WHY A LOVING GOD ALLOWS EVIL

First, let me say, God loves everyone.  He is no respecter of persons.  Yet, all of us face different obstacles, opportunities, and associations; sometimes due to our own initiative, and sometimes due to factors beyond our control.  In the beginning men were given equal opportunities; facing the same opportunities and obstacles.  However, as men multiplied on the earth, settled in different areas, and made decisions that affected not only their lives, but those of their children and grandchildren after them, the outcomes of these multiplied decisions produced many varied results.  Some of these decisions led to entire people groups becoming ensnared in idolatry, paganism, barbarism, and some even devolving into uncivilized cultures.  When one considers the inequities of birth; one is born into a culture of cannibalism, ignorance, and superstition, while on the other side of the world a child is born to affluent parents with all the comforts of life; to include a knowledge of the true God, and access to the Word of God, it does appear that God is not fair.  But, let’s be honest:  God set man in a beautiful garden with regular communion with God Himself.  It was man’s choice to disobey God.  Further disobedience led to greater distance from God.  Paul explained how pagan, uncivilized cultures came into being in Romans 1:20-25, “…they are without excuse: ²¹ because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. ²⁴ Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: ²⁵ who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”   Consider the nations that lead the world in prosperity, education, freedom, and strength:  they have a history steeped in Judeo-Christian faith and practice! 

From the very beginning men were given the freedom to choose between good and evil.  As "free moral agents" we are capable of great good, and also of great evil.  I suppose to understand why God allows evil we must have a grasp of the concept of free will.  In the simplest terms:  God wants to be loved because He loves us.  But, if those from whom He desires love have no choice but to love Him, it really is not love.  It has been said that love is a decision.  Without free will there is no opportunity to decide; the decision having already been made by the Creator.  Thus, God gave His creatures; angels and men, the gift of free will. 

We can see the result of free will within the angelic realm.  A third of heaven's angels chose to reject God, choosing one of their own, Lucifer, to take the throne of Heaven (Is. 14:13, "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:".  According to Scripture God desires sons and daughters.  The expressed purpose of Jesus' coming to earth is to save people from sin; culminating in their adoption as sons and daughters into the family of God:  Ga. 4:4-5, "but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵ to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.".  God promised that if we will repent that He will become our Father, and we His children:  2 Co. 6:17-18, "¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸ and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."  The writer of the Book of Hebrews also tells us that Jesus came "to bring many sons and daughters unto glory" (He. 2:10).  In addition to His plan of filling Heaven with "many sons and daughters," God promised us something so much better than any of the angels received:  bodies like His (Phi. 3:21, "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body."  Desiring sons and daughters that shall possess all His divine attributes poses a potential dilemma:  what if glorified men should decide to rebel after they were in heaven?  How can the Lord be sure that nothing of that sort would ever happen?  First, all men have received the essence of eternal existence; the “breath of God” (Ge. 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”).  Ecclesiastes 3:21 tells us that not all living creatures have immortal souls:  “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”  All men have been given eternal souls; even the unsaved.  Hence, that which makes us unique among earth’s residents is that which prevents the unsaved at death from ceasing to exist.  This may be a simple explanation as to why the punishment of the damned must be eternal.  But, it also assures us that believers will never die.  This brings us to why God allows us to go through trials and tribulations.  If we trust God in spite of unexplained pain, heartache, and injustice while in our weakest state (in these mortal bodies), when we are endowed with glorified bodies, with all the knowledge and power of Jesus (1 Jn. 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as he is.”) we will have been “accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead” (Lk. 20:35), then our love for God, tried and tested, will never fail.

Okay, it makes sense that we should be tested before being endowed with a glorified body, but why did God allow men like Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany and Pol Pot in Cambodia to perpetrate so much evil upon the world?  Why did He allow predators like Jeffrey Dalmer, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, and a long list of others to go on killing sprees of innocent victims; some mere children?  To answer these questions we should understand just what God considers evil.  Certainly the murders committed by the aforementioned men are evil in God’s sight.  But, if we are intent on blaming God for allowing evil to exist in the world, we must bear in mind the extreme measures that God would have to take in order to prevent evil. 

