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"Are We Living in the Last Days?"By GARRETT PAUL PARRISH
www.BibleProphecyFulfilled.org
In Acts 2:16 we are told that, “this is that” which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days…” The following description of “that” is what follows through to verse 21, as Peter quotes from Joel 2:28-32. This scripture is being fulfilled in their very presence, and Peter doesn’t hint at, or suggest that this is “part of that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” God was now testifying in Jerusalem that he was now beginning to pour out His Spirit upon all peoples, not just those Old Covenant people within the tiny boarders of Israel. Part of Joel’s prophecy is also quoted in Romans 10:11-13, There was now no difference between the Jew and the Greek (I wish today’s Bible teachers would get this clear statement.) for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Now whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. God was now going forth out from Jerusalem (another point I wish today’s Bible teachers would get.) , to Judea, to Samaria, to the uttermost part of the world. These Jews went back into all the world (Roman World), and were used to distribute the Spirit upon all flesh. The ministry of the Spirit was now going global, not just within the boarders of Israel. Now all families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s seed, which is Christ. (Gen.12:3,7, Galatians 3:16) Israel was now delivering the kingdom of their Messiah, which was that stone to crush all other kingdoms. It would be propelled at the feet of the great image, the Roman Empire, and would break the Empire to pieces with the wind of the Spirit carrying it and blowing it away.
The rest of this quote from Joel has to be included as part of “this is that” which was spoken by the prophet Joel. Acts 2:19 as well as Luke 21:11 speaks of “wonders in heaven” as another aspect of this scripture being fulfilled right here in the first century. In the year 60 A.D. a large comet, went over head troubling to the core all those in authority within Rome, and within Israel. In 66 A.D., Hailey’s comet went over head causing even more concern in the land. Josephus records cloud formations at this time clearly forming images of chariot armies invading. The blood fire, and vapour of smoke clearly speaks of the city’s destruction for told of by Jesus. Even in parables Jesus warned that He would “send His armies (As the sovereign ruler over all things.), and destroy those murderers, and burn up their city!” (Matthew 22:7) The Roman armies clearly fulfilled this prophecy.
Acts 2:19-21 says, “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We already covered the ramifications of this scripture’s fulfillment with the Spirits blessing now gone world wide, allowing whosoever to be saved, made whole, and born again by the Spirit. What about the reference to the sun and the moon? Many images come to our western minds, relating in the hard cold scientific facts of astronomy when we hear these terms. To a Jew living in the first century it brought up something entirely different. They generally knew the Old Testament scriptures like the back of their hands, and sometimes even putting them to memory. What ever the Old Testament scriptures said in reference to these words (sun, moon, and stars) is what would come to mind for these Jews living in the first century. Using the law of first mention, the first mention was the creation account with the sun ruling the day, and the moon and stars ruling the night.
After
this, Abraham
sees his descendants as
the stars, which would
be nations taking part in rule upon
the earth. (Gen. 15:5)
Then we have Joseph’s dream when
Joseph’s father is interpreted
as being the sun, his mother the
moon, and
his brothers the stars. (Gen.
37:9,10) They would all
someday come down from ruling over him, and
bow down,
making obeisance before his rule and
authority. His father Jacob
knew that the references to the sun, moon,
and stars
of the dream were referring to Jacob, his wife, and his other sons,
submitting
and bowing down to Joseph’s rule
and authority.
In Ecclesiastes 12:2 Solomon exhorts the youth in verse 1, to remember their creator in the days of their youth. He then says, “While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds (We’ll talk about “clouds” later) return after the rain.” All would agree here that Solomon is in no way referring to the firmament. Rather, while you still have the energy, glory, and power of your youth, use it for honoring God. Again, the first mention of the natural sun, moon, and stars in Genesis 1:16-18 ,tell us that they are to rule over the day (sun), and over the night (moon, and stars). The principle might be seen in 1 Cor.15:46. After the natural/physical account in Genesis of the sun, moon, and the stars, there is not much use of these terms in the rest of the scriptures in relating to the physical realm, unless it is clearly spelled out for us.
In Isaiah 13: 9 ,we see the word of the Lord for Babylon, about 700 years BC, and the coming judgment pronounced upon that land. It says, “ the Lord COMETH …wrath…lay the land desolate…destroy…”
Isaiah 13:10 say’s, “For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” It would be lights out for Babylon with it’s rule and authority over others. This judgment would be carried out by the Medes according to verse 17. It would not be carried out by the US or Israeli Military using tactical nuclear weapons against Iraq. This was speculated on New Year’s Eve 2002, as the Iraq war was pending, by a very popular Bible Prophecy teacher of our day.
Isaiah 60:19,20, referring to the New Jerusalem, also quoted in Revelation 21:23, says, “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” Is the Lords light a physical light ? Genesis 1:3’s “light” was before the formation of physical light in Genesis 1:14. Genesis 1:3 is quoted in 2 Cor.4:6 with the same idea as John 1:5, 8:12 and Mt.5:14.
In
Ezekiel
32:7, 8 , we read of a judgment, which is against Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
(Vs.2) It
says, “And when I shall put thee
out, I will cover the heaven, and make
the stars thereof
dark; I will cover the sun with
a cloud, and the moon
shall not give her light.
