In my previous post, I discussed what modern prophets should be focused on if they are indeed prophets of God. In this post, I want us to focus on the main topic that has been brought forth and for us to consider if such is true or not. So, what is this message that has stirred up so much controversy within Christian circles: a new outpouring of God’s glory on the earth.

Prophets in the past tried to warn their fellow citizens of the error of their ways and to focus on what they could not see rather than what they were seeing all around them. Many believed they were doing nothing wrong and that all was in order. Yet, the prophets stated that was not the case and they were living in sin. If they didn’t repent, then God was going to bring doom to them (in their case, captivity). Many did not listen, but for those who were true followers, the prophets also gave a message of hope to those who would hear. Isaiah prophesied and warned of the kingdom of Israel being taken captive by Assyria (Is 8:7-8) but also prophesied of their coming Messiah (Is 7:14), Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be under Babylonian rule for seventy years (Jr 25:11) but also prophesied of their divided kingdom one day being reunited (Jr 30:3) even more glorious than the way it had been in the past (Jr 31:38-40), and Ezekiel prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple (Ek 24:29-21), but then prophesied of a new and glorious temple that God would have built so they could worship God once again (Ek 40-48). Each of these prophets wanted their people to come back to God but warned of consequences of not doing so. Yet, they also made sure everyone knew that God would never abandon them and would bring wonderful things for them in their future.

Is this what modern prophets are doing as well? It seems some are. What is the message of hope some are giving to us? I have talked about this somewhat in a previous post (Kingdom Age). As I mentioned in that post, while some are saying we are on the cusp of the Kingdome Age, I see this as a fourth and final component of the Church Age. What are the Scriptural bases for such a thing to come about?

One such passage of Scripture is Daniel chapter 7. I have spoken about this passage as to what has been going on in our world recently (Will God Show Up Today?), but let’s focus on what was told Daniel that would come about after this. We find this in verses 26-27: “But the court will sit, and his [i.e., the fourth beast’s] power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.” It would seem this is not Christ’s Millennial Kingdom because he will be sovereign at that time, not the holy people themselves. Perhaps this is to what Paul alluded to when he said, “Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?” It seems Paul is comparing the Christians in Corinth to how they will be before Christ’s Kingdom, otherwise, it would not be such a straightforward comparison as to how they would be able to judge others.

Some have stated that this passage is referring to Christ’s Millennium Kingdom because the next sentence states that the kingdom of the Most High will last forever. While this is true, it is not necessarily implying that this kingdom is the same as the kingdom of the previous sentence. The consistency between the two sentences is the “Most High” not the “kingdom” of each sentence. While it is the holy people, or followers of Christ, who will be the rulers of this kingdom, it is under the leadership of the Most High as will the Millennial Kingdom be under his direction as well.

So, it would seem that our hope is not the return of Christ as this time, but the return of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. While this is not saying that all Christians don’t have the Holy Spirit living within them, we must admit that we are not operating in all the power of which we have access to through the Holy Spirit. Paul does tell us that because of what Christ did on the cross, we have access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead. Who can say we are operating with that same power?

If this is the only passage of Scripture about this, we would perhaps gloss over it. Yet, there are others we should review before we make a final consensus on this topic. Join me, and we’ll discuss this topic next time.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Good things usually take work; sort of a prelude to wonderment, if you will. God was showing Ezekiel the finished product when he was taken to the future Jerusalem. In our last post, we looked at some of the physical changes that had to occur before the temple Ezekiel saw was put into place. Today, let’s look at other preparations needed for this temple.

The prophet Daniel gives us one clue to when the preparation for this temple and the Promised Kingdom in which it will be utilized will occur. He seems to state that from the end of what is called The Tribulation Period to the beginning of this Promised Kingdom is a period of 45 days (Dn 12:11-13). There has been much speculation what this is supposed to mean, but it would make sense that there is a need for a time of preparation, or a prelude as I called it earlier. So, what will occur during this 45-day period. A lot actually:

·       The angels will be judged (1Co 6:3; Mt 25:41)

·       The survivors will be judged (Mt 25:31-46)

·       Assignments for the saints will be set in motion (Dn 12:13; Jr 30:9; Mt 19:28)

·       Nations, property, and laws will be established for the next 1000 years (Zc 14:17-21)

·       The temple is built (Ek 43:6-7; Zc 6:12-13).