Certainly God knows what will happen in the future, so why not prevent Klara Hitler from conceiving and giving birth to baby Adolph?  Based on the same reasoning shouldn’t God prevent the birth of King David because He foreknew that King David would commit adultery with Bathsheba, and would kill her husband, Uriah, in order to conceal his sin (2 Sa. 11)?  Exodus 32, Deuteronomy 4, and Judges 3, all identify idolatry as evil in the sight of the Lord.  Should God kill every person in the world that worships idols?  The Bible calls oppression of the poor evil.  It identifies lying, cheating, stealing, swearing, and many other things as evil.  As a matter of fact God says of the heart of all men in Jeremiah 17:9:  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Today by the grace of God I am a child of God.  But, I have not always been so.  If God did not allow evil I wonder if He would have killed me during my years of rebellion against Him?  How do you think you would have fared?  You may say that God could prevent evil without killing evil doers.  How; without suspending free will?  And if He suspended free will how could He know whom He could trust with an eternal glorified body?  If He gave mankind a strong warning that if they commit evil that He will throw them into a lake of fire someday, do you think that would curb their evil?  Evidence would suggest otherwise.  Because He does not immediately slay evildoers some of us will live long enough to make peace with God.  And if the argument is made that God should repress only the worst kinds of evil, what would be the cut-off?  If we draw the line at murder Moses and King David would not survive.  If we draw the line at fornication millions would not survive.  If the line is drawn at lying no one would survive. 

I think that because He is a loving God He allows evil knowing that some of us evil doers will repent, and become His sons and daughters.  Bottom line is:  God is not evil.  People are evil.  If anyone has a gripe, it isn’t with God; it’s with men!

ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES-THE SALVATION OF ISRAEL

Romans 11:25-28, “²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶ And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ²⁷ for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. ²⁸ As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.”

In the above verses there is an assurance of the salvation of the Jewish people.  There will come a day when the nation will experience salvation from one end of Israel to the other.  In verse 15 of Romans 11 Paul informs us that the salvation of Israel will signal the resurrection (“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”); thus, marking the conclusion of the first resurrection: Re. 20:4-5, “ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”  Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection; followed by the resurrection of the Old Testament saints (Ephesians 4:7-10, quoting from Psalms 68), to be followed by the saints at the Rapture of the Church, and completed at the end of the Great Tribulation when the tribulation martyrs are resurrected. 

Paul explained that due to their rejection of the gospel the majority of the Jews have been blinded to the truth; only an elect few and a specific number of Gentiles will be saved (vs. 25, “…blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”):   “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded…¹¹ I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. ¹² Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”  According to Zechariah 12:6-11, when the nations invade Israel to utterly destroy the Jews, Jesus will return to fight for them at Armageddon:  whose presence will remove the blinders from their eyes; thus, inspiring the conversion of the whole nation:  “⁶ In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. ⁷ The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. ⁸ In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. ⁹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. ¹¹ In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.”  

Though salvation of the nation as a whole will not take place until Jesus’ return at Armageddon, the reference in verse 6 to Israel’s remarkable military prowess, which can be traced to the time of her rebirth in 1948 until the present, implies that the opening of her eyes may actually be gradual; culminating at Armageddon.  It is apparent that the Jews have been returning to the Lord in significant numbers in recent years ("Today the latest reports estimate almost 20,000 and 150 congregations in “the Land” (as Eretz Yisrael is called), while globally the reports range as high as 300,000 Messianic Jewish believers."(Charisma Magazine October 29, 2013))  Since 1948 there has been a steady turning to Jesus among Jews:  "Now there are an estimated 150 Jewish [messianic] congregations around Israel meeting in different languages. The number of believers is estimated to be around 20,000, growing exponentially from 1948 when 12 Jews who believed in Jesus could be counted, to 1987 when there were 3,000 and 1997 where there were 5,000."  Baptist Press, May 26, 2011.