All the
bright lights of heaven will I
make dark over thee, and
set darkness upon thy land,
saith the Lord God.” All
would agree that nothing happened to
the physical sun, and moon, nor
did it to the physical heavens
in this judgment upon Pharaoh. Just
as
nothing did when Babylon was judged in Isaiah 13. It was simply lights
out for their glory
and rule.
Jeremiah 15:9 says in regard to a judgment upon Jerusalem (vs.5)that, “her sun is gone down”. Even in our day we have such songs, as by Elton John when he says, “Don’t let the sun go down on me…”, which of course, is a none physical reference to the sun.
Obadiah verse 4, speaks concerning judgment upon Edom (vs.1) and says, “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.”
Micah 3:6 Is a cry for judgment against Israel’s leaders (vs.1) and says, “Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.” Did physical darkness come over them? All would agree to say, “NO!” Even today most flags around the world use this imagery of a sun, moon, or stars symbolizing ruling authority of the day, or night. “Falling stars” , of course, symbolize a rapid descent, falling from a place of glory, honor, authority and power. (Mt.6:13)
Here’s
a list of
similar scriptures describing judgment in reference to “THE HEAVENS”
becoming dark in
relation to a nation’s doom: Psalms18:6-14
Is
not referring to a nation, but to the
leader of a nation. It’s
about David’s
personal deliverance from Saul. None of these apocalyptic descriptions transpired in the
natural/physical realm.
Yet, it refers to THE EARTH shaking
(vs.7), THE
HEAVENS bowing (vs.9),
and DARKNESS,
and THICK CLOUDS (vs.9-11)
and thunders in THE
HEAVENS, HAILSTONES(Rev.16:21),
and LIGHTENING
(vs13,14, Mt.24:27,Rev.4:4).
Psalms 37:6, Isaiah 5:30, 9:19, 24:17-23, 50:3, 58:10 (“thy, {Israel’s} darkness shall be as the noonday.”), Isaiah 34:4,5-There’s no physical scroll here, the ruling host “of heaven”, their host, in Idumea was to “fall’ from its place of rule and be brought down by the sword. Continuing the list is: Jeremiah 4:23-29 (Judgment against Jerusalem), Joel 2:10,30,31, 3:15,16, Amos 5:18, Habakkuk 3:6-11.
Because of the vast number of references in the Old Testament to the sun, moon, and stars in a none physical since, but rather in a figurative, apocalyptic usage of prophetic language, we must also interpret New Testament language, which uses these same terms, in the same manner. Therefore, in Acts 2:16-21 we understand that Peter meant what he said, and said what he meant, when he said, “this is that”, and not “this is part of that”, with the rest to be fulfilled thousands of years later. So the sun, and the moon reference in verse 20 is in regard to the changing of the guard, in the bringing down of the present day ruling authority in Israel, the Roman Empire, and the entire world would now begin to feel the penetration of being hit by this stone, Whose kingdom would fill the earth with His knowledge and rule. (Dan.2:34,35, Isaiah 11:9) Christianity has ruled the world by the way, just examine history. You might say, “yea, but there’s a lot of bad and ugly to go with the good of that rule. But, from the big picture perspective, that’s just one slice of a very large pie. Yes, it is a bad one, but a relatively small piece in comparison to the whole. We must consider the compassion of feeding the hungry, the building of hospitals, care for the “write offs” of society, have all been lead by Christian Charity! Consequently, the most powerful nations economically, politically, militarily, have always been, and will always be those with the strongest influence of Christianity. (Mt.6:33, Psalm 35:27) To the degree of faithfulness to the truthfulness of scripture, is same degree of righteousness, which will exalt that nation. Jesus is the ruler of all nations! (Rev.12:10, Prov.14:34) Satan is not the god of this age! (Eph.3:21, 1Cor.10:11) Only those with the “evil report” will try to convince you otherwise. Those with the faithful report say, “ Let’s slay those giant evils within the culture at once.” They continue in their perspective to say, “can’t you see the grapes, the working of the spirit to bring the kingdom, the land of milk and honey, into the culture? Those with the evil report would say, “those giants are supposed to be there, their part of the last days, worse and worse, darker and darker fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.”
So are we living in the last days? Acts 2:16-21 said that the last days were being fulfilled in the first century, remember “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days…”, which was fulfilled right there in the first century. To spell it out, “this is that scripture’s fulfillment.” Hebrews 1:1,2 says that, “God…Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…” Those last days, not some distant last days millenniums away, in a time period longer than the entire span of the Old Covenant itself.
