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A "possible" Scenario.....???

By Pastor FM Riley April 2, 2012

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

Matthew 24:44

Introduction



As I write expectation of the coming of the Lord to resurrect and rapture His New Covenant Church and people to glory is at a "fever high" among many Bible believers, unlike anything I have ever previously seen. Although many previous "dates" predicted in the past caused excitement among the followers of the "date setters," yet I have never previously seen such a sense of expectation among so many true believers as I am seeing today. Is there a sound Scriptural reason for such expectancy? Maybe! And maybe not! But at least it is worth noticing and discussing.

Over the past two years believers who seriously study the prophetic Word have seen various "signs" which are explicitly predicted in the prophetic Word coming to pass. I am speaking of "signs" clearly prophesied to precede the "day of the Lord" [Tribulation]. Significantly, these predicted "signs" have increased in frequency over these past two years, occurring more and more frequently. It is or should be obvious to any true believer that the terrible Tribulation period is right now glaringly imminent. Therefore, the coming of our Lord to resurrect and rapture His New Covenant believers to glory BEFORE the judgments of the Tribulation begin is also glaringly imminent. How imminent? Just read on.......



The Jewish Passover



The Scriptures repeatedly and explicitly state that "the Passover" occurs on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Abib [Nisan], the first month of the Jewish year on the calendar which the Lord God Himself gave to Israel in Exodus 12. This year that date will fall on Friday, April 6th on our Gentile calendar. Go to your calendar and take a look for yourself.

Our readers may or may not then be aware that the Orthodox Jewish Rabbis in Israel and other parts of the world have for the past several months (or longer) been telling the Jewish people who attend the synagogue services that this year, 2012, is the year that will begin "the redemption of Israel." From reports I am receiving from sources in Israel which I consider to be highly reliable, the Jewish Rabbis have been fervently proclaiming this message to the Jewish people since the beginning of this present year. Therefore the expectation of the coming of the promised Messiah is running high among the religious Jews in Israel and also in other parts of the world. Glory! Glory to God! Praise the Lord!

I want to remind our readers that the explicit statement of God's Word reads, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in," Romans 11:25. This Scripture does not say that Israel was totally blinded! Only that they were blinded "in part." In fact, Israel has had some prominent Rabbis during the past 2,000 years who have recognized that Yeshua (Jesus) was indeed the promised Messiah of Israel, but for whatever their reasons they kept quiet about it, only revealing their knowledge of it on their deathbed or in letters they left behind. I feel certain that the Lord God was "superintending" their knowledge of Him, as it was not the "appointed time" for the Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed to Israel nationally, Acts 17:26.

But this is by no means all that the Jewish Rabbis are teaching the Jewish people about this year. For several months now (or longer) these Rabbis have been boldly declaring that "Elijah the prophet" will appear in the city of Jerusalem on Passover this year. Again I emphasize for our readers that the "date" of Passover this year is April 6th, just four days from now! The Rabbis are basing their teaching on their faith in the literal truth of Malachi 4:5-6, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." The Orthodox Jews believe that the Word of God is to be taken as literal truth! Glory to God! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

I can only wish more people in the ranks of Christianity today also had this much faith in the literal truth and accuracy of God's Word. If so, there might not be so many churches and "professing Christians" in a state of apostasy today. Read Revelation 3:19.



The Jewish Holy Day of "first fruits"




Don't fail to notice that this passage in Malachi explicitly states that " Elijah the prophet " is to be sent back to Israel BEFORE the "day of the Lord" [ the Tribulation ]. This is important! If the Orthodox Rabbis are correct, and Elijah appears in the city of Jerusalem on Passover this year, then it would make good Scriptural and logical sense that the Lord Jesus Christ would come to resurrect and rapture His New Covenant church and people to glory TWO DAYS LATER on the Jewish Holy Day of " first fruits. " Praise the Lord! Glory to God! Hallelujah!

The Jewish Holy Day of " first fruits " this year falls on Sunday, April 8th on our Gentile calendar. Significantly, this year April 8th is Easter, the day the "religious world" has set aside to observe the resurrection of Christ. It is also the exact day that the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the grave on "first fruits" some 2,000 years ago. But this isn't all!

At some point over the centuries the Jewish Rabbis arbitrarily decided to set the observance of "first fruits" on Abib [ Nisan ] 16 every year regardless of what day of the week it fell on, totally ignoring what their own Scriptures said about observing this day in Leviticus 23:9-14. Well guess what? This year Abib 16 falls on "the morrow after the Sabbath" following Passover, exactly according to the instructions given in Leviticus 23. Glory!

So what we actually have coming to pass this year is that "first fruits" is [ 1 ] falling on the very day the Jewish Rabbis arbitrarily set for it, [ 2 ] the very day that Christ arose from the grave some 2,000 years ago, [ 3 ] the very day that Leviticus 23 says that it is to be observed, [ 4 ] and on Easter, the very day the lost "religious world" has set aside for the observance of the Lord's resurrection. Is all of this just "coincidence," or is it possible that the Lord God of Heaven arranged things to bring it all together on this particular day?

