Three Insights to Help our Understanding of His Glorious Return.

One of the most urgent issues for the church is to clear her head of the fog of “muddled thinking” about prophecy. Many believers go on about their days as if prophecy was of little to no value; as if something that God wanted us to know about in advance BUT because it is portrayed by “mysterious symbols” or “figurative language” is thereby too complicated for “mere mortals” to ever understand and therefore has no meaning! (i.e. think of the books of Revelation or Daniel) Nothing could be further from the truth!

”If prophecy was never designed to be understood, there could have been no reasonable object in giving it. “ (C. T. Russell, 1916)

I don’t want to scare you with talk of figures like a “lion with eagle’s wings” or a “leopard with four heads and four wings” but that is what God has chosen in His Word to use to describe the future. Its God’s Word, people! Instead of quoting you John 3:16 how about if I use 2 Tim 3:16:

”Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness”

With that as a precursor I now offer 3 insights to help our understanding of His Glorious Return.

1. End time prophecy is “Jerusalem-centric”.

Abraham, by faith, made his earthly home is a strange land, living in tents – as did his descendants Isaac and Jacob – because they were “looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Heb 11:10) That city is called in Scripture “the Heavenly Jerusalem”, the city of the living God. (Heb 12:22)

It is not called the “Heavenly New York” or “Paris” or “Beijing”. This city will be our eternal dwelling place, the same place Jesus talked about when He said that He was going to “My Father’s house”, a place with many mansions.

”In My Father’s House are many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

This same city in the book of Revelation is called the “New Jerusalem“ and we are told by Jesus that it is “the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God.” (Rev 3:12) John the apostle also saw this same city, what he called the Holy City: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Rev 21:2)

Directly after this vision he heard a loud voice coming from the throne in heaven declaring:

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.” (Rev 21:3)

DEAR SAINTS!

We don’t go up to Heaven to live forever with God, sitting on a cloud somewhere playing our harps, BUT He comes down to us with the New Jerusalem! This Holy, Heavenly City will descend out of heaven and will settle upon this “renewed earth” (Rev 21:1) forever! The new Jerusalem will simply replace the old Jerusalem!

Therefore all prophecy can ultimately be called “Jerusalem–centric” because as goes Jerusalem goes the end of this age. What happens in Jerusalem, Israel, near the Mediterranean Sea, sets the tone, pace and mood for the 2nd coming of Jesus!

2. 1967 and the Six Day War – Israel reunified Jerusalem.

“In that day… the inhabitants of Jerusalem [will] again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.” (Zech 12:6)

Most believers know that Israel became a nation again after WW II on a single day – May 14, 1948. However, Jerusalem remained a divided city after that time, partially under Jewish control and partially under Jordanian. As a result of the Six Day War, the entire city of Jerusalem and its holy sites came under Jewish control for the first time since A.D. 70. For nearly 2000 years Israel was not a nation and had no President or territory. The Jews were literally scattered over the face of the earth as part of God’s judgment against them.

“Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds… Therefore I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands.” (Ezekiel 36:17-19)

The tragic events of Hitler’s Nazi Germany created an unprecedented world climate that allowed for the Jews to return to their native homeland – a much prophesied event in the Old Testament. (Isa. 11:11-12; 14:1; 66:7-8; Ezek. 36:24-28; 37:1-12)

Jerusalem is NOW the capital of Israel (under Israeli law) although many other nations do not recognize this fact. But God recognizes it and in effect the “pause button” was taken off His “Prophetic Time Clock”, setting the stage for the Return of Christ in Glory!

DEAR SAINTS!

It is very hard to get around the fact that Jerusalem is now situated again as the capital of Israel and is in position to activate God’s Prophetic Time Clock! Either Jerusalem will soon see in the near future the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven“ or there MUST BE ANOTHER dispersion and scattering of Israel “once again” to the four corners of the earth; where they will “once again” endure their punishment for their iniquities; so that they can “once again” return to their native land!

I believe the most logical and accurate interpretation to these recent events with Israel is to imagine that Jesus will return to earth for the 2nd time in the next 50 years – for that would allow for “one generation” to literally live through all these end time events, from 1967 onwards to His Return.

3. The Fulfillment of the Great Commission

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mtt 24:14)

The last piece of this “End Times Puzzle” that I want to highlight is the incredible timing of the Gospel witness going to the ends of the earth. Both Campus Crusade for Christ and YWAM President’s have publicly stated that they believe the Great Commission will be completed by 2020! (Dr. Steve Douglas and Loren Cunningham, the respective Presidents of the two largest mission agencies on earth!)

Wycliffe Bible Translators have a plan in place to finish Bible translation for every people group by 2025, which come downs to only 200 million people (or 4% of the world’s population)! Interestingly, even if these 200 million people were to obtain the Scriptures, most of them are illiterate and could not read it anyway. For this reason, missionaries have long looked into reproducing the Bible orally or through stories. This way 1000’s are getting converted and passing the message on in their tribes through the spoken Word!

DEAR SAINTS!

I don’t believe we can take too lightly these words from Jesus Christ. HE SAID, when asked about the “end of the age” by HIS DISCIPLES, that it would not come to pass UNTIL the Gospel would be preached in the whole world as a witness (or testimony) to all nations AND THEN the end of the age will come. (Mtt 24/Mk 13)

But FIRST Jerusalem would need to be re-settled by the Jews; who would need to re-build their Temple; so that they can re-institute the Sabbath and the sacrifices (Daniel 9:27, 12:11); so that the Antichrist can then set himself up as God in the Holy Place (2 Thess 2:4, Mtt 24:15); so that his image can be worshiped by the whole world (Rev 13) which brings the city into a world-wide controversy whereby they experience the hatred and wrath of all nations (Zech 14:2); so that Christ can come to her defense (Zech 14:3-4) and usher in His “Triumphant Return” to the city He loves and be crowned her King! (Mtt 23:39, Zech 14:9)

Lord Jesus, we wait for THAT DAY… ”When He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.” (2 Thess 1:10)

Until the End,

Jeff Gilbertson

Reflections on the Statute of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Many people today, I fear, are “turned off” from hearing recurrent prophetic voices proclaiming the return of Christ in this generation, the coming 10 Nation Federation, etc. (I am one of those voices I must admit. So is Billy Graham’s ministry, I.H.O.P., the huge “Left Behind” movement and many more…) But I do see where people can get “End Times Overload” and start to tune out these voices.

Yet, the Bible often speaks about the future and gives key insights as to its timing and circumstances. For example, Jeremiah prophesied that Babylon would rule Israel for seventy years (605 BC to 538 BC).

”This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jeremiah 25: 11)

As Daniel was later meditating (with prayer and fasting) on these exact same verses from Jeremiah, he received the heavenly visitation from Gabriel to explain the future end of “this present age” with the destruction of the Antichrist (Daniel 9). This gives us a graphic example, I believe, to not give in to a lackadaisical, half-hearted approach to prophetic Scriptures.