One of the most popular passages relating to the “last days” is found in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. It’s the most familiar passage, used in “The Late Great Planet Earth”, and was even made into a song by Johnny Cash, “Matthew 24 is knocking at the door.” To understand the context of this chapter we must read the previous four chapters ,starting in Matthew 20. The parable of the householder who hires laborers into his vineyard. The “others standing idle at the eleventh hour” ,are the gentiles. (vs.6) “The first”(vs.10), who murmured, were the Jews. (vs.10,11)
Matthew 21 intensifies the rebuke. Jesus “cleanses” the temple by casting out the corruption within. His house was to be a house of prayer, for all nations (“for Gentiles” , quoted from Isaiah 56:7), but you have made it a den of thieves. (Mt.21:12,13) The temple was expanding its boarders to include all nations to worship in the new temple/tabernacle/body of Christ, the second Adam. Worshipers were instructed by Jesus, to forsake the OLD Jerusalem, the OLD temple, and the OLD man. (Gal.4:25,26- Physical Jerusalem represents Old Covenant bondage!, Jn.4:21-24, Col.3:9, Rev.18:4, 11:8, 18:2-Come out of Babylon, the great city where our Lord was crucified, because this city is going up in flames. Come out of the Old Jerusalem/Old Covenant into the New Jerusalem/New Covenant.-Gal.4:25,26)
Matthew 23:38 refers to their house being left desolate. Matthew 24 starts with his disciples pointing out to the temple buildings, perhaps suggesting, “ you don’t really mean all of these buildings left desolate?” Jesus replies with, “See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The temple and it’s corrupt system revolved around keeping the law, which was the system of the Old Covenant. This is the context of these five chapters (Matthew chapter 20 thru 24), and is really the underlining theme of the New Testament scriptures! The Old covenant must vanish away, so that the New could be seen clearly by all. Many were living in limbo between the two covenant “systems.” (Hebrews 8:13, 9:8)
The next point in Matthew 21:19, is when Jesus cursed the fig tree. (Also found in Mark 11:13,14,21-24) It say’s, “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away.” The disciples then marveled, and Jesus responds, “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Let’s look at some such prayers made by some of his disciples in Revelation 8:2-9. Verses 3-4 are the prayers arising as incense. Verse 5 is the answer to those prayers, as the censer filled with fire hit’s the “land”. (Not “globe“, or ”Kosmos”) Verse 7 says that hail and fire (words describing judgment), mingled with blood ,“were cast upon the land.” Verse 8 says, “as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea.” The sea is the place of darkness and the abyss, the place of judgment. What mountain is this? In Matthew 21, they are in view of The Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, and the Olive Tree is also representative of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, as well as in the New Testament book of Romans chapter 11. And what do we know about Mountains from the rest of scripture? Here are some verses that conclude the usage of a “ mountain”, as it refers to a kingdom or a nation: Psalms 46:1-6, Isaiah 41:14-16, 64:1-4, Jeremiah 51:24,25, Hebrews 12:22,28. (Mount Zion is a kingdom)
What nation is being cast down to the abyss in fiery judgment? Later in Matthew 21:31, Jesus tells the chief priests, “That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” Then he gives the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 21:33-46. The householder of the vineyard is looking for fruit. Isn’t that what he cursed the fig tree for, lack of fruit? This parable tells of the husbandmen being lent the vineyard (Israel) ,and beating the servants (The Prophets who were looking for fruit), and ultimately killing the householder’s son. And the chief priest’s word’s would come to pass as verse 43 says, that the householder “ will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus then spells it out for them and says, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” After telling them that He would grind them to powder, “they perceived that he spake of them.” (vs.45) What nation is that kingdom going to be given to? “A holy nation” is what Peter tells us we are being built together as, forming a spiritual temple of living stones. The other temple, the temple made by hands, is coming down! (1 Peter 2:9, and 2:5, Galatians 6:16, Phil.3:20, Hebrews 9:8)
In Matthew 22 Jesus begins with the parable of the marriage feast. Similar to the vineyard, here the King’s servants are treated spitefully, and killed for just inviting those who were already on the guest’s list, that is those within Old Covenant Israel. Verse 7 says, “But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” Did not God in His sovereignty direct those wicked Roman Armies, “His Armies” to fulfill His purpose, and burn their city, Jerusalem? (Revelation 17:16,17)
Those
murderers in chapter 22 are also addressed in Matthew
23. Jesus
gives the seven (complete) “woes”
upon the scribes and Pharisees. Complete
“woeness” and judgment was pronounced upon them. We
should also note that seven seals were
opened in The Book of
Revelation, to reveal this same coming judgment.
Impending doom was sure to come upon “that
generation.” Matthew
23:30 speaks
of the blood of the prophets and
this present generation’s connection to their fathers, who
killed the
prophets. They were
all of the same father,
from his seed, that is the devil, who was a murderer
from the
beginning. (John 8:44)
Satan’s
seed is clarified when Jesus called them serpents,
and a generation
of vipers. (Mt.23:33)
In
Mt.23:34 Jesus emphasizes again that they
shall kill and
crucify prophets, wise men, and scribes sent by God…and
persecute them from
city to city (Mt.10:22,23, 24:9)
In
Mt.23:35,36,
the seven
woe’s of judgment chapter,
Jesus,
the “can we all just get
along prophet” , utters the most terrifying words probably
ever spoken to any
people, at any time in history! He
says,
“That upon YOU (In that
generation) may come all the righteous blood
shed upon the earth, from the blood of
righteous Abel unto the blood of Zecharias son of
Barachias, whom ye
slew between the temple and the altar.
