The biggest problem I see with Christians today is that, when looking on the surface, there is no distinction between a believer and a non-believer, with the possible exception that the believer attends church on a semi-regular basis. Other than that, when observed from outside of the church walls, believers look and act pretty much like unbelievers. Believers and non-believers wear crosses around their necks. Believers are just as likely to consume alcoholic beverages at restaurants just like unbelievers. Female believers often dress just as immodestly as unbelieving women. Believers and unbelievers are equally fluent in foul language. Believers, like unbelievers, deface their bodies with hideous tattoos except that believers tattoo themselves with “Christian” messages and symbols.
Throughout Scripture, God makes it clear that He wants His people to be holy, i.e., set apart from the world, distinct from the world. Five times in Leviticus, God calls for His people to be holy, “for I the LORD am holy.”[1] Peter repeats the same exhortation in the New Testament: “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16), showing that God does not change in His expectation of His people. Be holy, sanctified, consecrated to God, and be separate and distinct from the world.
Paul writes a whole chapter to the church in Corinth providing a practical example of holy living.[2] In Corinth, pagans would offer meat sacrifices to their idols. The meat not burnt up in the holocaust was then sold in the temple market. There was nothing wrong with the meat; it was perfectly good to eat. However, some Christians would not dare to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, while others saw no harm in eating this meat. The latter rightly reasoned that idols were no gods, therefore meat sacrificed to them had no significance. Those who gave significance to the meat sacrificed to idols were offended by those who saw no problem with it.
In his argument, Paul agrees with those who think nothing of eating meat sacrificed to idols, but because of their maturity, he directs his argument to them. “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth” (1 Corinthians 8:1, emphasis mine). That “knowledge” says that idols are not really gods, therefore meat sacrificed to them is really insignificant. However, he warns that such “knowledge” can make us proud and as Christians, our “charity” (agapē) should cause us to seek to build up the weaker Christian. He goes on to point out that “… if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2, emphasis mine). Our understanding of God’s Word and our freedom in Christ can often cause us not to consider the frailty of a weaker brother or sister that has not reached our level of maturity. If we do not understand this, then we “know nothing as we yet ought to know.”
Paul goes on to explain that if the mature Christian does something that is not sinful, like eating meat sacrificed to idols in Paul’s example, and an immature Christian sees him do this act and perceives it as sinful, then the mature Christian causes the immature Christian to stumble in his faith. Rather than edify the weaker Christian, we have set a stumbling block before him. “And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?” (1 Corinthians 8:11, emphasis mine). Do you want to be responsible for that? “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend” (1 Corinthians 8:13, emphasis mine).
Paul was talking about meat sacrificed to idols. We do not see a lot of that in our day and time, but there are other things we do that are “borderline” or “questionable,” which a non-believer or an immature Christian might consider “sinful.” God, as revealed through Paul, would have us give those things up rather than offend a weaker brother or sister or even an unbeliever. The freedom we have in Christ should never be an occasion for an immature believer to stumble.
Our lead verse says “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Before we act, we need to consider how those looking on might see and perceive our actions. Could our actions be taken the wrong way – as sinful? Then, out of our love for the lost and the weaker brother or sister, we should abstain from those actions.
Reader, Jesus is coming soon. Are you prepared to meet Him? If not, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. (Psalm 138:2)
I recently took a volunteer position teaching Bible to third to sixth graders in a local Christian school. My first time meeting with these students was Friday, and rather than jump right into the curriculum, I determined to get to know the students and see what their level of understanding was of the Bible. As I expected, their knowledge about the Bible was pretty rudimentary, but still far and above children of the same age who know nothing about the Bible.
For that reason, I prepared a lesson so they might get a glimpse of what the Bible has to say about the Bible. Most Christians (I hope) know some basic facts about the Bible. These students did as well. The Bible is the Word of God. God is the ultimate Author of the Bible. It was written by men inspired by God, the Holy Spirit. It has 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. So, what does the Bible have to say about itself?
