What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
Rapture And Judgment Are At Hand
Or, It Shall Be No More Prolonged
"For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the Word that I shall speak shall come
to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will
I say the Word, and will perform it, saith the LORD GOD"
(Ezekiel 12:25).
by Tom Stewart
1-22-99
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Preface
The Watching and Waiting Saints need to be encouraged
to continue their abiding in the LORD Jesus Christ. "And now, little children,
abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before Him at His Coming" (1John 2:28). We must stand confident in hope and
in His Word. "Uphold me according unto Thy Word, that I may live: and let
me not be ashamed of my hope" (Psalm 119:116). Coming judgment for America
and the world, will be preceded by the Rapture deliverance of the Saints. "To
slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked,
that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of All the Earth do right?" (Genesis
18:25).
However, the modern prophecies of America's soon destruction-- have also drawn the
attention of skeptics and mockers. "17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which
were spoken before of the Apostles of our LORD Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told
you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly
lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit"
(Jude 17-19).
We would do well to evaluate our present circumstances in light of the Scriptures.
"Now all these things happened unto them [historical Israel in the wilderness]
for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
world are come" (1Corinthians 10:11).
Ezekiel Compared to Today
Ezekiel prophesied concerning the coming judgment of the nation of Israel-- both
the northern ("house of Israel") and southern ("house of Judah")
kingdoms. The iniquity of Israel and Judah had to be punished by a longsuffering
but holy God. Though the 430 Days of Ezekiel prophecy-- 390 days for Israel plus
40 days for Judah-- dealt with the ancient history of Israel, it also pointed to
events of the 20th century. [See the "Ezekiel Predicted the 1967 Recapture of Jerusalem" -- http://Whatsaiththescripture.com/Timeline/1998.Year.of.Apocalypse.2.html#Ezekiel
Predicted -- section of our article, "1998: Year of the Apocalypse (Part 2)"
-- http://Whatsaiththescripture.com/Timeline/1998.Year.of.Apocalypse.2.html -- (when
we were hoping the Rapture would occur on Pentecost 1998), for a discussion of Ezekiel
4:1-8's time oriented prophecy.] "4 Lie thou also
upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according
to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number
of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity
of the house of Israel. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy
right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days:
I have appointed thee each day for a year" (Ezekiel 4:4-6).
As in these Last Days, the prophet Ezekiel was faced with the plague of scoffers.
"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking
after their own lusts" (2Peter 3:3). There were perhaps other Godly prophets
warning of coming judgment, but Ezekiel had to contend with the "foolish prophets"
that "prophesy out of their own hearts" (Ezekiel 13:2). "Thus saith
the LORD GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have
seen nothing!" (13:3). No doubt, Ezekiel was lumped together with the "foolish
prophets" by the "scoffers" who sought to discredit him. On the other
hand, "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe His
prophets, so shall ye prosper" (2Chronicles 20:20).
The Days Are Prolonged, And Every Vision Faileth
The mockers of Ezekiel's day coined their own parable about all the prophecies and
visions that predicted a coming judgment for the iniquity of their nation-- "The
days are prolonged, and every vision faileth" (Ezekiel 12:22). In other words,
the scoffers were saying that the prophesied days are extended to some future
time-- if at all. Besides, all the other visions and prophecies have failed
to materialize, as well. The LORD's response is to silence the scoffers' parable
with the fulfillment of the vision. "Tell them therefore, Thus saith the LORD
GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb
in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect [fulfillment]
of every vision" (Ezekiel 12:23). Again, today, we must remind ourselves of
the imminent fulfillment of our Rapture, America's destruction, the judgment of the
world, and the Second Coming of our LORD. "For yet a little while, and He that
shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:37).
But, to continue, the LORD made clear that He would not tolerate any more "vain
vision [or] flattering divination within the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 12:24).
This is in reference to the "foolish prophets" (13:3). The commentator,
John Gill (1697-1771), believed that there was a period of "three years time"
between Ezekiel's prophecy of the besieging of Jerusalem (4:6) and its fulfillment--
from "An Exposition of the Old and New
Testament" (1760), commenting on Ezekiel 12:23. In the meantime, Ezekiel
would have been open to the mockers' criticism of giving a failed vision or prophecy,
i.e., the "days are at hand" (12:23). Perhaps the scoffers would have even
turned the LORD's words against Ezekiel, i.e., saying that his prophecies were a
"vain vision" or a "flattering divination" (12:24). This is akin
to some attacking the Christians, who are preaching the LORD Jesus' message, "Behold,
I come quickly" (Revelation 22:12), when the LORD has yet to return all these
years later. But, "Wisdom is justified of her children" (Matthew 11:19).
