Sometimes in our
studies it seems like we only look for jots
and tittles’; the small, minute
details that are sometimes overlooked. When Jesus came to earth, he came to do
something new; he was calling out people for His body. Jesus came to be the
conclusion and completion of the law. He left nothing undone, and fulfilled
every aspect of the law, and every prophecy ever recorded about Him. He stated
firmly that it was easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tiny
aspect of the law to fail. From the prophets we are told of Jesus’ first
coming; we have the benefit of hindsight to attribute all those prophecies to him.
The prophets also tell us that when he comes again it will be to rule as King.
Not one aspect of that shall fail. Not one little detail shall be skipped over.
Yet, something has been skipped over by many people. There is a time period
that was a mystery, and was hidden. During this hidden time, satan would crucify
Jesus, or should we say that satan would inspire people to kill Jesus. The
benefit of Jesus’ death as we know is that once he rose from the dead, he could
call all people to him, or call out all people from every tribe and nation.
Luke
16:15-17 And he
said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth
your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the
sight of God.16 The law
and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is
preached, and every man presseth into it.17 And it
is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.KJV
Matt
5:17-18 Think
not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil.18 For
verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.KJV
This is a
very interesting concept; Jesus said that the law and prophets were until John. Until. There are two things to notice here; 1) The law, 2) The
prophets. Jesus came to fulfill the law. The law was until John. All of the law
and prophets have been fulfilled by Jesus up to this time. The rest of the
prophecies will be fulfilled in the future. All of the law was fulfilled by
Jesus. The law and prophets were until
John the Baptist. Even Jesus’ death was prophesied. If the law was until John,
then what happens when it’s fulfilled? A new age begins. Let’s look at it this
way, we all must follow the law and be reminded of the prophecies until John
the Baptist comes. John the Baptist will announce the Messiah; therefore, until
the announcement of the Messiah, we should continue in the Mosaic laws and look
for one who fits the prophecies. Since we are probably familiar with the law,
Daniel and Zechariah give us two insights about the prophets that affirm Jesus
as Messiah.
Dan 9:26 And
after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:
and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the
war desolations are determined.KJV
OT:7858 sheteph (sheh'-tef); or sheteph (shay'-tef); from OT:7857; a
deluge (literally or figuratively):KJV - flood, outrageous,
overflowing.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
OT:7857 shataph (shaw-taf');
a primitive root; to gush; by implication, to inundate, cleanse; by analogy, to
gallop, conquer:KJV - drown, (over-) flow
(-whelm, rinse, run, rush, (throughly) wash (away).(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators,
Inc.)
OT:8074 shamem (shaw-mame'); a primitive root;
to stun (or intransitively, grow numb), i.e. devastate or (figuratively)
stupefy (both usually in a passive sense): KJV - make
amazed, be astonied, (be an) astonish (-ment), (be, bring into, unto, lay, lie,
make) desolate (-ion, places), be destitute, destroy (self), (lay, lie, make)
waste, wonder.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
The Messiah was cut
off, or executed, as it says in the Hebrew. He was not cut off for himself, but
for others. The antichrist’s people destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. Like a flood,
they conquered and destroyed not only the temple, but the city as well. This is
until the war of the desolations are determined. While today we see the city
rebuilt, the temple is not rebuilt. That tells us the time of desolations is not over yet in Jerusalem. The end has not
been determined. Why? This is an undetermined amount of time. Since the
destroying of the city and the temple, we are closer to an end of the
desolations with the rebuilding and re-inhabiting of the city, but we don’t
have a temple yet. How many times have we heard about Israel becoming a nation
in 1917,1948,1967.These are all the dates people like to speculate are the
times when the end of the war of desolations was completed, but according to
Daniel they are not complete until the city and
the sanctuary are rebuilt. We seemed to have missed a jot and tittle. Like in Nehemiah’s
time, the city has to be rebuilt first, and then the temple can be rebuilt. I
might also ask the question, how many people, claiming to be the Messiah, were
executed before 70 AD, who actually fulfilled this next requirement?
Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is
just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the
foal of an ass.KJV
John
12:14-16 And
Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,15 Fear not, daughter of Sion:
behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.16 These
things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified,
then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had
done these things unto him.KJV
Only one
person fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament, along with the law.
