Tag Archives: End Times

Jonathan Brentner message: What many in the Church don’t understand about the First and Second Coming of Christ

what many don't understand about the first and second coming of Christ

Important Takeaways:

  • The Old Testament contains a great many messianic prophecies. Jesus fulfilled forty-eight specific predictions during His first visit to the earth. A much greater number of biblical texts refer to the end times, Jesus’ appearing, the seven-year Tribulation, Christ’s Second Coming, and eternity.
  • The fulfillment of Messianic prophecies began with Gabriel’s visit to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:28-38). Along with explaining her supernatural virgin birth, the angel referred her to Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Messiah’s birth as a “child” (Isaiah 9:6-7). His message to the mother of Jesus included the promised millennial reign of her Son: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).
  • The Isaiah 9 Prophecy
  • Why did Gabriel incorporate Isaiah’s prophecy into the announcement of Jesus’ birth? First, it reminded Mary that the Messiah would enter the world as a baby. Mary’s response reveals her previous knowledge of the prophet’s words as she expressed her understanding of the great favor bestowed upon her to be the mother of the promised Messiah (Luke 1:38, 46-55). She was likely one of many young women in Israel hoping that they would give birth to the Christ.
  • Additionally, the angel’s message confirmed the hope of her day, namely that the Promised One of Israel, her Son, would someday sit on “the throne of his father David” and rule over His people. His words brought to mind all the words of this cherished prophetic text: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7, KJV).
  • Though many in Israel at this time looked for the Messiah to immediately deliver them from the Roman oppression, that doesn’t negate the Lord’s promise. Just as Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s words by entering the world as a baby, in the same way, He will literally fulfill the prophet’s words concerning His future rule over a restored kingdom of Israel.
  • Did the Jewish Rejection of Jesus Invalidate Isaiah’s Prophecy?
  • Many pastors and Christian leaders today teach that Israel’s rejection of their Messiah invalidated God’s promise of a glorious kingdom for Israel. They say the church has inherited these promises, albeit spiritually. Proponents of this unbiblical teaching believe that Jesus began ruling over the nations at His ascension back to Heaven.
  • Gabriel’s announcement to Mary refutes today’s Replacement Theology, which asserts that God rejected Israel after it spurned His Son and replaced the nation with the church. More than that, the angel’s words fully substantiate the Premillennial beliefs that Jesus will sit on the “throne of David” after the Second Coming. Why do I make such a claim?
  • First, consider how Mary would have understood Gabriel’s words. They would’ve conveyed the idea of a physical kingdom with her Son ruling over the nation of Israel. The idea of a spiritual realm would never have entered her mind.
  • The angel’s quote of the promise that the Messiah would sit upon “the throne of his father David” would also have conveyed the image of a literal fulfillment of the Isaiah 9:6-7 prophecy. Why would God fill Mary with such hope unless it truly depicted Jesus’ future rule? He already knew about Israel’s rejection of their Messiah and crucifixion, yet the repeating of the promises from the Isaiah text points to their fulfillment regardless of the actions of the first-century AD Jews.
  • Second, Gabriel specified that Jesus would rule over the “house of Jacob.” This points to the realization of Ezekiel 37:15-28, which foretells the joining of Judah with the northern tribes of Israel under the kingship of David. These words signaled the joyous joining of the nation into one kingdom, which Mary also would’ve understood as a future fulfillment of the Lord’s promises to her people.
  • Third, the New Testament never places Jesus on the “throne of David” at the current time or in its description of His headship over His Church. It instead places Him at “the right hand of God,” as we see in Colossians 3:1: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
  • Jesus is the “head of the church,” as the Apostle Paul stated in Ephesians (1:22, 4:15; 5:23) and Colossians (1:18; 2:19). His promised rule over all the nations is far different than his current place as the “head of His body, the church.” Of course, He’s sovereign over the affairs of humanity, but that’s far different than saying He is now ruling over the “house of Jacob” seated on the “throne of his father David.”
  • Just as Gabriel spoke on behalf of the Lord concerning the Savior’s birth, so he also predicted His future reign over a united Israel. How can one say that the first happened exactly as Isaiah prophesied while the other denotes a spiritual reality? To make such a claim implies that He misled Mary, who surely would’ve viewed both the Messiah’s birth and future rule over Israel as tangible outcomes of the Lord’s original promise to Isaiah (9:6-7).

Read the original article by clicking here.

