7 Remarkable Facts.580
SEVEN REMARKABLE FACTS
Ref. 580
BIBLE READING:
INTRODUCTION: To understand the Word of God, the Bible ought to be examined as a whole and complete revelation of God to man, and not taken out of its context, for often such proves to be a pretext and sometimes far from being the whole truth.
There are SEVEN facts which we are going to look at. They are:
1. The fact of History (His-story)
2. The fact of His promise
3. The fact of the Jew
4. The fact of Prophecy
5. The fact of Apostasy
6. The fact of the Church
7. The fact of His Second Coming
1. THE FACT OF HIS-STORY
It will be seen from a study of Scripture that the history of the world is divided into “Ages”, and also that each Age ends with a judgement. These “Ages” are as follows:-
a. Innocency - ending with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden.
GEN 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
GEN 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim’s, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
b. Conscience - ending with the flood.
GEN 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
c. Human Government - ending in the confusion of tongues.
GEN 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. GEN 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. GEN 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
GEN 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
GEN 10:20-21 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
GEN 10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
GEN 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
GEN 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
GEN 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. GEN 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
GEN 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. GEN 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
d. Promise - ending with bondage in Egypt.
GEN 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
GEN 12:1-2 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
EXO 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. EXO 1:13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
e. Law - ending with the Cross.
EXO 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. EXO 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
LEV 1:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
LEV 1:5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
MAT 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
f. Grace - “Church Age” - ending with Armageddon.
JOHN 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
REV 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. REV 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. REV 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. REV 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. REV 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. REV 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. REV 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
REV 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. REV 19:17 and I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
g. Kingdom - ending with the Great White Throne.
EPH 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Historically five of these “Ages” have ended, and we are well towards the end of the sixth Age, if we may judge from the evidence on every hand today. Students of the Prophetic Word believe that the next item on God’s programme is the return of our Lord, as foretold in no uncertain language.
2. THE FACT OF HIS PROMISE
When God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees,GEN 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: GEN 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: GEN 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
In these verses we have a sevenfold promise:
1. I will make of thee a great nation.
2. I will bless thee.
3. I will make thy name great.
4. Thou shalt be a blessing.
5. I will bless them that bless thee.
6. I will curse him that curseth thee.
7. In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
How literally these promises have been fulfilled, we may see from the following:
First, in the national greatness of the Arab and Jewish peoples.
Secondly, in the fact that Abraham was called the “Friend of God”.
Thirdly, his name is great - so great that in Jerusalem the Jaffa gate is called “Bab-el-Khaleel”, the “Gate of the Friend”, whilst the city of Hebron is called the “City of the Friend”; so that the memory of his name is “great”.
Fourthly he has been a blessing to the whole world both materially and spiritually.
Spiritually through his offspring - the Lord Jesus Christ. Materially through Science, medicine, and a host of other areas where the Jews have been leaders of learning and discovery.
Fifthly, those that have treated the Jews well, have as their reward received the blessing of heaven.
Sixthly, the curse pronounced against those who curse and wage war against the Jews will be activated by their deeds, as seen in the destruction and down-fall of the Hamans, Herods, and Hitlers of this world.
Lastly, the whole world, all the families of the earth may enjoy the blessing of God by welcoming the Lord Jesus Christ into their hearts and lives.
Has God kept His promise to Abraham? The answer must be an emphatic “Yes”!
1. THE FACT OF THE JEW
It is said that the Jew is the Key to the Bible. Let us look
briefly at five things which are said about them:-
a. A Great Dispersion - DEUT. 28:64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
b. A Great Punishment - LEV 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
LEV 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
LEV 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
c. A Great Tribulation - DAN 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
d. A Great Repentance - ZEC 12:9-13:1 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. NB. (Please read all the verses).
e. A Great Regathering - AMOS 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. AMOS 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
Secular history proves that they have been scattered to all corners of the earth, and also that no other race under the sun has endured such punishment, more particularly during the II World War. The day of “Jacob’s trouble” or the “Great Tribulation” is still in the future, during which time their suffering will be even more severe. The day of their repentance is still future, but we have in a small measure already seen their repenting and accepting the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, probably the greatest evidence of this can be seen in the returning Russian Jewish community during the 90’s their acceptance of the Bibles and willingness to read them, leads them to Christ.
Their regathering has already started and that from the four corners of the earth. The final regathering will take place when Jesus comes to reign as their King.
