UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES 1
Glory, honour, power and majesty be continually, ascribed to the Lord our God. We thank him for this wonderful privilege of sharing with you in His word. We are beginning a new series of teaching which will concern itself with aspect of the events of the last days. We will be talking about the Second Coming of Christ, and the fullness of salvation blessings that come with it. We will be touching on all of those things which the scriptures indicate are events of the last hour. But there will be some introductory considerations.
In the first three editions, we will be handling an important topic: Understanding the Times. The purpose is to share along such lines as to make everyone see that we are in the final hour of the church age.
Now, in "God's Pattern Church," we had cause to meditate on the parable of the house built on the rock. A house built on the rock represents a life lived in adherence to the teachings of the Lord. That is, to allow Christ's teachings to influence one's daily living. The house built on the sand represents persons who are careless with the word of the Lord and so with their morals. Another emphasis along the same line has to do with the belief system of his people. We shall have a re-cap of what was observed about the character and faith structure of a believer.
When we talk of character structure, we are saying that God is concerned about developing in us, the holiness of life that we find so greatly manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh. When we talk about faith structure, the concern is about our belief system. What a man believes in influences his conduct. So they are interrelated.
In "God's Pattern Church", we dealt with some erroneous practices in the churches today. We sought by the light of God's word to bring correction. In this volume, we are focusing on the hope of the believer, what Paul in Titus calls " that blessed hope". The hope of the believer. In looking at the blessed hope, and the events associated with this, we will concentrate on setting forth what the Bible really teaches. We hope by so doing, the voice of truth will save many from the hold of erroneous doctrines. Truth thoroughly known sets free and motivate a soul to a more purposeful walk with God.
We had thought of taking up these erroneous teachings and examining them one by one. That may seem confrontational. But the word of God will be ministered bit by bit, covering the teachings of scriptures on the events of the last days and how these things concern us. We trust that as we see the glory that God has planned for the church, we will put away childish things (1Corinthians 13:11). Paul said, "In understanding let us be men, but in evil let us be babes". Erroneous doctrines prey upon immature, untaught minds (Eph. 4:14).
So we are saying that many cherished position in scriptures, doctrines that have been taught by men will have to be abandoned as God's Word shines forth. Yes, we trust that as the true and proper picture of the provisions in God's word for the perfection of the church is set forth, the Lord's people will know that the time of playing church is over. There would be a great arising, a great reaching out to lay hold upon our inheritance.
We begin this mediation by drawing attention to four specific teachings that the Lord Jesus gave during the three and a half years of His ministry on earth. There are four discourses in which the Lord Jesus Christ taught extensively about the kingdom of God.
The first is the teaching on the life style of the kingdom as set forth in what we commonly call "the Sermon on the Mount". This teaching went on for three days. It is covered in Mathew chapters 5,6 and 7. Of course, we have some account of it in the other synoptic gospels.
Then, the second discourse we find in Mathew 13, and that itself is, a series of parables on the kingdom of heaven. Essentially the Lord Jesus Christ sketched the picture of the whole period from the day of Pentecost until the time the kingdom of heaven is installed over all the earth. Those seven parables have strong prophetic signification. They are also covered in Mark 4 and Luke 8.
Then the third teaching is on what is generally called "the Second Coming of Christ", or more appropriately, the events of the last days. That is covered in Luke 21, Luke 17, Mark 13 and Mathew 24.
These three teachings are recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels. But there is a fourth; incidentally not mentioned in the synoptic gospels but given full coverage in the gospel according to Saint John. It is the teaching on the Holy Spirit, and understanding the place of the Holy Spirit in the events of the last hour. This teaching is covered in John chapters 14, 15 and 16.
Looking closely at all the discourses, we find in them a special emphasis that the Lord Jesus Christ wants to get across to us. We are shown how the believer is to conduct himself now, by virtue of the fact that the king is resident within him. Christ in us, the hope of glory. If he be Lord inside of us, then the kingdom has begun to be set up within us. Ultimately, it will be set up over all the earth. If he is king within us, then there must be a growing expression of our submission to His benevolent rule as we partake of the kingdom life.
So the life style of the kingdom is revealed in Mathew 5, 6 and 7. Then in Matthew, 13, we are shown that there will be times of spiritual decay in the church, but, towards the end of the church age, there will be the recovery of truth, and of that life style that truth births in man. In Luke 21, Mark 13, Mathew 24, we are shown things that border on the Second Coming of Christ (using a phrase we are more familiar with). And there, we are given a key by which we are able to understand when the time sets in for His glorious appearing.
So, in this topical study, "understanding the time", we are not thinking of making some predictive prophecies. But we will so speak by the help of the spirit of God, as to make an impression upon our hearts and minds that we are living in the very (last) hour. We are to know that there are certain things that belong to our day as the Lord Jesus Christ completes the work of redemption in His church.