The evangelistic efforts of Gentile Christians to convert Jews to Jesus has done more than account for the statistics mentioned.  The seeds of the gospel have been planted in the hearts of many millions more Jews whose decisions for Christ may not come until the Second Coming of Christ.  Zechariah 13:1 says that when Jesus returns the salvation of the Jews will be complete:  “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”  However, we should not wait until then to attempt to reach the Jews.  We believe that the Church will be taken to heaven seven years prior to the Second Coming.  Our efforts for the conversion of Israel must be now.  Pray for revival in Israel, for more Jews to come to Jesus and messianic congregations to spring up; both internationally and in Israel, and for the New Testament to be opened by more and more Jews.  Of all the prophetic signs announcing the coming of Jesus, none is more important and apparent than the salvation of the Jews.  Though the first century saw thousands of Jews coming to Jesus, it is not until this generation, beginning with the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948, that this final end time prophecy has shown significant signs of fulfillment.  The referenced “fulness of the Gentiles” suggests that a certain number of Gentiles will be saved, and then the blindness that Israel has experienced will be removed.  As we follow the increase in Jewish converts, we, at the same, have noted the general disinterest, and even outright resistance to the gospel among many Gentiles, signaling that very soon the Rapture will take place.  However, the absence of the Church will not mean that the Jews will no longer have a voice calling them to repentance:  In the first half of the tribulation period God will send two witnesses to preach Jesus in the streets of Jerusalem; apparently directed toward the salvation of Israel.  According to Revelation 11 they will perform miraculous signs and wonders to convince their intended audience, and to protect themselves against the wrath of the Antichrist, and the apostate millions of the earth:  “³ And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.⁴ These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. ⁵ And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. ⁶ These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”  If there is not a mass conversion among the Jews as a result of these two witnesses, surely there will at the minimum be the deposit of gospel seed into their hearts.  Although God will give The Two Witnesses the ability to protect themselves supernaturally, their time on Earth will be finite and has already been predetermined by God to be only 3 ½ years. After their pre-determined 3 ½ years on Earth prophesying, God will remove his protection and they will be killed by the Antichrist:  “⁷ And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”

After their death, the bodies of the two witnesses will be left unburied on the streets of Jerusalem for 3½ days as a macabre and ominous warning for all to see. In Biblical times, leaving a body unburied like this was one of the worst means of defiling and disrespecting someone who has died. In response to their murder, which brings an end to the droughts and plagues caused by the witnesses, their slayings will be greeted with much rejoicing throughout the world: Revelation 11:8-10, “⁸ And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹ And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. ¹⁰ And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”  Just like Jesus, in the same city of Jerusalem, the two witnesses will be raised from the dead. Their mission to prophesy to Israel will be complete. The ascension of the two witnesses into Heaven will  happen publically in front of crowds of people. One can assume, in today’s age of instant communication via satellite TV and internet, the resurrection and ascension of these two witnesses will be seen by millions and millions all over the world: Revelation 11:11-12, “¹¹ And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. ¹² And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

The upsurge in Jewish interest in Christianity in this generation is surely an indication that we are living on the threshold of the return of Jesus Christ.  At no other time in history has the nation been positioned for conversion.  As Israel witnesses the loss of reliable allies at government level her leaders recognize that they have one unflinching partner—Christians.  Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly recognized the support of the many Christian groups that support Israel.  In a televised address to the annual meeting of Christians United for Israel in July 2011, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “When you support Israel, you don’t have to choose between your interests and your values; you get both. … Our enemies think that we are you, and that you are us. And you know something? They are  absolutely right” (96 | MEDITERRANEAN REVIEW | Vol. 5, No. 1 [June 2012]). 

 

ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES--ARMAGEDDON

When we think of the end of the world as we know it, our minds invariably go to the Battle of Armageddon.  It will be at Armageddon that the world will experience the greatest transition of all time:  the nations will undergo universal changes in government, religion, economy, and cooperation.  The deceptive influence of satanic interference in the affairs of this world will be removed for a period of a thousand years during the Millennial Reign of Christ.  The direct influence of Armageddon upon Israel will be the reality of that for which their forebears had looked:  the rule of the Messiah upon the throne of David, and the deliverance of Israel from Gentile oppression.

