A Good Disciple Builds On The Rock

After Jesus had taught His disciples to love their enemies and to be merciful in their judgments, He then challenged them to build their lives upon His words.  In Luke 6 it is clear that this is no call to try to look like God, but rather to change and become like Him within.  It is the nature of God that leads Him to the kindness of giving room for repentance.  Thus the problem of “goodness and evil” lies in the very natures of men.

In Luke 6:43 and following Jesus points us to the reality that good works can only come from a good nature and He does this with the picture of trees in verses 43 to 45.

The Fruit Of A Tree

Jesus uses an illustration from nature to bring home his point about man’s sinful nature.  The Spirit of this Age promotes the idea that men are basically good in their natures and that it is bad influences from society (i.e. religion, superstition, ignorance) that cause evil.  People are basically good.  Of course this idea doesn’t even pass the smell test of our everyday experience.  But, we have a powerful desire for this to be true.  Yet, it begs the question.  If man if only made evil by society then how did society become evil?  Isn’t it made of “good” men?  Clearly there is some slight-of-hand going on with the definitions of good and evil here.  People who are basically good could only build societies that are basically good.  Something is missing.  The Bible would agree that mankind was originally created with a good nature.  But, man also has the power to choose evil.  Through choice man has twisted and perverted his original nature.  Man is bent towards sin (other than God).

Thus Jesus points out that a tree produces fruit after its own kind, or from its underlying nature.  God has designed the creation in such a way that what is seen has a direct connection to that which cannot be seen within it.  In the case of a tree, it is its underlying DNA.  However, Jesus is speaking spiritually here.

Now over time men have learned to distinguish those trees and the fruit that comes from them.  In this we see that some fruit looks good to the eye, but is bad for the body.  On the other hand, some fruit doesn’t look good, but is.  In this analogy the “bad” tree is the one that cannot be eaten by man without ill consequences.  This is a picture of bad teachers and false prophets.  If you eat of their teaching you will be poisoned.  No matter how good their fruit looks there will be death in it.  Spiritually we need to be good at identifying bad and good trees.  There are many trees across this nation offering nothing good and people are clamoring to eat it up.  Only Jesus is the Good Tree that we can trust to give us life.  He is the only Tree of Life.  Do not listen to those teachers who rail against those who “judge them.”  It is the foolish man who eats fruit first before asking if it is poisonous.  Jesus warned us against the teaching of these religious charlatans.  Jesus is the good tree.

Now when Jesus points out that good fruit can only come from a good tree it would be easy to think he is telling his disciples that they are good trees.  Here we have the fact that only a tree with a good nature can give good fruit.  In Luke 18:18-22, a rich young man came to Jesus seeking to know what he needed to do to be saved.  However, he greets Jesus as “Good Teacher.”  Now the man was not wrong to call Jesus “good teacher.”  However, he didn’t understand the importance of what he was saying.  So, Jesus pulls him up short in order to make him think about what he was saying.  “No one is good, but One, that is, God.”  Here Jesus disqualifies all men as a source of good fruit.  The rich young man wanted answers, but the only reason Jesus could help him was because Jesus was the Son of God.  To hear the words of Jesus are to hear the very words of the Father himself.  That is why Jesus ends this discussion by telling the man to sell all his goods and follow Him.  Yes, the rich man lacked treasure in heaven.  But more importantly he lacked The Treasure of Heaven; Jesus himself.  Jesus is good because by nature He is God.

