NOTHING BUT LEAVES

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When I look out over the yard and see all the leaves that I need to rake, it saddens me, but probably not for the same reason you may be thinking. A little work never hurt anybody, the least of which myself, with such a big middle.

God continually shows me that all truth is parallel. Most always, He shows me this through nature, which He created in the first place. So every time I see a leaf on the ground, I think of a lost soul; a leaf that had budded on the branch but ended up on the ground anyway.

Did that branch shake to the point that the leaf fell off or did it just wither, die, and then brake off in the wind. Nonetheless, there it lies. I immediately thought of Israel when they missed their time of first visitation by Jesus.


THE FIG TREE

Now that we have the nations identified that will be in existence when Christ comes, it begs the question, are we, in fact, in the end times. . .or not? These nations are over two and three hundred years old. Well, Jesus has the answer. (Are you surprised?) All end time prophecy depends on one Scripture, which we can find in the Olivet Discourse, a part of which is Matthew 24:32.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. . .

Most Christians know that when Jesus [1] talks about the fig tree, He is talking about Israel. The subject of this blog is a lot deeper than we have room for here but a short recap of the fig tree is in order to be able to understand the prophecy.

The fig tree produces not only one but two harvests. The first crop, known as the breba crop, grows on the branch of the previous season. The second harvest is the main crop. The first crop produced by the branch is symbolic of the harvest of the church. Since Israel missed the first visitation, Jesus turned to the gentiles as Simeon says in Acts 15:14. Israel produces the righteous Branch alright, but the first crop of good figs [2] has been cultivated from the nations of the rest of the world (gentiles).

Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would be fruitless at the time of their first visitation and would lose their land [3].

Returning to the fig tree of Matthew 24:32, we find that God promised to restore a kingdom to the good figs (Israel) and He sent forth His Branch (Jesus) and while still tender, this Branch would be cut off (killed).

However, the Branch would sprout leaves (the church, a grafting to the Branch). The fig tree (Israel) would then re-bud (Putting forth leaves) and the second crop of good figs would be harvested (Israel’s salvation). Right now there is nothing but leaves. However, there IS coming - the main and second crop. . .hallelujah!


TIMELINE

The Old Testament prophet, Hosea, prophesied the very length of Israel’s seasonal re-budding in chapter six and verses one and two.

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Remember now that this is talking about God’s timing, which we find in 2 Peter 3:8,

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

It has been two-thousand years since the Cross and the dispersion of Israel [4]. Remember that Israel came home though, and became a nation on May 14, 1948. Israel has not been a nation since hundreds of years before Christ. Yet listen to Matthew 24:33, 34:

So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Of course, all this things that verse 34 talks about is the preceding verses of pestilence, famine, earthquakes, wars, and rumors of wars. Read Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse.

Now, maybe the teaching on Daniel two and seven and other end time prophecies will come into play. We all need to keep our eyes on Israel. Israel is the key to everything. Always has been, always will be. Jesus’ very death and resurrection served as a paradigm for the re-budding of the fig tree, which is Israel [5].

Come Lord Jesus, come [6].

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What do we know now? We know that 2000 years after the Cross, Christ will return at the second harvest of the fig tree (when Israel comes back home from their second dispersion, and begins to bud). We know that Israel became a nation in 1948 and Christ Himself says that this generation will see the return of Jesus Christ, given the Olivet Discourse parameters. How do we know this? Because of the nations that will be in existence during that time. Everything is coming together folks. Let me ask again, "Are we in the last days?" I do not see how we can answer "No."

Next week we will look at a possible time line of events that need to happen before the 1000 year reign of Christ. There is a lot to happen yet before that time.

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1. And the Word, because Jesus is the Word
2. Read Jeremiah 24:5-7
3. Jeremiah 8:13. Also read Mark 11:12-14.
4. Diaspora
5. God’s elect and chosen people. Deuteronomy 7:6
6. Revelation 22:20

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BEAST NUMBER FOUR OF DANIEL SEVEN

Part Four

The fourth and final beast of Daniel Seven was unlike anything he had ever seen. These visions really bothered Daniel greatly [1] and I can only imagine what the poor guy must have thought and what went through his mind when he witnessed beast number four.