The Battle of Armageddon will be one of the bloodiest, if not the bloodiest, battles of all time.  It will be marked by the death of two thirds of the Jewish people, and the destruction of all the armies that shall stand in opposition of Israel, and her Messiah.

The fact that the Jews have survived the many attempts during the previous nineteen centuries to exterminate them testifies to the power of God to fulfill His promise to Abraham. Many times in history the Jews have been slaughtered with the last major slaughter being the holocaust in Germany when one third of the world's Jews were murdered. In spite of this the Jews survive as a race and religion and many are now back in their land just as was foretold by their prophets. There will be a final attempt to exterminate the Jews by satanic forces. At that time scripture indicates that two thirds of all the Jews in the land will be killed and one third will be refined through the fire:  Zechariah 13:8-9, “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. ⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God”. Satan understands that the promised Messiah is Jewish and by exterminating the Jews he knows the promised Jewish Kingdom on earth can never take place.

Jesus gave a warning to the Jews concerning the last days in Matthew 24.  He referenced Daniel’s prophecy in Da. 9:27 wherein the Antichrist will desecrate the Temple with the abomination of desolation (verse 15).  He, then, warned them to flee in verse 16:  “then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains”.  This flight was first prophesied in Isaiah 16:4-5, wherein the prophet foretold a future in which the outcasts of Israel would seek refuge in Moab (present day Jordan), followed by the enthronement of the Messiah upon the throne of David (spiritually having already taken place, but literally taking place when Jesus returns and puts down all dominion at Armageddon), initiating a time of universal righteousness:  “Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. ⁵ And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.”   Daniel 11:41 says that Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from His (Antichrist’s) hand:  “He (the Antichrist) shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.” Edom and Moab occupied lands that belong to Jordan today, and the leaders of Ammon are the Hashemite family, with King Abdullah II as its head.  This family has ruled Jordan, whose capital is Amman (after Ammon), since its inception. There are several references that when combined lead scholars to conclude that at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, believing Jews will flee to Petra in southern Jordan, where they’ll be supernaturally protected by the Lord. In Matt. 24:16 the Lord warned those in Judea (Israel) to flee to the mountains when they see the abomination of desolation.  The closest mountains are to the east in southern Jordan where Petra is located. Rev. 12 tells of Satan pursuing the Jews across the desert as they flee to a place prepared for them:  “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (symbolic for the nation of Israel)… And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God (Petra?), that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 ½ years)… And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (3 ½ years), from the face of the serpent (the satanically possessed Antichrist). . . This desert lies between Israel and the mountains of southern Jordan around the northern and eastern shores of the Dead Sea. And in Isaiah 63: 1-6 there’s a description of the Lord coming from Bozrah in Edom after single handedly defeating His enemies there: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. ² Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? ³ I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. ⁴ For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. ⁵ And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. ⁶ And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth”. Bozrah is the region of Edom where Petra is located.  This indicates that when the time comes the Lord will declare Jordan off limits to the anti-Christ and give His people refuge there.

It will be in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week that the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel, desecrate the Temple, and pursue the fleeing Jews into the wilderness of Jordan.  For the next 42 months they will remain there while the Antichrist continues his rise to power.  During that time he will be occupied by wars of conquest (Da. 11:44, “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many”).  At the conclusion of this time he will lead the nations of the earth in an attack of Israel.  Evidently his armies will also seek to destroy the Jews that had taken refuge in Jordan; thus, the prophecy of Isaiah 63, wherein, the Messiah is seen returning from Bozrah with his garments dyed red from the blood of his adversaries.  Zechariah 12-14 describes the invasion of Israel in the last days, and the coming of Jesus to fight for Jerusalem.  Joel also prophesied of this great event:  Joel 3:9-14, “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: ¹⁰ beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. ¹¹ Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. ¹² Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. ¹³ Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. ¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”  The Lord’s “mighty ones” (vs. 11) are the host of heaven consisting of the glorified saints and angels:  Revelation 19:1-21, “¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ¹² His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. ¹³ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; ¹⁸ that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. ¹⁹ And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. ²⁰ And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”  Revelation 14:19-20 describes the enormity of the destruction of the multiplied millions that shall die at Armageddon:  “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth (the unsaved that shall come against Israel at Armageddon) , and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs (200 miles).”  The human body holds six quarts of blood.  Millions upon millions will be crushed in the winepress of God’s wrath at Armageddon!