The Bible is Unfailing
In other words, what God had recorded in the Bible will come to pass without fail. In commissioning Jeremiah, God gave him a vision. Jeremiah records, “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:11-12, emphasis mine). The Hebrew words translated “hasten” in the KJV are shâqad ‛al which literally means, “I will keep watch of, be wakeful over on account of My Word.” God will not allow any of His word to “fall through the cracks.”
To Isaiah, God said the same thing using different words. “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11, emphasis mine). The people in Noah’s day laughed at his ark-building project because they had never seen it rain. Even though Noah preached God’s Word to them, they refused to listen choosing rather to rely on their own experience; but they were wrong and God’s Word proved right. “And [God] spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5, emphasis mine). God does not speak carelessly.
Jesus emphasized that the smallest detail of Scripture would remain forever without fail. “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittleshall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18, emphasis mine). The “jot” is the smallest Hebrew letter “yod” (י) and the “tittle” is the smallest mark distinguishing one letter from another similar-looking letter as in the difference between the resh (ר) and the dalet (ד). Some today see things in the Bible and say those things no longer apply because that is not the way our culture functions now. For example, many churches today employ women as senior pastors of churches even though the Bible speaks against it. “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” (1 Timothy 2:11-12, emphasis mine). Many will argue about this point, but the plain reading of the text is clear enough. In the Church, a woman is not to have authority over a man, and that is exactly what a woman does when she is placed in the position of senior pastor. That alteration of Scripture goes beyond changing a jot or tittle!
Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8 when he says, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Peter 1:24-25, emphasis mine). The Word of God, the Holy Bible, will never fail.
The Bible is Trustworthy
You can trust the Bible and apply its teachings to your life and know that what it says is true. The psalmist says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). The Hebrew word translated “perfect” is tâmı̂ym and it means “complete, whole, entire, sound.” The Hebrew word translated “sure” is ‘âman and it means “to be established, be faithful, be carried, make firm.” Look what it does. It “converts” the soul or causes the soul to “return” (by implication) to God. It gives wisdom to the foolish (who will heed what it says).
Before going to the cross, in His high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed to the Father for us saying, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17, emphasis mine). “Sanctify” means to “set apart” specifically for the service of God. I find it interesting that “the word” may have a dual meaning. At first sight, we understand that “thy word” refers to the Scriptures. However, at the beginning of John’s Gospel, we are introduced to “The Word” (John 1:1-3) and instructed that “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, emphasis mine). So, the spoken/written Word of God became the living Word of God in Jesus Christ in whom we who have placed our trust in Him, are “sanctified.”
Then, just as light makes our way sure in the dark and we trust the light to keep us from stumbling, so the Word of God is a light for us in an ever-darkening world. The psalmist said it this way, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105, emphasis mine). It will shine its light in a dark world!
God Values His Word
Scripture teaches us not to take the name of God lightly or speak His name carelessly. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7, emphasis mine). “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:12, emphasis mine). It appears that God takes His name very seriously, and He expects us to do the same. Even so, the psalmist records, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138:2, emphasis mine). As highly as God regards His name, He regards His Word, the Bible, above His own name. What does that say to us? Should we not have the same regard for God’s Word?
The Bible Is Not Man’s Invention
Many critics of the Bible argue that it was the work of men throughout history, just like any other work of fiction or religious literature. Although at least 40 penned the words of Scripture, the Bible claims divine authorship for every word. In his final letter to his young protégé, Timothy, the Apostle Paul writes, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (2 Timothy 3:16, emphasis mine). The phrase “inspiration of God” is one compound word in the Greek: theopneustos, meaning “God-breathed” or “breathed out by God.” So, the Bible is not a human concoction. Consider the miracle of the Bible. Written down by over 40 men, most of them separated by hundreds of years over almost 2000 years, and yet there is consistency and cohesion throughout the entire text – Old and New Testaments. One cannot say that about the Quran, which supposedly had only one author, or the Book of Mormon, which was supposedly given by the angel Moroni to a single man, John Smith. Reading these books can make one’s head spin, but not the Bible. It makes perfect sense through and through, and the more one reads it, the more sense it makes.
The Apostle Peter contradicted the notion that the Bible was of human origin. He argued from the point of his personal witness. He spent three years of his life in close contact with Jesus. He witnessed all of Jesus’ miracles firsthand. He saw Jesus walk on the stormy waters, and he himself walked on the water at Jesus’ bidding. Peter was on Mount Herman when Jesus was transfigured into His glorious divine nature as He spoke with Moses and Elijah. Peter witnessed all of that firsthand; he did not dream it up. Yet, with all of that Peter says, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy [i.e., Scripture]; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:19-21, emphasis mine). Peter says that the written Word of God is more reliable than his own eyewitness account.
The Bible Prepares Us
Finally, God gives us His Word to prepare us for the conflicts that come into our lives and to give us the resource for witnessing about Him, not from our own opinions, but from His Word. The psalmist puts it this way. “Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word” (Psalm 119:41-42, emphasis mine). As Christians, we often suffer “reproach” from non-believers. Here the psalmist pleads for salvation “according to God’s Word” so that he may respond to those who find fault (reproach). Notice that he puts his trust in the Word of God, not his own resources. Likewise, when we are challenged about our faith, rather than answering from our own opinions, our response should be “according to God’s Word.” We can fail, but God’s Word never fails.
Again, Paul instructs Timothy, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, emphasis mine). “Study” does not mean “scan” the Bible looking for your favorite verses, nor does it mean to read it casually. The Greek word is spoudazō and it means “to exert one’s self, endeavor, give diligence.” All of this is for the purpose of being a “workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” Christian, you do realize that God has you here on earth to be a “workman” in His kingdom, don’t you? Included in that “study” involves the “rightly dividing the word of truth,” i.e., handling God’s Word correctly, not inserting your own interpretation, adding to the Word, or taking away from the Word. Remember what was said earlier, God “magnifies His Word above His own name”! We should handle it carefully and with reverence.
We need to always be prepared and ready to give a response. Peter says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15, emphasis mine). First of all, we begin by giving God His proper place in our hearts. That puts us in the right relationship with Him. When we do that, we should be ready always to give a response to anyone who asks us about the hope that we have. A lost and dying world should be able to look to the Christian and see hope there. And when they ask why we have peace when the world is falling down around us, we should have a ready answer with “meekness” and “fear” (i.e., reverence).
Reader, do you know the Author of this wonderful Book? If not, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. (2 Kings 23:26)
Unlike Israel, the ten tribes that composed the northern kingdom, Judah had a mixture of good and bad kings. The bad kings were those who led Judah into the practice of idolatry. King Manasseh[1] was arguably the worst king Judah ever had. Of him, Scripture records that “Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel” (2 Kings 21:9). He “worshipped all the hosts of heaven”[2] (astrology). He built altars to pagan gods in the Temple and to “all the host of heaven.”[3] “And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger” (2 Kings 21:6). So …
Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. (2 Kings 21:11-15, emphasis mine)
Manasseh reigned for 55 years[4] and was succeeded by his son Amon.[5] Amon was 22 years old when he came to the throne and reigned for only two years. He was every bit as wicked as his father.[6] A coup arose against Amon, and his servants assassinated him and installed his eight-year-old son Josiah as king.
Josiah reigned for 31 years. Of him Scripture records, “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him” (2 Kings 23:25, emphasis mine). Josiah undid all that his father and grandfather had done.[7] He destroyed all the altars to pagan gods and cleansed the Temple. He executed all the pagan priests and all those that practiced witchcraft. However, even with all the good Josiah did, God did not alter His plan to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. “Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there” (2 Kings 23:26-27, emphasis mine).
The kings that followed Josiah were all wicked and continued to plunge Judah into the sin of idolatry, which included the practice of child sacrifice. As a result, Judah was conquered by the Babylonians. Jerusalem and the Temple were razed and a remanent of the people was taken captive to Babylon for 70 years.