Luke 11:51 spells
out this death penalty upon this people
(at this time) even clearer, when he says that the blood shed and
it‘s penalty
would be “required of THIS
GENERATION.” (Again, it
was the seed of Satan, the murderer
from whom they had descended from. (John 8:44,
Romans 9:6) “Ye
are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a
murderer from the
beginning…” Again,
this same satanic
reference to them is here in Mt.23:31,
as Jesus refers to them as
serpents and vipers, and them which killed the
prophets)
Verily I say unto you, All these
things shall come upon THIS
GENERATION!” (Mt.23:36)
Matthew 23:37 Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee…” Yes, this is the city to be burned. (Mt.22:7)
Matthew 23:38 He then address their housing situation. Remember back in Mt. 21:23, when He said that they had made this house a den of thieves? He then astounds even His own disciples as He says, “Your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto YOU, YE shall not SEE ME henceforth , TILL YE shall say, Blessed is he that COMETH in the name of the Lord” The greatest wonder of the world at that time was Herod’s temple in Jerusalem. It was everything and more to a first century Jew. Jesus just told them that it was going to be destroyed. He then tells them that YE shall see His COMING judgment upon it. (Mt.23:39, Mt. 26:64)
Matthew 24:1 says, “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.” Jesus then leaves the disciples after dropping this bomb on them, and they in turn pursue him to inquire further concerning this matter. They begin by showing him the buildings of the temple, so as to say, you don’t really mean these buildings? For one thing, each stone was about the size of a large pickup truck or two, weighing much more, of course.
Matthew
24:2 continues,
“And Jesus said unto them, See YE
not all these things? Verily
I say unto YOU,
There shall not be left here on stone upon another, that shall not be
thrown
down.” Jesus’ reply was like saying,
“ You heard me right, and I’m looking
at what your showing me and ,
DO
YOU SEE all these
things?”
Verily I say unto YOU, there
shall not be left here one stone
upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24 continues with many YE’S and YOU’S. Remember, that there are no THEY’S in the Olivet discourse. Keep in mind that the original audience, in this face to face discussion, never changes. The disciples are listening to Jesus expound in answering THEIR question? The YOU’S addressing His disciples, don’t change into THEY’S thousands of years after these original hearers.
Matthew 24:3, the question goes as follows: “Tell US, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)? First off, Jesus is telling them, because they say, “Tell US.” He’s telling them in their day, not us in our day. We must remember the principal, that scripture is written for us and not to us. (1 Cor.10:11) Jesus for tells of the events leading up to the end of the age. It was THEN AT the end of the age. Hebrews 9:26, written about thirty something years later, tells of the “NOW IN the end of the age.”
“These things” (verse 3), what things? These things in relation to the destruction of the temple. That’s all that has been mentioned up to this point. Verse 33 mentions the same “these things.” Verse 34 mentions “these things” as well. It says, “this generation will not pass, until all these things be fulfilled.” These things are the same these things as are mentioned in the previous chapter of Matthew. “All these things shall come upon this generation.” (Mt.23:36)
Mark
13:4 say’s in a parallel account,
“Tell
US, when shall these things be?
And what shall be the sign when all these things shall
be fulfilled.” So far in Mark,
nothing but the temple is in play here. No mention of His
coming, and the end of
the age etc.. Mark begins in a parallel account,
in detailed
description, of the same “things”
that Matthew does. The
same wars, famines, pestilences,
earthquakes, the same gospel going out, the same abomination of
desolation, the
same persecution, the same false Christs, the same sun, moon, and stars
being
darkened, and the same coming in the clouds.
All of this above briefing of
the chapter is his answer
(vs.5,”And Jesus answering
them…’’) , with no question from the
disciples about
his coming, or the end of the age.
He
answers them and tells them that ALL THESE THINGS would
come to pass , only in relation to the
temples destruction! Does
anybody out
there get this point!!!
The end of the age is that age of the Old Covenant with its sacrificial system, which was to be abolished (Daniel 9:27), and God’s people were to transition into the Messianic Kingdom and Covenant. A Kingdom and Covenant to which there was no end. (Isaiah 9:7, 55:3, Jeremiah 32:40, Hebrews 13:20.)
This brings us to our original question. Are we living in the last days? The question should be the last days of what? It’s got to be one of three things. The planet, the Old Covenant, or The New Covenant? Is it the last days of the planet? Hal Lindsey, with his best seller “The Late Great Planet Earth”, would have us to believe so. But, what do the scriptures tell us. (Acts 17:11)
Ecclesiastes
1:4 says that, “the earth
endures forever.”
Psalms
78:69...”like the earth which he hath established
for ever.”
Psalms
104:5...”Who laid the foundations of the earth,
that it should not be
removed forever.
Ephesians 3:21...”Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through out all ages, world
without end. Amen. (The “Church age” has no end, neither does the planet with which it’s upon.)
Even Jack VanImpe, the raging prophetic madman, understands this point. The reason for his
batting one for a thousand and getting this single point correct, is due to a letter from David
Chilton informing him on the matter. Other than this point, his name still remains to be Jack Van
Incorrect.
But, 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21 speak of a “NEW HEAVENS”, and a“NEW EARTH” replacing the “old heavens” and the “old earth.”
2 Peter 3 verses 3 and 4 starts by saying, “there shall come in the last days scoffers… 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.” (Old creation) Verse 5 and 6 tell of the old heavens of Noah’s day and it’s passing through judgment.
2 Peter 3:7 then gets into THE HEAVENS AND EARTH which are now, are similarly being kept and reserved for fire until the day of judgment.” ‘Fire’ is the purging judgment of God.