One image that gets too little play in the understanding of End Time events is Daniel’s statue. Truth be told, one can get more insight and understanding of God’s heart about the Last Days from Daniel 2 than from all the popular movies, books and “Google searches” put together!

“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2: 31-35)

Let me give you as accurate condensation to the main teaching of this statue as I can:

1. The emphasis in the vision of the statue is on the depreciation (weakening) of the metals of the statue as you descend from the head to the feet!

Head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and sides of bronze, legs of iron and finally feet and toes of iron mixed with clay. Even the Olympic medals can serve as a sign of the deterioration of the metals from gold to silver to bronze! As you move down the statue from head to feet the metals became less and less valuable but more and more stronger for destruction.

To support this with the Scriptures we see that Iron is obviously not a precious metal at all but is purely meant for punishment and war: “He will rule the nations with a rod of iron.” Psalm 2:9

There is (almost) universal agreement among Bible commentators that Babylon was the head of Gold; Medo – Persia were the chest and arms of Silver; Greece was the belly and sides of Bronze; and Rome was the legs of Iron. (That Medo-Persia is “silver” and Greece is “bronze” can be implicitly seen later in Daniel 8).

2. Careful attention must be given to the “Prophetic Gap” in the statute as depicted in the future co-mingling of the Iron and Clay.

“In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. (Daniel 2: 41-43)

The “Prophetic Gap” in this statue is between the fall of the Roman Empire/ Iron Legs (476 A.D.) and its resurgence once again “at the end of this age” as the Feet and Toes of Iron mixed with Clay. This has yet to happen as no Empire in this area of the “Prophetic Earth”– those Empires that rule and reign over Jerusalem during her time of punishment — has exemplified these characteristics of Clay and Iron with a 10 Toes (10 Horns) separation into East and West. (For confirmation on this you can read of the 10 Ten Horns of the 4th beast of Daniel 7 and the 10 Crowns from the Beast out of the sea from Revelation 13.)

The key characteristic of the coming Federation of 10 nations is the co-mingling of Iron and Clay from out of the Roman Empire, which stretched at its height from London in the West to Babylon in the East! Since clay as a symbol of government is hard to identify from Daniel alone I offer this quote from Bible expositor A.C. Gaebelein, who in 1922, received from Wheaton College an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree:

“But what does the clay represent? Clay is of the earth. It stands for that which does not belong to the great statue at all, a foreign ingredient brought in… The clay stands for democratic rule, the rule by the people.”

One day there will come from the Prophetic Earth, those nations which encompasses the Mediterranean Sea, a Federation of 10 Nations that are strangely strong and weak at the same time, which will lead to them seek a strong, powerful leader. This 11th horn, a “little one” (Daniel 7:8) will establish himself as their leader and will rule from Jerusalem as the Antichrist.

3. The depreciation of the metal is a prophetic symbolism for depreciation of future Gentile nations and their corresponding type of government.

Babylon is the first kingdom to rule Jerusalem as a foreign invader and was given this position by God – And the Lord delivered… Judah into his [King Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand. (Dan 1:2). God is punishing Israel for their disobedience, especially concerning their neglect of the Sabbath Rest for the land. (see 2 Chronicles 36: 20-21)

Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar, are seen as the brilliant head of fine gold. The Bible record of King Nebuchadnezzar is stunning:

“You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. (Daniel 2: 37-38)

Here is an excerpt from modern times about Nebuchadnezzar, from Dr. Grant Richison, who from 1993 to 1995, was Director of Leadership Ministries for Campus Crusade for Christ (Canada):

”Nebuchadnezzar was the world ruler of his day. None of the rulers that followed him had as much absolute power as Nebuchadnezzar. He was the “king of kings” (Ezek 26:7). God sovereignly gave him this power.”

Medo-Persia, which conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. and lasted longer and was much larger in size than the Babylon Empire, is depicted as “inferior” silver. This inferiority, however, is in government structure which is documented in the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. As you know from your Sunday School days, King Darius was “tricked” into issuing a decree to condemn Daniel because there was no other way to find fault in him by his jealous co-workers! Against his own personal wishes Darius had to throw Daniel in the lion’s den. Fortunately, God delivered Daniel from the King Darius’ foolish decree and those men (and their families!) who tricked the King ended up themselves in the belly of a lion!

The Persia Empire was later crushed by the mighty hand of Alexander in 331 B.C. Alexander’s Empire is seen as the much inferior metal, bronze. After Alexander’s sudden death in Babylon, the Greek Empire was divided not by the nobility of birth (which can still be directed by God!) but by the ignoble means of pure physical strength of arms! In God’s eyes this was a big depreciation from gold and silver!

Four Military Generals divided up the Empire Alexander had carved out of the known world at that time. They continually fought against one another as was prophesied in Daniel 11. Roman Emperors come next upon the world scene and defeat Greece in 168 B.C. and reign for 500 years over an Empire that was a combination of “successive kingdoms” ranging back to King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon.

Keep reading Daniel:

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the book of Daniel. It is the key to all prophecy; without a knowledge of the great prophecies contained in this book the entire prophetic portion of the word of God must remain a sealed book. One of the reasons why so few Christians have a correct knowledge of the prophetic forecast in the Bible is the neglect of the book of Daniel. The great prophetic portions of the New Testament, the Olivet discourse of our Lord (Matthew 24 and 25), and above all the great New Testament book of prophecy, the book of Revelation, can only be understood through the prophecies of Daniel. (A.C. Gaebelein)

Yours for the Coming King,

Jeff Gilbertson

Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth’s abominations

Good morning Jeff.
Just happened to get this as a part of my daily Bible messages [Revelation 17] that I get sent to my email each day… and thought of you and your study on the Book of Revelation. Boy this sounds bizarre… Are they saying that Babylon (Iran or Iraq area I imagine…) is where the drama happens?? Clue me in a bit if you would please.
Thanks…
Paul

REPLY–
Paul, yeah this is the end time situation when the Antichrist — through the harlot — is ruling the world from Babylon.

“The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” Rev 17:18

Believe it or not, one can rightly bring the whole of the Bible down to a “tale of two cities” — Jerusalem and Babylon! Jerusalem is God’s city and Babylon is Satan’s counterfeit city. Jesus has a bride — the church. Satan has his counterfeit — a harlot.

I believe the Bible says that it is the literal Babylon known since the days of the tower of Babel in Gen 10-11, on the banks of the Euphrates river. This same river is where the garden of Eden was located!! Not one word of the bible is in vain or unnecessary… So when you see things like the tower of Babel in Babylon where man tried to solidify himself and rebelled against God’s Word or the 90 ft. statute in Daniel 3 that Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon makes the whole world fall down and worship at the cost of death, know that this is not just there for random information/history but will come back again! You will see this all recycled in the Last Days.

