“What God says, God Means” – R. Nelson
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” Jeremiah 29:10
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Ever since the beginning of time, when God would speak, you could be sure that whatever He said would come to fruition with 100% accuracy! Back a quite a few years ago before I had given my life to Jesus Christ, I was visiting with a friend of mine that started telling me about things that were going on in our world and how they related to God’s promises that were clearly written in the Bible. As he was showing me scriptures that were written thousands of years ago, there was one thing that really captivated my mind, and that was the level of accuracy in which the prophecies that were written were also clearly seen happening in our world. When God tells us something in advance that is going to happen, you can be sure it will be fulfilled with 100% accuracy! It was then that I made the decision to search out the scriptures to read and understand what the Word God had to say to us.
Bible prophecy was written for our learning and yet very seldom, if ever, do you hear it taught in any of the mainline denominations today. It is extremely dangerous to ignore Gods warnings, especially in these days in which we live. One of the most tragic events in history was back when the Israelites did not take seriously the prophecies of the prophet Daniel that God had sent to them. Because they did not take the book of Daniel seriously, specifically chapter 9:24-27, they missed the exact day that was prophesied to them that Jesus Christ would come on the scene and proclaim himself to be the Messiah. This day was prophesied to take place on the exact day in which it was fulfilled. Because they did not know and understand this prophecy, they were not prepared to meet their Messiah. Instead they had Him crucified. Because of their unbelief and rejection of their Messiah, they spent the last two thousand years scattered about the world in rebellion toward God. The following verses come directly from the voice of Jesus Christ, Luke 19:43-44; “For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” The day that He was speaking of took place in 70 AD just as He said it would!
Today God is speaking to us just as He spoke through His prophets of those days! I am going to share the most remarkable prophecy ever spoken of in the Old Testament. Part of this prophecy has already been fulfilled; the rest is about to take place soon. It comes from the book of Daniel, chapter 9: 24-27. It starts out with Daniel, most likely in his middle eighties at this time, where he was reading from the book of Jeremiah where He read this verse “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” Jeremiah 29:10. Since Daniel took the Bible literally and not allegorically, he knew that the seventy years of captivity were nearly over. He started praying fervently to God about His promise to end the captivity that Israel was in after seventy years were up. In the middle of Daniels prayer, he was interrupted by the Angel Gabriel who was sent by God to give him the most remarkable prophecy ever spoken. Verse 24 is the scope of all things concerning the Jewish people. “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.” You need to understand that when you hear seventy weeks being spoken of, it is saying, seventy sevens or seventy times seven which is 490 years. Back in those days the word weeks, could refer to a week of days as we commonly know it, or a week of weeks which would be seven weeks. This verse is referring to weeks of years, so when we hear seventy weeks it is referring to seventy weeks of seven years or 490 years! I hope you are following me!
With that understanding we now go to the most incredible verse in the Bible. We read in Daniel 9:25; “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” This comes out to sixty-nine weeks or 483 years. 69 x 7 = 483. I am going to give you the dates that all this happened. On March 14, 445 BC the decree was given by King Artaxerxes that the Jews could return to Jerusalem as we read in Ezra 7:11-14; “Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. Forasmuch as you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God which is in your hand,”
The prophecy of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was written in Ezra 7:11-28. It just so happens that exactly 483 years after this decree was given (the seventy sevens of Daniel 9:24), Jesus did ride into Jerusalem on a donkey on April 6, 32 AD (Palm Sunday) and a few days later He was nailed to a cross and died “to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy.” The date of the triumphal entry of Jesus (The day Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah) was April 6, 32 AD, the exact day it was prophesied. This is evidence, not only that the Bible is inspired by God, but that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. “From March 14, 445 B.C., to April 6, 32 A.D., is 476 years (remember: there is no year 0). That is 476 years x 365 days/year = 173,740 days. Leap year days need to be added, and they do not occur in century years unless divisible by 400, so we must add 3 fewer leap year days in four centuries, which equals 116 total additional days. From March 14 to April 6 is an additional 24 days. So, the total days = 173,740 + 116 + 24 = 173,880 days!! The exact number of days!! Coincidence?! Or an amazing demonstration that God can see the beginning from the end and that the inspirer of this prophecy indeed can see outside the time domain? Surely this has to be one of the most remarkable prophecies of the Bible.” This event would fulfill 483 years which leaves seven more years to completely fulfill this prophecy. God owes Israel seven more years! There have been about two thousand years since the death of Jesus Christ and without a doubt, God is getting ready to fulfill the last seven years of this prophecy as it is written. We know it as the “Great Tribulation.” We know this has not been completely fulfilled yet because there are still promise from verse 24 that have not yet been fulfilled. (To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.) Five of these are yet in the future. It is obvious that the end of sins has not happened yet as you can see by all the evil that is evident in our world. Reconciliation for our iniquities was taken care of at the cross, but it was not accepted by the Jews, so it is yet in the future for Israel. There is no righteousness in our world as I can tell, but when Jesus returns after the great tribulation, he will set up His kingdom which will be an everlasting kingdom ruled by righteousness. The vision and prophecy have not been fulfilled and the anointing of the Most Holy has not been set up yet. All this will take pace during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ!
