Christ In the Prophet Joel
Given at the Detroit Gathering, Oct. 2004
Respected guests, friends, young people, and brothers and sisters,
The subject of our lecture this afternoon is Christ as found in the prophet Joel. On that Sunday morning, in the last week of Jesus’ mortal life on earth, he overlooked the city of Jerusalem where he was, in just a few short days, to endure the terrible and dreadful ordeal in which he would give his life for us. And as he viewed and mourned over the city he uttered these words:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, 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."MAT 23:37
Jesus Christ, as found in the book of Joel, is intimately concerned with the day of which Jesus prophesied that morning; a day in which Jerusalem shall say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." A day in which Jerusalem shall rejoice, because the persecutor shall be vanquished and a new King will sit on David’s throne as promised in Isaiah. A new king that the earth will extol with these words so greatly in a few months while not believing them:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."Isa. 9:6-7
What a contrast that will be to today, when Jerusalem is continually toubled with terrorism and unrest. But in the day prophesied of Joel, the son o f David will sit on David’s throne, which was in Jerusalem, ruling in peace over all the earth. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts, Isaiah says, will perform this. The Zeal of the Lord of Armies will perform this, because that is what hosts means. Joel is a bitter reminder to us that this day when Jerusalem shall rejoice at Jesus’ presence, and the day in which Jesus will sit in Jerusalem, on the throne of David; will not be achieved peaceably. The kings and presidents of this generation will not lay down their crowns voluntarily at the feet of Jesus when he returns--indeed most religious institutions will not recognize him as the Messiah at all, after for so many years so many of them having promised a kingdom in the Sky to their adherents--and the religious and political systems of the earth will join together to fight the man of whom Joel prophesied, necessitating the work of the Lord of Armies.
The chapter read in introduction to this subject this afternoon, Joel 3 gives us this picture.
"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.Joel 3:9-10
Joel 3:12-14 "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision."
This is the picture we are given. A picture of violence and the subduing of rebellions against Jesus. A picture of the conquering of all the Gentile nations of the earth, as they assemble together in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is today called the Kidron valley on the west side of the city of Jerusalem between the Mount of Olives and the city itself, to resist Jesus as he comes to his city for the proclamation of blessedness of which as we have seen, he prophesied.
This afternoon, we will look at just how the earth arrives as this crucial moment when Messiah returns. We will look at what the Scriptures have to say about the forces which work to bring about the fulfillment of this prophesy of Joel. And the first question we will address is why Israel. What a troublesome place this has been lately. Every president since Jimmy Carter has suffered in some very serious way due to their support of Israel. And the answer of why Israel, is simple. Israel is the land promised to Abraham and to his seed, which is Christ. That is why.
When God first called Abraham to come out of the land of sin and darkness, out of what would be modern day Iraq and go to Israel; when he arrived on the mountains of Israel, this is what God promised to him.
And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.Gen. 13:14-15
Note that God didn’t instruct Abraham to look up. He didn’t tell him to look down. It was all the land that he could see that was given to him forever. And not just him, but to his seed, which should come after him. Now the Jewish race have taken comfort in this, believing that they were Abraham’s seed. But this was not the true understanding. John the baptizer warned the Jews:
"And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."Matt. 3:9
And this is recorded of Jesus’ own conflict with the Jews of his day:
"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."John 8:39-44
No, the seed of Abraham was not by descent, after the natural man; but by belief. Jesus was the seed to whom the promise was made, as the apostle Paul explained:
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.Gal. 3:16
And the promise is extended through belief in the seed, in Christ as Paul concludes that chapter in Galatians:
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."Gal. 3:26-29
But the promise made to Abraham, made to Christ, and made to all who have been truly baptized into Christ, is the land that Abraham could see, and he would receive that as an inheritance forever. And this great promise is a part of what causes the conflict we see recorded in Joel. Because the religious institutions of the world have been teaching for 1700 years now, that the promised land is Heaven, not earth. Yes, they say, the Jews had been promised this land, but since they crucified their saviour, they will never receive this promise. But this is not the testimony of the Scriptures. The scriptures said of Abraham specifically in Hebrews 11:13 along with those men to whom the promises were repeated, Abraham’s sons Isaac and Jacob:
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."Heb. 11:13
And why didn’t they receive the promise. Paul concludes this chapter to the Hebrews thus:
"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."Heb. 11:39-40
That is the testimony of the Scriptures. That we, with Christ and Abraham would receive the land of Israel as an everlasting inheritance. Has God cast off the Jews and the land of Israel? Certain Jews, certainly. But not the children of Israel. Of this God has been very clear. He told the Jews through Jeremiah:
"Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished."Jer. 30:10-11
And again he told them:
"Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.Jer. 31:35-36
There is the standard that God set before us. If the sun should go out, and if the moon should cease its orbit; then might God case off Israel forever. If heaven can be measured, or if the foundations of the earth be searched out, then will the seed of Israel be cast off. In other words, God is telling us that though He punished Israel because of their disobedience, He will yet fulfill His promise to Abraham, Christ, and us. And here in Jeremiah we see how this is accomplished. Remember from the third chapter of Joel, how we saw that it will be multitudes and multitudes destroyed in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which is the Kidron valley: here we see the same conclusion expressed through Jeremiah.