Another example is Egypt and the Pharaoh and the 10 plagues inflicted through Moses and the End Time plagues released against the evil empire of the Antichrist by Jesus and the praying church! After the plagues the Pharaoh let God’s people go only to be utterly destroyed in the Red Sea. After the 21 judgments — seals, trumpets and bowls of wrath — in the book of Revelation (ch. 6-16) comes the complete destruction of the Antichrist and his armies and empire at the battle of Armageddon.

And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Rev 19:20-21

Babylon, on the banks of the Euphrates river, will arise from nowhere in the final days of this age to be a major city, where all the kings of the world will deal with and trade, etc. (see Rev 18). From there, the Antichrist will shift his headquarters to Jerusalem, from whence he makes an idol that will supernaturally “speak” (Rev 13:15) and the whole world must worship it at the threat of death! (BTW, this is where the mark of the beast 666 comes in!) BUT after a short 3 1/2 years (shortened by God!), Christ will come the 2nd time, riding on a white horse, prepared for battle (Isa. 63) and destroy the Antichrist’s empire and armies with the breath of His mouth. The “birds of the air” will have the feast of God and then Jesus will re-establish David’s throne (Acts 15:16) and will reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years. (Rev 20)

After the 1000 years the “New Jerusalem” will come down out of heaven with the Father on the throne (Rev 21-22) and will rest on this earth forever!!

Awesome stuff!

Jeff

Revelation 17:1-18 (NRSV)

Earth’s kings conquered

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk.” So he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of whores and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly amazed. But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

“This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore; they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

When Studying the Constellations you don’t need Binoculars…

My 8 year old son and I are studying the stars and constellations right now in Science. (He has me — for better or worse — as his home-school teacher!) One of the discoveries we have made is that to see the constellations, binoculars are really of little help. It seems counter intuitive but it is really true. You need the broader view of the naked eye when approaching the heavens… You will never see the constellation if you try and find them one star at a time!

Well, this got me thinking to an obvious Biblical correlation: “In our life with God we maybe are ‘not seeing the constellations‘ because we are too focused on the ‘individual stars’ through the binoculars”!

More to the point, I want to bring up a conversation I had recently with an old college roommate. He has known for some time of our partiality (passion) for “simple church“, churches meeting in homes without pastor, pulpit and pew, yet it has been hard for him to grasp the idea that a church without a pastor and the order that he brings can lead to more than just “unsanctified navel gazing” (my words not his!).

I tried to present the subject of elders being the New Testament (NT) expression and reality of what we nowadays call “pastors” and got him to see that elders in the NT had a rigorous list of qualifications as found in 1 Timothy and Titus. He agreed with those qualifications. Then I asked him “What are the NT qualifications for a pastor?” The phone line was silent for a few seconds… and then he responded that there weren’t any.

So it became more and more apparent to him during our phone call that we were talking about two different animals: pastors and elders. I suggested that pastors in the NT were the equivalent to those other gifts to the body of apostle, prophet, evangelist and teacher from Eph 4. Gifts to the body for the “equipping of the saints“ which may have lead them on a more itinerant journey than we have assumed for the past 2000 years. Elders, on the other hand, were local, homegrown, family men who seemed best suited to lead if they could lead their family in a stable way and provide for their “daily bread”.

So, in getting back to my analogy, I suggest that we have not seen the “constellation” of elders in the NT church because of the concentration upon the single star of “pastor”, what has no biblical warrant. One obvious case in point would be that in the Constantine church era (333 A.D.) there could be no baptism without the attendance of the pastor. No pastor, no church. (This was, and is, taken to an extreme to those who find themselves in a Catholic tradition, which point I do not want to belabor!)

In My Mind as I Lay on My Bed…

One last point I wish to bring up here came to me not during that phone conversation but a few days later in the middle of the night. I found myself “in my sleep” writing an article… Then I asked myself in the dream: “Who did Paul call to himself on the shores of the Mediterranean at Miletus?” (I don’t know what your dreams are like but this is quite normal for me…)

I woke up at this point and turned to my Bible:

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. (Acts 20:17)

There was my heavenly answer. Paul did not address “the pastors” of the churches in Ephesus BUT the elders of the church.

I must confess that I wonder if we will ever live up to this high biblical standard when once again “Paul” can come to our city and call “the elders of the church” in Milwaukee to the shores of Lake Michigan, where we receive corporate instruction and encouragement and take it back to the flock with one voice!

Yours for the King,

Jeff Gilbertson

P.S. BTW, my favorite constellation right now is the Northern Crown and my son’s is Pleiades — mentioned by God in Job 38.

When God Plays The Trumpet…

Please forgive my obvious bias on this subject since, in an earlier life, I was a Band Director for two years in a small school district on the western edge of Wisconsin.

The first time in the Bible when God plays the trumpet, mountains shake and lightning flashes, and He descends down on Mount Sinai. Here is the account from Exodus:

“When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”… So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled….

Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. (Ex 19:13-19)

If I have this right, God blows a trumpet, this signals to the people to go up to the mountain and then God comes down on the mountain!

Another time when we hear the trumpets, seven priests are blowing them. This is where we see Joshua, following in Moses’ famous footsteps, leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land. But to get into the Promised Land they had to defeat one last enemy – the walled city of Jericho.

“Seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark ; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.” (Joshua 6:5)

If I have this right, seven priests blow seven trumpets on the seventh day on the seventh time around the city, and then the people give a great SHOUT!, and then God comes down on the wall and flattens it, and the people go up and take the city.

God seems to love the trumpet so much that He even dedicated an annual Feast for “Trumpet Blowing” and rest amongst the Israelites!

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.’” (Lev 23: 23-25)

If I have this right, God commands His people to blow trumpets on the first day of the seventh month as a reminder to rest – to enter into a “Sabbath rest”! Did you know that Jews around the world still celebrate this festival under the name of Rosh Hashanah, which is their New Year, a day of memorial and the day of judgment.

If you know your “Old Testament typology” you know that there are seven yearly feasts, and that the first four feasts, the “Spring feasts” – Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost – have ALL been fulfilled in the New Covenant, through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

HOWEVER, after the “Summer Gap” there remain the last three feasts to be fulfilled, the “Fall feasts” – Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. The NEXT feast to come on God’s prophetic timetable will commence on the seventh month, the first day, with God Himself playing the trumpet – THE Feasts of Trumpets!

This must make one think of the words of Jesus found in Matthew 24: 29-31

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened… stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken…. 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. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

Since I have brought up Jesus I think it best to skip ahead to the last book of the Bible where it is recorded that Jesus speaks as though it were a loud voice like a trumpet.