Any reader who thinks all of this just "came together" by "coincidence" needs to contact me at once. I still haven't found a buyer for that seacoast property in Kansas, and I'll make someone a great deal on it. Sic!



The Transition in Revelation




I am well aware that just the suggestion that "Elijah the prophet," one of God's "two witnesses" [Revelation 11:3] during the Tribulation, might show up in Jerusalem two days before the resurrection and rapture occurs, will likely cause some "prophecy teachers" to go into "conniption fits." But the difference in those that do and me, is that after 58 years of seriously studying Bible prophecy I am still learning. I am not the least bit ashamed to admit that I don't know it all yet! Some of these "prophecy teachers" today appear to think they already know all there is to know about Bible prophecy, therefore they can no longer learn anything! Such an attitude on the part of any believer is sad!

Now turn to Revelation 3:22 and carefully read this passage. Does this Scripture conclude the Lord's "letters to the seven churches" or does it not? No, I'm not asking a silly question! I really want and expect an honest answer, or I wouldn't have bothered to ask. Does this Scripture conclude the Lord's letters to the churches, or doesn't it? Of course it does! Then it should also be obvious that it also concludes the final Laodicean "church age" bringing to an end this present "dispensation of grace." Hello!

Absolute proof of this truth is contained in the very next Scripture that John was inspired to write. Listen as John explicitly says,

"After these things I saw, and behold, a door having been opened in heaven: and the voice which I heard at the first as it were of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up hither, and I will show to thee what things must take place after these things," Revelation 4:1. This is a literal word for word rendering of the Greek as set forth in the Textus Receptus

Greek Text. See Hendrickson's Hebrew Greek English Interlinear Bible, or Dr. Berry's Interlinear Greek - English New Testament.

It was immediately "after" John saw the dispensation of grace come to an end in Revelation 3:22 that he was shown the door standing open in Heaven and heard the Lord God commanding him to "Come up hither." The Lord Jesus Christ had already told His church in His letter to Philadelphia, "I have set before thee [in your future] an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name," 3:8. What John was seeing in 4:1 is the exact fulfillment of this promise of the Lord to His churches and people in the Philadelphian church letter. Glory!

By comparing these two Scriptures it should be obvious to our readers that there was a brief transition period between the end of this present dispensation, and John's "catching up" into Heaven. Since the "catching up" of John clearly typifies the future rapture [harpazo] of the Lord's New Covenant believers, then this indicates the distinct "possibility" of there being a brief transition period between the end of this present dispensation and New Covenant believers being "caught up" [harpazo...raptured] to glory. Now isn't this interesting?

This is especially interesting in view of the fact that the Orthodox Jewish Rabbis are expecting "Elijah the prophet" to show up in Jerusalem on Passover this year.

In His Likeness


The inspired Word explicitly states in Romans 6:4-5, "Therefore we [New Covenant believers] are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection."

The Greek word translated as "likeness" in this Scripture is the word, "homoioma." The word literally means, "that which has been made after the likeness of something; a figure; image; likeness; representation; resemblance." This Greek word is used in this sense in several passages in the New Testament. However, Thayer's Lexicon also says that in Romans 6:5 this word "amounts well-nigh to equality or identity." In other words, in the exact likeness! See Thayer's Greek Lexicon, page 445, Strong's No. 3667. Hello!

Is this definition absolutely accurate? I do not know! I trust the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit implicitly [John 16:12-15], but I do not always trust what men have to say about the Scriptures, not even the best of men. Like it or not, even true believers all still presently have a "sin nature" [Romans 7:18; 7:22-25] which sometimes causes us to err in discernment.

However, if this statement about Romans 6:5 is indeed true, then we New Covenant believers will be resurrected and raptured in exact "likeness" to the resurrection of Christ. This would mean that the resurrection and rapture of God's people [true believers] will take place on the Jewish Holy Day of "first fruits," which this year falls on Sunday, April 8th. It might also mean that since the Lord Jesus Christ came forth from the grave exactly as the Jewish weekly Sabbath Day was ending and Sunday, "the first day of the week," was beginning [Matthew 28:1-6], the resurrection and rapture of New Covenant believers might occur at the exact same time [Jewish time] the Lord Himself was raised some 2,000 years ago. Will this happen in this exact manner? I do not know! But connect the dots for yourself.

If "Elijah the prophet" does indeed show up in the city of Jerusalem this coming Friday, April 6th, on the Jewish Holy Day of Passover, as these Jewish Rabbis are right now proclaiming to the Jewish people, then I can't think of any good reason why the rest of the scenario should not fall right into place. There should then be no question about being in the transition period. Whether this will actually occur or not remains to be seen, but we don't have but a few days for this scenario to be proven or dis-proven. Think about it!

If "Elijah the propet" shows up in Jerusalem on Friday of this week, his appearance will be a "sign" to every New Covenant believer that the end of this dispensation has arrived. This will then clearly indicate to us who are New Covenant believers that we are in a transition period, and have only a few hours to wind up our affairs in this world before the resurrection and rapture occurs on Sunday, April 8th. Glory to God! Hallelujah!