Jeremiah said in the previous quote that the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron"--note the noun Kidron there--that is the same thing as the Valley of Jehoshaphat--that after the prophesy of Joel is complete;--it "shall be holy unto the Lord, and it will not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more"--for how long? "For ever!"
But again, we ask, what causes this great event? Why do the nations rebel against Christ at his return, that makes this great slaughter of the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat necessary? There are two things prophesied against the nations at the time of the end, one political, and one religious which brings about these events from Joel. In the second chapter of Joel, we read these words:
"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."Joel 2:30-32
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. What does this mean? Remember the dream that Joseph had, recorded in Gen. 37:9 for which his brothers became envious and eventually sold him into slavery to Egypt?
"And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?"Gen 37:9-10
These symbols were very clear to Jacob and his sons. The sun represented the father, the political power in the family. The moon represented his mother, or she who nurtured the political power, and had power by reason of reflecting the sun’s glory. And the stars represented the princes that were to eventually be the elders of the twelve tribes in Israel. So in symbol, the sun represents the political power, the moon the institution who derives power from and supports the political power--in history, state sponsored religion, and the stars are the eminent individuals of society.
So, in Joel, we see that both the political and state religious powers are made miserable by the approaching of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And what is the great force, according to the Scriptures which accomplish this? The answer is first given to us in the Revelations.
In Revelations 16, we are told that there are four events in the sixth vial which leads to the battle the Bible calls Armageddon. Armageddon is a most appropriate term, for it carries meaning quite relevant to the return of Christ. Armageddon could be broken into three words, Arma (sheaves) gay (valley) don (judgment) giving us the meaning of multitudes in the Valley of judgment such as we have seen prophesied of Joel and Jeremiah of the Kidron valley. Jehoshaphat means, by the way, "He who shall be Judge". So the Valley of decision or judgment in Joel 3, and the valley of Jehoshaphat in Joel 3, and the Kidron valley of Jeremiah 31, and Armageddon of Rev. 16 is all talking about the same thing.
Now Rev. 16 tells us specifically what brings the nations to Armageddon--or this Valley of Jehoshaphat where their political entities are turned into blood. We read of the sixth and final vial before Armageddon thus:
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."Rev 16:12-16
So this sixth vial of Revelations has four events. First, the River Euphrates was to dry up. The River Euphrates has its head waters in Turkey. And modern Turkey is so weak and insignificant, that it is hard for us to remember that less than 100 years ago, Turkey was one of the four great powers in the earth, then called the Ottoman Empire. But shortly following the French Revolution--which is the principle subject of the Seven Vials of Revelations, Turkey began drying up, and she dried all the way from Central Europe and all of North Africa, back to the little state we see today. Her collapse was brought on by the growth of the French power of the 1790s- 1820s. And it was from this French power, that we learn of the second event of the sixth vial.
The second event was the going fourth of three unclean spirits like frogs, out of the mouth of the dragon, and the beast and the false prophet bringing all the kings of the earth and the whole world to the battle of Armageddon. What are these three unclean frog spirits.