”I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet… Rev 1:10

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” (Rev 4:1)

I want you to put this all together now and realize that there is coming a time when a scroll with seven seals, which is right now in the Father’s right hand, will be opened by Jesus, the “Worthy Lamb”. As Jesus begins to open the scroll and finally breaks open the seventh seal, there will follow that incredible silence in heaven for about half an hour.

After that staggering silence all heaven breaks forth with clamor as the seven angels are given their trumpets and prepare their lips to blow! While they are “warming up”, another angel takes from the golden altar before the Throne an incense burner filled with fire and hurls it down to the earth, signaling “the beginning of the end”, and that the heavenly assault is about to begin!

You will see by reading in further in Revelation 8 -11 that at the last trumpet, the Seventh Trumpet, “the mystery of God is finished” and Jesus Christ will take “His great power and will begin to reign”. (Rev 11:17) This is the EXACT MOMENT when “we who are alive and remain” on the earth will be caught up to be with Jesus, forever.

”For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thess 4: 16-18

Amen. ”Lord God, we long for THAT trumpet to blow once again. So come Lord Jesus. Maranatha!”

Understanding Biblical Prophecy – “Let’s stop the devil stealing from us.”

What If I were to tell you that I had a vision last night of a “star falling on a large city in Canada” and that this would happen within the next 7 months, would that be useful to you or useless? (Well, I think it would be most helpful to those living in that large city in Canada.)

What if I went on further to tell you that I asked one of the angels in my visions for more clarity and insight regarding the vision — which is exactly what Daniel did, by the way — and the angel told me that the vision was true and that the city would be Toronto and that it will happen in 165 days from today. WOW!!

Prophecy by definition is something that will happen in the future. It is a prediction of a future event and when that prediction comes from the Bible we know that it is God’s will and will come true.

The devil, on the other hand, wants to keep that prediction from happening with all his might — and he has considerable might, I might add! Did he not try to kill Jesus when He was an infant, thereby killing hundreds or thousands of male children in Judea?

If the devil cannot bring direct destruction through the hand of a mad “King Herod”, I guarantee you that he will try and bring confusion and chaos to the clear word spoke by God. I call it Babylon. I pretty much see the “sprit of Babylon” completely flooding the area of prophecy right now and fear that the saints will not be properly forewarned nor watching!

Remember that satan’s only mission in life, his job description, is to kill, steal, and destroy:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

The abundant life Jesus spoke of does not come with out effort, however! We need to diligently search the scriptures, “examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were [true].” (Acts 17:11) The book of Proverbs even goes so far to tell us that it is God’s glory to “conceal a matter” and it is the king’s glory to “search out a matter”. (Prov 25:2)

How would you steal and kill if you were the devil regarding prophecy?

I think we can judge the tree by its fruit: many Christians today view Bible prophecy with either confusion or cynicism. I just read these wonderful quotes on prophecy that I wanted to share with you for their great insights. Later I want to take a few moments and break down some of these words phrase by phrase:

Prophecy braces the shoulder to bear the burdens it imposes. Prophecy prepares faith to meet evils which need not come unforeseen, and so fortifies patience to endure trial’s darkest hour. He who is forewarned is forearmed.

The arts [weapons] of our great adversary are so manifold and subtle that the fear is, the victims he seeks to ensnare will be entrapped and ruined before they have been made aware of his devices… Prophecy unmasks colossal iniquities which are foredoomed and from whose dread fate, divine compassion, extending a timely hand, would tenderly snatch us. (Lyman J. Fisher, “That Day of Days” – 1902)

1. “He who is forewarned is forearmed.”

Certainly Noah was glad that God is a prophetic, “forewarning” God!

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Heb 11:7

Notice carefully the words in the above verse — “in reverence”. It means to act cautiously, circumspectly, to fear, to move with awe.

Oh, if only more in the body of Christ today would walk in reverence with the “forth telling” of God. Sadly, it seems, the body of Christ around the world has become “gun shy” in boldly proclaiming what the word of God is clearly saying. We have grown hesitant, wary, and distrustful.

Thankfully God is reviving and recharging “forerunners” to prepare His Bride to once again embrace and declare His prophetic word!

Biblical scholars tell us that about 25% of the entire Bible is prophecy (28% OT; 21%NT). Others would postulate that only 3 of the 66 books of the Bible are without prophecy – Ruth, Philemon, and 3 John. (When I say “scholars tell us” this it is like saying that “scientists tell us that 1 million earths would fit inside the sun.” It sounds like a vague statement but it is generally accepted as accurate in that field.)

Well, any way you look at it 25% is a big chunk of real estate! I think of it like this: 25% of the earth is land and that is the most important part, for me!

2. “Prophecy prepares faith to meet evils which need not come unforeseen.”

“Noah was warned by God about things to come.” Evil was pending. God was warning. That is one of the simplest and clearest definitions of prophecy. We find this often in the Word of God:

+ Magi “And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.” Mtt 2:12

+ Joseph and Mary “Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth.” Mtt 2: 22

If we are “forewarned by God” we must then also ACT! The magi needed to leave for their own country “by another way”. Noah needed to prepare an ark to save his household.

What has God shown you from his Word that you must now act on or declare in the midst of certain opposition? Noah built an ark BY FAITH! Not by warm cozy feelings…

3. The arts [weapons] of our great adversary are so manifold and subtle that the fear is, the victims he seeks to ensnare will be entrapped and ruined before they have been made aware of his devices.

I have said earlier that the devil has brought so much confusion (Babylon) to the subject of biblical prophecy. We somehow have arrived at a Book that only speaks of historical facts and provides instruction for personal holiness. “Prophecy”, we throw up our hands in the air and proclaim, “is too complicated and confusing for me to deal with.”

This is part of the “devises” satan uses to keep God’s children in the dark. “No one can really know. There are some many different interpretations… One guy says one thing and the other say the complete opposite.”

Here is our predicament: If God just spoke a few words and created the universe and everything in it, how is it that we cannot “rightly divide” and understand what He is saying to us about the future?

It must be the great adversary! He cannot change the past. He was “uncovered” at the cross. He cannot change the future… he can only accuse, deceive, and divide the saints. Revelation 12 gives us some clues to his nature by these descriptions:

“The great dragon… the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world… Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time… So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

4 Prophecy unmasks colossal iniquities which are foredoomed.

Perhaps one of the most “colossal iniquities” to be unmasked by prophecy is the work and the nature of the antichrist. For this reason the book of Daniel must have been written.

In Daniel we get a precise description of the coming king who will takes his place in the “appointed time of the end.”

A king will arise,
Insolent and skilled in intrigue.
His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree
And prosper and perform his will;
He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.
And through his shrewdness
He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence;
And he will magnify himself in his heart,
And he will destroy many while they are at ease.
He will even oppose the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken without human agency. (Daniel 8:23-25)

Daniel, like the apostle John, was both elderly and exiled as this vision came to him. The interpretation was given by the angel Gabriel. Daniel’s pedigree is unquestioned.

“Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.” Ezek 14:14

Yet I cannot begin to tell you the “confusion and cynicism” regarding the end time truths that this book reveals. Here is one example of the truth of God’s Word having to fight its way into your soul!

If the book of Daniel fell out of the sky and if you were on a deserted island and you just read what was in the book without commentary and Google’s advise, you would come to the crystal clear conclusion that the coming king of the last days, the king who will try and “change the times and the law”, would come from a small, probably obscure, western portion of the empire of Greece.

“Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land” Daniel 8: 9

It is that straightforward – I did not say simple for I must say that I have read the book of Daniel almost exclusively for the past 6 months! But it is there and it can be known and the “prophecy that unmasks colossal iniquities” was written by the same God who gave us John 3:16. He has inspired it, breathed it and it is profitable “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16)

In His Love,

Jeff Gilbertson

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth.

One of the most important truths to comprehend is the necessity to discern and “rightly divide” the Word of God. One simple yet profound example of this is undeniably seen from Isaiah 11. In this chapter we are transported, with out warning I might add, into the Millennial age-

“6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.

There is pretty much universal agreement that we are not to expect in “this present age” for a nursing child to play by the hole of the cobra or that the leopard will lie down with a young goat! Certainly this is a verse for “the age to come”. Of course, there was (and is) healing in Jesus’ name that causes the bite of the viper to not injure Paul but we will not see this breath of “universal peace and safety” on this side of the 2nd Coming of Christ!

Now is where it gets really tricky, for when we detach these verses from their Millennial context and pull it back into today, we can only get wrong conclusions and distorted belief systems!

Who among us can not admit that they either believe (or have heard) that we will see “the Earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (vs 9) in our lifetimes!!

Yet the immediate context is that this will happen AFTER the Messiah has struck the earth with a rod and slain with the breath of His mouth “the Wicked One” (vs 4)

For more connection on this I offer to you 2 Thess 2:8

”And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming”

One must wonder if this has not been a ploy of Satan thought the centuries to throw confusion on the exact reading of the Word of God and has it not been highlighted by our “clip and paste”, “every Sunday a different message” modern church culture?

What if, for example, we would re-read Isaiah and start with Chapter 1 and read through Chapter 11? I cannot help but think that we would come up with the right interpretation, with the help of the Holy Spirit and with prayer and fasting!

I have been tremendously helped these past few months by two old Bible teachers from another age — B.W. Netwon and his cousin Samuel Tregelles.

George Muller of Bristol wrote of Newton:

“I consider Mr. Newton’s writings to be most sound and scriptural, and my wife and I are in the habit of reading them, not only with the deepest interest, but great profit to our souls… I regard Mr. Newton as the most accurate writer on religious themes of the nineteenth century.”

I am attaching to this post the writings of Tregelles concerning the proper perspective that we need as we come to the close of this age. If you know your church history you will recognize that he is fighting the newly birthed theory of “Post Millennialism” as it sprang forth in the early 1800s in England, Europe and the USA.

B.W. Newton has broken down the history and future of man into 5 separate phases/ages which I find most helpful in “rightly diving the Word of Truth”. The danger of our current church life is that we might error on dividing the ages into unbiblical ages and come up with a “Frankenstein” looking faith!

1. Creation to the fall
2. Fall to Flood
3. Flood to 2nd Coming
4. The Millennium
5. Eternity

Please notice that after each of the first four ages comes divine judgment. Watch out that you don’t pull back into modern day that what is clearly meant for either the Millennium or Eternity. (Psalm 2 immediately comes to mind on that, especially verse 8!)

I leave you now with the writing of Tregelles to whet your appetite for more insight and understanding on these important topics.

In Him,

Jeff Gilbertson

P.S. The whole article is available at the following link.

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The Man Of Sin By Samuel Tregelles

“That wicked . . . whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of His coming” 2 Thessalonians 2:8

IF we allow our mind to rest only upon what the Word of God reveals concerning blessing, whether past, present, or future, we recognize but apart of what is therein contained we overlook that which may cause sadness to the heart, but which God has seen fit to reveal; and if we thus take a partial view of His revelation, we fail in estimating aright even that testimony concerning blessing at which we desire to look.

Now if we did not know the things which have happened if we had not the fall set before us, if we did not know the consequences of sin, we should neither know the grace nor yet the necessity of redemption: we should fail to learn aright the work of Christ, did we not see why He came, and what was the condition of those for whose salvation His precious blood was shed: thus it is that the Holy Ghost instructs the children of God, showing truth by contrast, so manifesting the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it shall appear in all its fullness, as opposed to and triumphing over Satan and all his devices.

Thus it is with regard to the present subject, “the Man of Sin,” respecting whom the Scripture states such awful things; in him will be the marvelous exhibition of the concentrated power of Satan, an exhibition with which it is necessary that our souls should be acquainted, if so be that we would have our thoughts rightly directed concerning the glory of the Lord Jesus which is to he revealed, if so be that we would understand aright how “the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Just as the Lord has triumphed over Satan in His resurrection, so will He manifest His power in destroying the dominion of Satan, even though it may seem at the very time to be especially triumphing in opposition to God.

In reading such a portion of the word as the second chapter of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, we may well ask, “When Shall These Things Be?” “When will this fearful discovery of evil take place?”

To such inquiries, this very passage affords a direct answer (verse 8), that it will be just before the coming of the Lord, seeing that it is with “the brightness of His coming” that this “Man of Sin” shall be destroyed. Now this point of time which is so distinctly marked, is not, I believe, a feature of small importance in the description; for thus we see brought together in most marked contrast “Him Whose coming is after the working of Satan,” with the Lord Jesus, Who shall come in His own glory and in His Father’s with the holy angels. Thus whatever we see that marks in this picture the dreadful power to be exerted by Satan over men, and the awful form that it will assume, it tells us also of the glory and power of the Lord Jesus: we have not to rest upon the testimony to grief and misery; the Spirit leads us directly onward to Him Who is above it all, and Whose coming will destroy him through whom it is carried on.

I believe that simply to take this passage as it stands in the Word of God will show very clearly that it is a person who is pointed out; one man through whom Satan will display his working. We read that

“There [shall] come a falling away [the apostasy] first, and that man of sin [shall be] revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things ? And now ye know what withholdeth [rather, And ye know that at present there is what withholdeth] that he might be revealed in his time, For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way, And then shall that wicked [one] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might he saved, And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might he damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Such is the description of the Man of Sin; such is his power; and such are they who share his destruction when the Lord cometh. We shall find many other passages, both in the Old Testament and in the New, which so speak of a person who is to arise as to identify him with this description; whilst they at the same time supply many particulars in the detail of circumstances.

Now, although many Christians may have passed over and slighted these warnings, and though many may still deem them to be of no practical importance, it is not for us to overlook that which God has thus revealed; we ought to consent to the wisdom of the Giver by receiving His gift, It is thus that I desire that we may look at the Word of God in examining its testimony on this subject.

