Spickard's Signs of the Times

              What time is it ?  Do you have the time ? Do you know what time it is  ? Our reckoning of time is sometimes based on important events. The way we divide ancient history, for example, is termed "B.C."  and " A.D." "B.C." stands for  the time before Christ. "A. D." represents the Latin phrase, "anno domini." This means "the year of our Lord," speaking of Christ. God reckons time much the same way. God has had many different time frames or epochs, or ages. For instance, the World before the Flood was called the "Antedeluvian Age." This was a time that followed the Creation Account in the Book of Genesis. The Earth possessed a different kind of climate then. There was no rain for example. The climate of the Earth was similar to a large humidifier. If you have ever ventured out early in the morning in South Florida, you would see great droplets of condensation on parked cars, shrubs, trees, and other foliage. This is kind of how the earth was watered then in that Age before the Flood. That Age came to an end as a result of a change in climate as Rain flooded the Earth, with only Noah and his family  being preserved by God.                                                               

This Age of the Gospel is also termed by Paul the Apostle and the Apostle John, as the "Last, or Latter Days."  The Latter Days have been going on for nearly two millennia. However, there has been changes to that. The Very last part of the "Latter Days" is called the "Endtimes."  This is a brief time period, ordained by God, that is just preceding the Return of Christ. This "Endtime" Time Period commenced in 1967 when the nation of Israel took the remaining third of the city of Jerusalem from the nation of Jordan in what is known as the Six-Day War. From this time, June 1967, there has been ushered in... 'the Endtimes." Jesus spoke of this particular time in the latter verses in Luke 21. This is perhaps, one of the most critical, perilous, and yet intriguing times ever to take place.  This "Endtime Period"  is incredibly significant as it precedes the Return of Christ, to set up the aforementioned Time Period, known as the Kingdom of God.

MANY SIGNS ... WHICH ONES ARE WE TO LOOK FOR  ? ....Ask most professing Christians this question... and you may receive a plethora of answers. Indeed, there is amazingly no definite consensus, unlike the early Christian believers in Jerusalem who knew exactly what signs to look for. These "Signs" were given  by Jesus in what is called the Synoptic Gospels, or Matthew, Mark,  and Luke, in what is known as the "Olivet Discourse," to Bible scholars.  Here, in this discourse, Jesus outlined the future for His Disciples by prefacing their questions by unequivocally stating that the Temple in Jerusalem would be totally destroyed... "not one stone left upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (Matthew 24:2b).  This  piqued, understandably the curiousity and concern of the Disciples, and they asked Him, ..."When will these things be (i.e., the Destruction of the Temple and the Sacking of the city of Jerusalem), AND what shall be the Signs of your Coming, and of the End of the Age"  (Matt. 24:3). Jesus then preceded in loose chronological order the Events to follow. He told of many who would come in His Name,  claiming to be the Messiah, or Christ.  The historian Josephus, tells in some detail, of the many who did this, as also references in the very Scriptures indicate ( Acts 5:36-37; and 21:38...which Commentator Albert Barnes elaborates), that this phenomenon was already occurring.

                                                                     

   Jesus told His Disciples of specific "signs"  that would precede the Destruction of the Jewish Temple that the Disciples well understood . He also warned them to pray for specific conditions such as "not taking flight in the winter, nor on a Sabbath Day, nor be pregnant or nursing," which might hinder their escape. These instructions were for 1st  Century Jewish Christians...not 21st Century Gentiles or Jews who do not observe Mosaic Law to any extent in secular matters. 

