BREAKING OUT

BREAKING OUT

                “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. Now learn the parable of the FIG TREE:  when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is near; even so you too when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the DOOR. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that DAY AND HOUR no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Mt. 24:31-36

                First of all I would like to point out that these verses are pregnant with the words of the Feast of Trumpets. In 1 Thess. 4:16 Paul says: “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 shall rise first.”

                It is the trumpet of God and the shout of the arch angel that will announce the coming of the Lord. But in verse 33 we are told by Jesus that when we see these things, behold His is right at the door. The feast of Trumpets is also known as a day of opening the gates or opening the doors.

                David asks in Psalm 24 saying: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…and then he practically shouts from the pages of scripture: “Lift up your heads, O gates and be lifted up, O ancient doors that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates and lift them up O ancient doors; that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory” The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.” Psalms 24:3-4, 7-10

Jesus said to the church of Philadelphia: “Behold I have set before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.” Rev. 3:8b

                Right after that in chapter 4 John saw a door standing open in heaven and he heard a voice like a trumpet saying “Come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Rev. 4:1. After what things? After His messages to the churches. Could this represent the time of the rapture? Many believe so. (This is another one of those things that we can’t make doctrine out of.)

                I see a remarkable parallel between the churches of Laodicea and Philadelphia in Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins. When the Bridegroom came the wise virgins had oil in their lamps so to them the door of the wedding feast was opened, even as an open door is presented to the church of Philadelphia. But the foolish virgins, having no oil were counselled to go and buy from those who sell, even as the church of Laodicea was counselled to buy gold tired in the fire. What is Jesus telling us here?

                Could it be that the on fire church, the church filled with the Holy Spirit will be ready to go to the marriage feast at the rapture, while the dead church, the complacent church will have to go through parts or all of the tribulation in order to buy gold tried in the fire?

                I don’t know and so we cannot make doctrine out of things that can’t be proved from scripture, but the picture is definitely there. But if so, then the good news is there, that even Laodicea was promised that if they would overcome, Jesus would grant to them to sit down with Him on His throne as He also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne.”

                Now, back to Mt. 24. In verse 32 Jesus said, "Now learn the parable from the fig tree; when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near…”

                What is the parable of the fig tree? Is Jesus just stating something new here or is there a parable of a fig tree? Well, as it so happens, Jesus did tell a parable of a fig tree in Luke 13:6-9 saying:

                “And He began telling this parable, “A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine, but if not, cut it down.”

                Is it any coincidence then that near the end of His ministry Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered and died? Mark 11:13-14 tells the story how Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered and died and He said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And from that day all the way up to 1948, Israel remained dead as a nation.

                Fortunately for Israel, God had also prophesied Israel’s resurrection from the dead through Ezekiel the prophet. Ezekiel lived during the Babylonian captivity and so one would presume that He was talking about the regathering of Israel from Babylon, but if you will read chapters 36 and 37 you will quickly see that He is prophesying a greater gathering here, that ends with the second coming of the Lord, for in that day the Lord will dwell in their midst forever. It also speaks of the regathering of Ephraim or Israel, which did not go into captivity with Judah, but had been taken captive into Assyria many years earlier.

                Ez. 36:24 says: “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.” There He is going to give them new hearts. And then in Chapter 37 we read the prophecy of the dry bones that will come to life and become an exceedingly great army and in that day Judah and Israel will be joined together again and He will make a covenant with them that will be an everlasting covenant that will last forever.

                So, when Jesus tells us in Mt. 24 that when we see the fig tree put forth leaves, this is no mere coincidence. He is prophesying the return of Israel in the last days to fulfill the prophecies in Mt. 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21 along with Revelation and indeed the whole Bible points to this coming time and Jesus tells us that the generation that sees Israel reborn will be the generation that sees His return. (This, of course adds a great deal of significance to the fact that Israel has now turned 70.)

                Why did the leaders of Israel miss the first coming of Jesus? It was their doctrine. They had picked and chosen the scriptures that fit their desires. They had wanted a conquering King to deliver them from the clutches of Rome, they did not want a suffering servant and so they rejected Him.