Frogs are the symbol of the common French people. And the French Revolution was a removal of the Flur d’Lie or Flower of the Lake, or royal class of men, and a return to the common man, or Frog. And the cry of these common men as they rose up and conquered first France, and then most of Europe and North Africa, was a threefold banner: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
It is under this banners that nearly every political system in the earth today survives. And to those few states where these principles are scorned, such as in the Moslem states, these principles are now being demanded of them by states like the US, who are insisting on replacing the old governments of Iraq and Afghanistan with principles of democracy, and equality, and liberty.
And whether we consider the Modern Socialist/Communist states where under the cry of Equality, they continually bankrupt themselves by taxing the vigor out of the working class, or whether we consider states like the US and Britain, and most of western Europe, where the cry of "Liberty" has become simply an licence for a level of immorality unprecedented in the world since the decline of the Roman Empire--these principles are held as "dear" and not at all unclean among the modern political nations.
So what happens to these states when Jesus Christ returns to command all nations to lay down their arms, remove their voting booths, and forbid immorality? We know what will happen. The nations of the world will refuse. They will look at Jesus as worse then Bin Lauden. A greater enemy than the Ayatollah Khomeini. The nation states of this world will complain that Jesus is trying to establish a Theocracy--remember back in the 1970s, when Iraq established a theocracy, and how this notion was abused in the English speaking press; and when they say this, they will be right; and the nations will then come to fight against him--under the banner of fighting for their freedom, which is only a freedom to continue in sin, and poverty, and misery and the enslaving of the down trodden.
But Jesus isn’t simply going to attack the political structure of the world. While setting up his Kingdom, his new law will be a return to true righteousness. And as Jesus stands as conqueror in the earth, it is not only the political systems which are turned to blood, according to Joel. It is the moon as well, the religious institutions of the earth. Jesus will begin deriding the modern day Scribes and Pharisees of the churches--those who teach for doctrines the commandments of men, those who have proclaimed another gospel, but as Paul taught, there is no other Gospel. Paul wrote to the brotherhood in his day:
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."Gal. 1:6-9
We see this picture in many places, and expressed in many different ways in the pages of our Bibles. In 2 Thess. 2, we are given what the world might call a detective story, as it were, with many clues describing the rise of a corrupting force in the earth, and its eventual success, and its ultimate failure.
In the second chapter of 2 Thess., we read
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.2TH 2:1-2
Here, the apostle Paul is clearly setting a difference between the judgements to come upon the then existing world in 70 AD, and the coming of Christ. It is the latter he is now addressing. And he specifies that no matter what anyone tells you, in any form, even if its supposed to be a letter that Paul wrote; that the day of Christ’s return would not come until the following conditions--which he was about to discuss--had been met. Paul goes on:
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;2TH 2:3
Here, in this verse, we have the first three clues. Before the return of Christ, there must be 1). A falling away. 2). The revealing of that man of sin, and 3), a man who is also the son of perdition.
The falling away is easy to understand. The prophesy is that the Christian churches must become corrupt before Christ returns. What a powerful prophesy. It is consistent with what Paul said would happen, and what actually did happened.
"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."Acts 20:29-31
This is Paul’s prophesy for the future of the ecclesias in Acts, and it is completely consistent with what he told the Thessalonians.
Next we are told that the Man of Sin must be revealed. Now that word "revealed" is interesting, for it is apokalupsis, and it is the same word used for the title of the last book of the Bible. The Apocalypse, or the Revelation. And the Revelation also deals extensively with the development of a religious power in the earth which would oppose Christ and the Saints. We read of this power in Revelations 17:
"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."Rev. 17:14
This power of Revelations 17 is also called one who goes into perdition, just as in 2 Thess. 2, the man of sin is referred to as the son of perdition.
And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.REV 17:9-11
Now perdition means the loss of hope, or the ruination of hope. There is something in this man of sin, and this beast of the Revelations that causes the loss of Hope, causing him to become anti-or opposed to Christ. What is it? We have no reason to guess. The Scriptures are quite clear about it. John uses this specific term four times, and always in the same vein.
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.1JO 4:3
This is very clear. If any do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, then they are antichrist, opposed to Christ. John (who wrote about 20 years after Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians says this is he of whom ye have heard that it should come, and is already here.