Lions, bears, and leopards are bad enough but a ten-horned beast with iron teeth? WOE! This reminds me of another dream that Dorothy had a few years ago; “Lions and tigers and bears. . .oh my.” Anyway, back to Daniel seven.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns [2].


Ten Horned Beast

As we can see, the beast's dominate feature was 10 horns. So. . .what do the 10 horns represent and who is beast number four? Remember though, that beasts always represent nations or kingdoms and the rulers of those nations. They must also be in existence at the time of the second-coming of Jesus Christ.

Again, we do not have to guess because the Bible explains to us what they are. This beast represents one kingdom but with 10 kings, a confederation or alliance if you will.

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings [3].


The Antichrist

The fourth beast is the dictator of the last days and 10 kings will subjugate themselves to the power of that dictator, which is the Antichrist. The little horn will arise from the 10 and subdue three kings. We can learn more about this in Revelation 17:12.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast [4].

The hour spoken of in verse 12 is not 60 minutes but a figure of speech meaning, a very short time. This confederation will serve the Antichrist until Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives at which time they will make war with the Lamb of God. We know this because of Revelation 17:13, 14.

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful [5].


Armageddon

This will be the Battle of Armageddon and the end of the age. Now this will not be the end of time like some are afraid of, but will be the end of human government and the beginning of the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ.

This is very important! Quite frankly, everybody wants to take note of the last part of Revelation 17:14 when it says. . . and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. If you are not with Him that means that you have missed the rapture. Now everybody is called because the Bible says that time and chance happens to all. But when Christ calls, you must choose to follow Him and make Him the Lord of your life. The word faithful here, means even unto death.


The Holy Roman Empire

One more thing about the end times scheme of things. Let’s go back to Daniel, only this time to chapter two and verse 44, which says:

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

This is at the end of the image prophecy, which is the head of gold; arms and chest of silver; belly and thighs of brass; legs of iron, and the feet and toes of iron mingled with clay. The legs of iron represent the Roman Empire but the feet and toes represent the Holy Roman Empire of around 800 AD.

The prophecy of Daniel two is the exact same prophecy of Daniel seven only with different symbols, toes vs horns. Since the European Union will exist in the last days before Christ’s return, we know that this will be the revival of the Holy Roman Empire spoken of in Daniel chapter two.


The Great Tribulation

The Holy Roman Empire is being built right now as we speak. Out of those 10 nations, the Antichrist and the false prophet will emerge. The Antichrist will uproot (subdue) three kings. This will give us a hint as to who he is. However, he will be revealed when he stands on the Temple Mount and causes the oblations to cease [6] and declares that he is the highest authority and the one in charge and in control. The Bible tells us the Antichrist declares that he is God.

Starting at that time will be great tribulation as the world has never seen or will ever see again [7]. The tribulation will last for three and one-half years and then Christ comes [8].

Daniel 7:21, 22 speaks of the great tribulation and Daniel 7:23 speaks of the one world government or world governance. We can learn more about that in Revelation 13. I have covered this somewhat in the three previous blogs before this series. If you haven’t read them, I invite you to do so. I not only give the problem, but I have some solutions for that time ahead of us.

That was the bad news.

You can find the good news in Daniel 7:27 [9].


The Second-Coming of Christ

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

How will this happen? Again, the Bible tells us.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city [10].

All nations will come against Israel and when it seems totally hopeless for them, Christ will burst through the clouds with a shout, with the trump of God, and with all the saints. It will be over for the Antichrist and the false prophet who will end up in the Lake of Fire. Human government will end and the thousand year reign of Christ and His saints will begin.

Come Lord Jesus, come.

HALLELUJAH!!!

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There are different interpretations of the symbols of Daniel seven and some you can immediately discount. However, you can judge them all (including this interpretation) by the criteria with which we have learned in these four blogs [11] and that is, 1) beasts always represent nations or kingdoms and the kings or rulers of those nations or kingdoms and 2) by context, they all must exist at the time of Christ’s return.

Point of interest though: since the nations of all these viable interpretations (again, including this one), have been in existence for over two to three hundred years or so, how do we justify or equate this fact in terms of being in the end times and the second-coming of Jesus Christ? Are we in the end time. . .or not!?

NOTE: All endtime prophecy hinges on one Scripture, and we will discuss that Scripture next week.

Thanks for stopping by.
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[1] Daniel 7:15, 28
[2] Daniel 7:7
[3] Daniel 7:24
[4] Revelation 17:12
[5] Revelation 17:13, 14
[6] Animal sacrifices
[7] Matthew 24:21
[8] The peace treaty with Israel marks the beginning of the last seven years of human government.
[9] Many other places as well, but we are studying Daniel seven right now.
[10] Zechariah 14:2
[11] I have taken these blogs and paraphrased them from my notes of a video of Irvin Baxter’s Endtime Prophecy ministry. I believe he has nailed the times in which we live, spot on. But. . .time will tell.

IS JESUS COMING SOON? Part Three

BEASTS TWO AND THREE OF DANIEL SEVEN

The remaining beasts of Daniel seven are the bear, the leopard, and the ten-horn beast. We will briefly go over the bear and leopard this time and then next week we will look at the ten-horn beast.

Remember, however, that beasts always represent kings, kingdoms, or nations and they must be in existence at the return of Jesus Christ. We know this by the context of Daniel’s seventh chapter prophecy.

Twenty-five hundred years ago through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Daniel saw that Great Britain and the United States of America would be two of those nations in existence at the time of the second-coming of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at two of the other beasts now and see if they make sense to you.

BEAST NUMBER TWO: The Bear
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

Since Daniel 8:20, 21 says that the ram is Media-Persia and the he-goat is Greece, then the interpreters of Daniel chapter seven must be mistaken. Again, God picked symbols that the people living in the end-times could understand.

So. . .is there a nation today whose symbol is the bear? In fact, the bear is the official symbol of Russia and has been since the 17th century. So far, so good. We have identified two beasts, the lion and the bear, who are in existence today. We’re half way there.

BEAST NUMBER THREE: The Leopard
The third beast is the leopard. WOW! What’s with the four heads? The lion – one head, the eagle – one head, the bear – one head, but the leopard – four heads? What’s up with that?

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Before we look at the multiple heads, let’s see if there first is a nation whose symbol is the leopard. Then we can try and figure out what the four heads are all about. It may be academic if we can’t find one. However, it just so happens that the national symbol of Germany is the leopard.

FOUR HEADS?
Okay. . .so what about the four heads? Remember now that a beast represents a king, kingdom, or nation. A beast with multiple heads means the amount of times that that nation has risen and fallen. As it turns out, Germany has had the First Reich, the Second Reich, Hitler’s famous Third Reich, and the Fourth Reich [1], which is now growing very fast.

THE WINGS OF A FOWL
The eagle’s wings on the lion had significance so the wings of the fowl on the leopard must have some importance as well. Is there a nation who has the symbol of a fowl? You are way ahead of me on this one. The national symbol of France is the rooster. However, how does this help us in determining any significance to Germany or not, especially in terms of the end times?

DOMINION
Shortly after WWII, France and Germany worked together to rebuild Europe. Chancellor Adenauer and Charles deGaulle signed the Franco-German Alliance and together built the E.U. (European Union.) I don’t know about you, but that’s enough for me.

The last part of verse six says. . .and dominion was given to it. What does that mean? Let’s look at history.

