shows he was not the anti-Christ of the book of Revelation. And not just Hitler, even Napoleon was considered a prime suspect and the Mongols themselves were thought of as something straight from the pit of hell. Some foolish Christians have even sold their worldly possessions and awaited the Rapture on some mountain or hill only to be sorely disappointed. The primary reason for all these "educated" guesses going awry was the fact that they completely left out of their equation Christ's second royal family, righteous Israel. Christ's first royal family is the Trinity in which Jesus Christ shares his divine essence with God the Father and God the Spirit. His third royal family is the Church.
In order for there to be an "Anti-Christ" then there must be a nation called Israel with Jerusalem as its capital. For there to be a "False Prophet" there must be a nation called Israel. For there to be a number given to men which is 666 there must be a nation called Israel. For there to be a Second Advent of Christ there must be a nation called Israel. None of these prophetical events will take place without the nation of Israel being in existence hence the need by many a diabolical characters throughout history that have attempted to stamp out the name and people we call Israel. In fact, if Israel ceases to exist then God will have failed his people and broken his word to give Israel their place among the nations with both a Divine King and a Divinely established territorial boundary right on the axis of the Eurasian-African Continental system. Therefore, we must conclude that the resurrection of the nation of Israel in 1947 A.D. as being a harbinger of great things to come and is a signpost telling us the way to the future. In fact, the rebirth of this ancient nation now opens a door for one age to begin and closes another door for one age to end.
Yes, Israel is currently a socialist nation. Yes, the founders were Zionists who did not practice Judaism and themselves very atheistic. Yes, the vast majority of Jews today have come to Israel in unbelief. They will however be spiritually refined as gold is refined in fire to make more pure. They may not believe today but tomorrow they will serve their God:
15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
18 "When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' 19 say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.' 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, [b] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 " 'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.' " Eze 37:15-28
How did it come to be that Israel would suffer such calamity in the first place? Why would their nation, the apple of God's eye, come to be occupied by foreign armies and their people dispersed to the four corners of the world? Once again, free-will runs it course even if it means his own royal family may suffer:
7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. Dan 9:7-11
This was written when Daniel the Prophet was under Chaldean servitude and which he anticipated the return of the Jew to Israel after the fall of the Chaldeans to the Medo-Persians. Daniel would come to understand that for Israel, God had decreed that they should endure a certain number of years in a servile position to other nations of the world until Christ would return and set them free from this political bondage. Their first breath of freedom would come at a price in that they would not truly be "independent" but made a slave to the whims of other nations. The first nation to establish this precedent would be Persia under the ruler "Darius the Mede". Israel's punishment for their national unbelief would be physical and political slavery to the great empires of the world beginning with Persia then followed by the Greeks and then finally servitude to the Roman Empire. This political dependence was a national disgrace for the Jew and served as a governor upon their sins at a federal level. This divine punishment would last exactly 490 years divided by 70 weeks of seven years each:
24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Dan 9:24
The beginning of the 70 weeks starts on 445 B.C. and should have lasted 490 years of 360 days for each year before Messiah returned to restore Israel to her prophetical glory. However, there would be a "time-out" called by God before the completion of the last week of this divine time table.
25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. Dan 9:25-26
So from the "issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem" under Darius the Mede of Persia until the "Anointed One" comes shall be 7 weeks plus 62 weeks totaling 69 weeks of seven years each. The Anointed One is Jesus Christ however he is crucified by Rome and is "cut off" and will have nothing. The number of years between these two events, both within the confines of Jerusalem, is 483 years of 69 weeks. The times of trouble as mentioned above is Israel's slavery to the great empires of the world. Which is why the Jew was ready for the "Second Advent" of physical and political Independence instead of Christ's "First Advent" which was for "spiritual" independence by Christ's work upon the Cross.
The Jews were at first very receptive to the Anointed One, Jesus Christ, however as time went on it became clearer that Jesus Christ was not here to break their bondage from political slavery but to become the lamb that taketh away the sins of the world. This revelation obviously didn't sit well with those who did not understand the timetable of punishment that God ordained for Israel in the book of Daniel 483 years before. Israel's rejection of the Anoited One halted the prophetical clock at the 69th week of their ordeal. Thus from the order to rebuild Jerusalem on March 14th 445 B.C. to the cutting off of the Anointed One (Crucifixion of Christ) on April 2nd 30 AD, we have a sequential period of 483 years exactly to the day. The eminent Clarence Larkin describes how we arrive at this date more succinctly:
"According to ordinary chronology, the 475 years from BC 445 to AD 30 are "solar" years of 365 days each. Now counting the years from BC 445 to AD 30, "inclusively", we have 476 solar years. Multiplying these 476 years by 365 (the number of days in a solar year), we have 173,740 days, to which add 119 days for leap years, and we have 173,859 days. Add to these 20 days inclusive from March 14th to April 2nd, and we have 173,879 days. Divide these days by 360 (per Gen 7:11-24; 8:3-4) and we have 483 years all to one day. Could there be anything more conclusive to prove that Daniel's 69 weeks ran out on April 2nd AD 30, the day Jesus rode in triumph into the City of Jerusalem?"
