Prophetic
Parallel's to the Lord's Return
If we believe that the Jesus is at the doors, His return is eminent, then we must examine some truths concerning the last of the last days! In this Bible Study, I want to examine some parallels of what it was like prior to the 1st coming of our Lord and Savior, opening and alleging that as it was in the days of John the Baptist, so shall it be when the Lord comes back the second time.
As it was in the days of John the
Baptist, so shall it be when the Lord returns!
Before the 1st Advent,
·
there
was "a voice crying "in the
wilderness!"
·
The
message was that of "repentance!"
·
A "remnant" followed.
·
The
religious leaders of the day were "Cold
& Dead!"
·
Oddly
enough, the coming of the Messiah came "as a
snare"
unto them!!!
·
There
will be "Scoffers"
As it was in the days right BEFORE the 1st
Advent, so shall it be like just BEFORE the 2nd Advent!
"in the wilderness!"
The Cry of the Spirit will not be in the
mainstream flow of religious circles, it will be " in the
WILDERNESS!" So
the chances are, that when you turn on "Christian" television, radio,
from pulpits to any media outlet, you WILL NOT be hearing what the Spirit is
saying to the Church! "For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching
ears; And they shall turn away their
ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim 4:3-4) It may be Bible, it may be true, but there is no
warning from the mouth of the Lord! No
certain, distinct, clear sound from the trumpet (see Ezekiel 33:1-6)
"Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, [we are Christians?] We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire [eternal fire]. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people."
Luke 3:2-18
"REPENTANCE!"
This will always be the forefront of true gospel
preaching! The ministry of the Holy
Ghost IS NOT to trick people into "Trying" Jesus, but to convict the
world of sin, righteousness and judgment to come! That's why John the Baptist preached who hath warned you to flee the
wrath of God to come! "For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;" (Rom 1:18)
John cried "Repent!" (Mt 3:2) Jesus cried "Repent!" (Mt 4:17) Peter cried "Repent!" (Acts 2:38) Paul cried "Repent!" (Acts 17:30) Are the preachers of today crying, "…repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance?" (Acts 26:20) If not, then are we truly hearing what the Spirit is saying to the Church, seeing that the Lord is at the doors?
"REMNANT!"
At the first
coming of our Lord and Savior, there was a darkness upon the people of the
land. Matt 4:16 The people which sat in
darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of
death light is sprung up. In spite of
the darkness, God still had a holy remnant that stayed on fire in the midst of
dead religious leaders, one of whom was Simeon, "And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name
was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation
of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see
death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed
God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the
glory of thy people Israel." (Luke
2:25-32)
The remnant will be made up sinners made righteous by the
Blood of the Lamb, not the Church who is rich and increased with goods having
need of nothing, not even Jesus, humble dependency upon the master. They will see the publicans, sinners and
harlots enter into the kingdom, and they themselves will be thrust out! (Luke
18:28) "…Verily
I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God
before you. For John came unto you in
the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the
harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that
ye might believe him." (Matt
21:31-32) God's sheep know and hearken
to His voice. He is calling a people
from within a people, saying, "… come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty." (2
Cor 6:17-18) These people NEED to come out of Catholism,
the Word of Faith movement and many other denominational positions, and
just let God be true and every man the liar!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Apostasy"
Before and during the 1st
Advent, the covenant leaders were at their darkest! They thought of themselves to be the most righteous, knowing and
keeping the commandments of God, crossing every "t," dotting every
"i," but Jesus had a
different evaluation of the religious crowd.
Harsh words He never used towards the sinners, the hurting, the
lost. But the religious crowd, playing
Church, Jesus rebuked to the utmost!
They had names that lived, but they were cold and dead! The same pattern will happen prior to the
Lord's 2nd return. We are in
the midst of apostasy right now, some of the darkest days of that the Church
has seen, is right now!!! Dark, not
only on the outside of the Church, but on the inside! False teachers have healed the hurt of the daughters of God's
people slightly, saying peace, peace, when there is no peace! Preaching everything but the real, eternal
issues! The message IS REPENT to an
apostate Church, not God bless America in spite of our rebellion Church and
state!!!
"as a snare"
The 1st Advent came as a snare
unto the "Covenant" leaders of Israel! They did not see, nor discern the signs of times! They were deceived to the point that even
when Scriptures declared His appearing, the hardness of their heart forbid them
to go unto Him. "Now when Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his
star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. And when he had
gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded
of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written
by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least
among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall
rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when
he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the
star appeared. And he sent them to
Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye
have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him
also." Matt 2:1-8
"And take heed to yourselves, lest
at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come
on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye
may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and
to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:34-36
"Scoffers"
Prior to the 2nd Advent of Jesus, the God tells us that there will be "scoffers"
SCOFFERS 1703 empaiktes (emp-aheek-tace');
from 1702; a derider, i.e. (by implication) a false teacher:
KJV-- mocker, scoffer.
2 Pet 3:3-16 says,
"Knowing this first, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after
their own lusts, And saying, Where
is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of,
that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of
the water and in the water: Whereby the
world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are
now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness, Looking for and hasting
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look
for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless. And
account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved
brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in
them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other
scriptures, unto their own destruction."
These "scoffers" will
be of those who go to Churches (v.16), religious men!
"Woe unto them that draw iniquity
with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his
work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw
nigh and come, that we may know it! Woe
unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and
light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own
eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe
unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong
drink: Which justify the wicked for
reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble,
and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and
their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the
LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." Isa
5:18-24
My Lord delays His coming
"But and if that evil servant shall
say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with
the drunken; The lord of that servant
shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware
of, And shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth." Matt 24:48-51
Just like as in the days of Jeremiah, false prophets will be rocking people into a deep sleep, making them vain, strengthening the hands of evil doers, saying ye shall have peace, no evil shall come upon you; Jeremiah 23: 1-33. Yet the Lord said that in the Latter days we will understand it perfectly (v.20)
