How Long?*

Current events including wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, as well as a sharp increase of racial and ethnic hatred, and intolerance towards the Word of God, and people of faith, cause us to ask "How long?" in regard to the return of Christ. There are those who troll and deride any suggestion of the possibility that there is coming a Day of the Lord, a day of judgment and of Christ's return. They even reject the belief in the resurrection of Christ, or the existence of miracles. Some of this denial comes from within the church itself! However, scripture warns us of this dangerous denial, especially in connection to the last days, and Christ's return. Peter wrote to stir up the pure minds of the believers, and remembrance of the words of the prophets, saying: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water, and in the water: Whereby the world that was, being overflowed with water, perished..." (2 Peter 3:1-6). The scoffers that are now so prevalent are yet another prophetic sign of the last days. These scoffers deny the possibility of a day of judgment and return of the Lord, because they claim that judgment has not happened since the beginning of an admitted creation. However, judgment did strike the earth, and the physical evidence exists that testifies to a great global flood. Peter continued to write: "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men...beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (v. 7-8). The same prophetic Word of judgment that released the deluge of flood waters is still active, and, this time, that Word will release stored up fire rather than water. As we see the increase of ungodliness around us, and question the timing of the judgment, Peter assured us that the Lord's timing follows a certain pattern for the following reason: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness' but is longsuffering toward us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (v. 9). The judgment that some scoff of as eternally delayed, is delayed just long enough to allow all to repent who will repent and be saved. Our behavior should reflect this knowledge as we take the Gospel to all nations, as Jesus commanded His disciples to do, so that all may be given the opportunity to hear, repent, and be saved. (Following through with this Great Commission from Christ, I have written an ebook, "The Shroud of Turin: A Perfect Summary", which is made available for free. The instructions for getting this free ebook are found at the conclusion of this post.) However, make no mistake, the day of judgment against ungodliness, and the return of Christ is ordained, and will happen according to the plan and timing of God. New heavens and a new earth come forth out of this event. This knowledge of the unstoppable, sudden day of the Lord, when a cataclysmic heat will melt all of the elements, requires a certain lifestyle and manner from us, a lifestyle of holiness and godliness (v. 11-12). If we truly believe that this day approaches, and soon, then it should be reflected in our behavior. Peter wrote: "...look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation...beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.. To him be glory now and for ever. Amen." (v. 14-18). In Matthew Chapter 24, Jesus is asked by His disciples' the question of "When?": "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (meaning "the end of the age")? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation (meaning "ethnicity against ethnicity"), and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All thses are the beginning of sorrows...And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains...For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Mt. 24:1-22). After this time of terrible tribulation, Jesus said that the sun and moon will be darkened, the stars will fall, and the heavens shaken - then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven: "...and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (v. 29-30). Jesus taught this to His disciples, and to us, from the Torah, and the Prophets, as He taught all things. In answering the question of "When?" for His disciples, Jesus cited Daniel the prophet who wrote of an abomination of desolation, which upon occurring, Jesus said, people should run for their lives. Jesus was referring to a prophecy in Daniel 9, as Daniel gave an account of what happened when he read a prophecy written by Jeremiah: a prophet reading a prophet. This prophecy from Jeremiah (see Jer. chapters 23, 25, 27, 29) brought Daniel to prayer and fasting in repentance for his sins, and the sins of his people: "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even from departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land." (Dan. 9:5-6). Daniel had read the prophet Jeremiah, who had written of a certain mysterious time frame of seventy years, that would come to mean much more than would appear on the surface. What Jeremiah wrote brought Daniel to repentance seeking God's covenant and mercy "to them that keep his commandments" (v. 3-20), and this repentance immediately brought a revelation from the angel/man, Gabriel, concerning "How long?". This revelation included the timing of the arrival of the Messiah, His death, and "the overspreading of abominations" to be committed by the Anti-christ, who "shall make it desolate". (v. 21-27). As we read from Mt. 24 above, Jesus also spoke of the tribes of earth mourning when they would see the sign of the Son of man. The prophet Zechariah wrote this: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zech. 12:10). The image of a pierced Christ, Daniel's Messiah who is cut off, whether found in scripture, or upon the Shroud of Turin for example, brings a spirit of mourning and repentance upon the souls of men who will look upon Him. Zechariah also prophesied that the LORD would make Jerusalem "...a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zech 12:2-3). This small geographical area has become, and will continue to be, the focus of all the nations' hatred and threats, as we hear regularly from speeches given in the United Nations, and see on the news. As the prophet warned, those nations will tremble, and be cut in pieces as the LORD defends Jerusalem and Israel. God will keep His covenant with Israel, and restore them, with the questions of when?, and how?, being answered according to what the prophets have written: "In that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." (Zech. 13:1). The Lord answered another question of "When?" as asked by those who will be martyred for their faith: "...How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Rev. 6:9-11). Believers are being martyred now for their faith in various nations across the earth, a martyrdom that could one day be seen in America as well. As we consider the other signs of the last days that we have read about above, we know that when asking the question, "How long?", we receive the answer that we have a wait of only a little season. How long before the church wakes up to the lateness of the hour, stops accepting wickedness, and obeys 2 Chron. 7:14 in seeking the LORD in repentance and prayer? All are sinners, but God sent His Son to shed His blood for all. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 3/5/23 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