When I read the history of Israel in the Bible, I cannot help but see our nation, the United States of America, falling into the same pattern. Israel, as a nation, has one great advantage over the USA. Before Israel became a nation, the first time, God made an irrevocable and unconditional, promise to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. “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” (Genesis 13:14-15, emphasis mine). “Forever” has no limit. Scripture records that Israel has done nothing to warrant God’s favor and the only reason they hold a favored place comes only from God’s faithfulness in that He will not withdraw the promise that He made to Abraham. That should give those who trust in Him assurance that He will keep His promise to us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, emphasis mine).
I know of no place where God has made a similar promise to the USA. However, America, from the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock and the drafting of the Mayflower Compact, was founded on the Word of God. That fact is carved in stone on almost every national monument in Washington DC. However, for over 100 years our nation has slowly drifted from these Biblical principles. Then, over the last 50 years, the moral and spiritual decline has accelerated exponentially. We have cast God and His Word out of our schools and out of the public square. We kill our babies before they can experience life and even after they are born. We have redefined what it is to be male or female, and abominable sexual practices are celebrated and even encouraged. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12). However, America’s god is not the Lord, and we have not been chosen as His own inheritance like Israel. So, what right do we have to expect God to preserve our nation?
Like Israel, the USA, nationally, has fallen into idolatry – child sacrifice, sexual perversion, worship of the creation, etc. Like Judah, we had more than one good “king.” Donald J. Trump was the last one. I really do not care whether you like Trump or not, but he, like Josiah, overturned a lot of bad policies and made our nation prosperous during his short tenure as President. I will take his “mean tweets” over what we have now any day. The evil “left,” including the Demonrats and many Republicans, hates him because he threatened their wicked schemes. They hate him so much that they weaponized the FBI in order to destroy him and prevent him from running as President again. Why do they hate him so much? Because they prefer the darkness to the light, and they do not want their evil deeds exposed. They also hate anyone who supports Trump and have weaponized the IRS to go after his supporters (although they would never admit that). Recently, the House passed a bill to hire 87,000 IRS agents and arm them with 4600 guns and 5-million rounds of ammo.[8] Why does the IRS need armed agents?
I do not expect Trump to get reelected. If he does manage to survive this shameful sham of an investigation and run for President, I, for one, will vote for him. However, I expect that the Dems will steal the election again.
America does not have the promise of God that He will preserve this nation. I have no hope for the salvation of America from the abyss into which it is plunging. I often hear Christians quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 (out of context) and attempt apply it to the USA. However, the USA is not “God’s people.” Christians are. However, our citizenship is in heaven,[9] not here on earth.
God’s judgment is on our nation (and the world), and there is only one fix for this sick and troubled world. That is for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to return and set up His kingdom here on earth. We see the “signs of the times” converging and falling into place. The time is getting short. America, and the world in general, is becoming a dark, dark place and our only hope is Jesus.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Are you ready to meet Jesus? If not, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
At the posting of this article, August 6-7, 2022, Jews everywhere solemnly observe Tisha B’Av or the Ninth of Av. Av is the fifth month on the Jewish calendar which begins with the month of Nissan. Christians, for the most part, are ignorant of Jewish observations and feasts; but the same God that gave observations to the Jews is not a God who does things arbitrarily or at random and without purpose, and He does not change. So, even though Christians are under a different “covenant” than the Jews, that does not render these observations meaningless. It behooves Christians to study and understand the Jewish feasts and observances because, while they may not directly apply to us, they have great significance in our understanding of our God.
