Thoughts and Meditations (End Times)
Thoughts & Meditations…….#2
By Pastor F. M. Riley
August
20,2013
“My
soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips:
When I remember Thee
upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night
watches.
Because Thou hast been
my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice,”
Psalm
63:5-7.
Two Different View Points…..
We New Covenant believers who are obediently “watching”
world events and end-time prophecy, as our Lord instructed us to do, know that
the coming of the Lord to resurrect and rapture us to glory is swiftly
approaching.
It has been reported
even by the Russian news media, and has been confirmed by several “whistle
blowers” in our own government, that severe solar storms accompanied by
asteroids are going to begin striking the earth in the month of September, and
will continue striking the earth for several months thereafter.
I, among others, have
taken this as a “sign” or indication that the coming of our Lord to rapture His
people to glory is right at the door. If
these solar storms are the exact same solar storms prophesied to occur under
the Trumpet judgments of Revelation 8:6-12, then there is no
way the Lord God is going to leave His espoused bride here on the earth to be
burned into ashes. The resurrection and
rapture will occur first! See my study entitled “You cannot burn a Pearl.” It
will be sent to any reader upon request. It is also more than “coincidence” that the
Jewish month of Tishri, the 7th month of the year on the Jewish
sacred calendar, and the 1st month of the year on their civil
calendar, falls in September this year, covering most of the month. The 1st day of Tishri, better
known as “Rosh Ha-Shanah” or the “Feast of Trumpets” begins on the evening of
September 4th this year. This
is right now just a few days over one week away.
Also, various Bible
Codes and Gematrias [numerical values]
indicate that the Lord’s appearing is going to occur in the Jewish month of
Tishri and the Jewish year of 5774. 5774
begins on the 1st day of Tishri on September 4, 2013.
I think I can safely
say that hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of “born-again” Bible believing
New Covenant Christian believers are looking for our Lord to come imminently,
either before this present month of August is completed, or on some “date”
during the month of September. These are
the expectations and the view point of many hundreds of Bible believing
Christians around the world today, even as I write.
Are we going to be
disappointed yet once again? I do not
know! This is an honest statement,
for I do not know the “date” the Lord is coming, and I am not looking
for or even trying to determine a “date.”
But I am trying to pay attention to everything happening that could be
prophetically significant, and in doing so, there is yet another view point
that has surfaced about the return of the Lord that I feel God’s people need to
at least think about.
The religious Jews have a different view point than
we who are Christian believers. The
religious Jews are also eagerly expecting the coming of their Messiah, just as
we New Covenant believers are looking for the coming of our Lord. Some of the religious Jews are eagerly
studying the prophecies of God’s Word from their Jewish Scriptures [Old Testament] and are quite familiar
with those prophecies. They look at the
coming of their Messiah as “the spiritual birth” of the nation of
Israel, because they see Israel presently as “a woman in travail” struggling to
bring her
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children to “spiritual birth” in the God and Messiah of
Israel.
When did this “travail”
begin for the nation of Israel? Some say
that it began at this certain time or year, and some say that date or year, but
what does God’s Word say? Psalm
48, the Psalm which correlates with 1948, the exact year that Israel
was re-established as a nation, has this to say, “Fear took hold upon them there, and pain,
as of a woman in travail,” 48:6. Since
that day in 1948 [May 14, 1948] that
Israel declared her independence as a nation, struggling to take her rightful
place among the nations of the world, Israel has known nothing but pain and
suffering from her enemies opposed to her very existence. Israel has not had one day of real “peace”
since she became a nation in 1948. This
amounts to now 65 years of “travail” for Israel and the Jewish people, awaiting
their “spiritual birth.” “65” adds up to “11,” the Bible number for
“judgment.” The Tribulation period is
God’s judgment upon Israel and all the unbelieving nations and peoples on the
earth. Significantly, the Lord Jesus Christ explicitly mentioned these “birth
pains” of Israel in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24:7-8.
Now the United States government
under the leadership of Obama has been putting extreme pressure upon Israel to
agree to part their land, given to them by Title Deed from God Himself,
and allow the Palestinians to set up their own independent nation on Jewish
land. Folks, Genesis 12:3 is still in
the Bible, and it still applies today whether some of these “super smart, super
spiritual scholars” want to believe it or not.
Remember the U.S.
pressure placed on Israel to forcibly remove the Jewish settlers from their
homes in the Gaza strip in 2005? How
well did that turn out for the U.S.?
Remember? The same day the
forced evacuation of the Jews from the Gaza strip began, a small insignificant
low pressure area formed in the Atlantic just outside the Gulf of Mexico. Five days later one of the largest and
most deadly hurricanes which has ever struck America, hit New Orleans and the
Gulf Coast [remember Katrina?], ripping,
tearing, destroying, flooding, and driving thousands of American people from
their lands and homes. Many hundreds of
these people have never been able to return, and much of New Orleans still lies
in ruins to this very day. Genesis
12:3! Nahum 1:3! Hello!
I was ridiculed by some
“brothers and sisters in Christ” in 2005 for pointing out this truth. Oh no, they said! God does not exercise such “wrath”
today in this “day of grace.”