Its not really necessary to know the exact accounting of the days but I wanted to show you how precise Daniels revelation was of the coming Messiah and how he would be "cut off". The cutting off was the part most Jews could not or would not understand when Christ was sent to Pilate to be judged as a political instigator against Caesar. 40 years after this event the Romans would march on Jerusalem and completely destroy this city and its centrality to the Jewish people. "Wars and desolations" refers to the new age that the Church would then fill. Since then the 70th week of Israels punishment has been held in abeyance.
The Church Age will sometime come to a close and then the last week of Israel's punishment and humiliation as a slave to the worlds great empires shall resume:
He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. Dan 9:27
"He" in this case is the Anti-Christ. Once again without the nation of Israel then none of these prophetic events could take shape. The last week of Daniel's 70 weeks is known as the Tribulation. The 70th week will not resume until the Church is caught out and removed from harms way. Then the Age of Israel will resume until the Second Advent of Christ just a mere 7 years later. Then the punishment of Israel for their sins will be relieved and then the Millennial reign of Christ will bring Israel a period of peace and international influence never seen before in human history.
All things come full circle eventually. Just as Rome sealed Israels doom on the 69th week of their punishment in history so it shall be a resurrected Rome in the future that tiny Israel shall endure their tribulation on their last and final 70th week. Between these two weeks, the 69th and the 70th, we have had the Age of the Church that has lasted nearly 2000 years so far. The next prophetical event is the Rapture of the Church and then the Age of Israel will finally resume with its spectacular conclusion in the valley of Megiddo which is Armageddon.
In order for there to be an "Anti-Christ" then there must be a nation called Israel with Jerusalem as its capital. For there to be a "False Prophet" there must be a nation called Israel. For there to be a number given to men which is 666 there must be a nation called Israel. For there to be a Second Advent of Christ there must be a nation called Israel. None of these prophetical events will take place without the nation of Israel being in existence hence the need by many a diabolical characters throughout history that have attempted to stamp out the name and people we call Israel. In fact, if Israel ceases to exist then God will have failed his people and broken his word to give Israel their place among the nations with both a Divine King and a Divinely established territorial boundary right on the axis of the Eurasian-African Continental system. Therefore, we must conclude that the resurrection of the nation of Israel in 1947 A.D. as being a harbinger of great things to come and is a signpost telling us the way to the future. In fact, the rebirth of this ancient nation now opens a door for one age to begin and closes another door for one age to end.
Yes, Israel is currently a socialist nation. Yes, the founders were Zionists who did not practice Judaism and themselves very atheistic. Yes, the vast majority of Jews today have come to Israel in unbelief. They will however be spiritually refined as gold is refined in fire to make more pure. They may not believe today but tomorrow they will serve their God:
15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
18 "When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' 19 say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.' 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, [b] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 " 'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.' " Eze 37:15-28
How did it come to be that Israel would suffer such calamity in the first place? Why would their nation, the apple of God's eye, come to be occupied by foreign armies and their people dispersed to the four corners of the world? Once again, free-will runs it course even if it means his own royal family may suffer:
7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. Dan 9:7-11
This was written when Daniel the Prophet was under Chaldean servitude and which he anticipated the return of the Jew to Israel after the fall of the Chaldeans to the Medo-Persians. Daniel would come to understand that for Israel, God had decreed that they should endure a certain number of years in a servile position to other nations of the world until Christ would return and set them free from this political bondage. Their first breath of freedom would come at a price in that they would not truly be "independent" but made a slave to the whims of other nations. The first nation to establish this precedent would be Persia under the ruler "Darius the Mede". Israel's punishment for their national unbelief would be physical and political slavery to the great empires of the world beginning with Persia then followed by the Greeks and then finally servitude to the Roman Empire. This political dependence was a national disgrace for the Jew and served as a governor upon their sins at a federal level. This divine punishment would last exactly 490 years divided by 70 weeks of seven years each:
24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Dan 9:24
The beginning of the 70 weeks starts on 445 B.C. and should have lasted 490 years of 360 days for each year before Messiah returned to restore Israel to her prophetical glory. However, there would be a "time-out" called by God before the completion of the last week of this divine time table.
