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Weekly Message 12/8/2017
And He Shall Send Jesus
Dear Ones,
Most of us recall the terror of the pop quiz we experienced during our years in school. They were given at the whim of our teachers and always seemed to be given at the most inopportune times. We soon learned that we needed to be in a constant state of readiness for these tests. Similarly, we need to be in a constant state of readiness for the Lord’s Second Coming. “Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh” (Matthew 24:51 IV; 24:44 KJV).
The wise virgins were ready when the Bridegroom came. “And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins [the foolish], saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, verily I say unto you, ye know me not.” Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh” (Matthew 25:9-12 IV; 25: 10-13 KJV).
Other scriptures that emphasize the exact timing of the coming of the Lord as being unknown, and a surprise, are these: “But of that day and hour no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24: 43 IV; 24:36 KJV). “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night . . . (2 Peter 3:10). “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).
Jesus taught that although his elect would not know the day nor the hour of his coming, they would know when his coming is near. He said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree [The fig tree symbolizes Israel]: when its branches are yet tender, and it begins to put forth leaves [May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation], ye know that summer is nigh at hand. So likewise mine elect, when they see all these things [signs such as are given by the Lord in Matthew 24, Luke 17 and Luke 21], they shall know that he is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:42 IV; 24:33 KJV).
The Lord will select those who are worthy to come forth in the First Resurrection. Those of the First Resurrection will live with the Lord during his millennial reign of a thousand years. The doors or gates will be closed at the time of his coming. Many who expect to be within the gate may find themselves locked out when Jesus comes, as were the five foolish virgins. How tragic this will be!
Imagine, you are in your car driving home. Your thoughts are on the game you want to watch and the meal you will eat. Then suddenly, a sight unlike any you have ever seen fills the sky. So you pull over and get out of your car. As you do, you see you are not the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot! What you see has never been seen since it was seen by the shepherds nearly two thousand years ago, “A multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace; good will to men” (Luke 2:13-14). Suddenly all is quiet and there He is, Jesus has come again! All are standing or kneeling in profound reverence. Forget stock markets, sales meetings and football games. Most of the things that mattered before, matter no more. For Jesus Christ has come!
Love to all,
Francis Harper
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And He Shall Send Jesus
Shortly after the great day of Pentecost and the miraculous healing of the “man lame from his mother’s womb” (Acts 3:3-10), Peter preached, “Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom ye have crucified; whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution [restoration] of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts3:19-21).
Peter continued by reminding his audience of the prophetic words of Moses: “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren [of Judah], like unto me [like Moses—I have counted 33 similarities in comparing Moses and Jesus]; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:22-23). If Peter was with us today, his message would quite likely be the same, or very similar.
In Peter’s second letter to the saints, he warned: “Knowing this first, that in the last days there shall come scoffers, walking after their own lusts. Denying the Lord Jesus Christ, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the father’s fell asleep [in death], all things . . . have continued as they are from the beginning of creation. For this they willingly are ignorant. . . [that] by the word of God the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished . . . [God speaks and it is done!] But concerning the coming of the Lord, beloved, I would not have you ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter3:3-8).
We have waited two days [two thousand years], for the return of Jesus. We are living at the dawning of the third day. Jesus warned the twelve: “And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and the third day he shall rise again.” (Mark 10:34). He was speaking of his resurrection from the dead. But why was he resurrected at the dawning of the third day? It is likely that his resurrection early on the third day was intended to be a type and shadow of his return and the resurrection of the saints.
Jesus chastened two of his disciples as they were walking toward the village of Emmaus, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things The Third Day concerning himself” (Luke 24:24,26). The Lord expects us to know and believe all that the prophets have spoken. The Lord said to Moses, “Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow [two days] and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people . . .” (Exodus 19:10-11). Hosea prophesied: “After two days will he [he will] revive [resurrect] us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight” (Hosea 6:2).
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord will wipe away all tears . . . And it shall be said in that day, lo, this is our God: we have waited for him, and he will save us . . . thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise . . . And the earth shall cast out the dead” (Isaiah 25:89, 26:19).
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