Franco-German War 1870
WWI 1914-1918
WWII 1939-1945

What do these three wars have in common? Well, Germany plotted, planned, and started all three of them. In a Newsweek article, The German Malady, dated April 9, 1984, it said this:

Since the time of Charlemagne [2], the area that is now Germany has been the pivot of European history. In the past 120 years, the Germans have dominated Europe intellectually, industriously, and militarily.

Check out the word “dominated.” . . .and dominion was given to it.

Next time, we will look at the ten-horn beast.

Footnotes
[1] There is a book authored by an American called, The Fourth and Richest Reich: How the Germans Conquered the Postwar World by Edwin Hartrich.
[2] Charlemagne: founder of the Holy Roman Empire.

IS JESUS COMING SOON? Part Two

THE FIRST BEAST OF DANIEL SEVEN

This week is exciting in that we will learn something different about the first beast of Daniel seven.

As a reminder from last week, remember that beasts are symbolic of nations or kingdoms and their kings. When Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives these nations of Daniel seven, by context, must be in existence at that time.

The commonly accepted explanation of Daniel's prophecy is that the lion is Babylon, the bear is Media-Persia, the leopard is Greece, and the ten-horn beast is Rome. I used to think that way myself until I came to Daniel chapter eight, which tells of another vision where Daniel sees a Ram and a he-goat fighting. In verses 20 and 21, the Bible declares that the ram is Media-Persia and the he-goat is Greece.

I had to stop and think for a minute. Did God change His mind somewhere between chapter seven and chapter eight? The interpreters just said in chapter seven that the bear was Media-Persia and the leopard was Greece.

According to Daniels prophecy in chapter seven, all kingdoms have to be in existence at the time of Jesus Christ's return. Do Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome exist today? Well, half of them do and half of them do not. I had to be missing something. Let’s look at the beasts again and see what we can find.

Is there anybody out there that does not believe that we are in the last days and close to the second coming of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ? Can we tell by Scripture if these nations exist now? Do we, in fact, live in the end of the age? Is Jesus Christ about to come again?

BEAST NUMBER ONE: The Lion

Our text will continue in Daniel seven starting at verse four with beast number one.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

Is there a nation today whose symbol is the lion? In fact, there is. The lion is the official symbol of Great Britain. Daniel would not have understood the words, Great Britain, and I suspect that this is the reason that God closed and sealed Daniel’s writings and sent him on his way.

God wanted the people living IN the time of the end to know that they were the chosen generation that would see the second coming of Jesus Christ. God also wanted them to know that one of the nations existing at the time of His coming would be Great Britain. In order to do this, God had to use symbols that the end time population would understand.

This is all fine and good but you might ask, "This isn’t Daniel’s complete vision of the first beast. What is the significance of the eagle’s wings?"

Well, that’s a good question.

Can you imagine what Daniel must have thought that after beholding the vision for a while he seen the eagles wings pluck themselves off of the lion’s back and turn into a man standing on its feet? Wow!

Daniel didn’t comprehend, at all, what he was seeing and it is why he prayed for understanding in chapter 12. So. . .why were the wings on the back of the lion and what is their significance? Is there a nation whose symbol is an eagle? You’re way ahead of me on this one.

EAGLES WINGS

There is a nation whose symbol is the eagle and it belongs to America. However, this isn’t the best part. We know that Great Britain is the USA’s mother country and approximately 2300 years ago Daniel saw the breaking away of America from Great Britain when the wings plucked themselves from the lion. That’s amazing to me. The Bible is so awesome.

In order to escape the tyranny and religious persecution of her mother country, 102 pilgrims and 25 crew members boarded the Mayflower and set sail across the Atlantic Ocean 380 years ago and formed what is now referred to as the most powerful, productive, prosperous, giving, and freest nation in the world. However, like the commercial says, "But wait, there’s more." The last part of verse four of Daniel seven says. . .and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

GIVEN A MAN'S HEART

America has a second symbol and that symbol is Uncle Sam. God gave America a heart: the heart of a free man spoken of in the Declaration of Independence.

