The Seeing Generation: Preparation
for The Second Coming Made Plain, Part 3
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The Nazarene Acts
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We’ve been looking to the obvious signs of
the second coming of Messiah in the previous installments of this series. (Tape
available free.) Here’s what we’ve found so far (in
part one and
part two) :
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That the Bible deals only with seven thousand years of history, and six thousand have passed.
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That the seventh thousand-year period is the Millennium in which the Messiah returns to rule.
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That we’ve counted the years, and we’re on the very edge of that last period.
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That Yahshua prophesied a historical event, the liberation of
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That he also said that the generation living to see this sign would “see it all.”
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That a biblical generation is forty years; forty years since 1967 again puts us on the edge of the Millennium.
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That the Messiah will return first “as a thief in the night” – in secret, and
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That he’d return to a little flock of believers waiting on him – just as he went.
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That one great sign of the latter days was the rising of a false prophet,
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That this prophet’s message would sweep the world, and make the world a captive,
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That though this false prophet die, his unclean spirit would live on to incite all nations,
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That the frog-like spirit of the false prophet would call the world to war at Armageddon,
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That Mohammad, the prophet of Islam, fits the biblical description of he who would rise closely,
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That now we’re only a couple years from the end of the generation that sees it all,
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That nearly one and a half billion people follow the unclean spirit of the false prophet, and
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That the world is at war with his followers, who are described by the Bible as terrorists (perditionists).
We could go on from here and identify the
beasts of Revelation, the mark of the beast, the fallacy of the rapture, the
horsemen of the apocalypse, the fall of
Today on Hanukkah day 4, I want to bring the
last two installments of this infinite series of messages, offering them now
because there’s little use in knowing any more about why, when and how Messiah
will arrive or the identities of the diabolical personalities of prophecy,
without first learning how to prepare.
You’ve received enough knowledge to awaken, and either want to do
something for yourself or just put it aside as ridiculous. Either way, we don’t want to be
looking for him after he’s already found us sleeping and passed on, for
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out, You better
not cry
You better not pout, I’m telling you why
Sabaoth is coming to town!
Forerunner and the Little Flock
When the angel of Yahweh Sabaoth came to
Zachariah in the
For in our time, we understand the
forerunner of the second coming of Messiah to be a small John-the-Baptist
movement – Yahshua called it a little flock. Listen to these rather shocking words of
Messiah spoken to his disciples regarding that end-time message:
Luke 12:32 Fear not,
little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell your possessions and give charity: make for
yourselves purses that grow not old, a treasury unfailing in the heavens, where
no thief comes near, neither moth corrupts. 34
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
(35 Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and be you like men awaiting their lord, when he shall return
from the marriage, that when he comes and knocks they may immediately open to
him. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the
lord when he comes shall find watching: verily I say to you that he will gird
himself and make them recline at table, and coming forth he will serve them. 38 And if in the second, and if in the third watch, he shall
come and find them so, blessed are they.)
39 But know this, that
if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he
would not have permitted his house to be broken through. 40 And you, be ready, for at an hour at which you think not
the Son of man comes. (H. T.
Anderson version)
Indeed, Yahweh is
preparing his little flock now in the same way that he once sent
John to make his path straight – a little flock that will be awake when he
comes
secretly at first – as a thief in the night (Matthew
24:43, Luke 12:39, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, 16:15). If we look
at the angel’s prophecy to Zachariah about John’s ministry, we see a diagram
for preparing the way of the King of Kings and his austere Rule. We find in the angel’s prophecy that, just as
there are
seven millennia in salvation history,
there are seven characteristics of a people prepared for the Messiah;
namely, Yahshua ben Yahweh ha Moshiach.
Firstly) The angel
prophesied of John, “He Will Be Great” – We Must Be a Great People
What makes a people great? Many equate greatness with fame. But the most foundational meaning of “great”
is “big” in the sense of magnanimous or all encompassing. A group is great if its hopes, dreams,
visions, love and faith are all encompassing.
In his essay on human resources strategies,
Dr.
James Walker describes what greatness
requires in the workplace. He writes,
“Companies too often set their sights too low and end up
with … strategies that are too functional, too operational, too narrow, and too
generic. At best, these strategies maintain parity. They fail to
make the compelling and convincing case necessary to energize their
organizations to take bold actions and [make] changes to achieve a
competitive advantage through people.”
Secondly) The angel prophesied
of John, “He Shall Drink No Wine” – We Must Be a Serious (Sober) People
To be great, we must be consistent in our
Messianic witness and dedicated entirely to our mission as preparedness
workers – 24 / 7 / 365 and 366 on leap year. In John’s day, “to drink no wine” was a technical
expression indicating that John had been dedicated to Yahweh’s service from
birth. When he reached the age of 13 and
bar mitzvah, he accepted the Nazarite vow – a vow of poverty and total
dedication to Yahweh’s mission for him on earth. But he didn’t have to do this. There was an alternative route he might have
taken.