It Shall Come to Pass
Moses asked the question, "Who is on the LORD'S side?" (Exodus 32:26),
when calling the people to separation from the sin of the golden calf. Likewise,
we are "in meekness instructing" (2Timothy 2:25) the Body to be "sanctified,
and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (2:21), as
well as to be living in expectation of our LORD's Coming. "And every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (1John 3:3). This
sanctified living must be in keeping with the force of the LORD's Words to Ezekiel,
"The days are at hand" (Ezekiel 12:23).
Man's tendency is to measure things by himself, and not to measure things by God.
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the
LORD" (Isaiah 55:8). When the Alpha and Omega declares, "I will speak,
and the Word that I shall speak shall come to pass; It shall be no more prolonged"
(Ezekiel 12:25), "those that oppose themselves" (2Timothy 2:25) will attempt
to find a way to despise that "Word of the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah
5:24).
To emphasize the fact that the fulfillment of the LORD's prophecy through Ezekiel
was certain, the LORD said, "In your days, O rebellious house, will I
say the Word, and will perform it" (Ezekiel 12:25). "19 If ye be willing
and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye
shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it"
(Isaiah 1:19-20). In their life span, every hearer of Ezekiel's prophecy concerning
the LORD's judgment of Israel and Judah's iniquity, would know the reality of the
prophecy's fulfillment. "For all the Promises of God in Him are yea, and in
Him Amen" (2Corinthians 1:20).
Because man is not inherently good, apart from the LORD Jesus Christ, "evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (2Timothy
3:13). For this reason, the rebellious house of Israel said, "The vision that
he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off"
(Ezekiel 12:27). They opposed not only God, but themselves as well. "Behold,
NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of Salvation" (2Corinthians
6:2). God always calls men to faith and obedience in the present tense. "Again,
He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time;
as it is said, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts"
(Hebrews 4:7).
In simple response to the gainsayers, the LORD declared through Ezekiel His opinion
of their statement that the "vision that [Ezekiel] seeth is for many days to
come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off" (Ezekiel 12:27). The
LORD said, "There shall none of My Words be prolonged any more, but the Word
which I have spoken shall be done, saith the LORD GOD" (12:28). "God is
not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath
He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?"
(Numbers 23:19). In Solomon's dedicatory prayer of the First Temple, Solomon rightly
stated the certainty of the Good LORD's Words. "Blessed be the LORD, that hath
given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised: there hath
not failed one Word of all His Good Promise, which He promised by the hand of
Moses His servant" (1Kings 8:56).
What This Article Has Not Attempted to Prove
My intention in this article:
Conclusion
However, what we are desirous of accomplishing is your encouragement. "For now
we live, if ye stand fast in the LORD" (1Thessalonians 3:8). If you become
discouraged and quit hoping that the LORD will fulfill His Word in your soon Rapture,
as well as the other End Time events associated with His Second Coming, then you
will "come short" (Hebrews 4:1) of entering into His Rest. We must be like
Abraham, "who against hope believed in hope" (Romans 4:18). We must
stagger "not at the Promise of God through unbelief" (4:20);
but instead, we "have need of patience, that, after [we] have done the will
of God, [we] might receive the Promise [that is, the promised results]" (Hebrews
10:36).
We need to "continue in prayer" (Colossians 4:2) that we would be "accounted
worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass" (Luke 21:36). Praying
not only for ourselves, but that the Body would be "ready" (12:40) to answer
the Rapture Call, "Come Up Hither" (Revelation 4:1). "Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is
weak" (Matthew 26:41). What intercession we give at this time will be the difference
between many going or not going. "Stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30) through
intercession and a "word fitly spoken" (Proverbs 25:11) in "due season"
(Galatians 6:9). Continue to obey our LORD's command, "Occupy till I come"
(Luke 19:13).
May our entrance into His presence be with great rejoicing! "He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6).
Maranatha!
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