God's Timetable in Our Generation

 

 

Historically speaking, 2017 marks an important milestone anniversary for several world-changing events:

• 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Conference (1897), with the goal of seeking to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine
• 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration (1917), announcing British government support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine
• 70th anniversary of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine-mandating the establishment of a state of Israel
• 50th anniversary of the re-capture of East Jerusalem by the Israeli army

In the last few years, there have also been noteworthy signs in the heavens, including full lunar eclipses and blood moons occurring on Jewish Feasts.

These unusual events, and more, should be putting us on alert to watch, and prepare for the return of Christ.

On top of all of these things, in Mt. 24:3, Jesus spoke privately, with only His disciples, about the signs of His coming, and the end of the age (not the end of the world, as translated incorrectly from the Greek KJV).  These were things He wanted not only His then disciples to know, but also His present disciples, you and me. He wanted us to have this information, in order to protect us from deception:

:And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you."  Mt. 24:4

"Deception" is most often mentioned by Jesus as a danger of this age before His return-both those who wish to deceive, and those being deceived (V. 4, 5, 11, 23, 24, 26). Christ's first instruction to us is in regard to this wide-spread deception: "Take heed" meaning in the Greek "beware (or be aware), see, perceive, discern, understand, weigh carefully, examine". The deception involved will be very seductive, and convincing, and many will fall victim to it, even those who should be the least likely to fall, the elect (V. 24). Included in the powerful deception of this age will be the arising of those who claim to be Christ (Messiah), those who falsely claim to be prophets, and those who declare Christ has returned, or will return, in a false manner (V. 5, 11, 26).

One reason the false Christs and false prophets will be so convincing to many is because they will work great signs and wonders.

In our time, we have seen this happen with news stories of false Messiahs and false "messengers" and prophets leading many to ruin, and even death. All over the world, people are following these deceptive leaders. Many are murdering in the names of false prophets.

Jesus also warns that warfare, racial, and national hatreds will dominate this age (V. 6-7). Hatred and violence in all nations against believers will escalate (V. 9-10). Racial, ethnic, and national violence rages today like never before in history, and anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-Christian hatred and persecution are on the increase around the world. The same United Nations that originally mandated a state of Israel, now officially condemns it.

Jesus tells us that in this time, before He returns, lives will be destroyed by famines and pestilences (V.7). Famines have indeed decimated many areas of the globe, and plagues of deadly diseases have spread through nations and continents.

Even the earth itself, will be in upheaval with quakes (V.7). We are now seeing more frequent, and greater intensity quakes than ever previously recorded. This turmoil is not limited to the earth, but enters the heavens also (V. 29). Stars will fall, bodies of light will dim, and heavenly powers will be shaken.

As the heavens, earth, and nations twist in violence, the individual soul will also see turmoil. The soul will be burdened by offenses and betrayals (V. 10). In droves, people have walked away from their churches, and even their faith, as real and imagined offenses and betrayals have entered in.

Jesus also warned that there would be a great increase in sin and iniquity around us. It will cause our own love of God and each other to grow cold (V. 12). In our own time, our hearts and souls have been grieved as the world has demanded that sin and perversity be considered as righteousness, and goodness, and cause for celebration. The human soul is being twisted and torn, as truth is being twisted and torn. It has now become evil in the eyes of men, to stand for righteousness, and believe the Word of God.

All of these troubles and more, will intensify as the return of Christ draws nearer.

Those who have heard and understood the words of Jesus, when they see all of these things, will know that His appearing is near, even at the doors (V. 33). Jesus gives this description of the approaching time:

"But as the days of (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (Noah) entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be...Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."  Mt. 24:37-39, 42

What are believers to be doing as we see the time drawing nearer? Jesus tells us:

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."  V. 14

Remember:

"Behold, I have told you before."  Mt. 24:25

To Contact/Give:
PO Box 155
Christmas, FL. 32709
https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8
http://everlastingcovenant.wixsite.com/theshroud     (see website for PayPal info)
Viewing: Facebook, Twitter, and Periscope