According to Ezekiel 38:23, after the War of Gog and Magog, God said that many nations will acknowledge that He is the Lord.  How soon they will forget.  Their delusion will become so blinding, their hatred of God so intense, and their apostasy so complete that the nations will actually think that they can prevail against God!

When the Lord Himself comes to fight for them the blinders will drop from the eyes of the remnant of Israel, leading to the conversion of Israel. 

Next week we will conclude our series ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES with THE SALVATION OF ISRAEL.

 

 

ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES--THE THIRD TEMPLE

 

 

As Christians we are looking for the soon appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The many prophetic signs of His return for the most part have been fulfilled.  Those of us that believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church believe that the remaining unfulfilled prophecies do not have to take place before the Rapture.  There is, however, according to the dispensationalist position, one prophecy that must be fulfilled either before the Rapture, or very soon thereafter.  It concerns the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Reliable sources (Christian teachers such as Grant Jefferies and Hal Lindsay, and fundamentalist Jews, such as Chaim Richman, Head of the Temple Institute International) state that preparations have already been set in place for the reinstitution of temple worship.  Utensils, altars, blue prints, and building materials; as well as fully trained Levites, have been prepared for the temple worship to resume in our generation.  Several prophecies from both the Old and the New Testaments attest to the building of a third temple.

Around twenty six hundred years ago Daniel recorded a vision that he was given concerning the future of his nation:  Daniel 9:24-27, “²⁴ Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. ²⁵ Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶ And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”  The beginning of the vision indicates that it will culminate with the end of sin.  We know that this will not be realized until the very end time.  Thus, the fulfillment of the vision will not be fully realized until Jesus returns.  Here is the essence of his vision.  There are three divisions of time mentioned in the vision:  7 weeks, 62 weeks, and one week.  Understanding that each week is actually a week of years, or 7 years; we can calculate that the first division is actually 49 years, the second; 434 years, and the last; 7 years.  From the decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem by Artaxerxes in 452 B.C. until the Messiah was “cut off” was 483 years:  Christ being crucified about 31 to 33 A.D.  From that time the church age commenced, and the vision concerning Daniel’s “people and city” (verse 24) experienced a pause.  Not until the church age ends at the Rapture will the seventieth week of Daniel begin to run its course.  This final seven years will be the period commonly known as the Great Tribulation, though the Great Tribulation, or the time of Jacob’s trouble; Jer. 30, will not actually commence until the middle of the final period of seven years.  What is noteworthy about the final week of Daniel’s vision is that in the middle of the week “the prince that shall come”, the Antichrist, will “cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”  What this means is that the Temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt for sacrifices and oblations to once again be offered. 

It was in reference to this event to which Jesus referred in Matthew 24:15-24: “¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶ then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains: ¹⁷ let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸ neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹ And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰ But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹ for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”  The context of Jesus’ warning is in reference to the Jews only.  Daniel appointed a seven year period in which the Antichrist would confirm a covenant (Middle East peace?) for seven years; in the midst of which he will violate the covenant.  According to 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 the Antichrist will become the abomination of desolation when he sits in the temple of God purporting to be God:   “³ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴ 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, shewing himself that he is God. ⁵ Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? ⁶ And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 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: ⁹ even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: ¹² that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”  Jesus’ warning in Mt. 24 will fall on many deaf ears in Israel; however, it seems that many others will take flight (Re. 12), fleeing into Moab (modern Jordan) to perhaps the ancient city of Petra/Bozrah (more about this in the next study).  What is important to note is that religion will once again flourish in Jerusalem, leading to the rebuilding of the Temple, and the reinstitution of the sacrificial system. 

