The gap in Biblical prophecy
It's hard for me to forget that time years ago when I was discussing the prophetic" gap" on a blog, and a reader responded that the only gap of which he had been made aware was the one between my ears.
Well, I may still be a bit brain challenged, but the Scriptures are what they are, and I am fascinated by the consistency of Old Testament prophecy. New Testament, too, for that matter. They all seem limited to a church-less view of the future. As planned.
It all starts in the first of the prophets' books, the book of Isaiah. 9:6-7, to be exact. A Son is to be born. We all know the story. But the author's vision is suddenly taken past all the wonderful life of which we know and brought to what is still our future, the time when Jesus will control the government on this planet. The Son has been given, it seems, for the specific reason of ruling and reigning. All the in-between stuff we must find elsewhere.
In Isaiah's sublime 53rd chapter we are in one moment dealing with a bruised Son of God and in the next with how that Son inherits all.
Daniel, in the famous 70-weeks prophecy of chapter 9, sees Messiah cut off, killed. And the next thing we know, we are dealing with the antichrist in the days before Jesus' coming. Big gap there. Daniel 11 jumps with ease from obscure pre-Christian history to the end of all things in the Tribulation period.
Joel 2, quoted by the apostle Peter on the first Pentecost (for the church), is perhaps the most well-known gap statement of all. There is no question that the outpouring of the Spirit on that special day is being prophesied at first. But in that same passage are dire predictions of doom that have not yet come to pass. Joel simply did not see the content between the two events. A person reading his book, and Joel himself, would infer that the outpouring and the judgment were only hours or days apart, or perhaps simultaneous.
Micah (5) sees one born in Bethlehem. But like Isaiah, this one is to be ruler of all. Casual readers of Scripture would have to assume that whoever it might be would grow up to be the King. Period. We know "the rest of the story." But who can blame the apostles for wanting the King to be the King now? We still hear such talk, by the way, though Jesus has already identified Satan as the temporary "prince of this world," Paul calling him the "prince of the power of the air."
Zechariah rounds out the creation of this pattern in his prophecy of the lowly donkey-riding Messiah (9:9), fulfilled on the day we have called "Palm Sunday." Not yet fulfilled is the fact stated in the next verse that His dominion shall be from sea to sea (9:10). I know Jesus does not have dominion yet because I have seen abortion clinics, gay weddings, bars, brothels, junk food stores, pollution, and Islamic meeting places. When Jesus rules the earth as in this prophecy, none of these things will be around.
Jesus, when He came the first time and fulfilled much but not all of the prophets' words, made some predictions of His own. So too did John, and to a lesser extent Paul and Peter and Jude, but in every case the "gap" is maintained. They saw the end of all things but virtually nothing in between themselves and that end.
We are left with the Spirit of God in our day, and the Spirit-inspired words that men gave their lives to pass on to us. It is enough. The mystery of the Spirit today, the "Christ-in-you" mystery, was meant to be sufficient for us. I do not need to see the World Wars in prophecy, or the place of America. I need to know my place in Christ and His perfect will for me, a will which he reveals from within every passing day.
A lot of folks are seeing things in the Scripture that just are not there. The prophets prepared us for the coming of Christ, first and second appearances. That's about it. Though many of their words can have secondary significance in our Christian lives, never should dogmas be created from them, or even life-styles, only examples.
It is in fact the greatest of arrogance for teachers in our day to move the secondary meanings to primary status, then cancel the primary altogether. This trend is robbing believers of their hope in Christ, the hope of His coming and our reign with Him.
Take it from this gap-headed servant of the Lord: there's a price to pay for shoveling that sort of poison down the throats of God's people...
Kingdom now and Kingdom yet to come
Many years back I wrote a 35-page report on the Kingdom of God. I have since published it as a book.
I didn't realize then just how relevant it would remain. Today it is a more needful study than ever, as "Kingdom Now" and "Dominion" theology continue to make inroads into the taking away of our future hope of a reign with Christ by over-emphasizing the present-day phase of the Kingdom's functioning.
There are really two problems involved, of course. The Kingdom-now folk rightly suggest that some future-kingdom people are often "sitting around" waiting for Jesus to come and rescue them from all the trouble of the world. They got their sins forgiven and had their experience, maybe even a sign or wonder, and now they just plod on with their normal life waiting for the appearing of Jesus' Kingdom.
The other problem is the Dominionist response to these folks. They insist that the Kingdom is already here, and wrest Millennial prophecies that are clear enough for a child to comprehend, and make those verses serve their own ends, a growing power center here and now. Their dreams begin to look a lot like Rome's misguided political aspirations of the first centuries of our church and beyond.