2 Peter 3:8, 9 tells us that God is not hurried toward judgment, but as in Ninevah’s 40 days, He’s hoping rather for repentance.
2 Peter 3:10 says
that the day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night. This phrase is used a number
of times, along
with similar exhortations towards alertness.
(Matthew
24:42,42, 25:13, Luke 12:36-48, Revelation 3:2, 16:15, 1 Thes.5:6)
2 Peter 3:10 continues with “THE HEAVENS shall pass away…” As we saw with the Old Testament imagery and prophetic language of the sun, moon, and stars, so we see THE HEAVENS interchangeably used throughout scripture in the same manner. Their none physical darkening meant judgment upon that land. To recap, let’s revisit some of those passages.
Psalm 18:7 says that , “THE EARTH shook”. This to describe David’s deliverance from Saul.
Psalm 18: 8 says smoke (Acts 2:19) went out of his nostrils. Was this smoke chemically measurable? Did it proceed from physical nostrils? I would say, NOT!
Psalm 18: 9 tells of how God “bowed THE HEAVENS also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet”.
Did anything happen in the physical heavens when David was delivered from Saul? He came down, isn’t He already everywhere? Yes, but this is prophetic language communicating to finite man the workings of the invisible God in the earth. I’ve experienced miraculous deliverances in my own life. Afterwards, I could only say that God moved HEAVEN AND EARTH for me. He did so by opening doors and giving me favor, after which I could only say that God moved HEAVEN AND EARTH on my behalf!
Isaiah 5:30 …and if one look unto the land, (also often translated as earth, wrongly so most of the time, particularly in the New Testament) behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in THE HEAVENS thereof.” This passage is referring to a judgment against Israel, ie, the land.
Isaiah
58:10 In regard to a call for Israel to fast,
Isaiah says to “…satisfy
the afflicted soul; then shall thy light
rise in obscurity, and thy
darkness be as the noonday:”
The noon day is THE HEAVENS at
its brightest time, and so would it be a bright
day in Israel, if this
light as experienced in, but they would not, and would experience great
darkness upon the land.
Jeremiah
4:23-29 Here Jeremiah is proclaiming a coming
judgment upon
Jerusalem, and the entire nation of Israel. He describes it
by using such
imagery as “THE EARTH being
without from, and void; and THE HEAVENS,
having no light. The
mountains trembling, and all the
cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce
anger.” When
we examine the coming of the lord
in the New Testament, we‘ll see that the Greek
word for “coming”
is Parousia, which is defined as “coming
presence”.
Jeremiah 4:27 clarifies the locality of this judgment, that it has nothing to do with the earth , in the since of the globe, but it’s upon “The whole land”. That is, the land of Israel.
Jeremiah
4:28 says, “For this shall THE
EARTH mourn, and THE
HEAVENS above be
black…”
Nothing transpired in the physical HEAVENS
here, only
in the land in which this judgment was invoked.
Verse 29 clarifies
that the
judgments are centralized to “The whole
city” of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 32:7 says of Pharaoh, “And when I shall put thee out, I will cover THE HEAVEN, and make the stars thereof dark.”
Ezekiel
32:
8 says that, “All the bright LIGHTS OF HEAVEN will
I make dark over thee, and
set darkness upon thy land…”
Joel 2:10 uses this same apocalyptic, prophetic language. It says, “THE EARTH shall quake before them: THE HEAVENS shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:” This is a judgment in Israel, verse 1 (in Zion), in which the Lord COMETH.
Joel 2: 30, 31 This verse brings us back to our beginning text quoted in Acts 2:16-21. Verse 30 says, THIS IS THAT (The fulfillment of that.) which was spoken of by the prophet Joel; “And I will show wonders in THE HEAVENS and in THE EARTH, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.” Verse 31 continues with, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” A changing of the guard was taking place, in which the present ruling authority was being put out, and put down. (Gen.37:9,10)
Hebrews 12:22 Speaks of a Mountain, the same one we are told of in Daniel 2:35, which fills the whole earth. Daniel 2:44 says it’s a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, and will crush and consume all other kingdoms. Mount Zion, being a kingdom in Hebrews 12:28, is a kingdom that we are receiving. Back in verse 22 we are come to it (Not someday we will come to it) , and it’s also referred to as a city. The city is the heavenly Jerusalem. Paul says of this Jerusalem that is above, that it is clearly, without any question or controversy, the New Covenant!!! Galatians 4:24, 26 The Old Jerusalem, that for them, “now is”, (For us, “then was.”) was the Old Covenant, which was in bondage under Mount Sinai’s Kingdom, the then present Nation of Israel and the law!
Hebrews
12:24 brings in this same point speaking of the New
Covenant.
Hebrews 12:25, 26 both use the terms “HEAVEN AND EARTH” and the shaking thereof. These are in relation to God’s covenant with Himself being in HEAVEN, and man on the EARTH. He unites the two by bringing His Kingdom to the earth. (Matthew 6:10, Revelation 21:1-3) All other Mountains/Kingdoms, such as Mount Sinai/The Old Covenant, would be shaken to pieces. (Daniel 2:34,44, Psalms 2:9)
Hebrews
12:29 says, “For our God is a consuming
fire.” This
brings us back to our passage in
2 Peter 3:10 , which says, “THE HEAVENS” shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, THE EARTH also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Remember,
to
the Jew who knew Old Testament imagery, and apocalyptic
language, “THE
HEAVENS”, meant something
completely different than it did even
to the Greeks of their day, as it might to us with a “western
mindset”, based
upon mathematical and scientific hard cold facts.
