The Next Great Event!

The Next Great Event!  by Pastor Stephen Benton
 (edited reprint from The Weekly Word  2.9.1997)**

The next great event on God's calendar is the rapture of the Church.  That is the day when the dead in Christ will be raised from the dead and those who are alive will be literally changed from mortal to immortal.  That day will happen next year (2017) If you have not yet met Jesus and do not know that he died for your sins; that he received the full wrath of God on your behalf; that he went to hell for you and was resurrected from the dead in order that you might live also, you can meet Jesus today and escape the awful judgments that are about to come on this evil world.  Jesus Christ, and no one else, can deliver you from this earth and the catastrophies to come! (Remember in Luke 21:8 Jesus warns that "many shall come saying "I am Christ and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.")

Jesus came from God for the express purpose of saving sinners who believe on him.  Anyone who will confess his or her sin and then turn away from those sins, God has promised that he will abundantly pardon that individual and forgive his sins. Not only will he forgive your sins but he will remove them.  He will also take you to heaven to be with him forever and reckon you as his sons, exactly like Jesus.  That's the good news of salvation. If you would like to discuss this wonderful opportunity further, I will be happy to sit down with you after church this morning and answer any questions you might have.  There is no obligation and no strings attached.  Pointing you to the way of eternal life is my job so take advantage of it today or just make an appointment with me and I will gladly come to your house to discuss this serious matter.

We are back in the Book of Revelation.  In my opening comments last Sunday I mentioned that this is the only book in the bible that invokes a blessing on those who read, hear, and keep those things which are written in this book.  On the other hand, this is the one book that seems to create just the opposite response in those who know of its existence.  So many are afraid of the contents of Revelation.  I'll admit, there are some scary things in this book but instead of avoiding its contents, one should thank God for giving us advance notice of these things and alerting us to what is going to happen in order that we might escape these terrible judgments.

There are many events that occur on this earth that are somewhat random as far as those who are affected by them are concerned.  Jesus made reference to a couple of events in his day which resulted in the deaths of individuals.  One of those events was the fall of the tower of Siloam.

"Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?"  Lk 13:4

There were casualties from that accident who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Jesus pointed out that the men destroyed in that event were no more deserving of death than anyone else.  But understand, the judgments that are about to fall will not be a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  These will be situations where God is deliberately targeting his wrath against those who have rejected his grace and salvation.

I was once under the impression that Israel would be spared from God's wrath when it is poured out in the last days but the scriptures make it very plain that those who are part of the nation of Israel who have not believed the promises of God will also be destroyed in that day.  Logic then should dictate that if God will not spare those of that nation whom he has chosen above all of the nations of the earth, what chance does the unbelieving Gentile have?  In fact, it is becoming increasingly apparent that only a small handful of Jews, called a remnant in scripture, will be saved in the end.

Some time ago, I did a study on the survivors of the holocaust.  I do not recall all of the details anymore but I clearly remember that, in many cases, too many to be ignored, the number of surviving Jews from various countries averaged around 5% of the jewish population of those affected nations.  Put another way, in the next holocaust to come, we can expect the death rate to exceed 90% of the population of those dwelling in Israel.  The scriptures confirm those numbers:

"Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth."  And as Esaias said before: "except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha."

Israel's stumbling block was Jesus Christ. They could not be saved because they rejected the only Messiah given to them from God.  They also were without excuse in their rejection because the person of the Messiah was clearly set forth In the writings and prophecies of their own prophets.  All they had to do was consult the prophetic writings and compare the acts and teachings of Jesus against their own documents.  Instead, they willfully closed their eyes and stopped their ears and would not receive him who came to them from God.  If Israel expects to be saved in the future and if she expects deliverance from the antichrist, she must come fact to face with Jesus and acknowledge him as her Messiah and her Savior!

Israel's future salvation will come when she lays aside her confidence in her own ability to keep the law of Moses and accepts the righteousness of Christ and the full assurance that he himself fulfilled the law of Moses and will save anyone to the uttermost who comes to God through him and him alone.  That is what the balance of Romans 9 is saying:

"But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hat not attained to the law of righteousness.  Wherefore?  Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.  For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a Stumblingstone and Rock of Offence: and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed."  Ro. 9:31-33.

Now let's take a more specific look at Israel's predicament in these last days in order that we might have a greater appreciation for the mind-boggling salvation of God which he will accomplish in Israel's future.

Before we go there, please consider these important words.  The promises and judgments of God concerning Israel are astronomical in their depth and width.  Real faith in God's word comes from understanding those situations created by God that appear nearly impossible to accomplish.  God officially declared Israel as "not his people" and Himself as "not their God."  He also determined that they have not received mercy.  We will look at those scriptures in Hosea today.  But He also stated that in the same place where He separated Himself from them, there He would also rejoin Himself to them again.  We can never appreciate God's control over evens, nations, people and details unless we understand these scriptures.

He also promised that the throne of David would abide forever.  I have had it with bible scholars who take the easy route for God as they identify his fulfillment of difficult promises.  I know that Messiah will rule on the throne of David forever but that is not the fulfillment of the perpetual kingdom spoken of by God.  Many scholars are under the impression that the dynasty of David came to an end at the time of the Babylonian captivity and will be re-started again when Jesus comes back to earth.  I will show you, God willing, that the throne of David has never ceased to exist since its inception and that there has not been a day when a man (or woman) of the lineage of David has not sat on the throne of the House of David somewhere on the face of this earth.  God keeps His word to the jot and tittle and I pray that God allows me to communicate that truth to you this morning.

We will continue our study in Revelation this morning with the sealing of the 144,000.  The message today has one great objective:  God knows where each tribe is today and he has not lost one individual of those whom he has scattered.
This should be of great assurance to you and I in letting us know that God is mindful of each one of us as individuals and he will not lose a single seed!

* *all of the subjects that the pastor promised to talk about in the "morning service" mentioned in this article back in 1997, are addressed in recent posts and videos on this Google+ page. We invite you to peruse the page: "God's Final Message to His Church" to find them. God has continued to update this prophet with this message to this present time.