25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. Dan 9:25-26
So from the "issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem" under Darius the Mede of Persia until the "Anointed One" comes shall be 7 weeks plus 62 weeks totaling 69 weeks of seven years each. The Anointed One is Jesus Christ however he is crucified by Rome and is "cut off" and will have nothing. The number of years between these two events, both within the confines of Jerusalem, is 483 years of 69 weeks. The times of trouble as mentioned above is Israel's slavery to the great empires of the world. Which is why the Jew was ready for the "Second Advent" of physical and political Independence instead of Christ's "First Advent" which was for "spiritual" independence by Christ's work upon the Cross.
The Jews were at first very receptive to the Anointed One, Jesus Christ, however as time went on it became clearer that Jesus Christ was not here to break their bondage from political slavery but to become the lamb that taketh away the sins of the world. This revelation obviously didn't sit well with those who did not understand the timetable of punishment that God ordained for Israel in the book of Daniel 483 years before. Israel's rejection of the Anoited One halted the prophetical clock at the 69th week of their ordeal. Thus from the order to rebuild Jerusalem on March 14th 445 B.C. to the cutting off of the Anointed One (Crucifixion of Christ) on April 2nd 30 AD, we have a sequential period of 483 years exactly to the day. The eminent Clarence Larkin describes how we arrive at this date more succinctly:
"According to ordinary chronology, the 475 years from BC 445 to AD 30 are "solar" years of 365 days each. Now counting the years from BC 445 to AD 30, "inclusively", we have 476 solar years. Multiplying these 476 years by 365 (the number of days in a solar year), we have 173,740 days, to which add 119 days for leap years, and we have 173,859 days. Add to these 20 days inclusive from March 14th to April 2nd, and we have 173,879 days. Divide these days by 360 (per Gen 7:11-24; 8:3-4) and we have 483 years all to one day. Could there be anything more conclusive to prove that Daniel's 69 weeks ran out on April 2nd AD 30, the day Jesus rode in triumph into the City of Jerusalem?"
Its not really necessary to know the exact accounting of the days but I wanted to show you how precise Daniels revelation was of the coming Messiah and how he would be "cut off". The cutting off was the part most Jews could not or would not understand when Christ was sent to Pilate to be judged as a political instigator against Caesar. 40 years after this event the Romans would march on Jerusalem and completely destroy this city and its centrality to the Jewish people. "Wars and desolations" refers to the new age that the Church would then fill. Since then the 70th week of Israels punishment has been held in abeyance.
The Church Age will sometime come to a close and then the last week of Israel's punishment and humiliation as a slave to the worlds great empires shall resume:
He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. Dan 9:27
"He" in this case is the Anti-Christ. Once again without the nation of Israel then none of these prophetic events could take shape. The last week of Daniel's 70 weeks is known as the Tribulation. The 70th week will not resume until the Church is caught out and removed from harms way. Then the Age of Israel will resume until the Second Advent of Christ just a mere 7 years later. Then the punishment of Israel for their sins will be relieved and then the Millennial reign of Christ will bring Israel a period of peace and international influence never seen before in human history.
All things come full circle eventually. Just as Rome sealed Israels doom on the 69th week of their punishment in history so it shall be a resurrected Rome in the future that tiny Israel shall endure their tribulation on their last and final 70th week. Between these two weeks, the 69th and the 70th, we have had the Age of the Church that has lasted nearly 2000 years so far. The next prophetical event is the Rapture of the Church and then the Age of Israel will finally resume with its spectacular conclusion in the valley of Megiddo which is Armageddon.
posted by Bruce R. McConnell | 9:00 PM
1 Comments:
BREATH OF GOD
Three years ago I was wandering around [mental hospital] completely shattered physically, emotionally and spiritually. The mental torment I was experiencing was absolutely terrifying. Every waking second, I was having horrifying images from my past. I thought I was being punished for my past sins. My whole life flashed before my eyes and I felt I had failed miserably in my journey through life. The whole experience was an awakening [THE LONG DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL] a metamorphosis. God was slowly penetrating the shield I had put up all those desperate years. I had no "I" - that is what God wanted for me, to become Christ centered, not “I” centered [in retrospect]. There is nothing in this world, but the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He eventually delivered from my HELL; when I got down on my knees and asked for mercy and forgiveness for my sins. Praise the LORD!!
PEACE BE WITH YOU
MICKY
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