When Daniel 4:26 says
that, “THE
HEAVENS DO RULE” , a
Greek
would be thinking about Zeus, and Jupiter. Today, when we in the west
hear such
language, we might be thinking in terms of space, distance, and
something to do
with the physical heavens related to astronomy.
Thinking that God is somewhere out there beyond the stars
etc.. Of
course, he is everywhere, therefore “THE
HEAVENS RULING” has
nothing to do
with a physical relationship to the firmament.
God is spirit, and rules
from the invisible realm, reaching
into the visible, and is not far from anyone of us. (Deut.30:11-14,
Romans 10:7,8) The
word is near to
us, in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)
He uses the
physical HEAVENS
as a metaphor to communicate His
authority, rule and reality.
For
example, Isaiah 55:8,9 says, “For
as THE HEAVENS are
higher than THE EARTH, so
are my ways higher
than your ways , and my
thoughts than your
thoughts.”
We are low lives,
without the intervention of his higher life and higher
thoughts. James
3:17 speaks of wisdom
from ABOVE,
as
opposed to that which is EARTHLY
in verse 15.
So, “THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH” must be interpreted from the Old Testaments use of the terms. The Covenant begins with Abraham who is told that his seed (Christ, not physical descendats-Gal.3:16) would be multiplied (Corporate Christ-all nations blessed-Gen.22:18) “as the stars of HEAVEN, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore/EARTH…” (Gen.22:17) Moses addresses the Covenant people (Covenant people, meaning God in HEAVEN joined with man on the EARTH.) in the following manner, “Give ear, O HEAVENS, and I will speak; and hear, O EARTH, the words of my mouth.” (Deut.32:1) Isaiah does the same thing when he says, “Hear, O HEAVENS, and give ear, O EARTH…” (Isaiah 1:2)
Isaiah 51:6, 16 really clarify the terms in relation to God’s Covenant with man. The puritan theologian, John Owen, sees this passage in Isaiah as clearly revealing to us that 2 Peter 3 was fulfilled in the establishment of the New Covenant.
Isaiah 51:6 says, “Lift up your eyes to THE HEAVENS, and look upon THE EARTH beneath: for THE HEAVENS shall vanish away like smoke, and THE EARTH shall WAX OLD LIKE A GARMENT, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” What does the full revelation of scripture, which is the New Testament, tell us about something WAXING OLD?
Hebrews 8:13 says, “…A new covenant, he hath make the first old. Now that which decayeth and WAXETH OLD is ready to vanish away.” (It’s interesting here, that “ready to vanish away” is a single Greek word used also in Revelation 1:3,when it says, “…for the time is “at hand.” Greek: “eggus”.)
Does the New Testament tell us anything about an OLD GARMENT? It does so in Matthew 9:16, which is in reference to the Old Covenant.
Was not the Old Testament over when Jesus died on the Cross. In truth it was, but this fact was not yet clear to all. Things were quite murky for most in Israel concerning the faith as it pertained to various aspects of the law. This passage in Hebrews 8:13 says that the old was ready to vanish away, but had not entirely done so as of yet. Only after the destruction of the temple, could it be made manifest and clear who the true son’s of God where. Who were the wheat, and who were the tares? Was it those who were still under the Old Covenant Law, or those who were trusting in Jesus alone? Again, there was much murkiness. The next chapter in Hebrews say’s that, “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:” The temple had to come down first! (Hebrews 9:8) What is the clear theme of eschatology? The destruction of the Old, and the CREATION of the New. The destruction of the Old COVENANT, Old TEMPLE (Mt.24), Old MAN, Old WINESKINS, Old GARMENTS (Mentioned in the passage above in Isaiah 51:6), Old BOTTLES, Old WAY (Heb.10:20), Old CREATION (2 Cor. 5:17 refers to the individual, Rev. 21:4, 5, to the corporate), Old AGE (Mt. 24:3, 1 Cor.10:11-“…ends of the age (Not world) are come”), Old JERUSALEM (Gal. 4:21-31), and the Old ISRAEL. (Mt. 3:9, John 8:33, 39,41,44,Rom. 2:28, 29, 4:3,11, 9:8, Gal. 3:16, 6:16, Colossians 3:10,11, Rev. 2:9, 3:9)
In Isaiah 51:16, God says,
“And I have put my words in thy
mouth, and I have covered THEE in the shadow of
mine hand, that I may
plant THE HEAVENS,
and lay the foundations of THE EARTH, and say
unto Zion, Thou art MY PEOPLE.”
Heaven brought to earth
is the establishment of God’s covenant people. In Revelation
21:1-3 we see
the same thing with a NEW HEAVEN AND A
NEW EARTH, which
is the New Jerusalem/The Bride/The
New Covenant, which is the New Temple/Tabernacle with GOD
IN HEAVEN
DWELLING WITH MEN ON EARTH! (Galatians
4:22-31)
The
HEAVENS,
and the EARTH
have everything to do with God descending
into a covenant relationship with man on the earth. Again, it’s all
about Him revealing Himself
through His presence from HEAVEN,
with men on the EARTH. It’s
His will being done on EARTH as it is in
HEAVEN. (Mt.