Let us now turn to Luke 21. We will do a little bit of reading here and there, get quickly at the key verse and by the means of it, set forth a proper understanding of the times. Luke 21. We will take the reading from verse 29. Actually, the entire chapter deals with the Second Coming of Christ, the events of the last hour. But, we are just taking a portion that emphasises the Lord's interest in our becoming aware of the hour in which these things will be taking place: things that relate to the Lord Jesus Christ setting up his kingdom over the nations, and the attitude of life we should possess when we find ourselves in such an hour, so, from verse 29, we read straight on to verse 36.
29And he spoke to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31So like wise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled.
There is a generation that will see these prophetic signs. That generation will also witness everything that the Lord's words have indicated would be fulfilled. They will witness the fulfilment of this prophetic scripture that all of mankind have waited for these many years. Verse 32 is not about some persons physically alive when the Lord was speaking. Rather, it speaks of that generation that will see the shooting forth of the branch of the symbolic tree involved with events of the last hour. Verse 33.
33Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34And take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
The very tenor of verse 34 suggests to us that whereas the hour or the day that will usher in the kingdom may not be known to anyone, yet the Lord does not want His own to be unaware, to be ignorant of the specific time period the prophecy refer to. He shows that ignorance of the times and seasons may set in only when his people are given over to worldliness and materialism, here indicated as surfeiting. That is saying, indulgence in the illicit pleasure of this world blinds. There is that which is legitimate, but there is that which borders on sin and careless living.
The passage talks also of drunkenness. Of course that relates to being drunk with the cares of this world just as much as it does with alcohol. There is just as much danger in being drunk with worldliness as in being drunk with alcohol. We are told that only when there is surfeiting and drunkenness that the day comes upon the Lord's people unawares. That is, if we are living in consecration, then our spiritual senses will be alert; such will be enlightened in their spirits to know the things that belong to our day.
It is interesting to note that God always point to the second coming of Christ as that which must influence the lifestyle of his people. Although the church is two thousand years old, nevertheless the things that are taught here are designed to govern the lifestyle of God's people all through the course of the church age. More so at this time of the end.
"Watch ye therefore and pray". Why should we watch? Verse 35 provides the answer. "For as a snare shall that day (and a prophetic day span over many years) come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the earth."
A Vital Prophetic Key
Having shown that there is to be a close connection between understanding the times we are in and the life style it is supposed to birth in us, we now touch on the key that makes us know that we are in the very last hour. Verse 24 of Luke 21 provides the key. Of course, what the Lord Jesus Christ did in his teachings was to provide us with keys that unlock all of the prophetic writings in the Old Testament and the apostolic writings in the New Testament. Without the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, many prophetic passages of scripture will be like a Jigsaw puzzle to us. But He brings both the Old and the New, and in His teaching, He marries them. In the synoptic gospels and the gospel according to Saint John are enough keys to open up all prophetic scriptures.
We come to verse 24 of our passage it says .and they. Who are the persons referred to by this word "they"? The reference is to the children of Israel. The people called Israel now has always been, a people who entered into covenant relationship with God, through the intermediary of Moses, on Mount Sinai. From that time, the children of Israel became, as it were, the kingdom of God over the world; a nation set apart unto God.
So here, the Lord speaks to us concerning certain of His dealings with the nation of Israel. By it, we are assisted to know something about the last hour. So, let us take the reading again.
24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
The reference here is to an event that took place in AD 69/70, when the polity of Israel was destroyed, and her citizens were led captives into all nations. Now, this is a fact of history that many are conversant with. We are told that Israel shall be led away captive into all nations, and that speaks of a scattering.
Then He says," and Jerusalem. that portion of land that was the centre of all their religious and political activities, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles.. The word " Gentles" simply means the nations. In scriptures, mankind is divided into the Jews and the non-Jews. The non-Jews are the gentiles, while the Jews are the children of Israel (or putting it more correctly) they are those children of Israel that remained relatively true to the covenant when the ten northern tribes had gone into marriage with the world).
So, the "Gentiles" simply means "The nations". Reading verse 24 again and substituting the word "nations" for "Gentiles". We read". and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of he nations until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled".
What does it mean for the Gentiles to tread down Jerusalem under foot? It means that the physical land call Jerusalem will be under the occupation of non-Jewish nations until what is here described as "the times of the gentiles be fulfilled." And from AD 70 until 1948, the land of Israel, the whole of Palestine was occupied by non-Jewish nations. And, even in 1948 when the Jews were re-gathered and brought into their own land and proclaimed a sovereign state, Jerusalem as a city, was still under the occupation of the Arabs. Israel is today contending for a full occupation of Jerusalem even though it has much of the City under its political control
(It was not until about twenty years ago that Jerusalem returned back to the control of the Jews. It was then proclaimed the eternal capital City of the Jewish State of Israel 1980).
