The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - The King and Kingdom of the Jews II

[0:00] Please turn to the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. And this morning, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, we'll be looking at verses 20 through 28.

[0:24] But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep.

[0:36] For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

[0:54] But each in his own order. Christ, the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ's at his coming. Then comes the end.

[1:08] When he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father. When he has abolished all rule, and all authority and power.

[1:19] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

[1:32] For he has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he says, all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection to him.

[1:51] When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.

[2:09] And this is where we are going. As indicated in verse 24, then comes the end.

[2:25] And the end is what we are currently analyzing, but I want to emphasize that it is a very temporary and superficial analysis.

[2:39] All I am attempting to do for the past session, this session, and perhaps the one that will follow, so that this will be in three parts regarding the king and kingdom of the Jews, yet they are all part of that larger theme that we developed over a year ago about the Jewish final solution to the world's problem.

[3:03] History is going somewhere. There is going to be a culmination, and the passage that was just read describes that. Where we are right now is en route to that.

[3:16] We don't know how close we are to this portion of Scripture that describes itself as then come at the end, but we could be a lot closer than what we might think.

[3:28] Nobody is interested in setting any dates. I should think that people would have learned about the folly of that a long time ago. Nonetheless, someone keeps coming up with a date that they are setting, and only to be embarrassed all over again.

[3:43] And unfortunately, very often the Christian community has to bear some embarrassment along with it, and that's unfortunate. It just gives the world something to poke fun at, and we ought to be a lot more serious about our interpretation of prophecy.

[3:59] And if we are, we will know that God has a plan and program, and that it is not so much as one minute early or one minute late. Where we are right now in this particular series is an attempt to just give you a bird's eye view of what this end thing is going to look like.

[4:20] It is called the kingdom. The reason it is called the kingdom is because it will be presided over by a king. This king will be the king of kings and the lord of lords.

[4:35] This king will be none other than Jesus Christ who will vanquish all of the foes and enemies of God and of Israel when he comes in that second coming, and that shortly after that encounter, which is referred to as the campaign of Armageddon, shortly after that, he will establish this worldwide kingdom, the capital of which will be Jerusalem in the center of the world.

[5:07] And Christ will occupy the actual throne of David, a throne which has been vacant for 2,000 years, and it will once again be occupied, this time by the rightful occupant.

[5:24] So I just want to whet your appetite a little bit for what is coming, but we have a great deal to go through before we get there. So by way of explanation, let me again say what we are doing now is jumping from where we are in this series, clear up to the end, just to give you a brief idea of what that end is going to be like.

[5:51] Then we are going to back up and pick up where we left off, which has to do with the introduction of the times of the Gentiles and the setting aside of the nation of Israel, give you a few history lessons from the Middle Ages as regards the world's treatment of the Jew.

[6:09] That will culminate in Hitler's Holocaust, and then we will engage what will be the next item on the divine agenda for the planet, and that we take to be what is referred to as the translation or the rapture of the church found in 1 Corinthians 15 and also in 1 Thessalonians 4.

[6:33] So now if you would come with me, please, to the last book in the Bible, and we'll continue to fill out this picture just a little bit with Revelation chapter 20.

[6:45] I want to remind you, however, we will not be taking this now in any detail. That will be reserved for later, but this is one of the key chapters, and it is a bird's eye view of what the end time is going to be like.

[7:00] And by the way, if you do not have a Bible, you are at a distinct disadvantage. I'm confident that there are some extra copies of the Bible on the shelf, on the coat rack shelves out in the hallway, and don't hesitate to avail yourself of one if you do not have a Bible or cannot look on your neighbor's Bible because it would be very, very helpful.

[7:25] So let's look at Revelation chapter 20. And John is going to describe what he is seeing.

[7:36] He has been called up to witness these things and also to record what he has seen. And he says, And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

[7:54] And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

[8:05] Now, I don't know how Steven Spielberg would handle this with special effects, but I can assure you that God has no difficulty. I do not know how a spirit being can be bound with chains, but then again, that's part of God's problem, not part of ours.

[8:21] But he is going to be bound. That means he's going to be taken out of commission for a thousand years. He is not going to be destroyed. He is going to be incarcerated, bound for a thousand years.

[8:35] And we read on in verse 3, And threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any longer.

[8:50] The impression given there, of course, is that that is what he has been doing right along. Only now, he'll be incapacitated and will no longer be able to do that.