The good news of the Gospel is not that we have a new and improved list of good things to do that are better and simpler than the old ones.  Rather, the good news of the Gospel is that in Jesus, God is now sharing His nature with mankind.  If I am going to be a good tree that produces good fruit, then I am going to need to have my nature changed from me to Him.  God does this not by making us all gods.  Rather, He puts His Spirit within us, which makes our spirit come alive to the “good things” of God.  We still have a fallen human nature that fights against this.  We see this in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”  If I am going to truly love my enemy and be merciful then I am going to need a new nature working within me to produce such good things.  Trying to do this without inner change is not only futile, it will also become a twisted, perverted, and evil thing in the end.  Titus 1:15-16, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.  They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

In the name of social justice, brotherly love, helping the poor, and unity, the world has been deceived into thinking that man can be good without being transformed by Jesus.  Even more insidious is the parallel working inside the Church to deceive believers into thinking that we can transform Jesus and His Teaching without affecting the fruit it will produce.  Thus the world thinks good can come without Jesus.  The false Church comes to believe that good can come with a new and improved Jesus (read that “another Jesus”).  This is the spirit of antichrist.  Just as the Spirit of God is preparing the chaste bride to be ready for the coming of Christ, so the spirit of this age is preparing the unchaste and adulterous bride for the coming of The Antichrist.  Have you been born again?  Has the Spirit of God taken up residence within you and is the transforming nature beneath what you do?  Don’t settle for a profession alone.  But, rather, believe in your heart upon the Jesus of Scripture and what He said.  In this you will be saved and changed.

The Good Foundation

In verses 46-49, Jesus challenges the notion that people who outwardly look like they are following Him, really are.  Those who call Him “Lord” or “Good Teacher” often do so without really knowing what that means or believing it.  Jesus uses the picture of building a house for the living of a life.  Both need a good foundation upon which to build.

The word “Lord” refers to one who is master.  Thus the disciple is put in the picture as a servant.  The wise servant of Jesus is the one who lives their life by what Jesus said.  This servant will have built a life that will survive the judgment of God.  Digging down to the rock in this parable represents getting down to God’s Word.  It alone is strong and solid enough to hold up our life.  Jesus is The Solid Rock.  Though it may seem like a lot of extra work, and there are plenty of others who offer us short cuts intellectually, the wise servant is the one who digs down to the real Jesus and the real words of Jesus, rather than rely on the words of others.  Your life and the way you have lived it will be tested.  It is tested periodically throughout our life and it is ultimately tested when we stand before God at the Judgment.  Those who actually listened to Jesus will be saved.  They will not be shaken or destroyed by divine judgment.

On the other hand, the foolish servant disobeys and perishes in judgment.  Notice that the foolish servant still builds a house.  In fact the house may look like the wise servant in many ways.  But what makes it a “good” house is not what it looks like.  It is a “bad” house because of the unseen underlying realities.  In this case the foundation is not on something solid.  It is built right on the ground.  We cannot just pick and choose what things of Jesus we want to follow.  Building on the ground is not good enough.  I know we are talking about “servants” of Jesus here, but the illustration works even with unbelievers and atheists.  They have a complete disregard for God and His Son Jesus.  Therefore they build upon a foundation of their own making and wisdom.  It does not matter what it looks like, in the end it will not be good enough to withstand the judgment of God.  However, complete disregard for God’s word is not the problem in this parable of Jesus.  The problem is a person who settles for building upon all the ideas of man that have accumulated over the years on top of Jesus (The Rock).  No matter how great and wise these people may be, their ideas and teachings are mere sand, gravel, and dirt compared to the rock of the words of Jesus.  Even though they are fine sounding religious ideas and traditions that are “based” upon Jesus, they will not hold us up.  We must dig down to Jesus and the testimony of His Apostles for ourselves and build upon that alone.  Though we can take the instruction and words of other disciples to heart, we can never let them come between us and Jesus.  Doing so is a recipe for disaster and ruin throughout this life and particularly at the Day of Judgment.

Thankfully, God part of God’s mercy is that He not only gives us time to repent, embrace Jesus and build our life upon Him, but He also sends periodic storms that will reveal our lack of a proper foundation.  Periodically throughout our lives He is faithful to test us and show us where we have been building upon something other than Him. In this mercy is the joy that we can repent and turn to Christ and be saved from ruin, whether in matters of this life or our ultimate salvation.  Yet, know this.  Like the Great Flood took the ancient world down in Judgment, but only Noah and his family survived, so there is a coming judgment that will expose the lack of foundation of many.  Only the life that is truly built upon Christ will be able to withstand the torrent of His judgment.

