God’s Full ArmourPROPHETIC UPDATE30 September 2017

God’s Full Armour

PROPHETIC UPDATE

30 September 2017

One primary cause of spiritual blindness One of the reasons people are incapable of thinking spiritually and why their faith is affected and even their ability to read, respect and understand the entire Bible, is simply their political condemnation of the nation of Israel, therefore: their anti-semitism. This is the problem more than half of Christians has today. All churches who follow Luther or Calvin have this affliction. They don’t have time for Israel and allow this objection to prescribe which parts of the Bible they will believe and which they will not. If one re-interprets the Bible according to personal preferences, one becomes spiritually totally blind and falls into a state of inability to appreciate anything of value in the Bible.

Is it even possible to still get excited about the only book which comes from heaven and was sent for man, if that book is already torn apart and re-interpreted with human preferences and disapprovals. And, eventually, the reformed churches do not even believe in Jesus Christ anymore, because Jesus was a Jew, born in Israel and throughout His ministry worked in Israel. Why did Jesus have to love the Jews so much? Why couldn’t He rather love all people equally? What people don’t understand is that our Lord’s Jewish background does not represent a preference for the Jew. Just read the prophecy of Isaiah. Israel is His servant, used to reach His goal with THE WORLD. You don’t have to have a preference for Israel, and neither should you. But God had to have such a nation. He needed them to prove something to the world. And this happened to the detriment of Israel. Our Lord made a covenant with them in order to prove to the world that there is no salvation for those who think they are good enough themselves to be saved. And secondly, to prove to the world that God is faithful and can be believed. If He could keep His word of promise to Israel, He will also keep His promise to you and me.

Israel had to become the very worst nation on earth so God could prove that He will take them back as His bride for only onnlnkle reason: Nothing out of themselves is good, the only gooodness is from God Himself, who is faithful to all He promised.

But now it looks like most Christians have already decided. They hate Israel and that is why God’s proof through Israel: that man cannot be saved by good deeds, and that God always remains faithful to His promise, will not work for them. Mankind pushed away God’s great proof to mankind by their spite and political disapproval. The end result of this is complete spiritual blindness, man-centredness and being without expectations.

Those who hate Israel, miss the vital importance lessons aGod wants to teach us, thorugh Israel. And furthermore, they affect their Lord Jesus Christ in person because they cannot accept Him for what and who He is. He was a Jew who had His ministry in Israel and will return to Israel at the second coming, to rule from Jerusalem.

No-one is required to praise Israel. We cannot do this because they are fallen in hopeless unbelief. But we can feel sorrow for them and acknowledge that they are God’s servant, used by God to achieve something through them. And we can acknowledge that we can understand the Bible and our Saviour only if we give Israel the place they deserve in the Bible. And our own haughty dispensationalists who believe that even Peter should not be given a place in the church because he ministered to Jews, need to know that the first members of the church in Ephesus and everywhere else, were Jews. This week a big event on the world stage took place which proves that the Bible is true and that the end-times are at hand. But if we hate Israel, like the majority of “Christians”, we will miss it. Putin, from Russia, and Erdogan, from Turkey, met to reinforce their relationship.

Turkey is part of Nato and has never seen eye to eye with Russia. Two years ago Turkey even shot down a Russian plane. But the Bible remains true. Ezek. 38 says that Russia, along with Turkey and Iran and a few other countries will attack Israel. If our spiritual eyes are still open and we are able to read the Bible for what it is, there are two headlines which are very meaningful: “Putin in Ankara to forge alliance of Russia, Turkey and Iran” (Al Arabia), and “Russia’s Putin visits Turkey as ties between nations deepen” (Washington Post).

​Answers From the Book

Answers From the Book

QUESTION: Please explain Luke 12:49-53.

ANSWER: Let’s read the whole passage before we look at it verse by verse. “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided; three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” (NKJV).

The Lord knew that His coming into the world would bring DIVISION, for there would be “those who believe on Him” and “those who don’t believe on Him.” One has said that “Christ is the Great Divider of men” and this passage bears that out. We read in John 7:43, “So there was a division among the people because of Him.” This was true everywhere He went, and our portion reveals that this division would even take place in a home where family members would be divided because of Him.

In light of this truth, I believe the “fire” that is spoken of in verse 49 is the “fire of persecution.” FIRE in the Bible often speaks of WRATH; in this case it is speaking of the unbeliever’s WRATH or ANGER against the believer in Christ. Why would the Lord Jesus say, “I wish it were already kindled?” Did He invite persecution? No, but He knew that when the persecution came it would reveal what was truly in a man’s heart. If someone is angry at you and persecutes you for your faith in Christ, it exposes their unbelief. You know where they stand and they know where you stand. All pretenses are swept away. Before the Lord resumes this subject in verses 51-53 He speaks of His impending death on the cross. He refers to His death on Calvary as a “baptism” because on the cross He was IMMERSED in God’s WRATH! I would encourage you to read Psalm 69 where we have Christ’s suffering for sin prophesied and several times it speaks of the “deep waters” and “the floods” of God’s judgment overflowing Him. His heart of love brought Him down to this earth to accomplish redemption for lost and guilty sinners and He longed for His mission to be accomplished so that repentant and believing sinners could be saved.

In verses 51-53 He clearly expresses the DIVISION that would result from His coming. He did NOT come “to give peace on earth” (that will happen at His Second Coming when He comes as the “Prince of peace” to establish His kingdom here on earth—see Isaiah 9:6-7 and 32:1, 17-18). He came knowing full well that it would bring DIVISION, even into the home where natural ties would not prevent the unbeliever from venting his anger against those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I will never forget meeting a woman who had just been saved and she was so excited to travel home to share the good news of Jesus Christ with her mother and father. She was sure that they would receive the gospel immediately and rejoice in their newfound Savior. We cautioned her that this “might not happen.” When we saw her a few days later she was depressed, for they not only rejected the gospel she presented to them, but they displayed real anger towards her and told her to never bring this subject up again. She learned, by bitter experience, the truth of the passage we are considering.

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​J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle

God’s Mercy on Our Past

Let us remember as we look back over the days past of our lives, from the hour of our conversion. “Our Lord has done all things well.” In the first bringing us out of darkness into marvelous light–in humbling us and teaching us our weakness, guilt, and folly–in stripping us of our idols, and choosing all our portions in placing us where we are, and giving us what we have–how well everything has been done! How great the mercy that we have had on our own way! ~ J.C. Ryle

2 hrs · Public