" The LORD My GOD Shall Come ! "

 

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 Azalyea, 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 the 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 is essential to distinguish between the coming of CHRIST "in the air" for the Saints (fulfilling HIS promises to the church, 1st.Thessalonians 4:13-18) and HIS coming back to the earth with the Saints (v.5 pictured above) to accomplish HIS WORD to Israel. Failure to distinguish between these two aspects of CHRIST's return leads to great confusion concerning the present situation as well as the future of both Israel and the church. The Great Tribulation lies ahead for Israel and the unbelieving world (vv.1-3). What is the expectation of the church ? Believers will experience trials and hardship (John 16:33; 2nd.Timothy 3:12) but not the prophesied seven-year Tribulation that will refine a remnant of Israel and try the whole Earth (Daniel 12:1; 2nd.Thessalonians 2:8-12). Christians are to be "looking for that blessed hope" (Titus 2:13 pictured below), NOT the wrath of ALMIGHTY GOD (1st.Thessalonians 5:9).

     Meanwhile, we must remember that in this present age, GOD recognizes three classes of people: Jews, Gentiles, and the church (1st.Corinthians 10:32). Every promise the LORD gave to Israel concerning the kingdom will yet be fulfilled. Evangelicals who teach that these unfulfilled prophecies apply to the church or that they are figurative rather than literal are deceiving themselves as well as their followers. Charismatics who talk and act as if they are already in the kingdom are patently false and fail to rightly divide GOD's WORD (2nd.Timothy 2:15). All who teach that believers today are responsible to help "bring in the kingdom" do not understand that JESUS HIMSELF will establish HIS kingdom on Earth. GOD's promises to Israel will indeed literally come to pass, and we must not make the error of minimizing or misapplying these wonderful verities. MHR

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

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