You see, John was a Aaronic Levite – son of
a High Priest. He was to inherit his
father’s lucrative office in the
“He shall drink
no wine.” ¿What does “Nazarean
dedication” have to do with wine drinking?
There certainly is no law against wine!
What it means is that, with a sober determination, John
passed up the convenient, the leisurely, the profitable, for a Kingdom he
couldn’t even see – the Kingdom of the Heavens.
He may have missed the wine party, but he wasn’t disappointed. He was the designated driver of a movement
that would change all of salvation history.
The same Messiah whom he ushered in that day
is returning in our day. Neither will
we be disappointed. You might recall
Yahshua saying, “He who is least in the kingdom is
greater than John” (Luke 7:28). Now think.
At the time Yahshua said this, there was only one other person in
the Kingdom – and that other person was the Kingdom. John is second only to Yahshua because
“many are called but” John made the sobering first choice. He was the Kingdom Pioneer.
For us, sobriety means we seek Yahweh’s will
for our mission and allow nothing, nothing, nothing to deter us. Consider the terse statement of your
Savior found in
Luke 14:26. “If any one comes to
me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and
brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come
after me, cannot be my disciple. 28. For which of you,
desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether
he has enough to complete it?”
Oooh! This is a hard saying. Only the drunkard would readily say YES to
such a thing – drunk on emotion, drunk on peer pressure, drunk on religion,
drunk on charisma, drunk on entertainment, drunk on barley. But the serious, sober person would count the
cost of such an unreasonable commandment, such an impossible test. What more can we add to the concept of
sobriety than that? Just one more
thing. Listen!
Six
thousand years have passed. Now
sober choices must be made, and sober sacrifices are required. We’re in the seventh prophetic day. Tick, tick, tick, tick, time’s up –
the thief is at the door.
Thirdly) The angel
prophesied of John, “He Will Be Filled With The Holy Spirit” – We’re to Be a
Spirit-filled People
These days, anyone who can sing, “This Is
the Day” considers herself spirit-filled.
Entire denominations call themselves spirit-filled while denying the
biblical definition of the term.
Nowadays, “spirit-filled” has come to mean upbeat guitar
strumming or enthusiastic singing and hand clapping or handsome,
diamond-studded preachers or a so-called full-gospel, charismatic
message – or, to put it even more plainly – religious fun and games. But let’s put aside the cake icing and look
at the Bible truth – what does it mean to be “spirit-filled” or
“spirit-baptized”?
It means – to be personally endued from
Yahweh with a two-fold power: firstly, unto personal holiness,
obedience and “peculiarity” (Exodus 19:5, Titus 2:14); secondly, unto boldness to call others to
repentance. “I have baptized you with
water,” cried John, “but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire.” The fire of the process is
the burning away of the chaff. Of Farmer
Yahweh, John says,
Luke 3:17. “His winnowing
fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into
his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Chaff is a botanical term. It means, “The dry scales enclosing mature
grains of wheat and some other cereal grasses, removed during threshing.” In the process of the baptism in the Holy
Spirit and fire, all the dry scale – of sin, of excess, of lost living, of
cruel memories, of iniquity – are threshed away and burned away, leaving the
“mature kernel” behind – the sanctified soul – the jolly clean giant.
The flimsy faith and fallible falsehoods of
the charismatic crowd defy the biblical definition of what it means to
be spirit-filled. The infilling of the
Spirit is for those who’ll commit to obedience and holiness; that
is, a biblical definition of obedience and holiness – not Jack Hayford’s
definition – not Jan Crouch’s definition – not my definition – only Yahweh’s
definition as interpreted by his Son.
The Risen Yahshua reiterates the same
message to his disciples at the time of his ascension:
Acts 1:4,5. He charged them not to depart from
“Wait in keen
expectation!” For the seeing
generation, the baptism in the Holy Spirit has less to do with gospel
entertainment and arm-flapping than with accepting the call to
your mission then tarrying in prayer, faith, obedience and expectation
until the Spirit of Yahweh ignites your spirit, burns away the chaff
and endows you with a mission.
And it’s a wonderful thing – you’ll want to flap your arms, jump
up and down, and sing spirit-filled choruses then! Burning brings purging, cleansing and a joy
unlike any other – for you’re in the process of becoming perfect, as your
Father is perfect.♦
Indeed, you’ll need the all-consuming power
that fire brings. Consider the shema,
the great commandment of Yahweh:
Deuteronomy
6:4. “Hear,
O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is One;
5.
and you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your might.”
(6. “And these
words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; 7. and you shall
teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in
your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you
rise.”)
No human being can
actually do this kind of love unless they’re baptized in the
Spirit.
And consider the new commandment of
Yahshua your Master as it pertains to being spirit-filled:
John 13:34. “A new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you
also love one another. 35. By this all men
will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The new commandment may be
even harder without being spirit baptized.