6:10) His
kingdom coming and His
will being done, is also about the kingdom’s expansion out from
Jerusalem as Jesus commissioned his disciples. “All
power is given unto
me in HEAVEN and
in EARTH. Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations…I am WITH
YOU ALWAYS…”
(Mt.28:17-20)
In Matthew 16:16-19 ,this covenant of God in heaven and man on earth can be clearly seen. Jesus states that He will build his church upon the revelation of who He was, the Messiah/Christ, the Son/express image of the living God. This revelation comes from HEAVEN (vs.17). Heavens authority is exercised upon the EARTH, within THE CHURCH/GOD’S COVENANT PEOPLE. The key’s are the authority given to lock the door and keep out the darkness, and to open doors of opportunity that no man can close. (Rev. 21:27, 22:14, 3:8)
Mathew18:17-20 Continues
along these same lines. The
church
(vs.17) is given authority
to administer the left foot of
fellowship to the openly unrepentant.
This authority is from God in HEAVEN,
and
administered through man on the EARTH. Thus, what’s bound/stripped
of
authority on EARTH
by two or three Covenant
members, is backed up with HEAVENS AUTHORITY. Also,
whatsoever is loosed
is given authority to exercise heaven’s authority
in God’s will being DONE
(vs.19) ON EARTH.
That is, “done
for them by my Father which is in HEAVEN.”
Mt.1:23
Emmanuel,
God with us. Ephesians
1:3...
“spiritual blessings IN HEAVENLY PLACES in
Christ”, (Ephesians
2:6) “…and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together IN HEAVENLY PLACES in
Christ Jesus.” These
heavenly places are taking place on earth.
These Ephesian saints had not died, and left the earth,
but THIS
WAS HEAVEN BEING EXPERIENCED ON EARTH!
Matthew 5:17,18 is the clearest of all revelation on the matter of “HEAVEN AND EARTH.”
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (By Him)
Timing
has
everything to do with Bible Prophecy Fulfilled. Till
is a
timing word here. Plain as day here, Once I fulfill
the law, “HEAVEN
AND EARTH” WILL PASS.” The
Old Covenant rule upon the earth will pass after He fulfills it. His words would
not pass (Mt.24:35),
but would be the foundation of the New Covenant temple made without
hands, a
house that would endure all storms (Mt.7:24-27), in
an EVERLASTING
COVENANT!
Revelation 21:1-5 says that this new temple/tabernacle of God is with men. It is the NEW HEAVEN and NEW EARTH, while the former/old things are PASSED AWAY! Behold, I make ALL THINGS NEW… IT IS DONE! “…A New Covenant He hath made the first OLD. Now that which decayeth and waxeth OLD is ready to VANISH AWAY.” (Heb.8:13) The Old tabernacle/temple was about to pass away and the New Temple of Jesus’ Body/Temple/Tabernacle/Church was about to be made manifest to all. (Heb.9:8)
2
Cor. 3:7
“written…in stones…which
glory was PASSING
AWAY.”
2
Cor. 3:11
“For if what is PASSING AWAY was
glorious…”
In 2 Peter 3,
we should
now have a completely different
understanding from our western minds, to that of the Old
testament
scriptures, as well as the New Testament scriptures which draw from the
Old,
and their usages of the terms “HEAVEN
AND EARTH.”
2 Peter 3:10 goes on to tell us that the “ …THE HEAVENS SHALL PASS AWAY with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, THE EARTH also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Now do these terms mean something different to us after examining the Old Testament’s uses of them? This approach to scripture is simply interpreting scripture with scripture. We must stand back, and not run with our own thoughts and understandings. We should pause and ask ourselves, “what do we know about this or that term, from the rest of scripture?
But this passage speaks of the “elements” melting and burning up. “Yes, this is talking about thermonuclear war.” Wait! Pause! Where else is this term elements used in the scriptures? Answer, the Greek word is “Stoichelon.” It’s definition is: Rudiments, philosophies, and principles. It’s used in the following verses:
Galatians 4:3, “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:”
Galatians 4:9, “…how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage.
Colossians 2:8 says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Colossians 2:20 states, “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances.”
*Note that the “world” is truly, the “age,” that is, the Old Covenant age, as well as the age in which gentiles ruled the world, as seen in Daniel’s statue/Great Image. We who are in Christ are truly “Jews” in the Jewish Messiah’s Kingdom “age.” (Dan.2, Romans 2:28,29, 9:8, Rev.2:9, 3:9)
Hebrews 5:12 says, “…ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God.”
2 Peter 3:12 goes on to tell us of THE HEAVENS, or present ruling authority/authorities of this the old rule, will be “…dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” They will “PASS AWAY”, verse 10.