The first question is whether 45 days is enough time to do all of that? Well, the simple answer is God can do anything. Some may think that a lame answer. Yet, it is true. However, let’s think about this. The number of people assisting are numerous, plus you will have angels helping as well. All these things will likely occur simultaneously. So, yes, I think even with our limited reasoning and understanding, 45 days is enough time to get all these things accomplished.

Who all will be part of the Millennium and experience all these wonderful things? The beginning of the Millennium will be almost like the antithesis of the earth after The Receiving (also called the Rapture). At this time, all those who have not accepted Christ as their Savior are removed. Two groups then enter the Millennium. One group is composed of those who were alive at the time of Christ’s return and who had accepted him as the hope for their future by placing their faith in him. They enter the Millennium in their current human bodies.

The other group is composed of those who are part of what is known as the first resurrection. These enter the Millennium in glorified bodies and will consist of the following: (1) those who returned with Christ when he came to destroy the Antichrist and bind Satan (Rv 19:14); these are considered the church, i.e., those from Christ’s resurrection until The Receiving who put their faith in him; (2) those who put their faith in Christ, their Messiah, prior to his resurrection (Dn 12:1-1); these are resurrected after Christ’s return and before the start of his reign (Rv 20:4); (3) those martyred for their faith during the Tribulation period; these also are resurrected after Christ’s return and before the start of his reign (Rv 20:4).

Can we know for sure that this will be a literal temple and Ezekiel’s vision not just allegory? I think there are at least two reasons we need to consider before we just dismiss this and ignore it.

1.      The detail provided about the temple is so great. It sort of reminds us of the detail God gave to Moses about the tabernacle. We know that was a real structure. Why give such detail if the whole thing is just allegory? Detail seems to imply actuality.

2.      The reason for this vision of the temple implies actuality. Remember, Ezekiel’s thoughts at this time were about the temple in Jerusalem, the sacrifices no longer being performed, and what all of that meant for himself and his people going forward. God is showing Ezekiel the future to give him hope. Hope gives purpose and resolve. Hope must be something tangible. Allegory can never provide hope because it is not tangible. God was giving Ezekiel hope. Therefore, the temple was something tangible.

Now, if this is tangible and real, the next question is why. Why would there need to be a temple with sacrifices? After all, didn’t Christ abolish the need for this? We have covered this previously, but I think it is worth repeating here. The sacrificial system will be a demonstration of what death means and how it creates separation. In one sense it is a visual aid—a very graphic one—and will show the seriousness of the consequence of one’s disobedience. As we stated above, the first resurrection brought those dead, and who had put their faith in Christ their Messiah, back to life. There is no record of another resurrection of the righteous, so death of the righteous is likely abolished during this time. A theocracy is re-established. Since Christ will be physically present, there is a need for cleansing for worship of a holy God. The sacrificial system demonstrates this need for holiness and purity in the presence of someone holy (Ek 43:26; Zc 13:1). This will also fulfil God’s promise to Israel that they as a nation will lead the world in worship of the one true God.

This temple is also different from what the Jews had up until this time. I’m sure this was not lost on Ezekiel who had trained to be a priest, but who never served because of his captivity. Also, certain Jewish feasts are observed, but not all. Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Matzah), and Firstfruit (Bikkurim) will be held to represent the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, now their King. The altar for sacrifices in front of the temple is still present to help the people see what their King did for them by taking their sins onto himself and accepting their punishment, i.e., death. They will have a visual representation of this. Passover will also be a celebration, not of God gathering them from Egypt into their Promised Land, but from gathering Jew and Israeli from all countries of the globe back to Israel and into his Promised Kingdom.

Inside the temple there is only the altar of incense, which represents the prayers of the people going up to their King. Coals from the altar of judgment are placed on the altar of incense to represent prayers of thanksgiving to their King for the payment he made in their place. The laver is gone, because their King is the one who purifies and is present with them. The menorah is gone, because their King is the light of the world and is present with them. The table of shewbread is gone, because their King is the bread of life and is present with them. The ark of the covenant and mercy seat are gone because their King now dwells in the Holy of Holies and is physically present with them. Celebrating the feast of tabernacles, or Sukkot, will be a celebration of their Messiah, their King, now physically dwelling with them. So, you see, there are many similarities to what the Jews once had, but also key significant differences. These differences are what is key and the answer to our question of why.