Today there is so much redefinition and deception regarding the things of Jesus that I would be remiss if I didn’t challenge all of us to make sure that we are building on the words of Christ and not someone who is twisting His words and misrepresenting His heart.

Good Disciple audio

Judge Not!

If a non-Christian knows any part of the Bible then it is usually these two words: “Judge Not!”  Of course that is about as far as their understanding on this subject goes when it comes to the Bible.  Sadly this can be true of some who are believers.  No one wants to feel like they are being judged.  However, the biblical teaching on judging goes much deeper than those two words.

If we are truly disciples of Jesus then we will search out what our master is trying to teach us and give ourselves to living it out.  God will not be satisfied with disciples who merely quote his teachings out of context.  Our passage for this sermon is Luke 6:36-42.  However, by way of remembrance let’s look at the last part of verse 35, “For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”  Here we see that the reason we are to love our enemies is because God wants us to be like Him.  He is being kind to those who will never thank Him and are evil.  The present tense in that verse reminds us that there is still a future judgment coming, but for now, God is being kind.

A Call To Mercy In Judgment

In verse 36 Jesus transitions from the kindness to mercy.  Mercy is a type of kindness that involves our judgments of one another.  Think about this from God’s perspective for a bit.  God knows who will continue into eternity rejecting His kindness and who will eventually turn and give thanks to Him.  He even knows these things before we do them.  We are all evil in the sense of being sinners and needing salvation.  But most do not want to be saved from it.  Yet, even then God is still kind.  He is kind by delaying an inevitable judgment.  But, even more, He acts in love and mercy towards those who will continue to be unthankful and reject His love.  Here we see that His heart is merciful.

Mercy is not a concept to pursue, as if it was mere inspiration to something nobler.  It is more than that.  It is a description of something that God is.  He is the one who will define mercy for us through His actions and words.  Thus mercy is not up for us to define.  We need to become merciful in the way that God is merciful and not as the world or our heart would define it for us.  God delays His judgment and lovingly reaches out to the lost up to the last moment before His judgment is poured out.  Therefore, we need to hold our own judgments and instead, give people the love of God even if they will never embrace the gospel of Jesus.  We need to do this right up to the last moment when they slip into eternity.

It is also important to recognize that mercy is really a facet of love.  If love is seeking the well being of another then mercy speaks to the “Why” of love.  To continue in love with anyone will involve the love of mercy.  The word mercy here literally means to be distressed at the condition of another to the point of pity and compassion.  It is a feeling that leads to a particular action of restraint on one hand and help on the other.  Thus, God is distressed at mankind’s choice to follow Satan’s rebellion, to the point of taking pity on him and having compassion.  God has restrained himself in judgment and given time, instruction, and encouragement for man to turn to him for salvation.  It is too easy for us to think we know who will change and who will not.  We tend to give mercy to those whom we think it is worth giving mercy too.  But this is not God’s mercy.  This is a twisted self-serving mercy.

Any time we talk about judgment we need to recognize that it is a word that covers many different things.  Thus, when Jesus says judge not, we should ask ourselves how he is using that word.  There is a difference between judging an outward action as bad or good and judging the heart of a person as bad or good.  If I punch you in the face, are you being judgmental to say it was wrong?  Yes and no.  Yes you are making a judgment.  But few would say you are being judgmental, but the person throwing the punch.  How about the judgment of what kind of food you like?  Is that what Jesus is talking about?  It is impossible to live life without judging what is good to you and important to you.  Yet, in verse 37 Jesus follows up the word judge with the word condemn.  It is clear that he means to further clarify the word judge.  Thus judgment here is more than an opinion.  It refers to the calling down of punishment or censure upon someone.

This gets even trickier when we take in account whether a person is a Christian or not.  In 1 Corinthians chapter 4 Paul takes the church to task for their judgments about him.  He tells them to not be so hasty to judge the value of his ministry and person until the Lord comes, “who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.  Then each one’s praise will come from God.”  They had “judged” the quality of Paul’s ministry and motivations as a low value.  He is challenging them not to judge in that way.  However, in 1 Corinthians 5 he deals with a person in the church who is having sexual relations with his step-mother.  Instead of rebuking him, they were proud of their great grace with him.  Paul tells them that, when it comes to outward actions and outward refusal to change, they needed to make a judgment.  Yet, he points out that this is because the guy is a believer within the church.  If he was an unbeliever they wouldn’t be called to make a distinction.  Let’s read some of that passage:  “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.  For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside?  Do you not judge those who are inside [the Church]?  But those who are outside, God judges.  Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person.”  Notice that God’s Word is that within the Church we shouldn’t judge the value of a person, motivations, or heart.  But, we should judge their actions even to the point that the actions may cause us to separate from them.  Yet, we wouldn’t separate from a person who wasn’t in the church doing the same thing.  Later Paul tells them that the purpose for excommunicating a person from the church is so that they will see the error of their way and, through the destruction of following their flesh, repent.  We need to judge when we shouldn’t and not judge when we should.  We need a teacher!

So in verse 37 when Jesus cautions against judging notice that there is a present vs. future aspect.  Don’t judge and you won’t be judged later.  Don’t condemn and you won’t be condemned later.  Who is the “later judging” referring to?  Jesus is not saying don’t judge people and they won’t judge you.  Have you found that to be true?  Have you tried not judging others and they all quit judging you?  Hardly!  Jesus is warning us of God’s judgment.  What goes around is going to come around when you give account before God.  So be careful what you send around.  Also, judging is modified by the word condemn.  Jesus is not talking about making distinctions of good and bad actions.  We are to leave people’s judgment and condemnation up to God.  But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to say something when they sin against us.

Not only will it “come around,” but it will come around in “like measure.”  Verse 38 is often quoted in regard to money.  But the context here is mercy.  What standard of judgment do I use?  Is it harsh or careful?  What do I accept as evidence against others?  Whom do I condemn and censure in life?  Be careful you will find God treating you the same way.  In the Old Testament there had to be two witnesses in order to find someone guilty.  Thus one of the 10 commandments was, “You shall not bear false witness.”  A false witness is not just a person who lies.  It is also a person who presents themselves as evidence of another’s guilt and yet we didn’t actually see it.  Even if your best friend told you, you cannot be a witness only the people who saw it.  The difficult thing in life is that we do not always have enough evidence to convict.  Yet, we often do so anyways.  Even then, sometimes the witness and or the evidence is false.  Is this how you want God to judge you, based upon hearsay and the whims of others?  Thus verse 38 is a scary verse if you think about the unmerciful.  God will bring His wrath upon us, “pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing.”

Parables Given To Explain

Now Jesus gives 3 parables to help us understand this.  I will only look at two of them today.  The first is the Blind Teacher.  A student by nature cannot see or understand things around him.  He needs a teacher, “one who can see,” to teach him.  If the teacher is “blind” they will both end up in a ditch.  They will be unable to move forward on the road to Truth.  The intended question for each student is: “Who am I following?”  Am I following my own desires and lusts?  Am I following some wise person I admire and want to be like?  Am I following the spirit of this age?  My destiny can be affected by who I am taught by.  Ultimately, no pastor is your teacher.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the ultimate teachers.  God does use humans to point us back to himself.  But, that is the best we can do: point people back to God and His Word to better understand Jesus.  This is exactly what the prophets of old did.