Again John writes:
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.2JO 1:7
Here again, John is very clear about the antichrist. He is a deceiver, in that he ruins hope. He pretends that he gives hope, while taking it away. And he does so by denying that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
And John also writes:
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.1JO 2:18-22
Here, in plain English, we have the explanation of what the spirit of antichrist is. It is the denial that Jesus is the Christ. Well, what does all that mean? Christ is from the Hebrew word, Messiah, and it means to be annointed. Jesus of Nazereth was specially anointed of God to be His son, and to die for the sin of mankind. To believe this, we must believe that Jesus is come in the flesh. What flesh? The flesh of mankind. Human nature. Sinful flesh. Well, doesn’t everyone believe that? The answer to that question is a resounding no!
The corruption of the Christian church in the forth century was highlighted by the development of a new doctrine, never before mentioned in the Scriptures or in any first century Christian writings; the Trinity doctrine. The word Trinity was never used in the Bible, in fact wasn’t used for over 100 years after Christ, and then only in a negative way. This doctrine emerged out of a debate between two men, one called Athanasias, who argued for the Trinity, and another named Arius, who argued against it. The great debate of Christianity which occurred in 325 A.D. at the city of Nice was over a word, and that word was "consubtantial". The Trinitarians affirmed that Jesus was consubstantial with God. "Consubstantial" means "of the same substance" as God. If Jesus was of the same substance or nature with God, then he could not have come in the flesh. God is not a man, we are specifically told, yet Jesus is called the son of man. God is too pure to look upon sin, yet Jesus came in sinful flesh. If Jesus was of the same substance of God, then Jesus did not come in the flesh. Plain and simple.
Oh, sure he did, we are told. This is the great mystery, on how he could be at the same time, human nature and divine nature. Yes, such would truly be a mystery. How was Jesus of the same nature with God, and at the same time, of the same nature of man. Well, this is the divine mystery, we are told. And it is a mystery. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll come back to this.
What we know of the antichrist from the third verse of 2 Thess 2, is that he was prophesied to come before the return of Christ, and that he was to be a man of sin, and to introduce a doctrine which would take away the hope of mankind.
But Paul goes on:
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.2TH 2:4
He sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Here we have a very powerful and exacting explanation of the force which was to develop. Does anyone fit that view today? How about the Pope? The Cathedral in Rome is called St. Peter’s Basilica, and it is referred to in Catholic literature as "The Temple of God." And it is in this cathedral that St. Peter’s chair exists. When the Pope sits in that so called "Temple of God," and in Peter’s chair, then anything he says is supposed to be infallible. So when he is in that chair, he is showing himself that he is God. The Catholic expression for this is that the pope is speaking "ex cathedra" or translated, from his chair. That is, from the chair they say was Peter’s (though this has been scientifically disproved, the chair cannot have been from the first century when Peter lived). Peter is supposed to have been the first pope, and to have conferred this privilege to those who sat in the chair. The following is from the Encyclopedia Britannica.
"Papal Infallibility, in Roman Catholic theology, the doctrine that the pope, acting as supreme teacher and under certain conditions, cannot err when he teaches in matters of faith or morals. As an element of the broader understanding of the infallibility of the church, this doctrine is based on the belief that the church has been entrusted with the teaching mission of Jesus Christ and that, in view of its mandate from Christ, it will remain faithful to that teaching through the assistance of the Holy Spirit...Encyclopedia Britannica
"The term infallibility was rarely mentioned in the early and medieval church. Critics of the doctrine have pointed to various occasions in the history of the church when popes are said to have taught heretical doctrines, the most notable case being that of Honorius I (625-638), who was condemned by the third Council of Constantinople (680-681, the sixth ecumenical council).
"The definition of the first Vatican Council (1869-70), established amid considerable controversy, states the conditions under which a pope may be said to have spoken infallibly, or ex cathedra ("from his chair" as supreme teacher). It is prerequisite that the pope intend to demand irrevocable assent from the entire church in some aspect of faith or morals. Despite the rarity of recourse to this claim, and despite the emphasis given to the authority of the bishops in the second Vatican Council (1962-65), the doctrine remained a major obstacle to ecumenical endeavours in the late 20th century and was the subject of controversial discussion even among Roman Catholic theologians."