 In these same Synoptic Gospel accounts, Jesus went on to discuss further "signs"  that would lead up to the "End of the Age"  to the very "Signs of His Coming."  In these accounts, Christ talked about the "Times of the Gentiles being  Fulfilled or Ended," once all of Jerusalem was  again controlled by the Jewish People,  which event took place in 1967, following the Six-Day War.  This implies that changes have been taking place, in which the Gentile Powers, or Nations, would be somewhat less dominant than they had been previously in their heyday, especially in spiritual matters such as the Presentation of the Gospel and the edification of a True Church.  Jesus  told of the Sign or "Parable of the Fig Tree."  This was fulfilled when Israel became a nation in 1947.  Jesus said that when this occurred... that "Summer was nigh..." This implies that the "Harvest" is to follow... which Harvest is alluded to in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13:25-30; 13:36-43.  This  "Harvest" is spoken elsewhere in the Scripture, and will precede the Lord's Coming. This is also known as the "Latter Rain Outpouring, or Revival."  Christ also stated that before His Second  Coming  that world conditions would be as ..."it was in the Days of Noah, "... and in the Luke account, ..." the  Days of Lot,..."   In these respective eras of Noah and Lot, there was little restraint to the wickedness and perversion of mankind, along with the sexual license of fertility worship of Satan through pagan gods or  Idols, which  involved extensive human child sacrifice.  Incredibly,  conditions are being met for that very same phenomenon today,  which is being planned for the near future by the imaginations of powerful and corrupt men.

Jesus had a very busy week before His Passion. Right, first He triumphantly enters Jerusalem, as a future type of King, and fulfills Prophecy by doing so (most notably...Zechariah 9:9). Next,   (above)  He cleans out the Temple for the second time in His Ministry, by casting out the Moneychangers, or Exchange Bankers, and their commercial lackeys. This is also a type... Christ will be doing the same again,,, during the Latter Day Outpouring,.. removing the Moneychangers out of the Popular Church...as prophesied by His brother, James, in the 5th chapter of his general Epistle. The Modern Moneychangers, called the "Rich Men" by James, though immensely rich, will be reduced to "weeping and howling," and their "wealth availing them no benefit," despite their grandiose plots and long-range plans being almost perpetrated, in making humankind their slaves. Christian Believers are told to be patient until this Great Latter Day Revival, which will turn out these Evil Men and their Machinations... who will be destroyed by the "Lord God of Sabaoth (Armies)" for the last and FINAL time ! 

 
Jesus then told His Disciples  to watch for "signs in the Sun, ...Moon...and in the Stars, or Heavens...and Upon the Earth"  which would cause "distress among the nations,"  and leave humankind bewildered, "with  perplexity;  the sea (rising ) and waves"  (rising )  and violently "roaring,"  exceeding their past boundaries. These Phenomena would occur by concurrent events, one exceeding the next, and as such, would cause "men's hearts to fail them for anxiety and fear in observing such things coming and more  such coming upon the Earth...."

                Thus,  it is evident that if these same  Early Believers were living today that Jesus had told these things to, that they would,  in stark contrast to popular believers today, have a clear idea and uniform consensus on what Signs that they would be looking  for and following  ....           

                                                                                                               ....  Do You ?

 A SIGN OF THE SUN ! ....This amazing phenonmenon captured by a photographer, ...occurred  only  recently,...perhaps, for the first time....as I  have never seen such a spectacle, nor anyone that I have asked before. This is being described as a "Sunset  Rainbow." Will there be more of this incredible sight or like it, as we witness  MORE  Signs   in  the  Sun, as Jesus prophesied  !

 Next time, I will show some more "signs" of the "last Days...,"  some of which are more obscure and not well known, if known at all.

 
Newton said a few things about the Endtimes that hardly anyone has ever heard of nowadays.  He linked the Prophecies in Daniel with the Prophecies in the Book of Revelation. Because of his influence and that of Joseph Mede and others, the doctrine of Dispensationalism could not make a dent in Evangelical Christianity until the late 19th century.  Dispensationalism, or the Futurist interpretation of the Book of Revelation, was easily seen for what it was, a creation of Catholic Jesuits to counter the claims of the Reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Tyndale, and others. It was later re-packaged to a subverted Evangelical Christianity by the guile of the "Rich Men" to control popular Christianity, so that their agenda could be advanced.  This is evident today as no one exposes the origins of Futurism and Dispensationalism.