Both errors can be corrected by a proper understanding of Kingdom. In the work mentioned above I have assembled all passages relating to this serious subject and shown readers how it all fits together.
There has been a Kingdom since long before Jesus came. There has been a desire for the rule of Heaven from the beginning. When the King finally came to earth and announced that the Kingdom was now here, many began to assume He meant a literal physical reign, long promised by the prophets.
Jesus set their ideas straight on His way back to Heaven. Times and seasons. Times and seasons. There is a time for a physical Kingdom. It will come. Jesus will literally rule all the earth. The government will literally be on His shoulder, as he literally reigns from the literal Throne of the literal David in literal Jerusalem. All in due time.
For now, you will receive power from the Holy Ghost to preach repentance and remission of sins. Do that. I'll take care of the Kingdom part.
So the Spirit has come. And as Jesus is preached to hearts all over the planet, the Kingdom of God is extended to every nation on earth. One on one. Jesus is king over hearts through His Spirit. Sins are forgiven. Men are called out. The Gospel keeps travelling, bringing more and more souls into the Kingdom.
Yes, that Kingdom, that brings righteousness and peace and joy to the heart of man, that kingdom is here. But think not that that is all God has in mind, an invisible kingdom with an invisible king, whose territory cannot be ascertained, whose laws are written on the heart and not in the capital city's law books, which city itself is also invisible.
No, Daniel and Isaiah and all the parables of Jesus on this subject, all point ahead to a time at the end of all when one last very bloody rebellion shall occur. The rebel will be God Himself. He shall come and pour His wrath on those who have continued to oppose Him. Then the Kingdoms of this world, all of them, will become, by His power alone, the Kingdoms of Jesus! Those who have suffered with Him during the long exile of the King and His subjects will now reign with Him. "Come inherit the Kingdom," He says at the very end to the righteous nations. The Kingdom is given to the saints at the very end, the time when the saints possess the Kingdom, says Daniel. For now the Kingdom may possess us. But then we will possess it.
Review: Kingdom now: Jesus reigning as Lord of my life and the lives of all his true people worldwide. We normally call this bunch the church, and the true ones are that, the called out assembly of the living God. Our King is invisible. Our borders are invisible. Our count is unknowable.
Kingdom then: Jesus rules visibly and forcibly following a military coup worldwide. Those who are truly His, now reign, also visibly. Our borders, the entire planet. Our count, the entire remaining population of the earth.
I warn believers, that continuing confusion between these two kingdoms can only cause more serious problems: chaos in leadership, perverted Scriptures, division of God's people, wrong expectations, wrong mission statements and visions, and eventually an amalgamation with the coming world religious system.
I do encourage you to read the results of my labor on this subject. Several audio (Sermonaudio) and video (Youtube) lessons were made of that study for those who are not readers by choice. Blessings.
Who and where are the seven churches of Revelation?
This article does not technically belong in an end-times book. But most people think it does!
I have bad news for mystery lovers. Revelation 2 and 3, the listing of seven churches in the old Roman province of “Asia”, contain no mysteries. There is no generation of history that corresponds to each of these churches. Try as you may, you can’t make it fit!
If it is not a law of interpretation by now, I am now going to create it: where there is no need to read between the lines, don’t!
But oh! what a marvelous passage has been recorded for us by the Spirit-filled apostle John. For, these seven churches, every one of which has its echo in every generation of the church, exist yet today and remind us of who we are and the repenting we still need to do. Even individual church members can find much upon which to ponder.
Ephesus is the hard-working, patient, trodding fellowship that champions truth. Being correct is more important to them than being popular. Discerning and weeding out false teachers is their specialty. But hidden beneath the surface is, perhaps, some less than perfect motivation. For the original fire is missing. The passion. The excitement. The reason for it all. Repentance, or else, is commanded for this church .
And, does this Church exist today? Oh yes! Has it always, in every generation? Oh yes! No mystery here.
Smyrna’s Christians are troubled but hard-working. They are poor but still progressing. They are persecuted. They are suffering. And God has no discouraging word for them. A true model of what “church” ought to be.
Does this Church exist today? Oh yes! Has it always, in every generation? Oh yes! No mystery here.
Pergamos has been faithful to the Lord over-all. It too is persecuted, and it is a “front-lines” church, in the thick of the battle for the Kingdom of God. But its popularity has attracted to it a series of false teachers. Some of them have by their life-style or their teachings, caused the people of God to go astray in matters that deal with the flesh. There has been compromise with the world on the part of a sizable number of these believers, probably in the name of being “open” to all of the Body of Christ. Divisiveness would not be allowed here, only unity. But its liberty has brought about worse division, the kind that Satan accomplishes through ripping saints from their place of holiness.