The problem with rebuilding the Temple since the nation of Israel was reborn in 1948 has been the presence of the Dome of the Rock, which has sat on the Temple Mount since 691 A.D.  Recent revelations have revealed that the Dome of the Rock does not actually sit on the site of the Temple, but on the site of the court of the Gentiles.  It is possible that the Temple may be rebuilt right next to the Dome under a treaty agreement brokered by the Antichrist (Da. 9:27).  Perhaps the War of Gog and Magog may be the motivation for such a treaty, and the willingness of the Islamic world to accept it.  Revelation 11:1-2 suggests that the court of the Gentiles will not be a part of the Third Temple; hence the probability that the Dome will stand along side the Temple:  “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. ² But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

Interest in building the third temple is mounting in Israel.  According to the Jerusalem Post, 8/4/2013, the government of Israel has given tax money to groups that advocate the building of the Third Temple.  If this is discreet government support for this project, the reality of the Third Temple may not be far off.  What this could mean for Christians is that our meeting with Jesus in the air may be very close indeed! 

ISRAEL AND THE END TIMES--THE WAR OF GOG AND MAGOG

Part One—The War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39)

 

Romans 11:25-26 prophesies of the future salvation of Israel:  “²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.²⁶ And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…” at the return of Jesus Christ (Zechariah 12-13).  The referenced salvation will not take place, according to this passage, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”  What this means is that God’s dealing with the Gentiles will come to a close and the scales will be removed from the eyes of the Jews, causing them to recognize that Jesus of Nazareth is their long awaited Messiah.  But, before the national conversion of the Jews takes place they will suffer what Jeremiah called the time of Jacob’s trouble:  Jer. 30:7, “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”  This time of Jacob’s trouble we believe will begin when the “prince that shall come” (the Antichrist) (Daniel 9:26) breaks a covenant of peace with Israel in the middle of the 70^th week of Daniel (a period of seven years):  verse 27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”  

I believe that the Rapture of the Church will take place before the commencement of the final seven years of this age.  Referring to the vision of seventy weeks that Daniel described in Daniel 9:24-27, the prophet wrote that there will be three divisions of the seventy weeks:  7 weeks (49 years) from the command to restore and to rebuild the city of Jerusalem until its completion, 62 weeks from the restoration of Jerusalem until the Messiah is cut off (crucified), and one week for the consummation of the ages (the tribulation period).  We know that the end of the final seven years will be marked by the Second Coming.  What is not mentioned is what initiates its beginning.  Consistency with the first two divisions demands that the final division be clearly marked as to its beginning.  I believe the beginning will be marked either by the War of Gog and Magog (Ezk. 38-39), or the Rapture.  Ezekiel’s prophecy seems to imply that no nation will come to the aid of Israel when she is attacked by the nations mentioned in this prophecy.  Because both Paul and John prophesied that the church is not appointed to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9), and will be kept from the hour of temptation that shall try all that dwell upon the earth (Re. 3:10), it is probable that the Rapture will take place just before the war.  So, you see, there are still a great many things to take place in regards to Israel before the end.  For the next three studies we will examine:  (1)  The War of Gog and Magog, (2)  The Third Temple, and (3) The War of Armageddon.

 

Nations from six regions of the earth will invade Israel before the Great Tribulation:  Gog (the leader of a Russian led invasion-Meshech and Tubal), Persia (Middle East), Libya (North Africa), Ethiopia (Sudan), Gomer (Eastern Europe), and Togarmah (Turkey).  Considering the present geo-political makeup of modern national alliances it is interesting that these regions are currently in league; either by mutual defense treaties, by trade, or by mutual interest.  In regards to Israel all of them have in the past been involved in aggression against Israel and have been repulsed or defeated by Israel.  

Up to the very present Russia has been a key supplier of arms and expertise to Israel’s foes.  Russia is the most offensive persecutor of Jews in modern times; with the exception of Nazi Germany).  During purges by Stalin it has been estimated that upwards of a million Jews were slaughtered by the Communists.  Russia continues to interfere in the Middle East siding against Israel by supplying her neighbors with arms and supplies for use against her.  Having a large Islamic presence in her southern region Russia unsurprisingly will be involved in this invasion of Israel.  Another possibility is that due to Russian treaties with both Syria and Iran, an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel, or a major strike by Israel upon Syria could initiate Russia’s mutual defense treaties with either of these nations.