[9:01] So, his influence will be taken off the table. And whatever influence there is among men on the earth during this time will come from fellow human beings and not from Satan.

[9:15] He will be out of commission. That is, until the thousand years were completed, after these things, he must be released for a short time.

[9:27] There, the question is automatically asked, Well, why in the world would God bind him for a thousand years and at the end of a thousand years turn him loose? What would be the point of that? And there are some very cogent answers that I think you will appreciate when the time comes.

[9:43] And I saw thrones, plural, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

[10:18] This is during that same thousand years that Satan is incarcerated. Then verse 5 tells us the rest of the dead, which will consist of a considerable number, did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

[10:33] This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

[10:53] I want you to note in particular how many times that phrase a thousand years is repeated in this passage. Verse 7 says, And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations.

[11:14] That indicates that rehabilitation has not been realized. his nature remains the same as it was before he was placed in the abyss.

[11:33] And he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, they are very significant, we'll I think be able to identify them later, to gather them together for the war.

[11:46] The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. It's important to note this is not Armageddon. Armageddon occurred a thousand years earlier.

[11:57] This is the final revolt of Satan. This takes place after the millennial reign has been realized for a thousand years. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore and they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

[12:26] This is not a battle. It is not Armageddon. It is not a conflict. It is just a final disposition of the enemy. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also.

[12:44] We will see earlier in Revelation how they are confined to that area. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them.

[13:11] And I saw the dead the great and the small standing before the throne and books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds.

[13:32] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them and they were judged every one of them according to their deeds.

[13:46] And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death the lake of fire and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.

[14:06] Very sobering passage of scripture and theologians and preachers and philosophers have argued for centuries as to the literality of this or is it figurative language?

[14:18] Is it not to be taken literally? Is it just poetry? Well I think we will be able to establish a case as we move on that these things are far more serious and far more literal than we might think.

[14:33] And as someone has asked the question if these things are figurative and not literal they depict something.

[14:45] Even if they are figurative they are a picture of something. And what that something must be is really too horrible to even contemplate.

[14:58] It exceeds our imagination and ability to assign any kind of activity to it that we could really comprehend. it's going to be a very very bad thing.

[15:13] And this is the final disposition of that which we would characterize as evil. Here it meets its due.

[15:26] Now chronologically what we are talking about here is after at least this great white throne is after the thousand year reign of Christ.

[15:38] This is preparatory to entering the eternal state and that's going to be found in chapter 21 as you go on with the new heaven and the new earth. So as best we understand the subject of prophecy the next item on the agenda is the translation of the church and we regard that as being imminent and when we say that the catching away of the church by Christ coming in the cloud is imminent.

[16:09] We mean that it is subject to occurring at any time at any moment. Imminent simply means it could occur anytime soon or distant.

[16:22] We don't know what it is. It has always been imminent and it was imminent during the time of the apostle Paul when he anticipated that it might well be realized in his lifetime.

[16:35] That was 2000 years ago and it still hasn't been. But you know the first coming of Christ when he was born as a babe in Bethlehem that too was imminent.

[16:47] That is there were prophecies given regarding his birth and where he would be born and the circumstances under which he would be born but no dates were set.

[16:59] No time frame was given. So from the time the promise was made to Eve the mother of all living regarding her seed providing a redeemer that time was imminent for all she knew it could have been one of her own children.

[17:15] We know of course that that wasn't even close. And then later the promise was given to Abraham through the Abrahamic covenant and it was confirmed to Isaac and to Jacob and so on.

[17:28] And the first coming of the Messiah was always imminent. The Jews knew a Savior Deliverer was coming because God promised him. When is he coming?

[17:39] We don't know. Every generation thought their generation might be the one and they waited for 4,000 years and the coming of Christ in his first advent was imminent all the while.

[17:55] and the second coming is imminent also. That means it could occur before this service ends this morning. It may not be for another 10 years or 50 years or 300 years.

[18:12] We don't know. All we know is it is imminent. It is coming. And you see what this does. For one thing, it gives every generation a justification for expectancy.

[18:28] And the expecting of the Lord to come is supposed to reflect in your lifestyle, in your agenda, in your priorities.

[18:43] The coming of Christ for the church is referred to as the rapture of the church. And the writer of scripture says, And every man, we do not know what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

[19:00] That is the coming of Christ. And he goes on to say, in 1 John 3, I think it is, And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself.