The coming of the Lord, as has been already said, distinctly marks the time of the manifestations of this “wicked one, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth”; and in this indication of time, there is an important link of connection with Isaiah 11, a passage to which in these words the Spirit of God plainly refers. is there written: “He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall lie slay the wicked” (v. 4). Here, as in the Second of Thessalonians, the word “wicked” is in the singular, not speaking of the wicked generally. but in marked terms pointing out an individual person. We learn from the apostle that which we do not from the prophet, who the person is that shall he so destroyed by the Lord, even him who shall have set himself as the direct adversary of God in that day. The connection with the New Testament suffices to show that the events which are spoken of in Isaiah 11 concerning the Lord Jesus are such as will find their fulfillment when He comes again, when He will exercise the power of judgment which has been committed to Him, but which He did not use when He came in humiliation to suffer.

If these things will be thus when the Lord appears if at that time Satan’s power over the earth will have a concentrated energy. so that, at the last, God will judicially send to the rejectors of the truth “strong delusion that they should believe a lie” it must he evident that
Towards this Point we are Tending, and to this the world will attain, whatever fair appearances may now meet our eyes.

The final state of the world when the Lord comes will he thus evil it will have increased in wickedness, instead of being, as it is in the thought of many, daily improved, daily less contrary to God than it was when it crucified his Son, It is when the height of evil is attained that the Lord will come in destroying judgment. Thus it is especially important to mark well the testimony of the Word concerning this consummation in judgment, in order that our hopes may be according to what God has revealed, and that they he not formed on any other ground.

It will thus be well to consider a few Scriptures which speak of this point, because it is essential that it should be clearly seen for us to apprehend aright the Scripture history of “the Man of Sin.” The expectations of many Christians have been, that righteousness will increase amongst men, so that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” I am not for a moment raising a question as to whether this prophecy of the Scripture will be fulfilled; but this I do state most unequivocally, that there is no scriptural ground for supposing that this universality of blessing will be brought about by any gradual increase of godliness amongst men, The place in which we find this prophecy ought to intimate this; for in Isaiah 11 the judgment of the Lord on the wicked person (v. 4) is introductory to the universal blessing (v. 9); so that until the one has taken place, the other cannot be looked for. If we really know that such a time will ever come, it will be from the testimony of the Scripture; and consequently whatever intervening circumstances are told us, they must also he taken into our consideration, It is natural to our minds to take some bright object of hope which the Spirit of God sets before us, and to rejoice in the anticipation of the blessing to come; but we fail in using the hope aright if we take it up as though our eyes were to be blind to all the sorrow and evil which is to intervene: we may shrink back in thought from any dark interval, but the object of hope beyond is given us as that which should sustain and cheer us in looking onward: the brightness of the coming morning only shines the more in contrast to the preceding darkness.

The Distinctive Features of this Dispensation not Universal Blessing.

In looking at the close of the things of earth in this dispensation, we ought to mark what are its distinctive features. If universality be not the character of this dispensation, what is ? A passage in Matthew 24 tells us, I believe, very simply “This gospel of the kingdom shall he preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come” (v. 14). The present is the time when the gospel of the grace of God is to be preached that gospel through which all who receive it are delivered from the power of darkness, and are translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son according to the commission in Matthew 28 to “teach all nations”; but blessed as the message is, and blessed as are its results to all who receive it. yet it is “for a witness” that it is to be preached “to all nations”: there is no intimation that all nations, or even any one nation as a whole, will be converted, but much to show the contrary; for instance the Lord had just said that no nation as a body would receive the gospel, “ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake”; while at the same time there is in Revelation 7, an intimation that in no nation shall the gospel fail of gathering fruit to God; for the innumerable multitude standing before the throne in blood-washed robes are “out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (v. 9). This gives us the true scriptural expectation as to results from the preaching of the gospel: fruit is to be looked for, but not universality; and even though the gospel may prove “a savor of death unto death” unto many, this fruit will be gathered from amongst all nations.

Whilst thus the Lord gives us abundant encouragement in labouring for Him in testimony, we have to bear in mind the intimations which He gives, that there can be no universality of blessing before the coming of the Lord, and His destroying the wicked one. The glory of the Lord Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God, is thus to be declared; all the praise is to be His; and until He personally takes the world under His own righteous rule, we have no ground in the word for any supposition of a spread of righteousness, or of the knowledge of God, over the whole.

Widely different is the testimony of the Scripture from that opinion which many Christians have formed as to the prospects of the world It we turn to 2 Timothy 3 we read thus

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

The hope of many is that, instead of these “perilous times,” of the coming of which the Spirit of God thus forewarns us, the latter days of this dispensation will he marked with special blessing and glory. The whole chapter runs on much in the same strain (just as we also find repeatedly in other portions of the New Testament); “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (vv. 12, 13).

Nothing can he more explicit than this testimony How, then, it may he asked, is it that Christians have so disregarded it? The reason, I assuredly believe, is, that they have so rested upon detached portions of Old Testament prophecy, as to form altogether wrong conclusions; and I cannot regard the manner in which the testimony to previous judgment has been and is overlooked (even when, as in Isaiah 11, occurring in the same context) as being anything other than a device of Satan for taking them away from their true hopes, and from the thoughts which they ought to form concerning the world around.

The World is not Getting Better.

If we were to look at the world as becoming constantly less under the power of Satan than it was, so as to expect that soon he would have no place in it, and the whole would be fit for the kingdom of Christ our Lord, then, as desirous of the glory of our Lord we should be called on to use every effort to mend the system of things in the world, so that our energies might help on the expected day of blessing; but if, on the other hand, we learn from the word that we are daily drawing nearer to a more fearful display of the power of Satan than has ever been exhibited, and that the world (whatever appearances may say) is ripening for this; that whether or not there he more evil now than there was a few years ago, yet the evil of the last times will be unequalled then shall we see that our energies should be directed not to the mending of things as they are here, but to the bringing of souls to God. through testimony to the blood of Christ: taking them in fact out of this condemned world, instead of seeking to make them rest in it. It is with this that we have to do, if we regard the testimony of our Lord and His apostles. We may seek to do good unto all men; but to bring souls to Christ, and to establish the children of God, will be our great work, knowing that no efforts of ours can be in any way conducive to bring about the universal blessing of the earth. The Lord may bless us in gathering some to Him: He allows us to be His fellow-workers in this: but as to the bringing of the world into blessing, it is His own peculiar work: His destroying judgment must come first.

The Lord Jesus has given to the Church very direct and simple teaching concerning that separateness from the world to which they are called: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17). Again. “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keen them from the evil.” Now there would not be long a world for the saint to he in, and yet to he separate from, if all was going on to universal blessing and godliness. I need not refer to many portions of our Lord’s instructions; John 13-16, are one continuous strain of teaching, the whole of which would be obsolete if that dream of universal blessing before the coming of Jesus Christ were to he realized.