Does this get you excited? I hope it does. It will be a wonderful time—a time more wonderful than any current words can express. Prepare yourself. Put your faith in the one who will be the only one who can accomplish such things for us, the one who will become the King of kings, and still be the hope of our future.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

How did God reach out to Gentiles before New Testament times? First, we need to understand the succession of Gentile powers which occurred millennia before. How did these Gentile powers influence Israel? And how did God use these Gentile powers to his advantage – and to theirs?

Previous posts have discussed how the kingdom of Assyria took the Northern Kingdom of Israel captive in 722 BC, Babylon conquered Assyria in 606 BC, and then took the Southern Kingdom of Judah captive in 586 BC. Yet, there were a series of sieges of Jerusalem before this final destruction. The first siege occurred in 605 BC, just a year after defeating Assyria. Daniel was one of those taken captive during this first siege (Dn 1:1-7). God gives King Nebuchadnezzar a dream about a statue (Dn 2), and he later builds an actual statue of his vision demanding all to worship it (Dn 3:1-6). Daniel’s four friends refused to bow down to the statue and are thrown in a fiery furnace, but no harm comes to them (Dn 3:7-27). Nebuchadnezzar then proclaims no one in his realm should say anything derogatory against the God of Daniel or they would be destroyed (Dn 3:28-29). God used the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar to display His power and God received glory throughout his entire kingdom. No one knows how many proselytes were achieved because of this, but I’m sure it gave the Jews throughout the kingdom an opportunity to proclaim their God to many Gentiles in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.

Later, God struck Nebuchadnezzar with boanthropy because of his arrogance (Dn 4:32). This is a mental disease where a person thinks of himself as an ox and where one’s hair lengthens and one’s fingernails become very coarse and thickened. When Nebuchadnezzar’s senses returned to him, he admitted God was the Most High (Dn 4:34, 37). This is the second time, recorded anyway, that God made the citizens of the Babylonian Empire hear about God. The Jews throughout the kingdom could then help their Gentile neighbors understand more about their God.

Next, once the Persian Empire conquered Babylon, Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. This occurred in the first year Cyrus conquered Babylon. This was actually prophesied by Isaiah over one-hundred and fifty years prior to the event (Is 44:24-45:13). Through a series of circumstances, God allowed Daniel to be thrown into a lion’s den because of his worship of God. Yet, God preserved Daniel (Dn 6:22). Cyaxares II (Darius) then gave a proclamation to the entire kingdom that everyone should respect the God of Daniel (Dn 6:26-27). God was now proclaimed to an even larger Gentile audience, as the Persian Empire was much larger than the Babylonian Empire. It stretched from India to the west coast of Turkey.

Then, once King Xerxes I ruled the kingdom, a prominent person within the kingdom, named Haman, was embittered against the Jews and made a plot to achieve their destruction. His deception was found out by a Jew named Mordecai whose niece, named Esther, who had recently been named Queen, told of his plot to Xerxes (Es 4:7-8, 7:3-6, 8:3-4). Xerxes allowed Mordecai and Esther to draft a letter with his seal which was sent to all of the provinces of the Persian Empire. It allowed the Jews to fight back without restraint against any who would attack them as Haman had ordered (Es 8:9-10). If nothing else, this caused many within the empire to at least fear or have a respect for the God of the Jews. I’m sure it made many question who this God the Jews served was and wanted to know more about him.

Many years later, Alexander the Great came on the scene and conquered all the land from Greece all the way to India, including all the land of the Persian Empire. When he approached Jerusalem, Jaddua, the priest in Jerusalem, showed Alexander the prophecy about him in the book of Daniel (Dn 11:1-3). Alexander believed this confirmed a vision he had received earlier. Alexander then allowed Jerusalem to be saved from attack, and the Jews were allowed to abide by their own laws. Many Jews went with him on his campaign. This further allowed many within Alexander the Great’s army, and many throughout the kingdom, to hear about the God of the Jews.

We can know many proselytes were created because in Acts 2 many of all these areas, now part of the Roman and Parthian Empires, were present in Jerusalem for Shavuot (i.e., Pentecost). This again helps us see how God has always been inclusive of everyone. Isn’t our God wonderful!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens