A testimony unto all the nations

Jesus gave many signs about the End Times in Matt 24. Many of them can be fulfilled multiple times - e.g. false teachers (v5), wars (v6), famines and earthquakes (v7), persecution (v9), false prophets (v11) - and that is one reason why people disagree over "fulfillment". After all, they had happened in the past - and what gives us surety that the circumstances we now face are signs of "the End"?

There is however, one verse, which cannot be fulfilled multiple times.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.

Matt 24:14

Preterists may claim it's been fulfilled in the first century, but "the whole world" is the whole world. There is no need to give a discount to an omnipotent God. In the modern age, with satellite and communications technology, we've finally come to the point where we do know every nation on the globe. 

Perhaps then, the simplest question we can ask (for which there is a definite answer) is whether the Gospel of the Kingdom has been preached in "the whole world" (to every nation)?

Benny Prasad has taken the gospel to every single nation on earth. On 22 Nov 2010, he completed his "world tour" in Pakistan, and set a world record. Where he goes, he has preached the gospel of the kingdom.

References

http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/travel/fastest_time_to_visit_245_countries_Benny_Prasad_set_world_record_112047.html 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Prasad

Danger

It is amazing how vulnerable the human young is.

In all of God's creation, the human is probably the only species whose young will not survive the initial years without a primary caregiver.

Little Elizabeth was trying to do no more than to reach for the slipper on the floor, while on the bed. It wasn't that she was seeking masochistic thrill or being deliberately willful. She was just being singularly-focused on the one object of her desire, and she knew not how reaching out for that could be in anyway dangerous. It is not that the object of her desire is good or evil - it was simply how she tried to have it.

As she extended her hand, she arched forward. Before anyone could react, she had tipped over and went tumbling head down; and of course, she wailed. 

As I meditated on the matter, I realized parenting is God's gift so that we can understand and experience God's perspective. Indeed, we are all like children. We sometimes focus so much on the objects of our desire that when we reach out for them, we place ourselves in danger. It is not that we are self-destructive, or that we are being willful in our pursuit - we just do not know what really lies ahead. Danger is not apparent to us. What we pursue may not be evil (though it may not necessarily be good either) - but whatever it is, it was simply how we tried to have it that endangers us.

For the same reason, Paul admonishes Timothy that the "love of money is the root of all evil" (1Ti 6:10), not money itself. It is often not because of what we want, but how we want things that God denies them ti us. Too often, we simply desire them in the wrong way. When God denies me what I want, may His Spirit also search me, and reveal if there be any wicked way in me. (Ps 139:23-24)

Watching the Fire

Sardis is the slumbering church. It has but a name, and is in reality, dead. Jesus warned that He will "come as a thief" on those who are not watching.

In Leviticus 6:8 - 13, the LORD commanded how the burnt-offering was to be kept. The burnt-offering was to be on the altar "all night unto the morning", and He commanded that "the fire on the altar shall be kept burning thereon" (v9). The fire was so important that the LORD emphasized it again in verses 12 and 13.

"the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out" (v12),

"the fire shall ever be burning on the altar; it shall never go out" (v13).

We so often focus on the offering that we forget the fire. We think the offering is the important thing, but somehow, the LORD placed more emphasis on the fire - that it must not go out.

When the priests were serving in the Second Temple, they were sometimes guilty of not watching the fire and allowing it to go out. The High Priest would randomly make his rounds to make sure that the priests were performing their duties and faithfully watching the fire as the LORD commanded. When the High Priest discovers a sleeping priest, he would set fire to the priest's garments. In no time at all, the sleeping priest would be running around amok and naked in the temple, and all the other priests on duty will see his shame. The High Priest is therefore also nicknamed the "thief in the night".

Jesus says "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame" (Rev 16:15). Jesus is our Great High Priest (Heb 4) and we are the royal priesthood (1Pet 2:9). When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth? Will He have to set fire on our garments that we awake from our slumber? Will we be caught sleeping and not watching the fire?

To those who are slumbering and not watching -- He comes as a thief, and we will not know the hour of his visitation; but we are not in the darkness, that the day should overtake us as a thief (1Th 5:4). Let us therefore do what the LORD has commanded -- to watch the fire of our offering that it does not go out, even in these times. When the Son of Man returns, my fire will be strong and I will be found watching for His return.

If any man thirst

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

John 7:37

It was the Fall feasts and the whole nation of Israel was gathered at Jerusalem. Having observed the Feast of Trumpets and Atonement in the last two weeks, the Fall feasts was drawing to a close with the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last day, the Levites were at the Pool of Siloam -- the only pool in the city with living waters. They drew the water into a golden goblet and brought it up to the temple, pouring it into one of the two silver basins adjoining the altar; and in the other basin, they poured wine. As the procession went on, the Jews were chanting from Isa 12, a commeoration of water being drawn from the rock as the nation of Israel wandered through the desert.

And as they chanted "with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isa 12:3), Jesus stood up in the midst of the people, and cried, saying "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink".

And as they chanted "God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation" (Isa 12:2), little did they know, the one standing in their midst was truly their salvation incarnate! And the Jews chanted "Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee" (Isa 12:6) -- and it was true - the Holy One of Israel was right there in Zion, in their midst!

As the choir sang the hallel from Psalm 118, they would have come across "the LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation" (v14), "I will praise you, for you have heard me, and are become my salvation" (v21), and yet when their salvation stood in their midst, and they did not recognize the significance of that moment.

The one whom they have been longing for and singing about was standing in their midst, and they did not see! Moses wrote "the LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation" (Ex 15:2). The Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the Psalms all proclaimed God's salvation, and year after year, God had the nation of Israel to rehearse the feasts, so they would remember His promises and at the coming of His anointed, they would truly sing and shout.

Pray for the nation of Israel. That they may receive the Spirit of God and thirst no more.

Grace at its end

Almost 200 years after Israel was scattered by the Assyrians (722/721 BC), Daniel stood in a faraway land and cried out unto the LORD. Confessing the sins of his people, he pleaded with the LORD for His mercy and lovingkindness. Remembering how his people, from both the house of Judah and the house of Israel were scattered throughout the nations, he supplicated (Dan 9:7):

"O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day;to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee."

It was in response to Daniel's intercession that the arch-angel Gabriel responded thus: "seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city..." (Dan 9:24). i.e. God is promising Daniel that there is an end to the scattering of his people, and He will bring Israel back into Jerusalem -- however, this would be at His appointed time -- "the time of the end".

Therefore when we see the Jews re-gathered in Israel, we are to know the parable of the fig tree - and the fig tree has been symbolic of the nation of Israel. Jesus says when you see the fig tree putting forth leaves, you should know that summer is nigh, that "this generation [genea] shall not pass away until all these things are fulfilled".

Many interpret Jesus to mean "this age shall not pass away". But in Matthew 28:20, Jesus says, "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age/world [aeon]" - therefore, seeing the difference between genea and aeon, we know that Jesus literally refers to the [physical, human] generation witnessing the fig tree putting leaves. i.e. the generation which witnesses the re-birth of Israel and the Jews re-gathered in Jerusalem is "this generation" which will not pass away until all the signs in Matt 24 are fulfilled.

In Romans 11, Paul states that the "blindness [of the Jews] in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom 11:25). i.e. when the fulness of the Gentiles is come, the blindness of the Jews wil be lifted, and they will finally understand Jesus is the Messiah.

Standing by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus invited the disciples to drop their nets and join Him to become "fishers of men". However, a fishing ban has been imposed in Galilee since March 2010 because of the rapid depletion of fish. The quantity of fish has fallen below replacement level, and this has never happened before.

Perhaps, this is God's way of hinting that the "fulness of the Gentiles" is drawing near -- and along with that, we shall expect to see the remainder of the signs in Matthew 24 to be played out in full - for verily, the Lord has said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away".

Psalm 90:10 says "the days of our years are threescore years and ten" - if a generation is 70 years, then we are 7 years away from the 70th anniversary of Israel's rebirth. The days of Grace are at its end. Let us join the psalmist also, saying "Who knows the power of your anger? even according to your fear, so is your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (90:11-12)

References

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135666

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/7548606/Fishing-banned-on-the-Sea-of-Galilee.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8675076.stm

Come out of her

We had expected Elizabeth to arrive earlier than her Expected Delivery Date (EDD) because virtually every baby in Singapore comes earlier due to the better nutrition. In fact, the week before her EDD, Stella’s gynaecologist commented that our daughter was already full term and could come “any day” now.

The week passed uneventfully, and we became anxious. Elizabeth had become past due. The diameter of her head was already more than four inches, and if she tarried any longer, she would have difficulty coming out.

We prayed and trusted. God has given her to us to add to His glory – and so He will deliver.

And sure enough, four hours past the 26th of April (the EDD), the water bag burst. Sleepiness fled, and I immediately drove Stella to the hospital – thankfully, there were only a few cars on the road at 4 a.m.

Stella’s labor progressed rapidly and I was hoping it would be a quick delivery. But, just as the baby’s head showed, she went back into the womb. A tug-of-war soon broke out. The gynecologist was trying to grip the baby’s head. Stella was pushing with all her strength. I was shouting into her ears. The baby came out a little more, and went back again. This went on for almost half an hour, and the gynecologist looked at us solemnly.

It was too late into the labor, and if Elizabeth still does not come out, her life would be at risk. The womb which had nurtured her for forty weeks was no longer a safe haven. If she had continued staying there, she would die.

A decision was made to resort to the forceps – but there was only one chance. Stella had already expended so much energy in the previous attempts, she could only muster enough strength for one last burst. If it failed, it would be an immediate cesarean. Time was running very short.

I prayed like never before – for a life was at stake.

As Stella pushed, the gynecologist gripped Elizabeth’s head with the forceps, and with a slight thug, her head finally came through the strait and narrow way. It was then we realized, she had the umbilical cord around her neck – that pulled her back in every time she came out. It was ironic. That which gave her life, would almost kill her.

And as I ruminated on these things, I reflected on God’s message.

Jesus said, “narrow is the gate, and troublesome is the way that leads to life, and few, are they that find it” (Matt 7:13). The passage into spiritual life is like unto birth. Elizabeth made it through the narrow gate, and the way was truly fraught with peril.

Many people are not so fortunate. The world is like a womb, and they die in it and are never born into the spiritual realm. For some time, the world has nurtured us, but when it comes to the fullness of time, we must come out – if not, we will die in it.

Spiritual birth is often preceded by a period of maturation when our hearts and minds are made ready, a period of (intense) labor when we struggle between the world and the world that lies beyond the strait and narrow way. If we get entangled with the world – the cord around our neck – we will vacillate endlessly between the two worlds – and we will die in the world.

"Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev 18:4)

The Beginning of Sorrows

The end times has often been likened to childbirth, and the world in tribulation is likened to a woman in travail. In Matt 24, Jesus described the things that must happen before the coming of the Son of Man.

False teachers will arise – saying that Jesus is the Christ – yet leading people astray. Nations will rise against nations and peoples against peoples. There will be famines (economic hardship) and earthquakes in “divers places” – which is in Greek, topos , which means occupied places (not wide open uninhabited spaces).

All these are already happening right in our midst.

Yet, Jesus says, when we see these things, the end is not yet and “all these are the beginning of birth pangs” (Matt 24:8).

If the world from its creation until the beginning of birth pangs is the period of pregnancy, and the tribulation is the period of labor, we should ask ourselves – how long would the “beginning of birth pangs” last? For after these "beginnings", the actual labor – the tribulation will begin.

If we know we are already witnessing the “beginning of birth pangs” – how much longer is it? Would it be another generation – for a thousand years is as a day unto the LORD; or would it be 10 – 15 years, or fewer?

God has designed all things to manifest His glory, His sovereignty, His power, His immutability.  From the beginning of the world, He has already seen and known the end – for He is the alpha and the omega. If God has used childbirth to describe the coming of Christ, and it is an experience common to mankind in all parts of the world, in all times, it is because God is fair. Even without the Bible, we should know something is about to come.

“For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse” (Rom 1:20)

The contractions can begin 6 to 12 hours before the actual labor even begins. 40 weeks would be 280 days or 6720 hours. If the 40 weeks correspond to the 6,000 years the earth has been around, then 6 hours would be 5.35 years, and 12 hours would be 10.7 years.

Therefore, from the beginning of sorrows to the onset of labor (tribulation), is not a generation – it is only 5 to 11 years. If this is true, how precariously close we are right now.