Now, we are told that Jerusalem shall be trodden down under foot of the gentles, shall be subjugated by non-Jewish nations, "until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Thus, at the time that Jerusalem comes back to the occupation and sovereignty of the nation of Israel, we are to know that the times of the Gentiles have expired.
But what does this phrase "the times of the Gentiles" mean? There are three crucial time periods in the history of redemption. A great attention is given in scriptures to detail the things that pertain to these time periods. One, we have the beginning, the creation of man, down unto the fall. All of that is given coverage in the first few chapters of the book of Genesis.
Then, the second is the advent of the Son of God in what is generally called the first coming of Christ, when the Word become flesh and dwelt among us. That situation came in order that, the Word of God becoming flesh, might be the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. He came to lay down his life as a ransom for the redemption of humanity.
Then the third time period is what is called "the last time", our principal concern in this meditation. And as the Lord Jesus Christ gives us the key that opens the whole world to the events of the last hour in Luke 21, 24 we must go back to the scriptures to trace the origin of this phrase "the times of the Gentiles".
The Times of the Gentiles Marked Out
So, turn with me to Ezekiel 21. We know that God in the out working of the plan of redemption apprehended Abraham, and then apprehended the seed of Abraham, which became the nation of Israel. His dealings with the nation of Israel mirrored God's attitude towards the rest of the nations. Through Israel, He desired to reach all the nations.
Israel failed as a nation, but God's word shows that there is another Israel: the spiritual Israel. The spiritual Israel is the church. But in those times of God's symbolic dealings with the nation of Israel, that nation was the representative kingdom of God over the earth. God demonstrated how He administers the affairs of the whole world through His dealings with the nation of Israel. But a time came when the nation ceased to be God's representative kingdom. They were sacked from that exalted position and God said, "another nation shall come that shall bear fruit to my redemption plan. In Ezekiel 21, we find the time when Israel ceased from being a covenant nation unto God, in terms of being the instrument through which God will take over the nations of the earth.
Ezekiel 21:25-27 says,
25And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel.
The reference here is to the last king over the nation of Israel before Nebucadnezzar was used of God to overthrow the polity of Israel. Israel was led into captivity in Babylon. From that time up till now, there has been no king over Israel.
Here in Ezekiel 21, the prophecy was being given many years before the events took place. And the prophet said that at the time of a certain king (which King is Zedekiah), God would take away the kingdom from Israel and give the right to world-wide rule to the gentile nations. His focus will then be on the nations and no longer on Israel. So, let us read verse 25 again.
25And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end.
God has always pardoned the iniquity of Israel. But here He says, "In the time of this particular king, iniquity is to have an end". That is, He will bring swift judgement to terminate the vicious cycles of unfaithfulness of the nation. All of that is prophesied in Leviticus 26. We read verse 26 of Ezekiel 21 now
26Thus saith the Lord God, Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is Low, and abase him that is high.
The Gentile nations were in a low estate in God's redemptive economy. They were cut off from the covenant and commonwealth of Israel. They were without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12), And to the average Jew, a gentile is regarded as a dog. But here the prophet says, "exalt him that is low and abase him that is high" (the Jewish nation being the high one, exalted to the privileges and glory of the covenant). From that time (about BC 608), God exalted the gentile nations and cast down the Jewish nation.
We read again verse 26 together with the twenty-seven verse.
26Thus saith the LORD GOD, Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same (anymore): exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more until he come whose right it is: and I will give it him
We will be continuing with a consideration of this passage in the next edition. But suffice to say for now that Ezekiel 21:25-27 shows to us in prophecy, when the times of the gentiles was to begin. At the time of Ezekiel was prophesying, Israel was still God's representative kingdom, but a judgement against her was already determined. It was already clear that the kingdom would be taken away from Israel and given to the gentiles. And of this, the prophet prophesied.
From the time when this prophecy was fulfilled (in 608 BC when Nebuchadnezer over threw the kingdom of Israel) began the times of the gentiles. From that time Israel ceased to be a special nation to God until when at the end of the times, a special place will again be given to that nation. And in verse 27 we are told that the times of the gentiles will continue until when "He who has the right to rule " over the world would come. This brings us to a specific word on this in Luke 21:24
The great empires of this present world and the sovereign rule they exercise over the earth are coming to a close in this end of time. 1980 is a significant year in prophetic scripture. Details of this, we shall examine in the next meditation. The Lord bless you and do you good in Jesus name. Amen.
JESUS IS LORD!
Your Brother - 'Segun Ogunfile.
The Writings of Segun Ogunfile 