The second parable is the Speck in the Eye.  This famous parable refers to a speck of chaff, or dirt that can get in the eye.  Jesus challenges his disciples to ask the question first, “Am I able to help them currently?”  I might be a great doctor, but if I have been drinking heavily or haven’t slept for 2 days, then I shouldn’t go into surgery.  Likewise, if I am going to deal with a speck in someone’s eye, I had better be sure I can help and not just because I have the correct information.  Even deeper than this is the issue of hypocrisy.  The sins of others are always so obvious to us.  But that also means my sins are just as obvious to them.  Self-inspection must be more than a hypocritical acceptance of a beam in my eye while I point out specks in yours.  Specks easily get in our eyes without us wanting them.  But a beam is not easily moved.  If I have a beam in my eye, It probably took a lot of work and compromise to get it there.  God is not hypocritical and neither should we be.  Notice Jesus doesn’t end by saying, therefore leave the specks in everyone’s eyes.  He says, “then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”  Listen, it is irritating to have a speck in your eye.  It is also difficult to remove it by yourself.  Wouldn’t it be great if you knew someone who was trustworthy, gentle, and cared enough that they would help you remove it?  Let us hear the challenging words of our Lord and learn to make right and good judgments, so that, when we stand before Him, He will be pleased.

Judge Not Audio

Love Your Enemies

The signature command of Christ has always been the command to love your enemies.  Historically it has been a huge stumbling block.  However, in the western world where we have had a culture based upon Christ’s teachings, it is often twisted to mean something other than what Christ intended.

We always need to approach God’s Word asking this question, “What is the master trying to teach me?”  Instead we often are asking, “What do I think this means.”  Now both questions involve me thinking.  But the first question is more to the point.  It reminds me that I may be missing what the Teacher is trying to teach.  In Luke 6:27-35, Jesus begins to deal with the hearts of those who are being attacked, mistreated, hated, and being taken advantage.  Do other teachings warn those who do the attacking, mistreating, hating, and taking advantage of others?  Yes, but here the master focuses on one side of this equation, the side of the one being injured.

A Call To Love Your Enemies

There is no way around these simple statements of Jesus.  At the end of the day, no matter how much we break down these issues, we are left with a command from Jesus to love our enemies.  This is contrary to man’s sinful nature.  In fact we are quite skilled at co-opting concepts like justice and equity in order to increase evil rather than make things better.  Let us also recognize that these words of Jesus are like a lovely song to our culture.  They sound beautiful and wonderful to us.  But, generally we have no clue what Jesus actually means.  Historically these words would cause people to shrink back as if you had pulled out a poisonous snake.  “What!  Forgive my enemies?  That would be crazy!”  Loving your enemies is the illogical response in this world.

Now in the first part of this Jesus focuses on the actions of love.  Love is not so much a feeling here as it is a choice to do good towards someone who is not doing good towards you.  Thus the command to love is not a command to have wonderful feelings towards another.  Rather, it is to do good things to those who are hating you.  Notice he does not tell us to ignore those who hate us.  That is about the extent of our ability to rise above the ugliness of hatred.  However, Jesus challenges us to pay back good things to those who do not deserve it.

In that sense there is a pattern of reversal in these statements.  If someone curses you then give them a blessing back.  No one wants to be cursed and neither do they feel good when they get cursed.  Under no circumstances are we tempted to bless them back.  Yet, Jesus calls us to give a real blessing rather than a fake, false one.  Those who spitefully use you may make you burn with anger.  However, pray for them.  Jesus is not asking us to pray silent prayers of doom and judgment upon them.  Neither are we to pray for them to have lots of money, success and fame.  We are praying for their eyes to be opened.  We are praying against the darkness that has blinded them to God’s Word and His Way.

When Jesus speaks of being struck on the cheek, he is not bringing up the issue of self defense.  Rather, he is bringing up the issue of being publically dishonored and humiliated.  This can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for most.  Yet, Jesus asks us to turn the other cheek.  In other words, instead of attacking back, or walling ourselves off from them, we remain vulnerable and open to further dishonor.  Why?  The only way they can be saved from such actions is if they run into someone who is different.  When we keep the avenue of communication and relationship open then there is hope for the lost.  But if we shut down these things out of protection or hatred, the person is also being shut off from the Truth.