Who wants to love me? Who wants
to love you? The Spirit gives you the
power to love: it’s the sign by which we’re known by the outside world – that
you love your brothers and sisters after the spirit, even if you aren’t the
lovey-dovey type. Such love is a gift to
the obedient, and is bestowed through the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire,
and leads not to kissing and hugging, but to great exploits of compassion and
courage.
John the Baptist and the Bible clearly teach
that this baptism is a second work of grace apart from justification, salvation
or born-again experience. It’s also
called ‘the gift of the holy spirit’ because when you receive, you’ll know for
certain – there’s a powerful assurance.
No more will you have doubts about your salvation because you’ll obtain
and inner, undeniable proof that Yahshua is real and alive and “nigh unto you”;
and that he’s called and empowered you to be his witness in your seeing
generation. Your devotion, actions
and words are indicative of your interior condition. Yes, and it’s wonderful too – Yahweh sets you
apart. You recognize you’re special in
him, and enmissioned by him to take his love to sinners and
saints everywhere you go – for the rest of your physical life and afterward, in
your Millennial life.
Four More Characteristics
There’re four more characteristics of the
Forerunner that directly apply to us in these times of awaiting the
Messiah. They’ll have to wait for our
next meeting. But don’t you wait;
for in the meantime:
All things are onward moving! Let the blessed time begin!
The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!
The golden bells are ringing, and the pageant sweeps along
Like an army that is speeding to the measure of a song.
Dark theories now are waning: they are weak to build upon;
The light is on the hilltops, and Truth is marching on:
Many landmarks are but shadows, which now fade and flee away
Before the mighty forces that are coming in today.
O brother, why this waiting? And sister, why so mute?
Up with the early sunshine! Watch for the golden fruit!
O poet, why this sorrow? O minstrel, why this hush?
And painter, why so long delay the heavenly tint and blush?
Up with the larks of morning! Up with the rising sun!
Waiting not for noonday, nor halting when begun!
For everything is moving; let the blessed time begin!
The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!
The heavenly light is spreading, spreading at the King's command!
It is spreading in its glory, speeding onward through the land.
Human creeds are downward tending; let them droop and fade away.
Following in the dawning sunlight, we can see a better way.
Oh, let us all be ready for the work we have to do,
Toiling late and early, for the laborers are few!
Reaping, as instructed, in the morning light;
Reaping in the harvest field, toiling for the RIGHT!
All things are onward moving! Let earth's Jubilee begin!
The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!
It is coming! Oh 'tis coming! My raptured eyes behold!
The light is on the hilltops, the Shepherd with his Fold.
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“Millennial Dawn,” Charles Taze Russell,
The Time is at Hand, 366.
[ ] Luke 1:13 “Fear
not, Zachariah, thy wife Elizebeth shall bear thee a son.”
[ ] Matthew 3: 3 “Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
[ ] Luke 12:32
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.”
[ ] He comes “…as a
thief in the night”
Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39, 1
Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, 16:15
[ ] Luke 1:15 (1 of
7) “He will be great before Yahweh” – we must be a great people.
[ ] Luke 1:15 (2 of 7) “He shall drink no wine or strong
drink” – we must be a serious people.
[ ] Luke 7:28 “He
who is least in the kingdom is greater than John”
[ ] Luke
14:26. “If any one comes to me and does
not hate his own father”
[ ] Luke 1:15 (3 of 7) “He will be filled with the Holy
Spirit” – we’re to be a Spirit-filled people
[ ] Luke 3:17. “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear
his threshing floor…”
[ ] Acts 1: 5. “John baptized with water, but you shall
be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
[ ] Deuteronomy
6:5. “You shall love Yahweh your Elohim
with all your heart”
[ ] John
13:34. “A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another.”
♦ Questioning
Self (Optional here)
There’s misunderstanding as to the
evidence of spirit-baptism because Satan so wants believers to be confused
that he sends all kinds of wandering stars to teach half-truths and plain old
lies about this wonderful gift. We
mustn’t overlook the obvious.
What does the dusty book
on the shelf ask us? “Have you remained
in expectation until you’ve felt the power of Yahweh’s glory coursing through
your body?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Are you being supernaturally motivated to model the fruits of the Spirit and seek His gifts?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Are you acquiring a mission and boldly going forth where no man has gone before?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Are you lifted up in the sight of Yahweh because You’ve first humbled yourself before him?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “When you’re weak, is he making you stronger through me? When you’re sick, are you looking to him for healing?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Are you strengthening the brothers and sisters of your assembly, or are you in the business of tearing them and it down?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Are you moving in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and living in expectation of being used by Heaven for someone’s good every day?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Are you keeping his commandments and being obedient to his ordinances?”
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Doesn’t the dusty book ask you, “Am I loving Yahweh will all my being?” Now that’s the most important question of all.