To the east of Israel, Iran has been progressing with its nuclear program, having boasted publicly that their goal is the annihilation of Israel.  Israel has stated that a nuclear Iran is not an option.  A preemptive strike against Iran is long overdue, and is a strong contender as the spark that will initiate an invasion of Israel as described in Ezekiel 38.

Long a moderate Islamic state, Turkey, since the election of its current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has began a swift shift from moderation to radical Islam.  Now a vocal opponent of Israel, Turkey’s government for the first time in modern history is ideally positioned to join a confederation of invaders into Israel.

Of the other nations from the Middle East, North Africa and Sudan; all are Islamic in population and governments.  All are hostile to Israel, and oppose the presence of an Israeli state in the Middle East.  For the first time, these nations are bound by treaties, and possess the same agenda concerning Israel.  The conditions for the invasion spoken of by Ezekiel need no further refinement.  We could be on the brink of this event that many believe will initiate the beginning of the end (the Rapture, the rise of Antichrist, and Armageddon).

Since this is a commentary of Israel’s future, let’s consider the possible climate in the nation leading up to this war.  Ezekiel said in 38:8 that the Jews will be dwelling peacefully at this time.  It may be that the covenant of peace spoken of by Daniel 9:27 will have been ratified.  Perhaps the result of a successful military operation of Israel against Iran will cause the United Nations to ratchet up the peace process; drafting a treaty calling for a moratorium on hostilities to last seven years. It may also be that the conditions of said peace accord will provoke these nations to make their assault.  Perhaps even an allowing for of the construction of a new temple on the Temple Mount (?)  The Israelis have proven to be too powerful militarily for her neighbors in the past six decades, so this may be their final thrust to push Israel out of the Middle East.

What we know from Ezekiel’s prophecy is that when they begin their move toward Israel other nations will inquire of their intent:  verse 13, “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”  The nations making this inquiry are Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish.  Some modern experts link Sheba and Dedan to Saudia Arabia; while others think that Tarshish is a reference to Great Britain.  The young lions thereof, they believe refer to her colonies; of which the United States would be one.  If this view is correct, it seems that these nations will not intervene.  Perhaps their inquiry will be manifested in a U.N. condemnation. 

God, Himself, therefore, will intervene for Israel.  Chapter 39 describes the outcome of the invasion.  God will destroy five sixths of the army that shall invade Israel.  The might of Russia will be destroyed at that time.  Verse 9 says that Israel will spoil the enemy, using their weapons as a source of energy for the next seven years.  What is significant about seven years at this time in history?  The final period of time after the Rapture of the Church will be the seven year period known commonly as the Great Tribulation!  This is further cause to think that the War of Gog and Magog may be the starting point of Daniel’s seventieth week.

Next week:  Part Two—The Temple Rebuilt

Doubtful Disputations-Birth Control and Abortion

Preface

 

Some form of birth control has been a round from ancient times.  However, a long history does not necessarily validate a practice.  So, are some forms of birth control acceptable with God?  There really is no explicit prohibition against birth control in the Bible; however, there is a command to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28).  Considering His command to be “fruitful” is it a violation of God’s expressed will to practice family planning?  The answer to these questions are not clear, and perhaps are best left to individuals as they sincerely seek to follow the Lord.  Birth control measures that do not include abortion, I believe, fall under the intent of Paul’s counsel concerning “doubtful disputations.”  I have included abortion in this study, not because it qualifies as a “doubtful disputation,” but because it is most often a form of birth control.

Though some forms of birth control are probably acceptable, it is certain that ending the life of an unborn child as a form of birth control is not acceptable.  Though there is passionate disagreement with that statement, even among Christians and church organizations, I believe with intense conviction that intentionally aborting the life of an unborn child is murder; in violation of the sixth commandment—“thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).  However, what I believe must be substantiated by Scripture, or mine is just another meaningless opinion.  So, let’s see what Scripture says about birth control and the sanctity of human life.