2
Peter 3:13 says, “Nevertheless we,
according
to his promise, look for NEW HEAVENS and
a NEW
EARTH, WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
In
Matthew 3:15 Jesus says to John
the
Baptist, the last Old Testament Prophet pointing to Jesus and The New
Covenant,
“…for thus it becometh us TO FULFILL
ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Jesus
fulfilled this righteousness
of perfection, which was the Old Covenant’s standard. “To
be found in Him, not having mine
own RIGHTEOUSNESS, which
is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the RIGHTEOUSNESS
which is OF
GOD by
faith.” (Gal.3:9) “For
He hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be the RIGHTEOUSNESS
OF GOD IN HIM. (2
Cor.5:21)
Daniel 9:24 says, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to BRING IN EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS.” This was brought in, and many Christians today are still looking for this passage of scripture to be fulfilled. I can’t find one theologian before 1830, when Darby’s dispensationalism took off, that sees anything in this passage as not already being fulfilled in the first century. (This passage, Daniel 9:24-27, contains the 70th week, and the Abomination of Desolation) This doesn’t mean that there weren’t some Koresh’s of the past that might have stated such things.
This
everlasting righteousness is clearly stated
here to be brought about through the sacrifice that establishes the new
covenant, to which is said to be an “EVERLASTING COVENANT.” (Hebrews
13:20)
It
is linguistically impossible to have a period of
“last days” within
an everlasting
covenant.
Therefore, we’ve examined
that the last days were not
regarding the last days of the
globe. Neither are they in
reference to the “last days” of the
New Covenant, as we’ve just examined above.
So then, we must conclude with our investigation that the
“last days”
are the last
days of the Old Covenant, which
was for told of by the prophets. The
Old
Covenant people would be transitioned into a new age of the
Messiah’s
kingdom, in the New Covenant. It’s
the
year 2007 for a reason. The
New Covenant
is that reason!
“But what about the rest of Matthew 24, you only covered the first few verses?”
Matthew 24:4 says, “Take heed that no man deceive YOU. Remember in verse 2, he is speaking to the disciples face to face, and says, “verily I say unto YOU…” In verse 3 they say, “Tell US…”
Matthew 24:5 says, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many.” The book of Acts, the Epistles, and even Josephus tell us clearly that this did happen. (Acts 8:9-24)
Matthew 24:6 states that, “YE shall hear of wars and rumours of wars…” Is there an increase in wars in our day? In 2007 there are some 30, or so, armed conflicts in the world. This is the least amount of wars in the world since post World War Two. How are wars today in our world related in any way to any sign of increased wars of the “last days”?
Matthew 24:7 continues about war. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom, against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” This is simply the progression of war. First, the fighting, then the economic turmoil, and disruption of the growth and trade of food, which brings famine. What follows next is death, and rotting corpses bring about pestilences.
The Wars within the Roman Empire during the 60’s were about half a dozen. These were civil wars between rivaling Roman Military and political adversaries. One civil war brings enough chaos for an empire, we could only imagine what this many would be like.
The wars brought famine, the famine death, and death pestilence.
What about earthquakes? Has there been an increase in earthquakes? Let’s examine history to see some of the devastation brought on by earthquakes.
Date AD:
Location:
Deaths:
532
Syria
130,000
678
Syria
170.00
856
Iran:Qumis
Damghan
200,00
893
India:
Daipul
180,00
893
Iran:
Ardabil
150,000
1138
Egypt,
Syria
230,000
1139
Iran:
Gansana
100,000
1290
China:
Chihili
100,000
1556
China
830,000
1641
Iran: Dehkwargan,
Tabriz
300,000
1662
China
300,000
1669
Sicily:
(Etna eruption)
100,000
1693
Sicily: Catania and
Naples
100,000
1703
Japan:
Hokkaido
100,000
1721
Iran:
Tabriz
100,000
1730
China:Chihili
100,000
1730
Japan:
Hokkaido
137,000
1731
China:
Peking
100,000
1737
India:
Calcutta
300,000
1780
Iran:
Tabriz
100,000
1850
China
300-400,000
1876
Bay of Bengal
(tsunami)
215,000
1908
Italy: Messina/Reggio
110,000
Today
there is an increase in technology so as to monitor
earthquakes more precisely, not an increase in actual earthquakes.
Before we continue through the chapter, lets skip ahead to what’s known as time indicators. After all, if timing is excluded from Bible Prophecy, then Mosses’ only test for distinguishing between the true and the false is excluded. Anything can simply be pushed into the future. Nothing can be proven without this test. Genesis 18:21-22, 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21. Here are some examples of the precision of prophecy in the Bible. They all say for example, that such and such an event will happen within an exact amount of time.
Years:
1 “this year” Jeremiah 28:16,17
1 “within a year” Isaiah 26:16
3 “within three years” Isaiah 16:14
3 ½ “shall they tread under foot forty and two months” Revelation 11:2
7 “What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great…”
Genesis 41:28,29
15
“And I will add unto thy days fifteen
years.” 2
Kings 20:6
65 “within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. Isaiah 7:8
70 “…shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years….when the seventy years are accomplished…
Jeremiah 25:11,12
80 “The days of our years are seventy years, and if by reason of strength they be eighty years, yet…”
Psalms 90:10
100 “…for the child shall die an hundred years old” Isaiah 65:20
120 “…his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” Genesis 6:3
400 “…thy seed…a stranger…foreign land…shall afflict them four hundred years.” Genesis 15:13
483 “from the commandment to restore…unto the Messiah…shall be seven weeks, and threescore