The Lord in the Parable of the Tares of the Field

(Matthew 13), intimates very distinctly the character of the present dispensation: “Let them both grow together until the harvest” (v. 30), is the judgment of the Lord concerning the tares and the wheat, instead of giving any countenance to that idea which is so prevalent in the minds of not a few Christians, that the wheat will gradually overspread the field, so that at length the tares will quite disappear. The Lord thus tells us that there will be no universality of blessing in the field (which is the world v. 38) before the harvest; but then we read “The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and that do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (vv. 41, 42). Thus pointedly has the Lord told us in many portions what we have to expect, and how and when the prophecies of universally diffused blessing will be brought to pass. We learn much profitable truth from this parable, The Church is to be manifested in glory in the kingdom of “their Father.” No earthly hopes are given to them; their portion is to be as a “little flock,” waiting for the kingdom. The world will still be the world, in spite of Christianity being in it; and in one respect it is made worse, because false professors the tares have sprung up consequent upon the preaching of the gospel. The great truth that I wish to press is, that to the end of this dispensation evil and good are mixed together, and therefore expectations to the contrary are sure to be disappointed; for unless the narrow way were to become broad, so that many should find it. it would he impossible for the predicted glory to belong to this dispensation.

Pastor or Elder: More than just Semantics

In our modern church life, because our whole church experience centers on “the Pastor”, I find this subject of biblical leadership (i.e. pastor/elder) of a local community very interesting. I have looked “high and low” to research the subject of pastor in the Word of God and can only find one verse that mentions, by name, a pastor in the entire Bible!

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers (Eph 4: 11)

That’s it!

Please notice that the verse prior to this makes it clear that a pastor is a gift to the Body. “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (Eph 4:8)

What we do read about are elders. They are spoken of over 200 times in the Bible! (NASB Version)

What is more, it is clear from Acts 20:17,28 that the apostle Paul thought of “elders” and “overseers” as the same person. What I cannot get out of the NT is that this same person is our current notion of a “pastor” as mentioned in Eph 4:11. The Eph 4 passage describes “pastor” as a gift of Christ (along with apostle, prophet, evangelist and teacher), whereas I Tim. 3 and Titus 1 describe the “Qualifications of Elders”, which rules out the suggestion that it was a gift of the Spirit.

Here is the conundrum: A pastor was a gift given to the Body “at large”, like an evangelist or prophet, while the Elder is a role of leadership in a specific local church given because of spiritual qualifications.

If I receive a gift it does not hinge upon my qualifications or gender.

Two things strike me most when I read about elders in the NT:

1. They were chosen.

Elders were “appointed” (Acts 14:23 NASB) on the basis of moral and spiritual qualifications not as a result of receiving the gift of “eldering”. They were appointed because they led exemplary personal and social lives. Being an overseer in the church is not a gift of the Holy Spirit like the gift of prophecy or tongues or giving or service ( Rom 12/ I Cor 12).

Spiritual gifts are given as gifts; not based on gender or qualifications. As far as I can see, one of the only settings in the NT church life that speaks to qualifications and life experience are “elders of the local church”.

When I say that they were chosen, this means that they did not chose themselves, and offer themselves up for service, which is the standard practice in our church world today!

“In the New Testament we hear nowhere of men being invited to offer themselves for any office in the church. The apostles did not offer themselves to be apostles, the seventy did not offer themselves, St. Matthias did not offer himself, the seven deacons in the Acts did not offer themselves: in no church of apostolic foundation was there any suggestion that anyone was appointed because he offered himself. In the Pastoral Epistles, Timothy and Titus were not told to invite men to offer themselves. ‘If a man desire’ does imply that there were men eager to be appointed; but that is quite a different matter from appealing to men to offer.” (Roland Allen The Case for Voluntary Clergy)

2. They were not professional clergy or paid elders.

There is no suggestion that as elders were put in place throughout the Roman world – from Jerusalem to Rome – that they abruptly left their former jobs and became “professional clergy”. This has been a confusing point for centuries but there is no biblical evidence that local elders were paid, full-time professional clergy. Much that is written in the NT regarding full-time wages and support is written in the context of apostles who traveled the world on foot to spread the gospel and found churches where none existed. (See Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1Cor 4:12; 9:6; 2 Cor 11:6-9; 1Thes 2:9)

Many will point to the passage in 1Thess. 5:17-18 (“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor…”) as THE proof text that elders (or modern day pastors) should be paid a wage. While I would agree that this is talking about money as well as honor, I cannot agree that this is a predetermined “salary” but rather gifts. Even the IRS makes the same difference!

Let’s follow Paul’s train of thought on not taking money as an apostle but rather working with his own hands in this lengthy passage from 2 Thessalonians:

“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we might not be a burden to any one of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, that you might follow our example.” (2 Thess 3:7-9)

Paul was so committed to spread the Gospel of a “free Savior” that he denied himself, at certain times, monetary support due him as a right inherent in spreading the Gospel. Sometimes Paul says “I robbed from other churches” so that he could be there to preach the Good News to the people but on other occasions he clearly went out of his way to chose instead to toil with his own hands and earn his own bread.

But over and above this argument is that he was defending himself as an apostle not defining church practice for elders! Moreover, it is very difficult to see this as a explanation for “professional pastors” as we know them today.

I will close with another pertinent quote from my dear friend Roland Allen in his description of the appointing of biblical elders:

”The second qualification which we demand and the apostle [Paul] omits is a readiness to resign all means of living other than that of the sacred ministry. Of this there is not a trace in the apostle’s list of qualifications: there are, on the other hand, many points which suggest the opposite. The men whom he desired to see ordained were all men who were capable of maintaining themselves and their families without any assistance from the church. They had in fact been doing so, and there is nothing to suggest that they would cease to do so. They were men of a well-established position in life. They might, of course, cease to earn their living in their accustomed way when they were ordained, but it is hard to imagine that they would necessarily do so; for there is not a hint that it was considered necessary or desirable by the apostle. It would have been quite simple, and to us quite natural, to have put in a clause to the effect that the bishop [elder] must abandon all worldly pursuits and give himself wholly to the care of the church, but there is not a word about it. Such silence rather suggests that the man will continue to live his life as he has been living it and providing for his family as he has been providing for it.…

The stipendiary system [paid clergy] grew up in settled churches and is only suitable for some settled churches at some periods: for expansion, for the establishment of new churches, it is the greatest possible hindrance. It binds the church in chains and has compelled us to adopt practices which contradict the very idea of the Church.” (The Case for Voluntary Clergy)

In Him,

Jeff Gilbertson

“It’s a bird, It’s a plane… No, it’s a Missionary!”