 Newton predicted that in the Endtimes, that  " a body of men will be raised up, who will turn attention to the Prophecies, in the midst of much clamor and opposition." Climate change with related freak natural disasters; the spectre of pestilences... both natural and man-made; prospects of imminent starvation or famine from  developing food crises; the outlook of endless war and conflict; continued swift descent into moral depravity and lawlessness, and collapsing public confidence in  institutions and governments are generating increasing interest in Bible Prophecy. This interest in Prophecy is precipitating a need for clear and coherent interpretation of Prophecy, not from controlled religious agendas, but from men endowed with "spiritual gifts." Thus, the stage is being set for such heralds. 

                           Newton believed  that there had been  an apostasy from  the Original Gospel. He believed that a Restoration of the True Gospel was necessary to restore a pristine Church or symbolic bride, to be received by Christ at His Return.                                            

< In the Book of Revelation (14:6), there John describes seeing an Angel " fly in the midst of heaven, HAVING THE EVERLASTING (age-lasting) GOSPEL to PREACH  unto them that dwell on the earth, ..to every nation,... kindred... tongue, and people..." What does this mean or signify ? 

The Everlasting Gospel is introduced in the 14th chapter of the Book of Revelation.  It will be promulgated by the agency of Preaching under prophetic or anointed inspiration. It is implied by the text that it is not a divided Church Gospel. This Gospel is ONE that is preached with authority to all the world, nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues. It is apparent, by implication, that the kind of  Gospel that has been preached prior to this Everlasting Gospel is/ was not sufficient nor qualified to do an Endtime Work.  This Everlasting Gospel  is a revelatory message. It comes from heaven and is monitored by Angels to whom it is charged to.  It will effect a worldwide Revival, also known as the " Latter Rain Outpouring." It will also effect several Divine Judgments in the Earth, such as the Overthrow of Great Babylon ; indignation upon those who have worshipped the Beast and its Image ; and the Vine of the Earth : which is all prophetic symbolic language that depicts the destruction of the Wicked and the end of human control on earth.

 Newton believed that at the fulfillment of the 1260 year period (Historicist interpreters of Revelation like Mede, Newton, and all of the Protestant Reformers, believed the "1260 days"  were "a day  for a year," or a 1260 year time frame), as noted by both the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, the Endtime Period would be at hand. The Endtimes would signify a turn of events and that one of these events would be that the "True Gospel" would be restored and preached once again during a brief time period... which would herald the Coming of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. 

                                                Newton wrote, in his estimation, that the "True Gospel" was not to be preached until after the beginnings of the 21st Century.... and that it would be of such a magnitude of spiritual power, that the then present Protestant Reformation of his day, would be reduced to irrelevancy in the annals of Church history.

 What will be the content of this "true Gospel," or the "Everlasting Gospel"? What will be some singular features of this Gospel ?  Will it coincide with the "Latter Rain Outpouring," or Revival, or precede it ? I will give my thoughts on this in the next installment. 

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When Peter (left), preached on the Day of Pentecost after receiving the Power of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, he introduced the fulfillment of the first part of Joel's Prophecy, namely the "Early Rain Outpouring," or Revival, saying " This is That (the Upper Room Outpouring) which was spoken of the Prophet Joel...." (Acts 2:16).  The second part, or what is termed "Exhaustive Fulfillment" of the Prophecy of Joel, is referred to as the "Latter Rain Outpouring,"  and is yet to be fulfilled !  Just as Peter had the Message of the Apostolic Gospel that day, so shall the Advent of the Latter Rain Outpouring have similar dynamics : It shall be an Apostolic, or Everlasting (lit. "age-lasting") Gospel.  This Gospel, just as its predecessor on the Day of Pentecost, will be marked by an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. However, the "Early Rain Outpouring" was only local in scope, first in Jerusalem, and then its later effects throughout Judea. Finally, it was introduced to the Gentiles at Cornelius' household  where they had an near identical outpouring as like the Upper Room (Acts 10:44-45). There was a limited, but further extent of this Early Rain Outpouring in Paul's Missionary forays.

 < After the Destruction of the Jewish Polity in AD 70, as predicted by Christ in each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 24; Luke 21; Mark 13), which included the Sacking of Jerusalem, the  total dismantling of the Jewish Temple and its Worship System, and the Diaspora of the Jewish Remnant, the Period of the Early Rain was effectively ended.