As Britannica points out, the Catholic’s own conventions have convicted Popes of being in error, yet they claim they are infallible. So by their own testimony, they exult themselves above God, teaching heresy, and at the same time claim that they are "vox dei" or the voice of God when speaking from the chair in "the temple of God."
They really leave little doubt as to what Paul is describing, do they? Paul goes on in 2 Thess. 2:
"Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."2 Thess. 2:5-7
That word "Letteth" there is a hard word to understand the way it is written. It means, in the old English of King James, "restrained." "Restrained." This corruption of the ecclesias that Paul described was already at work in the ecclesias in Paul’s day. How then can anyone say that it is a force or power or individual still coming? But Paul says, it was at work in the ecclesia in his day. Only there was a force restraining it, but when that force is taken out of the way, then would this power, this mystery, be revealed.
The question becomes, what force was restraining the brethren from corruption. Some might say that it was the Holy Spirit. But that this is not the case is obvious from the New Testament text. The Holy Spirit was held by the apostles and all that they laid hands on, yet the New Testament epistles are a testimony to the error that was springing up in their midst. In fact, in Corinth, the Holy Spirit gifts themselves had become a source of confusion to the early church, and Paul condemns them for not dealing correctly with the spirit.
The force which restrained the corruption of the church was the fact that it was illegal to be a Christian. If you knew that you would be persecuted, even killed for your belief, it made becoming a Christian a very serious matter. This was not a social event. It was a deadly serious matter. So the force that was protecting the church from corruption, was the persecution of the Pagans. When persecution was intense, as in the earliest of days, the church remained faithful to divine principles. When persecution was relaxed, the corruption occurred.
Well, when did this persecution finally go away? It went away with the rule of Constantine the Great. The world under the reign of Diocletion had become very miserable for Christians. Persecution was very severe. The Church was purified from its errorists, because for ten years, from 303 AD to 313 AD, Diocletion identified Christians as causing the troubles for the Roman Empire, and he intensified the persecutions.
Now Diocletion had divided his empire into three sections, given to three generals. The section of western Europe had been given to a general named Constantious. All three knew that with the death of Diocletion, there would be a struggle for supremacy in the empire. To strengthen himself, Constantious let it be known that Christians would not be severely punished in his third part of the Empire. Now true Christians, which were determined to be obstinate because they would not compromise their principles, were still persecuted, but nominal Christians, or those willing to mix their Christianity with Pagan principles could live in peace. This gave Constantious a great advantage in the coming war. The problem was that Constantious died before Diocletion and left his third to his son, Constantine. Constantine followed the procedure of his father, and when Diocletion died in 313 AD, he eventually fought with the other generals, defeating them, and establishing himself as sole ruler in the empire: and he legalized Christianity.
When he legalized Christianity, he immediately realized a serious problem. His empire was torn apart in religious battles generating serious strife between the real Christians, and those Christians who were in process of blending Christianity with paganism. To resolve this crisis in his empire, Constantine assembled bishops at Nice in 325 AD.
Now its important to remember that Constantine himself was a Pagan. He was brought up to understand the mysteries of paganism from his youth. While still a pagan, Constantine was permitted to sit--center stage--at Nice and hear, and dispute with those presenting their various arguments. In fact, the speakers had to address Constantine. After hearing both sides, Constantine declare in favor of the those seeking to mingle pagan philosophy with Christianty, and the Trinity. There is no small wonder in this. The Trias, as it was called in Paganism was a firmly established principle. Plato 800 years earlier had defined the Trias, almost identically to the Trinitarian creed. The Pagan/Christians blenders themselves proudly called this New Platonic thought. They were very pleased with their accomplishment. So it was a very simple thing for Constantine, trained in the intricacies of Paganism to declare for his own roots.
When this occurred, those who opposed the Trinity, were given a chance to repent, or be punished. It was at this point that the force which was restraining the development of the anti Christ was removed, and the man of sin was revealed.
When asked to explain the illogic of the Trinity, Trinitarians say they can’t. It is a divine mystery they say. Well, it is a mystery all right. It is the mystery which developed when the force that was holding back anti-Christ was removed. The mystery that developed nearly the instant that it became legal to be a Christian in the World was the mystery of Trinity, but styled in 2 Thess. 2, the mystery of iniquity.
Now we want you to also note the title of the woman in Rev. 17.