[19:14] What does that mean? It means if you are living seriously with the understanding and the expectancy of the return of Christ to catch us away, that will affect the way you live.

[19:29] If it doesn't affect the way you live, you don't really believe it. If it doesn't affect the way you live, you don't really believe it.

[19:41] We ought to all live our lives in light of the soon return of Christ, and we don't know when he's coming. be ye therefore also ready.

[19:52] That's the admonition of scripture in the gospels and in the epistles. Because we don't know when the Lord is coming. We ought to live every day as if he's coming tomorrow.

[20:03] And if you really honestly believe that, it would make a difference in your life. It would make a difference in your priorities, in your goals, in your attitude, in your treatment of others, everything.

[20:16] In other words, we would shape up our lives if we really believed that. Now let me ask you a question. Of course, it's a hypothetical.

[20:27] What would you do if you knew that Jesus Christ was going to return in one week from today? Now, of course, we don't know that.

[20:42] But theoretically, if you could know that and you knew it to be a fact, not a wish or a hope, what would you do differently for the next week?

[20:58] Serious question. What would you change? What would you alter? What would you discard? Not if you suspected, but if you knew that he was coming in one week, what would you do?

[21:17] Well, frankly, I'm no more prepared to answer that question right now than you are, because it just now came to me. But I suspect I would sit down with pen and paper and start drawing up a list of things that I wanted to do or needed to do.

[21:35] And I don't think it would have anything to do with, let me see, I want to leave this for so-and-so, and I want to bequeath this to so-and-so, and oh yeah, I need to go to the bank and do it.

[21:49] I don't think it would involve any of those things. It would involve my heart, my attitude, my motivation.

[22:02] Serious thing to think about at the beginning of a new year, is it not? Well, so after this rapture takes place, which we will explore in some detail, and it won't be far off, we are going to see that as being the next item in the prophetic calendar, as we understand it, and of course, there are scholars who disagree with us, and I don't want to give them short shrift, I want them to be able to express their point of view, so I will do my best to accurately represent them, because nobody has a corner on the truth, and all we are saying is that our current understanding is our best understanding to this date, and we will share with you what we have found, but we do believe that this catching away, the rapture, will be the next item, and in contrast to some who say there will be no rapture, they make the point like, well, you know, you realize of course that the word rapture is even found in the Bible, that's true, it isn't, and neither is the word trinity found in the Bible, and neither is the word

[23:16] Bible ever found in the Bible, but we have good reason to believe that it's a pretty authentic word, as are the others as well, so once this rapture takes place, a time when all believers, wherever they are, whomever they are, are gathered together, we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, Christ does not return to the earth in the rapture, he returns in the air, we are caught up to meet him in the air, it is a glorious meeting, someone wrote a song about it, there's going to be a meeting in the air, in the by and by, that's the rapture, the second coming of Christ will follow the rapture, and he will come to the earth, and will plant his feet upon the earth, in the same way he did when the twelve witnessed him ascending to heaven right before their very eyes, the account of the ascension of

[24:17] Christ is given in Acts chapter one, and Jesus was simply bodily lifted up from the earth, taken right up in front of them, and they stood there gazing up into heaven until finally they could see nothing more than a little speck, he was gone, and the eleven, the twelve minus Judas, stood there with their eyes as big as saucers, and their mouths wide open, looking at each other, did you see that, what is this, he's gone, and they were trying to make sense of it, and then an angel appeared just out of nowhere, and said, ye men of Israel, why stand you here gazing up into heaven, this same Jesus that is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come again in like manner, as you have seen him go into heaven, and he had just given them a commission by the way, and the angel said, so, what are you doing standing here, get about your father's business, and of course they left and began what is known as the apostolic age, and the preaching of the gospel, and the declaration of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

[25:36] All of this event that will take place in the rapture involves believers only, this means those who are not in union with Jesus Christ will simply be left here on earth.

[25:57] Humanly speaking, there are going to be a lot of good people who aren't going in the rapture, because those taken in the rapture, and who they are, is not determined by whether or not they're nice people, whether they're neighborly, whether they're kind, whether they'd give you the shirt off their back.

[26:14] It's determined solely by their being in union with Jesus Christ, because if we are, that constitutes the body of Christ, and he is the head.