The Jewish Holy Day of Pentecost




I am aware that some of God's people are strongly convinced that the Lord will come to resurrect and rapture His New Covenant people to glory on the Jewish Holy Day of Pentecost. They believe this primarily because, as some say, "Pentecost was when the church was born!" Pardon me for choosing to disagree! I don't believe for a minute that the Lord's church was born on Pentecost.

What I see in the Gospels is that during the three years of the Lord's personal ministry, He carefully chose and prepared those whom He would have to serve as the nucleus [ foundation ] upon which He would build His church. Read Ephesians 2:20-22, 4:11-13, and 1 Corinthians 12:27-28. When He had finally completed the structural foundation for His church [the chosen three, the twelve apostles; the seventy; the one hundred twenty], the Lord then "legally" transferred the "power" [ authority ] to represent Him on the earth from Old Covenant Israel to His New Covenant Church. Notice Luke 24:45-49. This transfer of "legal authority" took place on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Carefully study this truth out for yourself!

Since it is obvious that the Lord's New Covenant Church is going to be removed from this earth at the time of the resurrection and rapture, then who is going to represent the Lord on the earth following the church's removal? Any true believer who seriously studies the Scriptures should be able to answer this question. Keep in mind that the Lord repeatedly states and teaches in His inspired Word that He will not leave Himself without a "witness" in the earth. So who is to be His "witness" after His church is removed?

When the Lord removes His New Covenant Church and people from the earth by the resurrection and rapture, the inspired prophecies clearly point out that the "legal authority" to represent the Lord God on the earth will be transferred back to Israel. But when will this "legal transaction" occur?

When did it occur the first time? It occurred the first time on the Day of Pentecost when God placed His Law in the hands of Israel at Mt. Sinai. Read it for yourself in The Book of Exodus.

Then when was the second time this "legal authority" was transferred? It was transferred from Old Covenant Israel to the Lord's New Covenant Church on the Day of Pentecost as plainly recorded in Acts 2. The evidence of this transferal of "legal authority" was the pouring out of the power of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Since this transfer of "legal authority" to the Lord's church was made on the Day of Pentecost some 2,000 years ago, then what would be the logical time for this authority to be transferred back to Israel following the removal of the Lord's church from the earth? Well...??

I think the answer should be glaringly obvious to any reader with spiritual discernment. The "legal authority" will be transferred for the third time, when on the Day of Pentecost this year, the Lord God will once again pour out the power of His Holy Spirit on the nation and people of Israel. That date on our Gentile calendar is Sunday, May 27th.



The Prophecy of Joel




Is there any Scriptural proof that this will occur? I'm so glad you asked! Turn and read Joel 2:28-32 for yourself. Notice that in this prophecy the Lord is explicitly talking to Israel and the Jewish people. The time clearly stated in the prophecy is "afterward," that is, AFTER the Gentiles have had dominion over Israel and the Jewish people during this present dispensation as clearly prophesied in Joel 2:17. [ Joel 2:18-27 is what is commonly referred to as a "parenthetical passage." The passage refers to the future blessing of Israel and the Jewish people AFTER they have been "redeemed" ]. In other words, Joel 2:28 takes up the end-time prophecy concerning Israel and the Jewish people exactly where Joel 2:17 left off. This isn't hard for any serious Bible student to see and understand.

I know this truth will come as a shock to many in the ranks of Christianity today who are so "gung ho" to apply Joel's prophecy to a great end-time revival, which according to them, is to occur before this present dispensation ends and the resurrection and rapture occurs. I don't mean to be offensive to my brothers and sisters in Christ, but 2 Timothy 2:15 is still in the Bible and some "professing Christians" today really need to learn how to "rightly divide the Word of truth." I can assure every reader that there will be a great end-time revival, but such is not going to occur in this present dispensation. Read Revelation 3:14-22. Do our readers see any great end-time revival occurring in that church letter? Well...??

Now turn and read Revelation 7:1-17 [a Tribulation passage]. Is there a great end-time revival occurring in this chapter? You better believe there is! During the first half of the Tribulation, under the ministry of the 144,000 saved and sealed Jews, millions of people will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Compare Matthew 24:14 and stop trying to steal this prophecy from the 144,000 Jews to whom it rightfully belongs.

It will then be on the Day of Pentecost this year ( 2012 ) that the power of the Holy Spirit will again be poured out upon the 144,000 saved and sealed Jews, transferring to them again the "legal authority" to represent the Messiah of Israel and the Lord God of Heaven upon the earth during the Tribulation period. Glory to God! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Thank you Lord Jesus! Thank you Heavenly Father! The glorious truth of Your Word will triumph!



Conclusion


Dear readers, the whole end-time scenario is swiftly falling right into place. Are you truly saved from sin and ready to meet the Lord? Think about it! A week from now I may not even be around to ask this question. The coming of the Lord to resurrect and rapture HIS OWN to glory is right at the door. Won't every unsaved reader take heed NOW and seek the Lord while the opportunity to do so is still available? I'd like to meet every reader in glory when our Lord comes. Please don't disappoint me! "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?.....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house," Acts 17:31.

<<<<<<< O >>>>>>>



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Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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