                Today we like to talk about the suffering servant, but we don’t want to talk about the conquering King and the kingdom that He is bringing to earth and certainly, most of the church wants nothing to do with Israel, or the part God says they will play in the last days. A majority of denominations rejects Israel today and hates them with a passion. They side with the Palestinians… they vote to divide the land. They even side with the coming antichrist in his bid for a global government and a global religion. Many Christians, even as they reject the Jews for killing Jesus, will reject Jesus because He is a Jew and the King of the Jews and He is coming back to His own to reign from Jerusalem and Israel will yet be saved and many Gentiles just can’t stand that.

                Sadly, they will most likely embrace the imposter, the Beast and the False Prophet even as we see them doing today and they will persecute the Jews and true Christians. They will, in effect, put Jesus to death once again in the person of His elect.

                Do you see how this fits in with the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet and reiterated by Jesus in Mt. 24:15? Do you see why they are now making plans and clearing the way for the third temple to be built? And yet many of you remain blind because your doctrine won’t allow it. What happens in Israel physically happens spiritually in the church. There is always a parallel.

                These things are happening right before our eyes and they can’t see it. The church has been smitten with blindness because of an allegorical interpretation of scripture or a ’millennialism, or preterism in which they believe that all Bible prophecy was fulfilled back in A.D. 70. No matter what you may call it, they are plunging into earth’s final hours being miserable and poor and blind and naked.

                Today, one of the greatest mistakes and sins of the church is that they have assigned the study of Bible prophecy to the dump. They have allowed a few false predictions to throw them completely off the trail.

                It has never been right to set dates, but the Bible gives even more warnings about failing to watch and to pray and to know God’s agenda which He has outlined  for us in Prophecies and Feast days and Tabernacles services and instructions enough to leave us without excuse when He returns.

                So many people like to throw out the entire study of Bible prophecy with a flick of the wrist saying, “Nobody knows the day or the hour.”

                Paul lets us know in 1 Thess. 5:1-10 that His coming as a thief is written to the dead church… Laodicea… the foolish virgins. But then he goes on to say:

                “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness; so let us not sleep as others do. (As the foolish virgins and the Laodicean church do)

                The Paul says to the awake church: “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with Him.” Verse 10

                It appears to me that one way or the other God is going to get us there, whether that means being caught up and ready, or if it means going through the fire.

                In 1 Cor. 3:11-15 Paul talks about judgment and he says:

                “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon a foundation with gold, silver and precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man’s work will become evident, for the day will show it. (What day will show it? The day of the Lord, judgment day) because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet as through fire.”

                So this is the judgment of the saved not the lost. It is a judgment of rewards and it will determine our eternal purposes and position with God in the ages to come. If we are close to Him here in this life, we will be close to Him there, if we are distant and careless, remaining in the outer court and never pressing in to the holy of holies, then we will remain distant in paradise.

                In the tabernacle of Moses we see the entire plan of salvation. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb in the outer court and this blood and the washing of water, allows us into the Holy Place of relationship with God as we press forward to meet Him within the veil. The Lord is calling us in to sup with Him. He loves us and wants to walk and talk with us as He did with Adam in the Garden.

                But many Christians “get saved” and then they hang around the outer court or worse yet, hang out in the world and they never move into fellowship with the Lord. Of such the Lord will say when He comes, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.”

                Friends, salvation is all about relationship. It is through relationship that we are being transformed into His image. Jesus is looking for a Bride of His own kind… a Rebekah, who will eagerly water His camels and invite Him into her home. She will say yes and then she will live like one betrothed to her beloved until she meets Him face to face.

                 We all stand in need of a breakthrough. God is calling us to a place that we have not been before. He is calling us to a place that flesh cannot go... to a harvest that flesh cannot reap... to the hope of all creation in the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For this purpose we are being called to break out of the molds of mediocrity and into the powers of the age to come. We are being called to the place of intimacy and power. May the church catch the vision of God's purposes and enter in to them by faith.