The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Vision of the Day of the Lord, #6

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Romans 1:16)

The "heavenly" kingdom taught today is not described by the Hebrew Prophets nor by the writers of the New Testament but has been created by teachers of the Bible who are attempting to provide support for the so-called "pre-tribulation rapture."

The Lord's people, therefore, are wandering in doctrinal confusion, having lost sight of the Kingdom of God, of the bodily resurrection from the dead, and of the fact that God's promises always are to the Jew first. Christ came as the Redeemer of the people of Israel, not as a savior of the nations who will carry Gentiles off to "mansions in Heaven" while His own people, the Jews, are left to face an enraged Antichrist. The "Gentile rapture" truly is an anti-Semitic concept.

Today we do not have a disciplined people drawn up for battle. Rather, we have congregations of believers who are in delusion regarding the need for righteous living and who are following a false vision of the Day of the Lord. They are morally weak, lukewarm toward Christ, disobedient to God, full of sin and spiritual pride, involved in the things of the world, undisciplined, an abomination to the fundamental Jews who are striving to obey the Torah, and the prey of every money-loving, self-exalting teacher of the Bible.

Ezekiel, Chapter 37 informs us that God will breathe on the dead of true Israel. God's elect yet will become the army of the Lord.

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. (Ezekiel 37:10)

We can expect that tremendous demands will be placed on us in the last days. We are to lay down our lives in the world and devote our attention to the work of the Holy Spirit as He forms us into "a great people and a strong." With our cooperation the Spirit will transform even the least among us into mighty men of God. He that is feeble will be as David. This truly is a staggering promise. Only God has the power to bring to pass such a statement.

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (Zechariah 12:8)

It can be seen, therefore, in view of the moral and spiritual confusion that prevails among the Christian churches of our day, that the Lord has some sifting to do.

To be continued.