 

1.  BIRTH CONTROL IS FOUND IN ONLY ONE PASSAGE.  You may already be familiar with the events of Genesis 38:1-30, though the meaning might not be quite clear, there being varied interpretations.  In a nutshell:  Er, the eldest son of Judah was slain by the Lord for some evil that he had committed.  Dying childless, it fell to the second son to marry his widow, Tamar, and to produce a child on behalf of his elder brother.  Onan, not wanting his child to become the legal offspring of his brother, refused to impregnate Tamar.  For this thing God killed him also.  Of all the commentaries that I have read concerning Onan’s actions only the Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible points out the fact that the Messiah was prophesied to some day come through the family lineage of Judah, and that by spilling his seed upon the ground, Onan not only violated the law, his actions were a direct attempt to prevent the coming of the Messiah.  He may have not had that in mind, but surely Satan knew the prophesy, and used Onan’s selfish attitude to accomplish his plan.  This method of birth control was not, in itself, condemned by God’s judgment upon Onan.  His disregard for the messianic prophecy and honor granted to him, not the fact that he spilled his seed upon the ground, became his ruin. 

There is some debate about a couple forms of birth control that suggest that they potentially may abort a fertilized egg.  The Inter-Uterine Device (IUD) abosolutely does cause the abortion of a fertilized egg by preventing it from attaching to the uterine wall, thus, making it impossible for it to survive.  Some birth control pills failing to prevent an egg from being fertilized can contribute to preventing the fertilized egg from attaching itself to the wall of the uterus, thus, leading to the abortion of this human being at the earliest stage of development.

Because it is impossible to know if the pill prevented the pregnancy, or aborted a fertilized egg some women take no chances, and use alternate birth control measures.

 

2.  ABORTION TAKES A HUMAN LIFE.  According to the Bible before we were born, before and while developing in the womb, God knew us:  Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…”  David also said concerning this stage of human development:  Psalm 139:16, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”  In both passages the unborn child is given personhood by the use of personal pronouns describing both David and Jeremiah.

There is a controversial passage of Scripture used by “pro-choice” Christians found in Exodus 21:22:  “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.”  The phrase “so that her fruit depart from her” which is found in the AKJV reads in some translations, either “if she miscarriages” or “if she delivers prematurely”; giving quite opposite meanings to the verse.  If we are to acknowledge, as the “pro-choice” factions do that the proper translation is “miscarriage”, then it would seem that God puts a lesser value on the unborn child than He does the mother.  If, on the other hand, the meaning is that the baby comes early it becomes clear by the punishment imposed by injury or death to the baby that the Lord values the life of the child to be equal to that of its mother:  verse 23, “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life…”.  In this case we have grounds to assert that killing an unborn baby is equal to killing a person any time after their birth.  

 

3.  HOW SHOULD WE MINISTER TO PRO-CHOICE PEOPLE?  I believe that abortion is murder.  But, because so many people have been mislead by the medical, political, and women’s movement crowd, I believe that there is lacking the malice toward the unborn child that one would find in the murder of a person post birth.  It only furthers the divide to accuse them of murder.  Calling names, making accusations, and pronouncing damnation upon some misguided, confused young person will not draw them to Jesus.  Paul offered the best counsel that one can find when he said in Ephesian 4:15, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”  How will they know that what they do is wrong if we fail to say anything?  Yet, on the other hand, the likelihood that they will listen to us is very slight if we approach them in a spirit of anger, self-righteousness, or loathing. 

Bombing abortion clinics, murdering abortionists, and ranting against young expectant mothers are not acts of love.  Supporting expectant mothers, offering homes for unwanted babies, volunteering in and/or financially supporting Pregnancy Help Centers are all measures that show love for both mother and baby.  If we consider what Jesus would do I believe that His answer is found in His own statement about Himself in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  I believe this verse says what side of the life question Jesus is on, and also where Satan stands.  As for me and my house, we will stand with the Lord.

 

CONCLUSION:  I know Christians that have had abortions.  Many others have perhaps used birth control measures that have the potential to cause abortions.  There is therefore now no condemnation.  Like all sin, abortion can be forgiven.  If you are concerned that you might have used a birth control measure that might have caused an abortion, ask the Lord to forgive you, and seek a measure that is safe for an unexpected life.  We must speak up for the innocent unborn child, yet at the same time be mindful that how we conduct ourselves will also have an effect on those on the other side of the debate.