ISA 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. ISA 43:5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; ISA 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
ISA 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
ISA 43:26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together:
declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
4. THE FACT OF PROPHECY
This subject is far to vast to deal with here, therefore we will only deal with only one prophecy to show the accuracy of God’s prophetic word.
In Ezekiel 26 there is a remarkable prophecy concerning Tyre in verses 7-11 the prophecy speaks in the singular, then in verse 12 the prophet changes to the plural. The first verses quoted refer to King Nebuchadnezzar; whereas in the next section he speaks in the plural, “they shall”. King Nebuchadnezzar attacked and destroyed the people and garrisons as foretold, but the city was not destroyed; it still stood and to outward appearance it looked as though the prophet had overstepped the mark, and had erred regarding its utter destruction.
Prior to the attack upon Tyre the had removed the bulk of their treasure to an island off the mainland. They had learnt from bitter experience that walls and gates alone could not be trusted, so they sought the protection of a watery obstruction, by establishing themselves on the island. Tyre was at that time mistress of the seas and could easily defend herself in her island home.
Tyre on the mainland had been literally overthrown and spoiled, “the noise of song had ceased.....” Years passed by, followed by centuries & there was only the partial fulfilment of the prophecy. What could it mean? God said through the prophet, I will make thee like the top of the rock”. After the lapse of 240 years Alexander the Great expressed the desire to visit the island, so as to worship within the city; this request was refused, for the citizens knew that once within the city, he would remain. Alexander however was not to be frustrated in his object. He had come to conquer, and conquer he would. He stood by the ruins on the mainland with only a half mile of water separating him from the island-city, which he had come to attack; he quickly formed his plan of campaign. Summoning his Generals around him, he commanded that the men of his army be set to work to construct a cause way from the mainland to the island, over which he might march to conquest. The walls, towers, palaces, temples and houses were soon torn down and laid in the sea, and thus the prophecy that had waited so long for fulfilment, was at last fulfilled to the very letter and the old site became “a place to spread nets upon” as foretold. EZEKIEL 26:17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
EZE 26:18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
EZE 26:19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;”
5. THE FACT OF THE APOSTASY
One of the most remarkable pictures which we have in scripture relating to the “last days” is given in Paul’s letter to Timothy. (Read II Timothy 3:1-5)
In this picture of the last days, it will be seen that we have twenty down-grade steps away from God:
“Men shall be:...”
1. Lovers of their own selves
2. Covetous
3. Boasters
4. Proud
5. Blasphemers
6. Disobedient to parents
7. Unthankful
8. Unholy
9. Without natural affection
10. Truce-breakers
11. False accusers
12. Incontinent
13. Fierce
14. Despisers of those who are good
15. Traitors
16. Heady
17. High-minded
18. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God
19. Having a form of godliness
20. But denying the power thereof.
There are many other passages of scripture dealing with a falling away from God in the last days. e.g.
2 THES 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
1 TIMOTHY 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
During the last 50-100 years there has been an immense increase in the number of new “Cults and Sects”. All these were to mark the “TIME OF THE END”.
6. THE FACT OF THE CHURCH
A study of Revelation 2 and 3 reveals the church as it was to be from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, to the coming of our Lord Jesus. It will be seen from the context that the first Church had left its first love, whilst the last Church is neither cold nor hot.
The churches were accused, and exhorted as follows:-
1. Ephesus - thou hast left thy first love - Remember and repent.
2. Smyrna - I know thy works ...and poverty - Be thou faithful unto death.
3. Pergamos - False doctrines - Repent or...
4. Thyatira - Seducing Jezebel - Hold fast till I come.
5. Sardis - Ready to die - Remember.
6. Philadelphia - A little strength - hold fast
7. Laodicea - Neither cold nor hot - anoint thy eyes with eyesalve.
It is to this last Church that our Lord says: REVELATION 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Students of the Bible are generally agreed that the Church as it is known today, is a type of the Laodician Church; “Neither cold nor hot”. It is during the lifetime of this Church that our Lord will come for His own.
7. THE FACT OF HIS COMING AGAIN
This has already been dealt with therefore I will just recapitulate what has already been written, viz., that our Lord Jesus, the Angels of Heaven, the Apostle Paul all emphatically stated that He would come again, and in Person. Let us look up for our Redemption draweth nigh.