To keep the length of this blog down, next week we will look at beast number two and three. In two weeks, we will look at beast number four; the one with ten horns.

God bless you all.

If you would like to see the original and full text of the Declaration of Independence, follow this link. At this site, the document is in the original spelling and words. This is an interesting site. There is much history to find there. You can also get the text of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as well. Every patriot should all have one.

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IS JESUS COMING SOON? Part One

OVERVIEW OF DANIEL SEVEN

Part one

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the Disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3 NIV)

Like the Disciples, many of us have probably asked the same question, “What will be the sign of Christ’s coming and when will be the end of the age?” Are we living in the time of the end? The Bible tells us that of the day and hour, we know not but we will know even at the door. There are prophecies that explain when something is going to happen and yet others that tell what will happen and to whom and why.

DANIEL PRAYS FOR UNDERSTANDING
In Daniel 12:8, Daniel asks God for the understanding of a dream he’d just had. In verse nine, God answers Daniel.

. . .Go your way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

THE BEASTS
In Daniel seven, the first eight verses chronicle his dream, telling us of four beasts one diverse from the other: the lion, a bear, a leopard, and a beast unlike any other.

The first question is, what do these beasts symbolize? I should mention that God writes prophecy in symbols and almost without exception, interprets for the readers what those symbols mean. We don’t have to guess. We only need to read a little further. (Sometimes the Bible explains the symbols beforehand.)

Reading further, notice what the Bible says in verse 17:

These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

However, that is not all it says. Read further down to verse 23.

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Verse 23 tells us that the beasts represent kingdoms. These two verses allow us to conclude that the beasts of Daniel seven not only represent kings but kingdoms as well. We know that these kingdoms will be on the Earth at some time.

Since God gave this prophecy to Daniel 2500 years ago, maybe it has already come to pass, making it irrelevant to you and me. We also know that according to the Bible there will be another 1000 years of human occupation coming, so maybe it will come to pass 500 years from now. However, we have to consider the possibility that Daniel's prophecy was meant for today.

TRANSITION
Then, in verse nine the Bible says:

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

Verse nine tells us about the transition from human government into the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ, when He casts down the rule of the kings in the kingdoms. The 1000 year reign is called the kingdom of God.

EXPLANATION
Daniel gives this account, in verse number 11:I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Remember now, by reading further, the Bible will define the symbols given previously. Scrolling down to verse 24, we find out that the horns are kings:

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

One will come out of the ten kingdoms and will uproot three of them to become the Antichrist. This will be a clue as to his identity. (Many will not know the significance but believers will know.) Therefore, the horn of verse 11 is the Antichrist. We will learn later who are the ten kingdoms.

The Bible calls the Antichrist many other names in Scripture, one of which is just that, the Antichrist. He is also the man of sin, the son of perdition, the wicked one, and the little horn. Mostly, the Bible calls him the beast.

When Christ returns, He will throw the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire. You can also read of this in Revelation 19:20.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

ARE THE END TIMES - NOW
The next verse of Daniel is very important.

As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. (Daniel 7:12 KJV)

What this tells us is that Jesus Christ will return to Earth during the lifetime of these kingdoms. If we can prove who these nations are, we can check to see if they exist today. If they do, then that puts us smack dab into the time of the end and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Could it be that we are the chosen generation for His return. How exciting is that?

Verses 13 and 14 of Daniel, records Jesus' second coming when He takes dominion with the saints (His Bride).

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

At the end of the three and a half year tribulation Christ will come and the armies of the world will go against Christ and Israel in the battle of Armageddon.

Jerusalem will be a heavy stone burdening the world. And though all nations of the Earth unite in an attempt to move her, they will all be crushed.

For my plan is to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:3, 9 TLB)

I would not want to be on the receiving end of God's wrath.

Next week, we will learn of an interpretation of the identities of the four beasts. You will be surprised on at least one of them. I certainly was.