Elon warns of Big Tech companies “Lobbying with great intensity to establish a government protected cartel” and he’s the only one not joining

Elon-Musk-closeup

Important Takeaways:

  • Elon Musk has often warned of the End Times approaching, and now the X boss declared “our whole civilization is at stake” thanks to modern tech with entrepreneurs like him the “only solution”
  • The post he shared from user @pmarca read: “There is no differentiation opportunity among Big Tech or the New Incumbents in AI. These companies all share the same ideology, agenda, staffing, and plan. Different companies, same outcomes.
  • “And they are lobbying as a group with great intensity to establish a government protected cartel, to lock in their shared agenda and corrupt products for decades to come. The only viable alternatives are Elon, startups, and open source.”
  • The post was widely shared, with one user commenting: “The stakes are high, we need to fight,” to which Musk responded: “Indeed, our whole civilization is at stake.”
  • Musk has previously said population collapse could put an end to humanity, the Daily Star previously reported. Last year he wrote: “Most people think we have too many people on the planet, but actually, this is an outdated view.
  • “Assuming there is a benevolent future with AI, I think the biggest problem the world will face in 20 years is population collapse.”

Read the original article by clicking here.

Tucker Carlson: Regardless of political affiliation [people] can feel that something bad’s coming and our government doesn’t care

Tucker-Carlson-on-X

Important Takeaways:

  • Tucker Carlson Warns ‘Really Dramatic Abrupt Change Is Coming’
  • In a speech at The Daily Caller News Foundation Gala this week, Tucker Carlson warned that “abrupt change” is coming for Americans, and many can feel it, giving them pause to consider “the end times”
  • “If something really dramatic in your country happens — like young people can’t, I don’t know, get married, you know, or buy houses or have any hope for a future that approaches, you know, the middle-class upbringing they had — then you’ve got a huge problem and someone should be responding to that,” Carlson urged.
  • “When every person, 350 million Americans, everyone regardless of political affiliation can feel that something bad’s coming. Everybody knows that,” Carlson continued.
  • Carlson also noted that it’s never been more obvious to Americans that their government doesn’t care about them.
  • “Let’s start with pretending you care. But you know what doesn’t work? Saying we’re going to spend $100 billion in other countries,” he declared.
  • Carlson further urged, “I don’t care how virtuous the case those countries make is, and I don’t care how much I personally may agree or disagree with what those countries are doing — that is immaterial. The job, the moral duty of the people running a country is to look out for the people in that country, period.”
  • “At the very same moment that American society is more fractured — our social fabric is in tatters and we’ve let in millions upon millions of people who have no affinity for the United States, who are merely here for the economic benefits,” Carlson continued.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Greg Laurie points out possibilities where the US could be in End Time Prophecy

Greg Laurie

Important Takeaways:

  • Greg Laurie lists 3 possible reasons why the US isn’t mentioned in End Times prophecy
  • Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie offered a few possible reasons why the United States is not mentioned in the New Testament book of Revelation.
  • After noting that the “two superpowers” mentioned as fighting at Armageddon are “the kings of the east and the forces of the Antichrist,” Laurie asked, “Where is the United States of America in all of this?” he said. “Now, some people will say they know Scriptures that identify America in the End Times scenario. I don’t find anything of the kind. You can guess, but I don’t think there’s anything that’s certain.”
  • Laurie then listed a few possible reasons why the U.S. goes unmentioned, the first of which was that “maybe we’re not mentioned because our country is decimated in a nuclear attack.”
  • Laurie then read from 2 Peter 3, which says in part that “the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
  • “Horrible,” said Laurie. “We think of these Maui wildfires and how quickly they spread. To go from paradise to horror in just moments. Terrifying, horrible thing.”
  • “Is [2 Peter 3] a description of nuclear war? It could be, because you look at the mass devastation that happens in the book of Revelation. In many ways, it matches what is called a ‘nuclear winter.’
  • The second possibility, according to Laurie, is that “we simply decline as a world power,” explaining that “every nation has a shelf life, every nation has a beginning, a middle, and an end.”
  • “The glory of Greece was eclipsed after 268 years. Mighty Rome ruled for nine centuries. America is 247 years old and counting,” continued Laurie. “So, maybe we just come to the end of our reign as a superpower, and we fade from the scene.”
  • The third possibility outlined by Laurie, which he described as his “favorite option,” was that maybe the United States might not be present “because a great revival takes place.”
  • “If we had a spiritual awakening or a series of spiritual awakenings, and thousands and thousands, and millions and millions of Americans came to Christ and were all following Christ and then the rapture happens, that would explain a lot,” he said.
  • “Even without a revival, when the rapture happens, people are going to disappear. Think about this, people in the military, people in law enforcement, people in the medical field, people in every field you can think of.”
  • Laurie said that since “a lot of people disappear,” this situation “could shut the nation down over night,” adding that he prayed that “we do have an awakening” in the U.S.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Pew Research polls “if the End Times are upon us?” The answers may surprise you

2 Timothy 3:6,7 “They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions, 7who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Important Takeaways:

  • Are the Biblical End Times Upon Us?
  • The Pew Research Center recently unveiled data showing 58% of Americans said “No” when asked, “Do you believe we are living in the end times?”
  • But while a majority rejected such a notion, nearly four-in-10 Americans (39%) do believe humanity is living in the end of days. That number is unsurprisingly higher among Christians, with 47% of believers answering affirmatively.

Read the original article by clicking here.