It was my intent to address the rapture issue at this point, but I wanted to put some more emphasis on the prophecies from Ezekiel. It is important, because so many are looking for WWIII according to the prophecies from Ezek. 38 &39, and consider it to be an earmark event to the approximate time of the rapture. In the previous blog I was trying to show that the nation of Israel today is not the one spoken of in these chapters of Ezekiel (actually chapters 34-39), and can instead be cross-referenced with the account in Rev. 20:7-9. It is the war which takes place after the millenium, with the redeemed saints that have returned with Christ. No one can figure it all out, for sure- but it goes a long way if we will only believe what God has said to us in His Word...
Look at what is being spoken about this Israel, here in Ezek.; "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you... And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." -36:26,27. Most believers would readily acknowledge that this seems to indicate the Holy Spirit, given to followers of Christ in the New Testament. It would never apply to Jews, or the nation of Israel; these distinctions are only physical, and not spiritual. The only thing that matters for a Christian is the atoning work of Christ, receiving that which He has done. Even Old Testament promises to the people of Israel were always conditional based upon obedience. When they obeyed, they were blessed; when they disobeyed, they were cursed. The Jews as a people rejected Jesus as their messiah, and they were rejected by Him (Matt. 23:37,38).
Let's look further; "Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded." -36:33. This can only be a reference to the perfected body of Christ, after the rapture and return for the millenium; yes, that will all happen in one day. See Isaiah 66:8 for backup!
Read about the attack on the USS Liberty, and the underhanded dealings of modern-day Israel. There are plenty of sites for this incident, but I picked this one as a sample; http://thy-weapon-of-war.blogspot.com/.../1967-israeli-attack-on-uss-liberty.html ; After you have read about this incident, just ask yourself; could this be the "Israel" of Ezekiel's prophecy? Are their iniquities cleansed, do they have Christ's Spirit?
Yet there is oh, so much more. Look again at the description of Israel in Ezekiel 38. It is a "land brought back from the sword...all of them dwelling safely." -v.8. In v.11 we find that it is a land of unwalled villages; they are at rest, dwelling safely without walls, bars, or gates. Is this Israel today? Every male is automatically a part of the army! They are under constant threat of terrorism, Hezbollah regularly lobs missiles across the border- one that is heavily guarded, with walls, bars, gates, and razor-wire. How can anyone read such descriptions and think it applies to the physical nation of Israel today? How can those who don't even believe the Word of Truth (John17:17) "rightly divide" it? We need to start looking in the right areas for clues as to the time we are living in, and for that we need to take God's Word as it is, without the additions and subtractions of men.
In places such as Matthew 24:32, we find referrals to "the parable of the fig tree." It is common to hear many declare that this fig tree really represents the nation of Israel, and its rebirth (May 14, 1948). I also knew of many that then rationalized that a generation is 40 years long, so that these end times/rapture events would be taking place, or starting to, about 1988. I remember there was also a planetary alignment that year, and some feared great earthquakes; that Southern California might drop off into the ocean. Nothing ever happened, and rapture lovers took another hit to their confidence.
While I never became caught up in the 1988 hype, I did buy into the fig tree parable explanation. Frankly, no study was ever involved on my part. I trusted those supposedly older and wiser, or that were said to be particularly gifted in prophecy. I respected persons, and that is a sin. The problem is that there is far too much being accepted as Biblical truth, when the Bible never actually says it. Much of this has been handed down through sources like The Scofield Reference Bible (1909). Cyrus Scofield put his thoughts next to various passages in the Bible, declaring them to mean certain things. I guess he missed a few crucial ones, like II Peter 1:20,21. Of course, were he to reverently adhere to that passage, he'd have had to earn a living some other way.
What Scofield did really was just commentary, and never should have been placed within the Bible. Many people took his comments as if God Himself were doing the explaining. These "interpretations" were accepted by a great many in church leadership positions, and they began to be taught to congregations everywhere. The result of this is like a type of brainwashing; generations have swallowed Scofield's thoughts as gospel, and they cannot see them any other way.
Let's look at the "Fig Tree" parable in Matthew 24:32-34. 24:3 tells us that for this, the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked about His coming, and the end of the world. So Christ's answer wasn't to the general public, but to those that were His disciples. Leading up to our key verses, Jesus is foretelling of events and world conditions that will come at that time...
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:" -That's the parable; then just like at other times, Jesus gives the explanation; "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
In Mark 13:28,29 it reads this way; "Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors." In Luke it is not even just the fig tree, but all the trees (Luke 21:29).
Folks, that is all that there is! There is no mystical "rebirth" of Israel inferred at all. Let me paraphrase Jesus' words; "You can always tell summer is near, when you see the fig tree (or all the trees) begin to bud. In the same way, when you see all these things I've described to you come to pass, you will know that the end is near; right on your doorstep! The generation seeing these things shall not pass away until all of it is fulfilled."
Think about it- didn't Jesus always explain His parables to His disciples? He did here what he had done every time before, postulating a parable and then explaining it. It is an absolute myth that today's "re-born" Israel is what was meant in the fig tree parable. You cannot get this from the Bible; it is an addition of men (under Satan's influence). Our enemy has tried yet another counterfeit of God's words, in order to deceive and destroy us.
Let's pray diligently that the delusion/slumber (spiritually) may be lifted from off of us before it is too late (II Thessalonians 2:9-12). We need God's mercy. Next time, on to the rapture!
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