NO.15/ ON ANTICHRIST #8 TIMING
“What I don’t want anyone left with is the impression that the church is blood-thirsty and bent on the destruction of those who don’t believe as they do. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. But there is still much more to unveil about what lies ahead in OUR future and the church’s role in it all.”
Along with the Book of Revelation being written in allegorical images throughout its pages, the book also follows a prophetic principle I mentioned yesterday; it repeats themes of information over and over again, each expression couched in different images to convey the SAME message but with added tidbits of information the other passages don't offer ... the sum of which completes the whole picture.
I'm guessing ... of the twenty two chapters in the book itself, if condensed, you have maybe five ... maybe six chapters?? My guess only.
Today I want to share one theme in particular; it is repeated in four different places that I'm aware of; there may be more. This specific theme is an overview of what is still ahead in our future. It is general in scope but very clear. I'm offering it here for you to mull over and pray about. It will definitely contradict the thinking of those who hold to the idea that the church is going to be raptured off the earth before trouble hits so let this be a forewarning.
Here goes! Just remember, don't get lost in the images themselves. What we are looking for are the FUNCTIONS of what these images are doing!
As mentioned yesterday, in the 15th chapter of John's revelation, there are 7 Angels coming out of the Tabernacle of the testimony in heaven (v.5) all clothed in pure linen which is the Righteousness of the Saints. I do hope the point was made well enough yesterday to establish that these Angels are representative of the church! What I didn't address, however, was what each of them was carrying.
"And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever." (v. 7)
These earthly angels are all carrying vials full of God's wrath. Why? We're told in the next verse.
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and NO MAN WAS ABLE TO ENTER THE TEMPLE, TILL the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." (V. 8)
This verse is PARAMOUNT to our understanding of what the future holds for the church. Note the reference to "the temple." Paul said, "Do you not know that YOU are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16 NKJV). John's reference to "the temple" being filled with "smoke" is talking about the CHURCH - YOU AND ME!
But there's more.
Note how the temple gets filled with "smoke from the glory of God." Have you ever heard of such a thing happening before? It happened twice previous in the Bible. Once with Moses when he built the Mosaic Tabernacle (Ex. 40) and once with Solomon after he built the first Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8). In each instance, the sanctuary was filled with smoke and glory after the Tabernacle and Temple were completed!!!!!!!
This means, the picture of images being offered in the 15th chapter are of a completed Temple which, in this instance, is the church! And it gets more revealing! When the church is completed, the ministerial outreach will no longer be about saving souls ("no man can enter the temple UNTIL”); it will be about pouring out the wrath of God.
Are you still with me?
So here's a summation of the big picture. There is a specific TIME when the church will be completed. When that time comes, the Church will then change its ministry focus from saving the lost (all that can be saved will have already been saved) to administering God's wrath upon those who loved the darkness more than the light. And let me repeat! This will not be done by Heavenly Angels. This will be fulfilled by the Body of Christ herself.
Let's look at another one. It can be found in the 14th chapter.
"Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another Aggelos came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." (Rev.14:14-16 NKJV).
In this picture, Jesus is clearly the One standing on the cloud holding a sickle. Who and what the Aggelos is will be clear in a moment. Focus on what the Aggelos is asking Jesus to do; reap the earth! How does He do this?
Paul said, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15).
When this Aggelos cries to Jesus and says “reap”, he is preaching the GOSPEL! As Jesus said, "do not say the harvest is in four months. I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest! "John 4:35). These fields cannot be reaped without the gospel being preached and the gospel cannot be preached without someone being sent. When the gospel is preached, we are asking Jesus to save their souls!!
But there is still a question to ask. When John observes that Jesus thrust in His sickle and the Earth was reaped, how many were actually saved?
I'll let Jesus tell you Himself.
"ALL that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to Me I will by no means cast out." (John 6:37) This means that when Jesus reaps the earth, everyone the Father has given Him will be accounted for; EVERYONE. Translated, when everyone is saved that can be saved, the church will be COMPLETED!
And when this happens ...
"Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.' So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the GREAT WINEPRESS OF THE WRATH OF GOD." (vv. 17-19)
Did you notice that both Aggelos’ come out of the temple, which is the church? It is also important that you note what they are doing - administering the wrath of God. This time, the 14th chapter is giving us the images of grapes being thrown into a winepress. In the 15th Chapter, it is vials being poured out upon those not already in the temple.
And in each of these instances, the wrath is not administered until the Church is completed, shown once as a temple full of smoke and God's glory and the other depicted as the whole earth reaped!
There are two other examples in the book just as graphic, but I'm thinking these two are enough to establish the point ("Out of the mouth of two or three shall a thing be established."). What I don't want anyone left with is the impression that the church is blood-thirsty and bent on the destruction of those who don't believe as they do. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. But there is still much more to unveil about what lies ahead in OUR future and the church's role in it all.
Later.