The saddest part with all this is that the church is asleep and unaware of this event that is on the near horizon because it is not taught in any of the mainline denominations. So, those who are not aware will suffer the same fate as Israel suffered for not taking the prophecy of Daniel serious about the first coming of Christ! The judgement of Israel’s rejection of Christ has cost them about two thousand years of persecution, the judgement for those that reject the truth of His second coming will suffer for all eternity. God has given us all kinds of messages about what is about to take place and the world for the most part is blind! It is time to wake up.
Another prophecy which was clearly laid out that we will be celebrating on April 12th as Resurrection Sunday, is found in Psalm 22. It is a Psalm where Jesus Christ is speaking as if it is written first person singular as He hung on the cross that was foretold hundreds of years before it happened. Verse one is Jesus speaking as He hung on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of my groaning?” This was the only time that Jesus was separated from the Father because He was in our shoes carrying our sins. Then we read down a few verses until we get to verses 14-18 where Jesus is speaking once again as if it is first person singular, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaws; you have brought me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. Theypierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” What most people do not understand is that Jesus Christ came to earth for the soul purpose of redeeming mankind back to Him and to make propitiation for our sins. It was not an accident as some denominations teach. At any time, Jesus could have said, enough is enough, I am out of here, and He could have come down from the cross. Understand this, it was not the nails that held Him to the cross, it was His love for you and I that held Him there. Some churches even go as far as to say, He slipped up and got caught trying to fulfill His mission! Jesus fulfilled the promises of His first coming once again, with 100% accuracy just as it was foretold!
ACTION POINT:
Whether you chose to believe or reject to Gods truth, it will not change what is about to take place. You can either continue going about your business as if everything will remain the same or you can receive Jesus Christ today as your Lord and Savior and prepare for the most wonderful promise made by God. We refer to it as the Blessed Hope. Titus 2:13; “looking for the Blessed Hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” You can try to explain away the truth as many churches have tried to do, but you cannot deny what is clearly written! Do yourself a big favor, read through the book of Daniel and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the truth and if you are sincere in your study, The Holy Spirit will enlighten you to the truth of what is written and you will feel a sense of comfort that only comes to those that love Jesus Christ that have given their lives over to Him. The three days that took place from His death on the cross to the resurrection are by far the most important days in a Christians year, for without the death and resurrection, we would be men most miserable as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: 19-26; If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” Friends, Jesus Christ did all this because of His love for you and me. Should it not be easy for us to love Him back? Once I knew how much He loved me, it brought me to this conclusion, how could I hurt someone that loves me so much that He would give His life for me? Search your hearts today and ask yourself that same question! What does your heart say?
Commentary from our Chaplin – Rick Fritz
“What God says, God Means”
We can see in prophesy that the Bible is the true word of God. Let us look at this as it pertains to us. When you look at the Bible, we need to look at everything that is written in the therein. We need to believe all that is written as truth. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” What this says is God gave “ALL” scripture (Gods Word) for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (things that are just and right). 2 Peter 1:21 says “For prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” This is clearly stating that prophecy did not come from normal men, it came from men of God that were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Many people try to interpret the Bible in their wisdom and understanding. That is why we have so many people with different interpretations. Men, in their wisdom think they know spiritual things. 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto them: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For whom hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
The Holy Spirit is what gives Christians the ability to understand the Bible. The verse above says that we have the mind of Christ. This is something all Christians should have. You need to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and ask the Lord for this gift. This is what makes Christians who have the Holy Spirit operate in faith and not fear. I have also found the spirit of fear uses guilt to get us to forget our faith momentarily, but the Holy Spirit will reveal this to us. I say this because these things have happened to me. The Spiritual battle happens in the mind. You now know what I have known for years. The Holy Spirit is the gift of God that overcomes the words that the devil has told you but if you believe what the devil says is true, you are then bound by the devil’s words. We need to change our thinking and with the Holy Spirit, we can defeat the devil.
It is now time men and women of God to rise up and take back evil, disease and the words and thoughts from the devil. I say this because we that have the Holy Spirit have the opportunity to teach people how to overcome the tools of the devil and use the tools of God to change men and women’s thoughts and lives, because this is where the battle is, So let’s rise up against the Coronavirus and win this battle.
In Conclusion – R. Nelson
With all that is going on in our world today, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, (Corona Virus) and earthquakes in various places, God is telling us in Matthew 24:6-7 that all these things must come to pass as we can clearly see. This is where God is clearly speaking about the days in which we are living in. Like Rick said above, this is the time to turn back to God and rise up and take back evil. Instead of pointing figures and blaming everybody for what is taking place, know that these things must happen as it is written. God is in charge and aware of what is taking place in our world. I believe God is allowing us this time to reflect on what is truly important and what is taking place as He is calling on us to trust in Him. I have said this once before and I will say it again, what the devil uses for evil, God turns it around and uses it for good. If you are a true-blue Christian, you have no need to fear anything, if you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there is no better time than right now. Just say in your heart, “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior.” If you say this prayer and mean it from the bottom of your heart, I would like to be the first one to welcome you to the family of God. Jesus Christ truly loves you and you will be forever in His protective care from this day forward throughout eternity. “This is truly written to the glory of God and Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!
Editor’s Note
Check out our latest podcast, A Time Of Hope. In this time of fear, it is important to remember that there is hope. Hope and belief in what God says, God means. Happy Easter everyone!