“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Romans 11:25. NKJV
"For I [am] the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” Malachi 3:6 NKJV
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. Isaiah 54:17. NKJV
Many rightly understand the passage from Romans as referring to the coming rapture of the Church, and that it reveals that there is a certain number of believers God is waiting for before He gives Jesus permission to call us home. Yet I think the focus on the rapture might hide another important point God is trying to make here and that is the nation of Israel finally coming to the realization that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the prophesied Messiah. Why does this passage use the word “until”? My guess it’s because it takes the rapture of the Church to open their eyes.
Now I want to draw your attention to the passages from the books of Malachi and Isaiah. The context of this verse is from a prophecy by God concerning His future judgment on the nation of Israel. What I want you to notice though, is His statement that “you are not consumed” in Malachi, and “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” in Isaiah. In simple terms, what I and many others believe is that Israel is being protected from its enemies by God for the express purpose of being preserved for His judgment, and the fulfillment of the seventieth week prophesied by Daniel which is also known as the tribulation, or the time of Jacob’s trouble. It’s also what most dispensational scholars consider to be the end of the fifth dispensational period.
While many may have heard the term dispensation, most are unfamiliar with its meaning. In simple terms, Bible scholars have identified and listed seven distinct periods of time in mankind’s history where God has chosen to deal with the world in different ways, with the end result of each period necessarily requiring God’s judgment. While some believe this school of thought is relatively new, some of the earliest church fathers taught about some of these periods of time, or dispensations, to the early church and also in their writings. While the number of these dispensations have now settled on seven, the point I want to make today is that while we are in the sixth, and quickly approaching the seventh, the fifth one hasn’t been completed but only temporarily interrupted.
Here is a list of the seven dispensations for those of you who are unfamiliar with the subject.
1. The Dispensation of Innocence; Between creation and the Fall of man in the Garden of Eden
2. The Dispensation of Conscience; Between the Fall and the flood of Noah
3. The Dispensation of Government by Man; Between the Flood and Abraham
4. The Dispensation of Promise; Between Abraham and the time of Moses and the Giving of the Law
5. The Dispensation of the Law of Moses: Between the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai and Jesus
6. The Dispensation of Grace; Between Pentecost and the Rapture
7. The Dispensation of the Kingdom Age; Between the second coming of Christ and Eternity known as the 1000 year Millennium
As I read with dismay the path that this world is on, I often have to remind myself that while the coming tribulation is certainly a well deserved judgment on the whole world. Yet it would be a grave mistake to forget that its main purpose is to turn the nation of Israel back to God. As revealed to the prophet Daniel, God’s timeline for the nation of Israel and the fifth dispensational period, consists of seventy “weeks” of seven years, of which only sixty-nine have been served. The last seven years we know as the tribulation is the seventieth week and is the time that Israel will finally come to understand God’s plan for them.
“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of[ sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:24. NKJV
At the same time, of course, the world will also be given a lesson concerning who it is who actually rules, and that Israel is indeed His chosen people.
“So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.“Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord GOD. “This is the day of which I have spoken.” Ezekiel 39:7-8. NKJV.
The current rise of rampant anti-semitism throughout the world is simply the preparation for what will occur when the rapture takes place at the end of the sixth dispensation and the Church is removed from this world. At that time, the last “week” of the fifth dispensation will occur and Israel will have no one to defend them other than God, which I believe is the whole purpose behind what will happen when the Church is removed. When Israel has no one to turn to other than God Himself, the realization of Jesus being their true Messiah will finally occur.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10. NKJV
While so many people and nations wish to eradicate Israel’s existence, their ignorance of prophecy condemns them. Israel will never be destroyed because the God of the universe is their defender. There is no reason to be surprised, or to question the futility of those who would attack Israel as who indeed can succeed when it is God who is in control? I want you to consider this, and then wonder as I do if what we are seeing right now is the earth warning us that Christ’s return for His bride, the Church, is nearer than many of us think. In order for God to finish His work with the nation of Israel, the Church must be removed via the event we call the rapture.
At a time when so many in the body agree that all the pieces are in place for the seventieth week of Daniel to begin, the choice to accept God’s grace by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ is the most important one you will ever make. If you have never taken the step of asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and save you from eternity without Him, I encourage you to do that right now. Simply tell Him you are sorry for your sin, ask Him to forgive you, and accept the sacrifice He made to die for your sin, and He has promised not only to forgive you but to make you one of His own and come into your life and provide all the help you need to begin to live for Him. You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;
"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."
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