[26:25] The body goes spiritually to be joined with the head. Then, we don't know what is going to transpire because we cannot imagine the confusion, the consternation, the questions, the fears that are going to arise over the disappearance of all of these people, where did they go?

[26:48] What happened to them? We don't know how we are going to be taken. Could be taken through some kind of a massive death plot imposed upon those who are believers.

[27:01] That's just one theory. We don't know whether it's going to be something solely administered completely by Christ and have no human effect or invention at all and he will simply call us up and that will be it.

[27:15] But at any rate, however it is that we're gone, and by the way, we don't know if this means our spirit is taken up and our bodies are left behind, which would be the consequence, of course, of some kind of plague or death or some kind of, what shall I say, some kind of poisoning as in some kind of gas or something like that, but these people, all of whom are in the body of Christ are all going to be removed from the earth, whether physically or whether as was depicted in some of the movies, there's just a pile of clothes left behind.

[27:59] And here is an airliner flying at 35,000 feet and there are Christians on board and the rapture occurs and all you've got in seat 18B and 19C and 27D is a pile of clothes left behind.

[28:15] And they were believers. We don't know whether it's going to be that way or whether the individual is going to be taken in entirety. These are just differences over which people argue and we don't have any concrete way of knowing.

[28:30] But we do know that the absence of all of these people, and it's probably going to number in the millions, multiple millions of people, what kind of an explanation is going to be provided?

[28:42] Where did all these people go? What happened to them? It's going to cause a lot of conflict, a lot of questions, a lot of panic, because family members are going to be missing.

[28:54] Neighbors are going to be missing. There have to be some kind of an explanation given. I have no idea what it will be, but the earth will eventually settle down and accept that loss, and who knows what the explanation will be.

[29:08] And then an indeterminate amount of time is going to set in, and we don't know how long this is going to be, because the rapture of the church will not constitute the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period, like a lot of people think that it will.

[29:33] We don't know how much time is going to transpire after the church is raptured, until the tribulation period begins, but we do know that it will begin with the signing of the covenant in Daniel chapter 9, in accordance with what many call the linchpin of Bible prophecy, having to do with the 70 weeks of Daniel, which is very simple and very easily explained when you see it laid out.

[30:02] The Antichrist is going to sign a peace pact with the nation of Israel, and that will initiate the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period.

[30:14] In the middle of that time, three and a half years into it, he will break the pact and will turn on the Jew in an intense way of persecution, and the Jew will be under the gun for three and a half years in a way that they have never been before.

[30:32] How much time will lapse between the rapture of the church, and the signing of that pact in Daniel chapter 9, we don't know. It could be several weeks, several months, could even be a number of years, but the tribulation period will not begin until that happens, so that is impossible to establish after that.

[30:53] And then, at the end of the seven-year period, the tribulation period, Christ will return, and this is depicted in a reference that I would address for just a few moments if you want to turn to Matthew chapter 25, or chapter 24, and this is a very brief description of the coming of Christ.

[31:15] It's also in Revelation 19, and we could have considered that one, but Matthew 24, the answer is given in response to a question from the disciples, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming?

[31:32] And Jesus tells them that many will come in his name, and verse seven, nation will rise against nation, verse eight, all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs, verse nine, then they will deliver you, the tribulation will kill you, speaking to the Jewish people, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name.

[31:52] And by the way, are you aware that just about all the nations hate Israel now? are you aware that in the United Nations, in the United Nations about the only thing, humanly speaking, that has ever saved Israel is the United States?

[32:09] Because the United States is an original member of the Security Council of the UN, and there are only five member nations that make that up, and that's Russia, and France, and the United States, and England, and China, I believe, yes, they are the original five members, and each one of them has veto power.

[32:39] And the United States, each time a resolution comes down condemning Israel for something, everybody votes against them. Everybody votes against them. And the thing would carry, except Uncle Sam vetoes it.

[32:54] We are virtually the only friend that Israel has in the League of Nations, or the United Nations. And it is to our credit that they remain a survivor like they do.

[33:08] So, when that time comes, all nations here, and I take it that that will probably include the United States, on account of my name, and many will fall away, and the gospel of the kingdom will be preached during this tribulation period, verse 14, and in verse 15, here he is talking about what we just mentioned from Daniel chapter 9.

[33:30] Jesus said, when you see the abomination of desolation, what is that? That's the defiling, the defiling, or the desecration, of the holy place, which, in Jewish economy, is of course the Jewish temple.

