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The Day in Which We Are Living

I believe the Lord wanted us to review the tenth chapter of the Book of Revelation. Actually, the tenth and eleventh chapter should be considered one chapter. When the eleventh chapter, which concludes with the return of Christ to set up His Kingdom on the earth, speaks of the "Two Witnesses, it is referring to the commission given to the Apostle John (who represents the victorious saints) in the tenth chapter.

(1/29/2006) How excited I was to receive a book from our Foursquare president, Dr. Jack Hayford, titled God’ Promise and the Future of Israel, by Don Finto. Pastor Jack spoke highly of this book, telling us pastors it is next in importance to the Bible as portraying the future. You may listen to my excitement at listen, Tape 6304. The book tells of the place of Israel in God’s Kingdom. The emphasis is on the return of Jesus Christ to establish His Kingdom on the earth. This has been my own emphasis over the past thirty or so years.

Of particular interest to me is Dr. Finto’s view of the "rapture." Instead of being a fleeing of the believers to Heaven to escape trouble, the "rapture" is a going forth of the victorious saints to meet Christ and return with Him as He establishes the Kingdom of God on the earth.

I believe this to be the case, and all the concern about pre-trib, mid-trib, and post-trib is misdirected. The real issue is whether one views the fourth chapter of the Book of First Thessalonians as referring to a removal of the believers to Heaven, or the return of Christ to rule on the earth from the city of Jerusalem.

It is so uplifting to me to realize that the leader of our denomination, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, is endorsing a book containing the viewpoint that we are waiting for our soon-coming King, not a soon-going church.

It is time we return to the original Gospel of the Kingdom of God. For hundreds of years the idea of salvation is that we are to make our eternal home in Heaven. This is not at all scriptural. There is no basis for the concept of making our home in Heaven to be found in the Old or New Testaments. The Hebrew Prophets, John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and the Apostles of the Lamb, all taught concerning the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

It is no wonder that the churches are drying up, as Andrew Strom points out so passionately, when the sheep are being fed the unscriptural "grace-rapture-Heaven" error.

God’s people are hungry for the truth concerning the coming of the Kingdom to the earth, and the role of Israel in God’s plan. We certainly can suggest with confidence that we all read "God’s Promise and the Future of Israel, by Don Finto, a Regal publication.

As I said, the tenth and eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation are a description of the time in which we are living.

There is a powerful angel governing this period.

There shall be delay no longer. The mystery of the Gospel, Christ in us, will become increasingly meaningful to us as God places the Capstone on His house.

Perfect power, the seven thunders, will be withheld from us until the people at the Altar of Incense have been measured. It is at this place, which we arrive at after Pentecost, after the Lampstand to speak in a figure, that we cry out, "Not my will but Yours be done!"

We cannot receive the power necessary to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to every nation as a witness until we die to our self-will. Both the world and the Christian churches are filled with self-will; personal ambition including spiritual ambition. We do not always move according to the will of the Head. We do not deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Therefore Divine power is withheld from us.

God’s will, His witness, for the last days is a little scroll. We do not merely read this scroll, we have to eat it. When we eat the scroll we begin to realize that all the proud works of the flesh of man shall be cast out of the Kingdom. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day.

After the saints have been measured and delivered from worldliness, sin, and self-will, they shall be given the means to bear witness of the Kingdom of God to the whole world. This witness shall be accompanied by unprecedented Divine power. It shall be given before Christ returns.

This may not be what we envision when we think of a "revival," but rather a powerful announcement of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth in order that people may have a chance to believe and be baptized. The witness will be accompanied by works of destruction until the ends of the earth realize that Almighty God is present and speaking!

The "two lampstands" refer to the Head and Body of Christ.

The "two olive trees" reveal the limitless anointing that will rest on God’s witnesses.

When the witness has been concluded to God’s satisfaction, God will withdraw the witness and Antichrist shall rule for a season.

When the world is crying "peace and safety," under the Antichrist government, the Lord Jesus shall return. It will be earth’s darkest hour. Then the Glory of the Lord shall be seen upon the saints on the earth and upon the saints who return with the Lord Jesus Christ to take up their bodies from the places of interment.

At this time will occur the worldwide revival we always have hoped for but is not possible during the Church Age. The Church Age has included the work of converting people to belief in Christ; but its main purpose has been that of bringing the members of the Body of Christ to the stature of the fullness of Christ—as our Lord prayed to the Father: "I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours."

The last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, shall be blown. The kingdoms of the world will become the Kingdom of our God and of His Anointed.

We now are in the period when the seventh angel is about to sound. The Holy Spirit is inviting us to cooperate with Him as He removes the sin from our nature and brings Christ to maturity in us.

Our problem today is one of distraction. The crushing weight of information coming through the various media distracts us with worldly opportunities. Then we do not take the time to ask the angel for the scroll so we can eat it and become part of the last-day witness of the Kingdom of God.

The hour of our visitation is here. Will we keep before Christ constantly so we do not miss His perfect will for us? Or will we play with the toys of the world, which may seem important today but will sidetrack us until we miss what God has for us?

Each one of us must make our choice now; for the spiritual pressures, both righteous and wicked, are so enormous that unless we take a determined stance to follow Christ in strict discipleship we shall default to the power of evil.


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