The last area is when someone takes advantage of us.  In one of the contexts it is clearly between you and a neighbor.  But it is not as clear in others.  It might not just be someone borrowing and not bringing it back.  It might be outright theft, or a soldier abusing their power in order to cease our property.  In each case we do not like it when others take advantage of us.  That is my property.  You have offended me.  Historically people have learned that they might need to just let it go and hide their resentment in order to survive.  But the resentment and hate continues to burn like a fire within them.  Jesus is calling us to something greater than merely surviving dark times.  He is calling believers to be a brilliant light in the midst of such darkness.  If I lose anything for the sake of Christ I can let it go because I know that He will make it right.  Also, God is my supplier.  If someone takes from me knowingly or absent mindedly, I do not need to fret.  God will supply my needs.  He knows if someone has taken from me and will take care of me.  This kind of trust is indicative of a follower of Jesus.

A Call To The Heart Of God

Now in verses 31-35, Jesus begins to probe deeper under the surface than our outward responses.  He is challenging us to understand and embrace the heart of God.  In other words, He is challenging us to be God’s children and learn to embrace His heart.  This begins with a form of the Golden Rule.  Do unto others what you would want them to do unto you.  Now this is not asking what I would want done to me if I had wronged someone else.  We are to simply ask, what would I really want them to do to me?  That is what I will do to them.  The Golden Rule ignores what others have done and focuses simply on what you would want done to you.

This kind of reasoning is begging the question, “What is different about you?”  So what if you were hurt and hated.  Are you also a hurtful and hate-filled person?  You feel that you are righteous because they started it.  But has righteousness poured out of you or vile hatred?  Even sinners love those who love them.  Are you not doing the same thing they are?  Somehow you have reasoned that you are better than them.  But if you truly want to be better then give them something good.  If we operate out of the same motivations of fear, envy, and anger then we are no better than them.  We are not really on God’s side.

In verse 35 there is a present and future tense situation.  We are to do in the present for the sake of a better future.  We too often do things in the present in order to change the present.  “If I punch him back then he will fear me.”  However, this brings us both to a future when we will give an account to God and be found to have fallen short of God’s righteousness.  Following these commands of Jesus may not change your circumstances and it may not stop evil people from continuing to do evil things.  But, you will be rewarded greatly by your Father.  However, if we shrink back from these things there is no reward and the question remains, “Is He really my Father?”  Am I a son of the Most High God?  Don’t be deceived, God cannot be mocked.  There is a day of judgment coming for the wicked who do such things and for those who respond wickedly.  But, God is presently being kind to the wicked.  He has currently left open the door of grace for those who will repent and turn to Jesus.  Thus we too, as his disciples and followers, need to be kind to the wicked.  This keeps the door open for their salvation, yet, does not ensure it.  But Judgment Day is coming.  Don’t let God’s grace or any Grace his followers may show make you think He has called it off.  Ephesians 5:5-7 says, “For this you know that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not be partakers with them.”

Also in Romans 2:5-6 it says, “In accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds,’”

The spirit of this age is lying to both secularists and Christians.  Both promote a feeling of love and an action of love that rejects Jesus as the Truth.  Both believe that it no longer matters what we do as long as we just love each other.  This is not the message of Jesus.  The message of Jesus is to repent of wickedness and give those who do you wrong good back.  The message of Jesus is that Judgment day is coming and if you want to avoid it you had better put your faith in Him and repent of your own wicked ways.

Love Your Enemies Audio

The Coming Blood Moons II

Today we will finish up this two part series on the blood moons and look at exactly what should we do with this information.   So first let’s just review what is being said.

Bible prophecy refers to the fact that God will use the sun and the moon to signal people on the earth that He is getting ready to bring judgment.  In these descriptions we see evidence that eclipses and or atmospheric disturbances will cause the sun to be dark and the moon to appear blood red.