We can see just how blind and hard rabbinical scholars must be to deny that
Jesus is the Messiah. We know Jesus said that because they missed the hour of
visitation, the city would be destroyed. After Jesus came, Hebrew texts were
altered to deny or falsify Jesus as Messiah from the Old Testament.
Luke
19:42-44 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the
things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.43 For the days shall come upon
thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee
round, and keep thee in on every side,44 And
shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time
of thy visitation.KJV
Jesus
told them what was going to happen, and it did happen in 70 AD because they
didn’t believe he was the Messiah. Daniel prophesied it. But if we think this
is where the story ends, it is not. Jesus came to do a new thing. It is not
unlike God to do new things throughout time. He tells us through the prophets
that he is going to do new things in the future. Jesus came to do a new thing.
This time of desolation, where even today we see no temple in Jerusalem as the
time of desolation has not been completed. Every rabbinical scholar ignores
this time period, which is the church age.
Some try to pretend it doesn’t exist. However, from the time of the Abrahamic promise,
to the crucifixion of Jesus, we have 1,953 years where Israel was in favor with
God. Subtract the years of captivity/disfavor (196 yrs) from the total number
of years from the promise of Abraham (2,149 yrs), and we get 1,953 years; compared
to 1,981 years since Jesus’ crucifixion, which caused the city and temple to go
into desolation 38 years after the crucifixion. In other words we have more
years (28) of the church age than Israel’s favor. Israel has been out of favor
since the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, simply because they did not recognize
Jesus as Messiah. From the time of the Exodus, when the law was given, to the
time of Jesus’ crucifixion is 1,463 years, which is the amount of time the law
was to be followed. But Jesus came to make something new, remember he fulfilled
the law and prophets, the law and the prophets were until John, not after John
but up to John the Baptist. That means we have 518 more years of the church
age/age of the Holy Spirit, than the age of the law.
Matt
16:15-20 He saith
unto them, But whom say ye that I am?16 And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.17 And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.18 And I say also unto thee, That
thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church [1577]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.19 And I
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man
that he was Jesus the Christ. KJV
NT:1577 ekklesia (ek-klay-see'-ah); from a
compound of NT:1537 and a derivative of NT:2564; a
calling out, i.e. (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious
congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or
saints in heaven or both):KJV - assembly,
church.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:1537 ek (ek) or ex
(ex); a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion
proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause; literal or figurative; direct
or remote): KJV - after, among, are, at,
betwixt (-yond), by (the means of), exceedingly, (+abundantly above), for
(-th), from (among, forth, up), grudgingly, heartily, heavenly, hereby, very highly, in, ...ly,
(because, by reason) of, off (from), on, out among (from, of), over, since, thenceforth, through, unto, vehemently, with (-out). Often used in composition, with the same
general import; often of completion.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's
Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators,
Inc.)
NT:2564 kaleo (kal-eh'-o);
akin to the base of NT:2753; to "call" (properly, aloud, but
used in a variety of applications, dir. or otherwise):KJV - bid,
call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]). (Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
The thing
Jesus came to do was to call out people. Call them out of what? Satan’s domain,
and eventually hell. The gates of hell cannot prevail over those who are being
called out. Gates keep people separated, some on one side, some on the other
side. When people are called out,
hell’s gates cannot keep them in. Hell has no power over those who are called
out. We have to always keep this perspective, satan stole the rights to
rulership from Adam, he is the prince of the power of the air, the god of this
world. Jesus came to call people out. He saved the redeemed dead, brought them to Paradise, and then he saved the redeemed living to live in a new
congregation where people are now on the other side of the gates of hell. This
is not just for Gentiles, all the first apostles and most of the disciples were
Jews. Being called out is for anyone who would believe.
Acts
2:1-4 And when
the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place. 2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting.3 And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of
them.4 And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.KJV
On the
day of Pentecost, the first disciples received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
which is still in evidence for those who believe today. Now some claim the
gifts of the spirit are no longer available, but that clearly is not true, and
it is quite arrogant to suggest that just because one doesn’t participate in
the utilization of the gifts of the spirit, they must not be available. The
gifts and evidences of the Holy Spirit are still here on earth in the called
out believers. There is not one place in the entire Bible that says otherwise.
Therefore, if one is unlearned, the better option is to learn rather than deny
or blaspheme the Holy Spirit. On that day, until this day, the Holy Spirit
continues. Jesus told us the Holy Spirit would come once he left. And the Holy
Spirit and the disciples added to the called out.