In their excellent introductory book on this subject , Pagan Christianity, authors Frank Viola and George Barna list several details about Early Christian or Messianic Church practices. Here are a few :

~ The Early Church often met in homes or outdoors for fellowship and Gospel meetings.

~ The Church gatherings were OPEN to all who wished to participate (which the Jewish Synagogue was a model of in this aspect ).

< Jesus preaching in the Synagogue in Capernaum, left, and Paul preaching in the Synagogue in Thessalonica, right. The "closed-door" policy of the Gentile Churches and denominational sects would never allow a stranger like Christ or Paul to speak without their teachings being strenuously examined..., and thus rejected before they ever had the opportunity to speak. This was not so in the early First Century period of the Jewish Synagogue. All had the right  and opportunity to speak as they wished.  

                                                
~  Spiritual Gifts were employed by each member.

~ They saw themselves as a family and community in which nearly all was shared in common.

~ They had a plurality of elders to assist, and oversee, by example (1 Peter 5:1-3).

~ They were established and aided by itinerant Apostolic workers.

~ They were united and did not denominate themselves into separate organizations within the same locale.

~ They did not use "titles of honor" such as "Father, Papa, His Holiness, His Eminence, the Pope or Reverend."

~ They did not organize themselves hierarchically (Matthew 20:25-28; Luke 22:25-26).

 What ?  The Messianic, or Early First Century Church was not originally formed as a hierarchy ? The Christian Church today, is probably the best example of hierarchal leadership, and is how all businesses operate, in the world. That is one of the main reasons that is so stagnant, lifeless, and ineffectual to withstand the rising  tide of immorality and depravity in the world today.

                         Christ's Disciples twice fought over who would be the "Greatest" in Christ's Kingdom. Following the second controversy over this, Christ addressed this issue by comparing their wish  with the desire of Control and Influence that the Rulers of the Gentiles, or Gentiles, use in exercising and extending their authority and dominion over the peoples subject to them. This comparison of them to Gentiles proved to be an effective reproof. It was an affront to pious Jews to be labeled or compared to the Gentiles in some excess or fault. As a consequence, the Disciples never again desired authority and leadership over each other.

 
Yet it remains that the Gentiles, as Christ pointed out, have a distinct inclination and nature to tend to  dominate and rule others. This is exactly what has happened to the Church when the Culture of the Church moved from Jewish Messianic influence to Gentile control.  Christ taught His Disciples that "whosoever will be Great among you, shall be your minister... or servant of all. For the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister to others, and to give His life a ransom for all " (Mark 10:43-45). But as soon as the Gentiles took reins of the Church, this soon changed, and has been ever since. 

The New Testament tells  of some basic organization in the Messianic early Church. The churches were formed by Apostles, who when they left to go elsewhere to further evangelize, laid hands on those that were of "honest report, full of the Holy Spirit, and wisdom" to take responsibility of the Work. These men were called "Elders." They had the maturity and godliness to be "Examples" to the fellowship. Paul also talked about the office of a Bishop, in his letter to Timothy.  The titles, "bishop" and "elder" were the same office. The term, "bishop" is from the Greek, whereas "elder" is from the Jewish culture of the Synagogue. Another office in the Church, is that of a  Deacon. A Deacon corresponds to the same as a bishop or elder, yet signifies younger, active men, who assist the Elders. In Acts 6, the Bible records the calling of seven young men, as deacons, to assist in the ministration of daily bread among the Hellenist and native Jewish widows. One of these "table servers" was the Martyr, Stephen.

                        In less than two generations after the Destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, these terms, "bishop" and "elder" became altogether different roles, and were defined altogether differently. Instead of being "servants" to the Flock, they were now its "lords" and "rulers." I will examine the new roles of  "bishop" and "elder," and several  other changes in the Gentile Christian Church from its Jewish predecessor in the next installment, in which  I will reveal just what sin Christ "expressly hates" (present tense). It is still going on today, despite Christ's admonition, to the shame of the popular Church.