In looking at the scientific data of when eclipses have happened in the past and will happen in the future, a pattern has emerged.  It is rare for four total lunar eclipses, called tetrads, to happen in a row (54 times in 2,000 years or less than 3 times per century).  But it is even rarer for these “tetrads” to land on the biblical feast days (7 times in 2,000 years or 1 every 300 years).  The last two tetrads that landed on biblical feast days happened within 19 years of each other in 1949 and 1967.  Both these dates happen to be significant events in the life of modern Israel and the next one will begin in April 2014.  Is something significant on the horizon?  Is God signaling believers that He is about to make a change in the status quo?  It sure seems that way.  On top of all this is the fact that there will be a solar eclipse as the religious New Year begins.  Here are the dates:

2014 Apr 14  Passover—Total Lunar Eclipse

2014 Oct 08  Tabernacles—Total Lunar Eclipse

2015 Mar 20  Religious New Year—Solar Eclipse

2015 Apr 04  Passover—Total Lunar Eclipse

2015 Sep 28  Tabernacles—Total Lunar Eclipse

Times of the Gentiles

In Luke 21:24-28, Jesus warned His disciples to be alert and recognize the prophetic times.  He also gives a rough outline of the events leading up to His second coming.  They are: Israel defeated and led captive into all the nations, The Times of the Gentiles, Signs in the heavens and on the earth, The Second coming.  Now it is a no brainer that the first two have happened.  Israel was destroyed along with the temple of the Lord.  They were scattered to the nations as God’s grace turned towards the Gentiles.  This times of the Gentiles will continue until it is fulfilled.   Thus as the times of the Gentiles come to a close, God gives signals in the heavens and on the earth that He is getting ready to come back.  So how will we know when the Times of the Gentiles is over?

In Romans 11:11-12, 25-28 we are told that during this time of the Gentiles Israel as a whole would be blind to salvation and the true messiah.  However, when the full number of Gentiles has been brought in then God will turn back to Israel and draw them to a salvation experience.  Thus, as the times of the Gentiles draws to a close, so the time of Israel’s national salvation is drawing near.  God’s turning back to Israel is not a rejection of the church.  Rather, it is an emphatic exclamation point on God’s heart for the lost.  Israel rejects the messiah and God’s riches are given to the Gentiles.  But even more riches will be given to the Gentiles through the drawing of Israel back to God.  Israel’s salvation will be proof that what God did in sending His Gospels to the Gentiles was indeed righteous.  So a dark time of tribulation detailed in the book of Revelation will come upon the unbelieving world and in this dark time Israel will come to see its sin and turn in repentance to Jesus.  This is spoken of in Zechariah 12:10.  Here the prophet says that Israel will look upon the one whom they pierced and a spirit of grace and repentance will be poured out upon them.  They will mourn  over what they did to Jesus Christ the Firstborn of the Sons of God.

Now in Luke 21:36 Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray that they would be counted worthy to escape this time of Great Tribulation.  The key is not to be so fascinated with blood moons, the nation of Israel, or weather anomalies that we lose sight of the other things we should be doing.  We should be praying for ourselves, for each other as believers, and for the salvation of the lost around us.  We should also be an active witness of the salvation of Jesus to those who are lost.  The blood moons should only add another signal to us from our Lord to be even more confident in our prayers and in our witness.  It should cause us to separate ourselves even more from the temptations and seductions of this age.

So let me encourage you, these dates are not important in and of themselves.  Historically it has been either before, in the middle or after the tetrads that something has happened.  These are not predictions of the rapture or the second coming.  They are simply signals from our Lord to not be asleep spiritually and to be about His business.

Yet, just as the spring Feasts of the Lord prophetically pointed to the first Coming of Christ, so the Fall feasts prophetically point to His second.  The first coming events happened on the very feast days: Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain on Passover.  He was then buried and became our heavenly bread on Unleaved Bread.  He was resurrected along with a select group of saints on the feast of Firstfruits.  And, He poured out the Holy Spirit to enable a global harvest on the feast of Pentecost or Weeks.  Now Christians have debated for years whether the Rapture is actually going to happen on one of these Fall feasts.  I am of the opinion that our Lord wanted us to understand the times without being focused on figuring out what day He will come.  Thus I encourage you, keep your eye on Jesus and the duties that He has given you.  Keep sowing the seed, watering it, and harvesting as the Lord provides.  When it is time to go He will let you know.  Maranatha!

Blood Moons II Audio