[33:49] Well, there is no Jewish temple now. It doesn't exist. It hasn't existed since 70 AD. There hasn't been a Jewish temple. So, this requires the rebuilding of the temple in order for this to transpire.

[34:01] And by the way, I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but there is a group in Israel now called the Third Temple Mount Faithful, and they have all already constructed the items of furniture for the temple.

[34:12] They've already created the priest's vestments for the high priest, all of the items of furniture and everything that goes into the temple. All they're waiting for is for the temple to be rebuilt, and these items will be put in it.

[34:25] But, of course, that, too, is a highly volatile issue, the rebuilding of the Jewish temple, but it's going to be. And he says, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, what's that?

[34:38] That's Daniel 9, the 70th week. Standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. And who is the one who is going to desecrate, violate, contaminate the holy place? It's the Antichrist.

[34:50] And he was preceded in type by Antiochus Epiphanes, who slew a pig on the Jewish altar.

[35:03] If you can imagine a greater insult to the Jewish people, than to offer a pig in sacrifice on the Jewish altar.

[35:14] Well, the Antichrist is going to do much the same. He is going to desecrate that. And here, our Lord is telling the audience, the Jewish audience, when you see these things happen, when the abomination that desolates does his thing, standing in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let him on the housetop, and go down, and so on, and so on.

[35:35] And then, we read in this same passage, beginning with verse 26, If therefore they say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness, do not go forth, or behold, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe them, for, just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so, shall the coming of the son of man be.

[36:04] Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. What does that mean? Just exactly what it says. There is going to be a time of human carnage, the likes of which we cannot imagine.

[36:21] Every time in World War I, or World War II, or the Civil War, or any other war, when a great conflict has been fought, there are dead bodies.

[36:32] strewn all over the area. But they've never been like this. This is going to be incredible. Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

[36:46] Immediately, after the tribulation of those days, this is the seven-year period of tribulation, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

[37:22] This is not the rapture. This is the second coming, man. And when he comes the second time, every eye will see him.

[37:34] There won't be anything secretive about it or silent about it. It will be the most public event that has ever transpired in the history of the human race. Every eye will see him.

[37:46] And with the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light, how are they going to see him? The answer is Jesus Christ, when he comes, will bring his own light.

[38:01] Thank you. It will be the Shekinah glory. It will be the light that Peter, James, and John witnessed when Jesus was transfigured before them on the Mount of Transfiguration.

[38:15] And it will be absolutely overwhelming. This is just a very brief bird's-eye view of what is coming. Our plan is to treat each of these incidents in enough detail to be able to connect some of the dots.

[38:33] But for the meanwhile, I just wanted to give you an idea of where this thing is going. Where will we be when we get there? What will the end be like? This is what the end is going to be like.

[38:45] But admittedly, you've only had a bird's-eye view. I know you've probably got a lot of questions because I have a lot of questions, too. But we will reserve some of those for later.

[38:55] And in the meanwhile, I want you to gear up your appetite, if you will, please, for this time of conflict that is going to come. and we need to be spiritually prepared to meet it.

[39:09] We don't know how much of this is going to transpire in our lifetime, but it could be a lot more than any of us know. We just don't know. So, therefore, we need to be ready for whatever.

[39:21] However, we need to prepare our church, we need to prepare ourselves for some very, very difficult times that may be ahead. Would you stand with me, please?

[39:32] Our Father, we recognize that there is so much that is yet unknown, and what we have put together is simply a bare-bones picture of what is coming.

[39:48] But these things are going to transpire in prophecy just as surely as history has already transpired and is recorded behind us.

[40:00] All that you have promised is as good as completed. And we look forward to the outworking of your plan and program in whatever way you may be pleased to use us as individuals or as a congregation.

[40:14] We simply want to be at your disposal. We pray that you will use this truth to stimulate us to make any necessary changes that should be made in our lifestyle, in our attitudes, in our actions.

[40:28] We need to be a prepared people who are prepared for the return of Christ, whether the rapture, and be caught away with him. We think of loved ones who may be here to undergo the difficulty of the tribulation period, and that should impel us to witness to them and to seek to bring them to Christ before it's too late.

[40:52] Thank you for what you've been pleased to reveal. thank you even for the questions that this generates because they will lead us on to further study and investigation. We bless you for it all in Christ's name.

[41:05] Amen.