Tisha B’Av, like Purim and Chanukah, was not given by God as one of His seven Feasts of the Lord.[1] These “observances” were started by the Jews as memorials to God’s intervention in the life of the nation. Purim looks back to God’s salvation of the Jews that were in Babylon from the hand of Haman.[2] Chanukah commemorated the miraculous preservation of the oil in the menorah for eight days at the cleansing of the Temple after it was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes.[3]
Tisha B’Av, however, reminds the Jews of God’s judgments on the nation for one sin or another. These judgments always fell on the Ninth of Av beginning when 10 of the 12 spies sent to spy out the Promised Land returned with a bad report.[4] The website “Rapture Ready” lists 29 judgments against the Jews from Av 9, 1312 BC to Av 9, 2020 AD.[5]
Perhaps the most significant judgments to the Jews were those involving the Temple. The Babylonians razed Solomon’s Temple on Av 9, 586 BC. The Romans destroyed the second temple, Herod’s Temple, on Av 9, 70 AD. Pete Garcia, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, suggests the possibility (not the inevitability) that the Rapture of the Church could take place this year on Tisha B’Av.[6] (I recommend that you read his article in the link provided below. He goes into much greater detail than I plan to go into here.) Pete got his idea from Greg Lauer,[7] another student and teacher of end-times prophecy. (I recommend that you read his lengthy article as well. He goes into great detail to develop his theory and he employs sound logic in doing so. You can find the link to his article in the endnotes below.)
In brief, here is the summary of the idea that the Rapture could take place on Tisha B’Av – perhaps even today, August 7, 2022. By way of disclaimer, allow me to emphasize that neither of these men are setting a date for the Rapture, which “of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). We cannot know the exact day or the hour; however, we can observe the signs and the season so that we should be ready. Therefore, Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13). How can we watch if we do not know what to watch for?
We already see many of the signs of which Jesus spoke[8] taking place: Israel reborn, wars and rumors of wars, famines, and pestilences, economic collapse, worldwide hatred of Israel, the formulation of the Gog of Magog alliance,[9][10] etc. These “labor pains” are increasing in number and frequency alerting us to the soon return of Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. However, before that happens, the Church must be removed, and that is where the idea of the Rapture on Tisha B’Av comes to play.
Here is the idea in a nutshell. When Solomon dedicated the first temple, the glory of God filled the Temple to the point that the priests could not minister in the Temple.[11] Several hundred years later, the Prophet Ezekiel records seeing the glory of God depart the Temple.[12] The Babylonians then entered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple of God on Av 9, 586 BC.
After 70 years of captivity, the Medo-Persian Empire conquered Babylon and Cyrus allowed the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. There is no record that this second temple enjoyed the filling by the glory of God. It was not until the time of Christ that the Temple experienced the presence of God in the form of Jesus Christ. Recall how at the cleansing Jesus declared, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13, emphasis mine). Of course, we know what happened later. The Jews rejected and crucified their Messiah during Passover, 30 AD (or 33 AD, the exact year is debatable). As a result, the Romans destroyed the Temple on Av 9, 70 AD.
The First Temple enjoyed the presence of God the Father. The Second Temple enjoyed the presence of God the Son. There is yet a Third Temple that enjoys the presence of God the Holy Spirit. Where might that Temple be? “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit resides within believers, the Church, the Bride of Christ. This Temple restrains Satan’s forces on earth and must be removed in order for God’s judgment to come upon the God-rejecting world. “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 [restrains] will [restrain], until he [i.e., the Holy Spirit] be taken out of the 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” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, emphasis mine). When the Holy Spirit is taken “out of the way,” He will take His Temple with Him. This is what we understand as “the Rapture” of the Church.
So, since God does not do things arbitrarily or at random, it makes sense that the “Third Temple,” belonging to the Holy Spirit should also be removed, like the first two, on Tisha B’Av. If not today, then next year, or the next.
No man knows the day or the hour when Jesus will call His Bride home. As His Bride, we should be prepared daily for Him to call us home. It does not necessarily have to be on Tisha B’Av. It could be on Rosh HaShanah, or perhaps on Pentecost or any day when we least expect it. The point is to be ready and watching daily. We have work to do, and when our Lord calls us home, we want Him to find us working to increase His kingdom.
Are you ready to meet Jesus? If not, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”
Ernie's Musings 