To
read more current revelations from Pastor Steve, check out his book published
September of 2017 on Amazon.com
Saturday, May 24, 2014
“Jesus Is Coming Soon”...Oh Really? by Pastor Stephen Benton
The majority of Christianity believes Jesus is coming soon. Nearly every Christian radio broadcast and telecast end their program with that reminder. The expressions of imminence are many: any day, at the door, nigh, at hand, upon us, today or tomorrow.
If the Church really believes that idea, it should also believe that the time of the coming of the Lord, or, the rapture, to use a common expression, (which word many are careful to point out is not in the bible,) it should also believe that Jesus’ arrival will not take place without the heralding of prophets. The words of Amos make that idea abundantly clear.
Amos 3:3-7
“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey?
Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?
Shall one take u a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?”
The answer to all of those questions is "no". The final line of logic presented by the prophet is “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, But he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
Here, one can apply ‘his secret’ in a generic sense or, more specifically, his secret about the time of his coming! The secret of the Lord has never been the fact of his coming but the day of his coming.
Now, let us take that truth one-step further. In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy Moses prophesied the following in Chapter 18 verse 15:
“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;"
“That Prophet” will arise because of the desire of the congregation when they begged Moses not to allow God to speak to them directly lest they died (Deut 18:16.) God responded to Moses. He said the request of the people was “well spoken.”
“And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Deuteronomy 18: 19-19
Either the Church is unaware of the ramifications of that passage or it is unaware of its existence altogether. Perhaps because the passage is from the Old Testament, and because it is to Moses concerning Israel, they believe that it has no application to the Church whatsoever. Concerning the latter, nothing could be further from the truth!
All one has to do is observe the ministry of Jesus during his time on earth and it should readily be seen that the passage concerning ‘that Prophet’ was not fulfilled. Jesus’ main purpose during his time on earth was to “save his people from their sins.” (Matt.1:21) During his 33 and one half years on the earth, the only time that he prophesied was shortly before his crucifixion when he answered the questions of the apostles in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13. And those prophecies were to the Jews, not the Church. The Church had not yet been instituted. It was not begun until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell. The question is then, when was that prophecy fulfilled? For the answer, we should look at the grand purpose of the prophetic ministry of Jesus. The answer is obvious if we simply consider the time involved in Jesus’ earthly ministry in comparison to the time he has spent ministering from heaven. Jesus ministered on earth for 33 and one-half years. He has been ministering in heaven since 31 A.D. for a total of 1,983 years and counting.
Before returning to heaven Jesus declared himself to Peter and the Apostles as The Rock upon which the foundation of the His Church would be built. Note, Jesus refers to the Church as His: “…..and upon this rock I will build my church.” Matthew 16:18 Please note that when Jesus made this statement he pointed to himself as the Rock upon which the Church would be built…not Peter. “Peter” means “stone,” not rock. Jesus was referred to in I Cor. 10:4 as that “spiritual Rock that followed them was Christ.”
Why would he come to earth and die only to build his Church, his body, upon a sinful man?
When Jesus rose from the dead and established his church forty days later, he also gave his Church gift ministries.
“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men…
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;” Ephesians 4:8 & 11
Whoa! Let’s stop right there. Seeing as how the prophets are listed after apostles and before evangelists, it is clear that these prophets are not the Old Testament prophets. The prophets in this list are Jesus’ gift to the church. So, from where and from whom do these prophets receive their message? The answer is in Hebrews.
“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh: for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.” Hebrews 12:25
Would you like to take a guess in what capacity the heavenly speaker is speaking?
Jesus is speaking as “that Prophet.”
The next question is: to whom is he speaking directly?
He is speaking directly to those prophets whom He has placed in His church.
Finally, what is the message of these last day prophets?
Something the Church has never heard before even though the message comes directly from the word of God written by the Apostles and in many cases, the Old Testament prophets. The answer of todays’ prophets speaking the unknown and/or the unheard, is not a new exercise. All one has to do is read the messages of the Old Testament prophets and it becomes immediately apparent that their messages were not familiar ones. It is also clear that their message was not believed. Consequently, many of them were murdered. They were murdered not because of the message itself but because they claimed to be God’s spokesperson!
In the passage referred to in Deuteronomy where “that Prophet” is first mentioned, the passage closes with information identifying a false prophet. The point is that there will never be only false prophets without the reality of a true prophet. The apostle Peter makes the same point in the same order in II Peter 1:21 and 2:3. The first reference is to the true prophets who speak under the influence of the Holy Ghost followed with:
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
Notice the change in verse one. The focus goes from false prophets to false teachers. The damage being done to true prophets is the direct result of false teachers. The denial of the Lord that bought them is a direct reference to the message of the Lord Himself, as “That Prophet.” If the professing Church really believes Jesus is coming soon it should at least realize that not all of the “so-called” prophets are in the false category and if the Church really believes in the imminent coming of the Lord, by now they should have stumbled upon at least one true prophet….And then believe him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)