Hogwash! God has been exercising
His “wrath” against wickedness since the day Satan deceived mother Eve in the
Garden. Just because this time period
is not specifically designated as “the great day of the wrath of God” does not
mean that God overlooks all sin and wickedness.
Try John 3:36 on for size [and
many similar Scriptures in the New Testament], and then tell the Lord He
lied about it, or that He was mistaken.
Some who fancy themselves to be “scholars” first need to learn how to “rightly
divide the Word of truth,” 2 Timothy 2:15.
The pressure being applied by this country [the U.S. is not alone] has finally
broken down the will of the Israeli leadership.
Netanyahu has decided to trade “land for peace,” provided he can be
guaranteed Israel’s security and continued existence. Folks, this is nothing but a trap or snare
being set for Israel and the Jewish people.
Sadly, many of the Jewish people in Israel want “peace” so badly, that
they are willing to do nearly anything to obtain it, including giving away
their land. May the Lord have mercy upon
them!
Now here comes U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry making a speech and explicitly stating in his
speech that the “two state” solution will be decided upon “in nine months” and “peace” will finally come to the Middle
East. Folks, nine months is the
gestation period for a pregnant woman. For
nine months the woman “travails in pain” as the unborn child grows and
struggles in her womb, and then on one certain day the child is born. Yes, I am well aware that Kerry’s statement
is not on the same par with Scriptural truth.
Yet I am also aware that the Lord God many times uses the acts and words
of men to complete the truths He has already prophesied in His Word. Will this be one of those times? I do not know!
Nevertheless, it is the
view point of some of the religious Jews that their Messiah will now return in
or within nine months and His Kingdom will be established in righteousness
with Israel
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becoming the head of the nations exactly as prophesied in the Word
of God. We New Covenant believers know
that this is simply not true, for there is going to be a seven year Tribulation
period whether some choose to believe it or not. Yet a Godly Jewish believer has also
suggested that the rapture of God’s people could take place in nine
months at the same time the spiritual birth of Israel could begin with the
salvation of the 144,000 Jews. This
makes much more Scriptural and logical sense, but whether it is correct or not
remains to be seen.
Why has this period of
nine months suddenly been thrust into the prophetic picture? Folks, from the time Kerry made his speech
advocating a “peace agreement” between Israel and the Palestinians, it is
exactly nine months to the Jewish Passover on April 15, 2014. Take your calendar and count it for
yourself. The nation of Israel was born as
the chosen people of God on
Passover, that first ancient holy day, 3,500 years ago. Will Passover then be the “date” of the
spiritual birth of the 144,000 Jewish “remnant” representing all 12 tribes of
Israel again? I do not know! But it is a fascinating view point
worthy of being considered by God’s people today.
But what About the Rapture???
Does this then mean
that the resurrection and rapture of New Covenant believers will be delayed
until this coming Passover on April 15, 2014?
I do not know! But I do
not personally believe so! Why not? Because of the Psalms!
Folks, I have been seriously
studying, and trying to get others to seriously study, the prophetical
significance of the Psalms since J. R. Church wrote his book, “Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms,” in 1987. Many true
believers today have no idea what wonderful spiritual truths they are
missing, because they refuse to study the Psalms from a prophetic
view point. Such is their loss. Thank God, by His grace, it is not mine!
For the umpteenth time
I repeat…..Each of the Psalms correlate with the years of
the 20th and 21st centuries in ascending order beginning
with Psalm
One. Psalm 1 with 1901. Psalm 2 with 1902. Psalm 3 with 1903, etc. This can easily be demonstrated and proven
by any reader who will compare the Psalm with the particular year represented by the number of the Psalm. Buy yourself a good history of the
years of the 20th century and make the comparison. It will amaze you at the correlation between
the years and what is stated in the Psalms.
I have an entire series of Bible studies in print entitled “What is wrong with God’s Time Line?” This series deals with this exact
correlation between the years and the Psalms.
I will be glad to send these studies to any reader upon
request.
Having made this brief
explanation, now let’s turn to Psalm 113, which correlates with this
exact year of 2013 in which we are presently living. In Psalm 113:7-8 we read this explicit
statement, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust [ground; soil; earth], and lifteth the needy out of the
dunghill;
That He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people.”
Folks, this teaches a resurrection
out of the ground or soil and a rapture into the heavens just as plainly as it
could be taught in the primitive language of ancient Israel. Notice carefully that this resurrection and
rapture occurs in 2013. Notice
also that those resurrected are to be taken to meet “the princes of His people.” There is no question in my mind that
this is referring to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and possibly others
who are presently with the Lord in Paradise above. Glory to God!
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I can’t hardly wait until I meet those dear
old patriarchs of old face to face in glory.
Oh, praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
The people being
resurrected and raptured in these two Scriptures are New Covenant
believers. How do I know? Because the nation and people of Israel have
their own appointed time for a resurrection.
They are not resurrected at the same time as New Covenant
believers. See Daniel 11:45-12:1-2. Further, it is the next Scripture, Psalm
113:9, that deals with Israel.
