End Time Insights

Returning to the jurisdiction of the Torah means the restoration of the old social barriers between Jews and Gentiles . The third chapter of Galatians  is pivotal to Paul’s argument for the unity of God’s people. The old social divisions under the Mosaic Legislation are inappropriate in God’s One Covenant Community since the promised “ Seed of Abraham ”  has arrived, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. In Christ’s Assembly, “ No longer can there be Jew or Greek ! ”

Throughout the present age, the Church is being plagued by deceivers from within who are sent to destroy the Body of Christ . The Greek term translated as “ Antichrist ” in English versions of the New Testament is found only in two of John’s letters. In his first epistle, John warns his audience: “ It is the Last Hour; and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come .” John did not deny that an individual “ Antichrist ” would come. His point was that many “ antichrists ” were (and are) active in the Church.

The New Testament applies temple language from the Hebrew Bible to the Body of Christ, the habitation of the Living God . Except for contacts between Jesus and the early church with the priestly authorities, the New Testament shows little interest in the Jerusalem Temple. Instead, we find that terminology and imagery from the Temple are applied to the New Covenant community of Jesus. What the Temple and earlier Tabernacle foreshowed has come to fruition in Christ and his Church.

Returning to the custodianship of the Law would mean rebuilding the wall between Jews and Gentiles, but “you are all one in Christ.” The Apostle Paul compared the Mosaic Law to a “ pedagogue ” in its supervision of Israel “ until the seed came .” That “ Seed ” was Jesus. In Greco-Roman society, the “pedagogue” was a slave with custodial and disciplinary authority over an underage child until he reached maturity. The minority status of the child and the authority of the custodian over him were both temporary.

The term “assembly” or ‘ekklésia’ in the New Testament is derived from the Assembly of Yahweh gathered for worship recorded in the Hebrew Bible . New Testament references to the “ assembly ” or “church” in English are based on the language of Israel when the nation was assembled before Yahweh for worship in front of the Tabernacle. The Greek noun translated this way is ‘ ekklésia ’, meaning “assembly, congregation, convocation.” In secular Greek, it could refer to an “assembly” of citizens gathered to conduct matters of state. However, that is not the sense found in the Greek Bible .

The Thessalonians received the Gospel of Christ in tribulation but remained faithful while eagerly anticipating the return of Jesus – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-7. In the first chapter of First Thessalonians , Paul anticipates the Letter’s main subjects - the tribulation of believers, Christian hope, and the “ arrival ” of Jesus when he will rescue his people from “ wrath .” He will resurrect the righteous dead and “ meet ” all his assembled saints as he descends from Heaven. On that day, his disciples, both living and dead, will “ obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ .”

The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom to all nations until the moment Jesus arrives  – Matthew 24:14. Jesus commanded his true followers to announce the same message that he preached, which he summarized as the “ Good News of the Kingdom of God .” His Church would spread this message  to all nations without exception  and in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Christ’s sovereignty over humanity must be established! Until his return, we are commanded to proclaim his Gospel to the “ ends of the Earth .”

In Revelation , John saw countless followers of the “ Lamb ” exiting the “ Great Tribulation ” after persevering through it. This striking image is central to his vision of the “ Innumerable Multitude ,” the men from every nation and people who were redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Having “ overcome ,” John saw them standing triumphantly in worship and celebration before the “ Lamb ” and the “ Throne ” in the “ Holy City, New Jerusalem .”

The description of the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost stresses the theme of fulfillment. On that day, what was foreshadowed by the ancient feast began to receive its promised substance. The bestowal of the Spirit was an epochal event that marked the start of the Age of the Spirit, and the Gift of the Spirit fulfilled what the annual Levitical feast symbolized.

The Assembly of God is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and the Ancient Serpent, the Devil . The Book of Revelation is addressed to seven first-century congregations in the Roman province of Asia. It deals with their real-life situations and trials. In the process, it presents messages relevant to all the assemblies of God throughout the present age, the period known as the “ Last Days ” which began following Calvary. The daily struggles of the Asian churches provide a microcosm of the great cosmic battle that is being waged between Jesus and the Devil.

His disciples reign with Jesus as priests who render service in the True Tabernacle and minister his light and message to the world . The present sovereignty of Jesus is based on his past Death and Resurrection, and His disciples participate in his reign. Like him, their royal position is paradoxical. It is characterized by self-sacrificial service rather than the suppression and destruction of their human enemies. The shedding of Christ’s blood is what consecrates them as “ priests ,” and priestly service for others is how they rule with him.

The terms “ tribulation ” and “ wrath ” are  NOT  synonymous in Paul’s letters or the  Book of Revelation . “ Tribulation ” is what the disciples of Jesus endure for his sake. “ Wrath ” is the horrific fate that awaits the wicked at the final judgment. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes that God did not appoint them to “ wrath .” Yet, in the same letter, he states that believers are destined for “ tribulation .”

The term “antichrist” occurs only in the second and third letters of John, and the Apostle applies the plural form of the Greek noun to deceivers who were spreading false teachings in his congregations. The presence of “ antichrists ” constituted irrefutable evidence that the “ Last Days ” were underway, and the false teachers were the product of the “ Spirit of Antichrist ,” forerunners of the final “ Antichrist ” who was yet to come.

‘Christendom’ is an idolatrous term used often to invoke Divine support of national and political institutions, agendas, and ideologies . In popular usage, the English term ‘Christendom’ refers to “that part of the world in which Christianity prevails,” either because the majority of a nation’s citizens claim to be Christian, or because a specific sect or denomination is recognized by the State as the country’s official religion.

The Man of Lawlessness will be unveiled when he takes his seat in the House of God  - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. Jesus will not “ arrive ” to gather his “ elect ” until  two events  occur - The “ Apostasy ” and the “ Revelation of the Man of Lawlessness .” They are inextricably linked. This man’s  unveiling in the Assembly  will signal the imminence of the “ Day of the Lord .” Not only will he cause many to apostatize, but his real identity will be disclosed when he “ sits down ” in the “ Sanctuary .”

The  Book of Revelation  applies several terms to the saints who are being persecuted by the Devil and his earthly agents. They form a united company that transcends national, social, and cultural boundaries. What they have in common is their redemption by the “ blood of the Lamb .” For his disciples, “ tribulation ” and persecution are not aberrations. Persevering through trials while bearing witness is what it means to follow the “ Lamb wherever he goes .”

Revelation is a message to the Church concerned with its real-life situation as it bears witness in a hostile world  – Revelation 4:1-3. After Jesus dictated his letters to the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia ,” John saw an “ open door in Heaven ,” and he heard the voice from his first vision summoning him to “ come up here .” Next, he was standing before the “ Throne sitting in Heaven .” Does this image symbolize the physical removal of the Church from the Earth before the subsequent visions of the Book, the so-called ‘Rapture of the Saints’?