Does this Church exist today? Oh yes! Has it always, in every generation? Oh yes! No mystery here.
Thyatira is a loving church, working harder and harder all the time, patient, persevering, and filled with servant hearts that could never hurt a flea. Trouble is, creatures worse than fleas have entered in, and no one wants to raise a hand. The serpent has found a home in Thyatira. Some of the same snakes that entered Pergamos, in fact. Paul’s admonition about female authority has been ignored here, wants all praise for himself, the prince of this world.
Then will come the "shift" to and a “Jezebel” has captured the church’s heart and mind. More sexual problems. More worldliness. The church is in trouble and is called to serious repentance.
Does this Church exist today? Oh yes! Has it always, in every generation? Oh yes! No mystery here.
The church at Sardis has a sign outside that says “Church of Jesus”, but it could just as well be a grave-marker. Sardis is dead. Except for a few faithful souls, this congregation has dead members, dead works, dead worship, dead teaching. They need to pack up and move on, and admit they have no reason to call themselves disciples of Jesus.
Does this Church exist today? Oh yes! Has it always, in every generation? Oh yes! No mystery here.
The Philadelphian congregation, which as all the others, will exist in that last day before Jesus comes, is promised here a measure of protection from the hour of trial that shall come to the whole earth. Their faithfulness reminds one of Noah and Lot, who were spared the awfulness of flood and fire in their day. Here is a weak but faithful church. Growing, persevering, obedient. Prospering the way God intended it to, not by appealing to flesh or to the media. Soul-winners. Holy living. Telling the truth. In the end, this church will be a signal to the devouring antichrist that he simply cannot have it all. Daniel (ch. 12) saw these “blessed” ones that will be allowed to endure to the very end before Jesus comes.
Does this Church exist today? Oh yes! Has it always, in every generation? Oh yes! No mystery here.
Laodicea is perhaps the most well-known of all the churches of Revelation. Perhaps by the West, the most emulated. Totally comfortable, giving of its abundance to those poor rascals in all the cursed nations of earth, a bit of their snack money. One foot in the church, the other totally at home in the world. Can quote Bible verses and major league scores with equal ease. No real needs. Let’s keep the status quo. Peace in our time. Prosperity for all.
And is Laodicea a generational oddity? A group that exists en masse only in the last days? A group of believers who must sit out the marriage supper of the Lamb while they get their act together during the Tribulation? Where in the world did these ideas come from?
No! This church exists today, has always existed, will always exist until Jesus does what He says He will do to it.
So, no mysteries here. No relegating all the bad churches to other times, and somehow thinking you have been chosen to be Philadelphia. No more games with Scripture. No more interpreting when simple believing will do. Open our eyes, Lord. Which church am I? Which Christian am I? Give me grace to repent, now!
What do you mean, shift?
They're talking about a "shift" coming? What in the world...
Things are changing, and that's a fact. Structures in the culture and in the church are being broken apart. One would think that the earth is becoming something different. I do not say "new" , for total newness is reserved for the coming again of Jesus. This will look new, though, and men will grab at it, as they always do new things.
We're being told that in the coming "shift", people will not be clinging to denominations any longer, but rather to apostolic leaders. They will gravitate to humans, not groups. Well, a little analysis of that will show that this is not really new at all. People have always followed the leader. And grown. And corrupted. And started over.
We followed men as early as the (true) apostolic days. I am of Apollos. I am of Peter. I am of Paul. remember?
The church fathers all attracted their followings, as did the various reformation leaders and revivalists of all ages. Your denomination can be traced back to a man that people followed. So why should this restless age be considered any different? Yes, a shift is truly coming and is now upon us.
At least in the West, the corruption stage seems to be upon us, and there are men and women ready to jump right in to start from scratch. A new world order. A new church order. New alliances. New allegiances.
Just for the record - and you read it first here - what you are seeing is not the promised Kingdom of God. That's been intact since Saul took over Israel, in one form or another. It will appear when God is ready. No, what you are seeing is simply a realignment, with new people on top.
Eventually kingdom-minded (notice the small "k") people will bring around the deceived end-time church, later interrupted by the one who end all "shifts," the glorious appearing of Jesus in the Heavenlies, catching up His for-real Kingdom people (notice the capital "K"), briefly updating them as they try out their new flying bodies, then with them descending to the Mt. of Olives, from whence they will bring about the final and wonderful New World Order, the long-awaited Kingdom of God.