Acts 2:47
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the
church [1577] daily such as should be saved. KJV
While the
church, the called out, are individuals, we sometimes confuse it with a
building the called out go to. More properly, the called out as a group are a
church, not a building, but people. The called
out can meet anywhere, and not everyone inside a church building is called out. The called out are not known
as Jew or Gentile, they are known as the Body of Christ, and men and women are
both called out. Romans 16 shows us that Paul personally greeted women, as well
as men, as servants and helpers of the called out.
Gal
3:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.27 For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.28 There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.29 And if ye
be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.KJV
Jesus came to create
a group of people who would be a part of Him, his body. He tells us the Holy
Spirit will come when he leaves, and the Holy Spirit will fulfill certain
tasks. 1) To convict the world of sin, 2) Admonish the world in righteousness,
3) Announce satan’s judgment to the world. Let’s read this in the amplified.
John
16:7-11 However,
I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good,
expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away,
the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby)
will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will
send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. 8 And when He comes, He will
convict and convince
the world and bring
demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and
right standing with God) and about judgment: 9 About
sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust in, rely on, and adhere
to Me]; 10 About
righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go
to My Father, and you will see Me no longer; 11 About
judgment, because the ruler (evil genius, prince) of this world [Satan]
is judged and condemned
and sentence
already is passed upon him. AMP
Remember,
the Jew cannot make atonement for sin without the temple. In 70 AD the city and
temple were destroyed, and the temple has not yet been rebuilt, 1,981 years
later. Jerusalem is still in the time of desolation. Jesus made himself the
sacrifice for sin, however, some do not believe on Him, which creates for those
unbelievers quite a dilemma. If one does not believe on Jesus, that person now
has no sacrifice for his/her sins and lives and dies without atonement. Jesus
is the atonement for the called out, irrespective of Jew or Gentile, bond or
free, male or female.
Incidentally,
the word “he” used for the Holy Spirit is neuter. As we have previously
studied, in the Hebrew and Aramaic, the Holy Spirit is feminine; the Greek made
the Holy Spirit neutral; and the Latin made Holy Spirit masculine.
Looking
at this a little more, it seems that the Holy Spirit has a mission. When will
the Holy Spirit’s mission be fulfilled? At the conclusion of the church age,
when the number of Gentiles has come into the body of Christ. But here is
something to keep in mind; the Holy Spirit will not be torn out of believers,
leaving them without the Holy Spirit. That is, there will never be a time on
earth when the Holy Spirit is not going to indwell the believers. But there
will be a time when the Holy Spirit and the believers will be snatched up, forcibly
from the earth.
2 Thess
2:3-8 Let no
one deceive or beguile
you in any way, for that day will not come except the capostasy comes first [unless the predicted great dfalling away of those who have professed to be Christians has
come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of
doom (of perdition), [Dan 7:25; 8:25; 1 Tim 4:1.] 4 Who
opposes and exalts himself so proudly and insolently against and over all
that is called God or that is worshiped, [even to his actually] taking
his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God. [Ezek
28:2; Dan 11:36,37.] 5 Do you
not recollect that when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is
restraining him [from being revealed at this time]; it is so that he may be
manifested (revealed) in his own [appointed] time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness
(that hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority) is already
at work in the world, [but it is] restrained only until ehe who restrains is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one (the
antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath
of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming. [Isa
11:4.] AMP
1) The
departure of the believers on earth causes a void on earth. 2) The one
restraining the anti Christ, the lawless one, from sitting in the Holy of Holies,
is the Holy Spirit. 3) The anti-Christ can only be revealed after the believers
and the Holy Spirit are taken out of the way. 4) Jesus will come with His
armies, the parousia and destroy the anti Christ. When Jesus was telling his
disciples that the Holy Spirit would come, the mission of the Holy Spirit was
to convict the world of sin. The only thing holding back sin is the Holy
Spirit, working and advocating within people.
John
14:15-20 If you [really]
love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He
will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate,
Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever — 17 The
Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart),
because it does not see Him or know and recognize
Him. But you know and recognize
Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless,
desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you. 19 Just a little while now, and the
world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will
live also. 20 At that
time [when that day comes] you will know [for
yourselves] that I am in My Father, and you [are] in Me,
and I [am] in you. AMP
You and I
have the power of the Almighty God within us, even though we physically live
under satan’s rulership, we defected spiritually to live under Almighty God’s
rule. Just like an ex-patriot who changes allegiance to a different nation, we
can sing our patriotic songs of allegiance to our King, Jesus. Jesus’ new
commandment, as we studied, is to love one another; and that is how people will
know we are his disciples. Then he will call us friends. So if the Holy Spirit
remains with us forever, can there be
a time when forever is over? If the Father and the Son dwell within us can
the antichrist come to power? Of course not. We can see Jesus because he lives
in us; this is the age that Jesus came to create an entire time period where
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit live within the believers.
This is
the gap in Israel’s history many refuse to recognize. This is the time that
many discount. This is the time that many “scholars” gloss over, counting days
and seasons for a Messiah to arrive. But they are looking at the parousia, when
he will come back with His armies; or are still expecting a Messiah that
fulfills the law and prophets. Before Jesus comes with his saints, the great
tribulation will be a terrible time of martyrdom. We used to think that the time when the blood
would be as high as horses bridles and two hundred miles long would be the time
Jesus comes with his armies, however as we discovered previously, that will be
the day the beast kills everyone who does not take his mark. Remember we see
Jesus sitting on a cloud, wearing one crown, when the second angel announces
Babylon’s fall in Revelation 14, and the reaping begins. When Jesus comes with
His armies, he has many crowns and is on a horse, he comes only for the beast
and those who took his mark. He will bring justice to Israel for the evil of
the beast. And if you remember, anyone who takes the mark of the beast, or
makes an allegiance with the beast, receives eternal damnation. Zechariah tells
us 2/3’s of the Jews will be killed at this time.
The age
we live in is to the building of Jesus’ body, it does not mean there are no
trials, or hard times. It also does not mean that everything will be like
“heaven on earth”, because we must bear in mind that satan is the ruler of this
world. A quick read of Fox’s Book of Martyrs will remind us that there
is a price to pay for living as an alien and foreigner in the world today.
Col
1:12-20 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light:13 Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son:14 In whom
we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:15 Who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature:16 For by
him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him:17 And he is
before all things, and by him all things consist.18 And he is
the head of the body, the church [the called out]: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.19 For it pleased the Father that in
him should all fulness dwell;20 And,
having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all
things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things
in heaven.KJV
Let’s
think back to the law being until
John, Paul does his best to explain this in his epistles, telling us we are not
under the law. The person who does not believe on Jesus, has no atonement for
sin, and yet the law only makes people sin, or makes sin abound.
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that
the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
KJV
Rom 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth
fruit unto God.KJV
We are
dead to the law by the body of Christ, it cannot get any clearer. We are
married to Jesus who was raised from the dead. This gap in Israeli’s time line
has to be recognized if we are to understand the events going on around us.
Daniel tells us Israel is still under the time after the end of the wars of
desolations, and the length of time is determined by God. The very next verse
in Daniel says he, the prince/anti Christ, will confirm the covenant for seven
years. That means before anti-Christ is revealed to confirm the covenant, the
gap years have to come to a close, meaning the called out are called up, and
the restrainer, the Holy Spirit is done restraining.
I
certainly wish all Jews would come to learn and understand these things, and
come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we have so much
confusion in the world over these events. We know why; the evil god of
confusion has clouded the issues. What our Jewish friends have to understand is
if they do not confess Jesus as Lord now, they will be martyred if they don’t
take the mark of the beast. I know there are some organizations that ask for
money to buy plane tickets for Jews to return to their homeland, but really
they are simply sending people to their slaughter. Instead, if someone wants a
plane ticket from me, I’m sending them to the Amazon Jungle. However, it would
be better for them not to be in that position in the first place. Jesus is calling
people out; he has been for 1,981 years. Yet Jesus told us what has to happen
before the Jews will see him again.
Matt
23:37-39 O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!38 Behold, your house is left unto
you desolate.39 For I
say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord.KJV
There has
to be a corporate cry from Jerusalem. Her house is desolate; she is desolate,
suffering until the determined time, burdened with her sins and no way to atone
for them. But Jesus gave her a new way, a different way to escape. This way
that was hidden, the devil didn’t know about it, it has lasted for 1,981 years,
and the time is determined by God. Jesus was the first church planter; he
decided he’d build his church, the called out, and He will keep calling out his
saints until the determined time.