In the early 1990’s my wife and I (along with our infant daughter) were young missionaries with a large world-wide organization living in Budapest, Hungary.

While there we saw the effects of what I call “missionary supremacy” first hand. We first noticed it when some of our local Hungarian friends asked us why we lived in Pest (the flat, blue collar, industrial side of Budapest) because “All the other missionaries lived in Buda” (the affluent side of Budapest in the hills and amongst the greenery).

It was a true statement at that time but thankfully much has changed in Hungary over the past 20 years… Budapest is now a world-class city and both sides of the Danube are magnificent! But the idea of “missionary supremacy” still lives on in the least developed nations on earth.

Not too sure about that? Read on…

Emerito P. Nacpil, a missionary in the Philippines, has seen the following among young Filipinos:

”When they see a missionary, they see green—the colour of the mighty dollars. They see white, the colour of western imperialism and racism. They see an expert, the symbol of western technology and gadgetry. They see the face of a master, the mirror of their own servitude. They do not see the face of a suffering Christ but a benevolent monster.”

I know that many of you reading this article feel that I am stating my position too negatively and that I should concentrate on the positive examples. Of course there are many encouraging stories taking place right now all over the planet…

But my optimism is tempered by 25 years – on and off – of living overseas in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

What’s My Best Advice?

Three Words: “Follow Paul’s Example”

We must return to the apostolic model/method of church planting as seen in the New Testament, both power and practice!

Many overlook the Pauline pattern and suggest that they follow Jesus! Well, when it comes to following the Biblical record of starting house churches that multiply like rabbits throughout the Roman Empire of the 1st Century, the apostle Paul is our God-inspired example.

”When the Lord Jesus was personally on earth, the Church was not yet ordered, according to the form which He intended it to assume among men. He was engaged in collecting, rather than in arranging, the materials for His spiritual house; in preparing the living stones, not in building them together. (B.W. Newton 1843)

But if you think I am too pessimistic, hold onto your hat, because there is so much good news to report in this area:

> The huge (early) success of church planting movements (CPMs) by the Southern Baptists.

> The overwhelming support and embrace of missionaries across all denominational lines of the house church/simple church movement.

> Of late I am very impressed with Avant Ministries, a mission agency that is promoting “short cycle church planting teams”. The teams they send out to the far corners of the globe must complete their task within five years!! (Sounds like Paul to me! Jesus too!!)

With such a short cycle paradigm “missionary supremacy” (dependency and paternalism) hardly becomes an issue as from the VERY beginning they are planning their exit strategy!! I cannot tell you about their doctrine or beliefs but I love their emphasis of “get in and out” AS SOON AS POSSIBLE — something all missionaries give lip service to but most are woeful in terms of practice!

I close with one last quote from a missionary in Africa, Robert Reese, who also calls for a return to a New Testament pattern for fulfilling the Great Commission:

”It is necessary in the postcolonial period to return to basic New Testament patterns of missions. It is time to uncouple political power and military might from the spread of the gospel, as it was in the early church. There we find that missionaries did not create dependency except the importance of depending totally on God to supply needs. They regarded all wings of the body of Christ as equal despite long histories of racial discrimination among both Jews and Gentiles. They understood the primary task of missions as being to plant dynamic churches of the Saviour.”

Yours for the least in the Kingdom,

Jeff and Maria Gilbertson

“Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” (Rev 5:2)

One of the most beautiful portions in all of Scripture is the scene in heaven of God on His throne surrounded by the worshipful four living creatures and the 24 elders from Revelation 4 – 5. In the midst of the creatures and the elders we see the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Who is also seen as the slain Lamb!

Songwriters for centuries have powerfully portrayed this scene with songs such as: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty; The Lamb Who is Worthy; Worthy, O Worthy are You Lord, Revelation Song, etc”

Here is one such example:

”Worthy is the Lamb, Seated on the throne,
Crown You now with many crowns You reign victorious,
High and lifted up, Jesus Son of God
The Darling of heaven crucified,
Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb”

Most often the Lamb is seen as above: “slain for the sins of the world” and therefore most worthy. However, in Rev. 5 (which is the source of all these songs) the Lamb, because He was slain, is found worthy to open the scroll and break open its seals!

The focus is on the sealed-up scroll in the Father’s right hand and Who is worthy to break its seven seals!!

Right here is where, I believe, God is sovereignly shifting the focus of the church from looking backward to the cross to looking forward to the scroll.

His First Coming was about mercy, His Second Coming is about judgment.

I say “Halleluiah” to that!

You see, the scroll is the “title deed of earth” and as Jesus takes it from His Father’s right hand the creatures and the elders fall down in worship! All of heaven (and earth for that matter) recognize what is taking place: Jesus will break the 7 seals and open the scroll, the title deed of earth, and bring to an end “this present age” and usher in Eternity – “the age to come”.

Prior to this point, no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was found worthy to open the scroll. This fact sent John weeping greatly… Finally one of the elders told him to stop weeping for there is One who is worthy to open the scroll and break open it seals.

“Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Rev 5: 5)

Sadly, one of the most beautiful (and real) scenes in the Bible lies buried under clouds of confusion and uncertainty. And this all because the devil has misled the church over the past centuries into quarreling over the timing of the rapture!!

God forgive us and have mercy!

Can I say it again:

There is no portion of Scripture more disputed and dissected than the last book! There is no other book in the Bible that we allow ourselves the “freedom” to say that “We don’t get it…” or that you can interpret it as you want to! We even teach classes on the four “accepted” different interpretations of the book of Revelation!

Dear Saints, Don’t we understand what we are saying?

> Can there really be four different interpretations of the book of Revelation? Why don’t you use that same symbolism and approach with the cross? That’s what the Muslims and Hindus do…

> Can you really live at peace with your Creator and say to Him: “That stuff at the end of the ages– I just don’t get it!“

Might I suggest the unthinkable: Just read the book!

Read with me Revelation 5

Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”

But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen ” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

Now go to the Lord in prayer and in humility and ask Him for insight and understanding. Read it again and again… Read more and more. You will be stunned when you see that by breaking open the seven seals, Jesus releases judgments on the earth in real time and space like Moses released God’s judgments upon the Pharaoh and the people of Egypt.

Maybe you want to fast. That’s what Daniel did!

“So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes…. Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.” (Daniel 9:3, 20-22)

Actually, I am pointing to Daniel here very purposefully as Daniel unlocks our understanding of the book of Revelation. The two books must be treated as companion volumes.(i.e. Apocalyptic I, Apocalyptic II)

Much of the poor exegesis currently in vogue comes from not reading Revelation in context with Daniel and the other 100 plus End Time Scriptures scattered throughout the Bible. For a case in point, try reading Zechariah 14, Psalm 48, Isaiah 63 and Joel 2-3 and see if you can make any sense out of them!!

You might find out that you have a huge gap in your belief system…

Yours Until He Comes Again,

Jeff Gilbertson