Zechariah 14:1-11 " BEHOLD, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 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. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations as when HE fought in the day of battle.
And HIS feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah King of Judah: and the LORD my GOD shall come, and all the saints with THEE.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be KING over all the earth: in that day shall there be ONE LORD, and HIS name ONE.
All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
It really does matter what you believe about the kingdom of GOD. We are NOT currently living in the "kingdom" that is prophesied throughout the Old and New Testaments. Despite what many Reformed and Covenant theologians believe, JESUS CHRIST will literally rule and reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem upon this earth in the future for a period of 1,000 years.
Today's text is a promise from GOD concerning this truth ! Our responsibility on the earth at this moment is NOT to "bring in the kingdom" or even to "do kingdom work." JESUS CHRIST commands the church to "make disciples" (Matt.28:19-20) and "fight the good fight of faith" (1st.Timothy 6:11-12) as we embrace the truth, live the truth, and propagate the truth each day of our lives.
It really does matter what you believe about sign gifts and the timing of their cessation. GOD has already revealed in HIS WORD everything that HE wants us to know in this age. When the canon of Scripture was completed following GOD's final revelation to John on the Island of Patmos, the HOLY SPIRIT ceased from using the gifts of signs, tongues, and prophecy - revelatory gifts designed to relay GOD's WORD and to authenticate the Gospel to the Jews (1st.Cor.13:8-13). No other revelation from GOD (which was the very purpose of the sign gifts) is needed. Now, the responsibility of GOD's people is simply to get to know HIM better through HIS WORD and to faithfully heed and obey the WORD HE has given to us. To believe that GOD still speaks today through these means is to deny the sufficiency of Scripture and to open oneself up to all forms of error and deceit of men - something that the god of this world is ready to "reveal" to any who will listen. MDC
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
Copyright, Feature: A Daily Bible Study Guide.
Used with permission. www.feasite.org
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