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.REV 17:5
Paul concludes his explanation of this man of sin or antichrist, he who denied that Jesus came in the flesh common to all mankind, this way:
"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."2 Thess. 2:8-12
Again, the important thing to notice is that the man of sin or anti-Christ, is destroyed at the coming of Christ. This contradicts the teachings of the moderns because to them, Christ comes, and then is the anti-Christ developed, not destroyed.
So anti-Christ must be a force that existed in the early Church, was restrained until some power which restrained it was taken out of the way, developed a lie which it would style a mystery, and was set to oppose Christ at his return. Anti-Christ, then, is simply Catholicism.
You know, Christadelphians are not the first people on earth to make this point. Nearly every protestant movement made the same point at it’s inception. In fact, when the common people began to read the Bible, after having it forbidden to them for so many years by the Catholic church, as the people read it, they began to point at the Church and other state religion which have adopted the Trinitarian philosophies, and focus on them as the antichrist.
So in its defense, Catholicism developed two methods of translating Revelations one called the futurist, that all prophesy deals with the future; and the other called the Preterist, that all prophesy dealt with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD; to focus the prophesy away from herself, and onto an Antichrist to be developed in the future. And in both cases, the Catholic Church made the point that the city on Seven Hills of Revelations 17, where the great antichristian woman resides was not Rome, but rather Jerusalem.
Jerusalem. The city where David’s throne was, and where Jesus Christ is to sit when he returns to this earth. So not only will the nations be unwilling to give up their voting booths, and their freedom for every immoral behaviour under the sun, and the demands of Christ: but the Churches themselves will say of Jesus Christ-- "This is he who the Bible prophesied of as the Anti-Christ."
The modern Antichrist theories of the churches really come in three different views, and all have a rapture in it, where they believe the believers in Trinitarianism are raptured into the sky. And all--through a misunderstanding of the prophesies of Daniel, believe this period will be at a period of 7 years of intense persecution. Some believe the rapture is at the start of these persecutions, others after 3 1/2 years, and still others after 7 years. It will be a simple thing for the churches of the world to see the chaos created when Christ stands on the Mountains of Israel demanding the world to submit to him, identify him as the Antichrist, and modify their beliefs as they rally all of their adherents against him. Then will be brought to pass the conclusion of Joel’s prophesy of Jesus Christ:
"The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more."Joel 3:16-17
The political and religious factions of the world, poised to war against the establishment of the righteous kingdom of Christ is the scene we get from Joel, concerning Jesus. Like the ruling class of Jesus’ day, the overwhelming majority of people do not believe this could happen to them. You know, the argument of the Jews today about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, is that the Jews believe it is impossible that they could have crucified their Messiah. But they did. And the Christians who claim to be following the word of God, but aren’t, are about to find themselves in identically the same position. Therefore, the lesson to all of us is that we use the time left to us to study to show ourselves approved when Christ returns, not leaning on the schooling of others. Study for ourselves, that we might be prepared against that day.
You know, here in Detroit Michigan there once lived a great Bible Student named Gilbert V. Growcott. He reasoned (Yahweh of Israel Liveth) from the Scriptures concerning the significance of the number 3 1/2. He noted that the first prophesy of Elijah to King Ahab was a drought of the number 3 1/2 years. The ministry of Jesus was for 3 ½ years. The death of the witness of Revelations was to be for 3 ½ days. A period of 42 months, such as used in Bible prophesy was 3 ½ years. The prophetic period of a time, times and dividing of times represented again, 3 times or three years, and a half time, or 3 ½ years. The prophetic period of 1,260 days is a period of 3 ½ years.
Continuing this theme, bro. Growcott noted that Israel, from their beginning to come out of Egypt to the present was always in a spiritual drought. They had Moses, and they had Joshua, but still the people constantly rebelled. The depth of their rebellion is recorded throughout the pages of the Bible. And this spiritual drought that Israel lived under, led bro. Growcott to speculate that Elijah’s 3 ½ days of drought, was a symbol of 3,500 years in which Israel was a barren waste of spiritual drought through her disobedience which began when she left Egypt. He speculated that the return of Christ would occur 3,500 years after the Exodus.