The Barren Woman
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“He maketh the barren woman to
keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord,” Psalm 113:9.
Folks, for the past 2,000 years,
Israel as a nation and people have brought forth no children for God, even
though Israel is clearly stated in the Scriptures to be “the wife of God,” while
the Scriptures just as plainly teach that the Lord’s church is His Gentile
bride, 2 Corinthians 11:1-3.
Remember that the Lord
God cursed the barren fig tree that it should bear no fruit for God from
that time forward forever, Matthew 21:18-19. That barren fig tree symbolized that
portion of Israel who had, or has, given themselves over to “Judaism.” Remember that it was Judaistic Israel who
rejected and crucified Christ. Yet still
today the religious Jews want to cling to “Judaism” which teaches salvation by
strict adherence to the observance of the Torah Law. I won’t hesitate to tell any Jewish reader
that their Judaism is worthless, and will never bring one soul to faith in
Yeshua, including their own. The ancient
Jews could not and did not keep the Torah Law, and their own Old Testament
Jewish Scriptures tell them again and again that they did not keep it, and they
are not keeping it today. But their
wicked Rabbis keep on lying to them and telling them that they MUST be Torah
observant Jews to please the Lord. Such is not what God’s Word states or
teaches, neither in the Old Testament nor the New Testament, and those who are
deceived by this false “religion of the Jews,” rather than
receiving and trusting Christ will spend eternity in hell and the lake of
fire.
If our readers will
pay close attention to what they are reading, there are two fig trees
clearly set forth in the Scriptures. See
Jeremiah
24:10 and study the chapter carefully. One fig tree brought forth good figs and one
fig tree “evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil,” Jeremiah 24:2;
24:8. The two baskets of figs did
not come from the same tree. Who
said so? The Lord Himself says so. Read Matthew 7:15-20. A good tree cannot bear evil figs,
and a corrupt tree cannot bear good figs.
Hello! It was the evil and
barren fig tree that was cursed by Christ that will never bear fruit
for God anymore. But it was the good fig
tree that the Lord God graciously planted again in the ancient homeland of the
Jews in 1948, never to be pulled down or plucked up again, Jeremiah 24:5-7, that is
once more going to bear fruit for God. Glory to God!
What this amounts to is that for
2,000 years the Jewish “woman,” the wife of God, has been “barren” and has brought forth no
children for her Lord. But that is
about to change. The Psalmist says that “the
barren woman” will “keep house” [the Temple will be rebuilt] and she will become “a
joyful mother of children. Praise ye the
Lord,” Psalm 113:9. Glory to
God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Notice that in Psalm 113, the “barren
woman” is made to “keep house” and be a “joyful
mother of children” right after the resurrection and rapture has
taken place in verses 7-8. Is this just “coincidence?” No! It
perfectly harmonizes with the prophecies of Revelation 3 – 4, where
immediately at the end of the “church age” the rapture occurs and the Lord God
begins dealing with Israel again. Glory
to God! How precise and wonderful is His
Word, and His great plan of the ages.
Conclusion
What these things tell
me is that the resurrection and rapture of New Covenant believers is still
going to occur during this present year of 2013. Perhaps at Rosh Ha-Shanah or Tabernacles, or
perhaps some other “date.” I don’t
know the date! Am I stating this
plainly and honestly enough? It may
be that just as there is an obvious space of time in Heaven
following the rapture with events taking place there as recorded in Revelation
4 – 5, so there may be that same space of time on the earth in
which various events will be occurring over a period of a few days, weeks, or
months following the rapture. If so, then
it is “possible” that on this coming Passover in April, 2014, Israel may experience her “spiritual
birth” when 144,000 Jews out of all 12 tribes in Israel are saved and sealed
and commissioned to go forth with God’s Word, exactly as recorded in Revelation
7. I am sorry that I cannot speak
in detail with the same dogmatism and certainty that some folks today are so
sure they can, but after all of these years in the Lord’s ministry I am still
sitting at the feet of my precious Lord Jesus, trying to learn the great
truths of His Word. I don’t know everything yet! What I can say with assurance
and certainty is that every detail will
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SOON be known by God’s true
believers, for we are swiftly approaching the end of all things as we
have known them in the past, and the predicted rapture and Tribulation are
staring humanity in the face right now!
My prayer is that every reader is saved and ready to meet the Lord. May the Lord God graciously bless this
effort to keep His people informed and to warn the wicked of the shortness of
time and the urgency of the hour. If any
reader is not saved, then I urge you to seek the Lord TODAY, 2
Corinthians 6:1-2, and again my prayer is that the Lord God may
graciously grant His grace to every sincerely seeking soul.
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Permission is granted
to any true believer or Bible
believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or
to quote from it in context as written.
This ministry is
supported solely by the free will offerings of those readers who feel they are
being “led of the Lord” to help us send forth God’s wonderful Word.
Please address all
questions, comments, and correspondence to:
Pastor F. M. Riley, Last Call
Gospel Ministry, 184 County Road 108, Harrisburg, Missouri 65256, or
to: fmr7sngn@centurylink.net
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