Well, when did the Exodus of Israel from Egypt occur? The Exodus, according to our personal calculations, occurred in 1495 BC. And we would point out that it is not just our calculations. Nearly every one who uses the chronological method of dating history, called the "Biblically inerrant method" reaches the same date. "Biblically inerrant" means that all Bible dates are considered right, regardless of what archeological finds might indicate.
Well, if we add 3,500 years to 1495 BC, what do we get? We get the year 2005 AD, and adding a year for crossing the year "0" which doesn’t exist in archeological time, we reach the year 2006 AD to be 3,500 years from the Exodus. That is a short three years from today, isn’t it? Are we ready? Because we should be. We must be. We can all get hit by a bus on the way home from meeting today and find then, that Christ has come "tomorrow morning." Or Christ may delay his return to some point farther into the future than bro. Growcott suggested, but still, we must be ready at all times, and how much the more, as we see the close of the first 6,000 years of God’s plan approaching?
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SPECIAL NOTE: Following this lecture, a young brother asked how good is the data that suggests that the Exodus was in 1495 BC. I believe that data is very good. Any chronology must somehow tie the BC years and the AD years together. My chronology uses the 7 times upon Israel for this. God told Israel that if they were disobedient, they would be punished 7 times for their sins. The end of the punishment of Israel, or the end of the Gentile times appears to have occurred in 1917 when Israel was freed for the first time, from domination of Nebuchadnezzar's image. If we work back from that date, we come to 604 BC for the date when Israel's punishment began, or the date when Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Israel in the 4th of Jehoiakim.
This 604 BC date is the nearly universally accepted date for the invasion by the world's archeologists. (There are a few archeologists who believe it now to be 603 BC., which is not a big enough difference over which to quibble.) Now Jehoiakim reigned 7 more years, followed by two Jehoiachin's short reign of three months, and Zedekiah's reign of 11 years. This would place the fall of the temple 18 years later than 604 BC or in 685 BC. Now archeologists will argue over a three year span which includes 385 BC. but they don't use the Bible. If the Bible is true, and if 604 BC is the correct date, then 685 -684 BC must be the correct date.
Ezekiel's prophesy shows him laying on his right side for 40 days, and then on his left for 390 days. Bro. Thomas reasoned that this symbolized Solomon's righteous reign of 40 years, starting with laying of the foundation of the Temple in his fourth year, and continuing until Rehoboam's rebellion in the 4th year of his reign. This then was followed by 390 years of kings (which is also the exact number of years given for the Kings of Judah in the Scriptures.) Therefore, the laying of the foundation of the Temple was 430 years before it's destruction of 585 BC - 430 years or 1015 BC.
Now 1 Kings 8:1 tells us that it was exactly 480 years from the coming out of Egypt to the laying of the foundation of the Temple. 1015 BC plus 480 years = 1495 BC for the date of the Exodus. So this date appears to be very solid.
Having said that, I would venture a guess that it is one year off. God appears to be working on the "7s". Christ was crucified in 27 AD. Phocus made his decree empowering the Roman Bishop in 607 AD. The dome of the Rock began her desolating in 687 AD. The Pope lost his power in 1867 AD. General Allenby set Jerusalem free in 1917 AD. Israel was declared a nation in 1947 AD. So if the 3500 does in fact represent the 3 1/2 years of drought over Israel from the coming out of Egypt till the return of Christ, then 2007 would probably be the correct year.
I would suggest another possible twist for projecting the fulfillment of the 3 1/2 days of drought on Israel. The 3500 years may not have started with the coming out of Egypt, but rather the coming into the Land. And the drought may not end with the return of Christ to the Earth, but the establishing of Jesus upon the throne of David in Jerusalem. Thus, the 3 1/2 days may have started in 1455 BC when they entered the land, and end 2047 AD with Christ planted on the mountains of Jerusalem.
This interpretation may or may not alter the date for the return of Christ. If Christ is ruling in the land of Israel by 2047, it may still be that 40 years are required to accomplish all the events leading to that wonderful day. His return, the resurrection to judgment, and his wars with the nations that put him in Jerusalem may all require that much time to accomplish this first goal: Jesus sitting on David's throne ruling Israel in peace, while the two mountains of brass (the Northern and Southern alliances) await their conclusion to which God will be all and all in the Earth.
Jim Phillips
