BY
PASTOR MIKE TAYLOR
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matthew 24:36)
“But
of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write
unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and
safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a
woman with child; and they shall not escape. (2 Thessalonians 5:1–3)
For
the last 2000 years, there has been much theological interpretations
of what Jesus was saying in these verses recorded by the men who sat
at Jesus feet when they asked Him, “And
as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and
what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world? Matthew 24:3
As
you read either chapter found in the Gospels, Jesus explains to His
disciples what the signs will be of the end of the age and His
return. Note one thing, as you read this chapter, Jesus was living as
a mortal man, God in the flesh, a Jewish man that was speaking to
other Jewish men who had customs and
idioms that modern men must come to understand, in context, to what
Jesus was teaching to His followers. His disciples were going to have
to teach these very things to the rest of the world, so they would
have to be able to grasp what these signs were. So Jesus used
familiar speech patterns or “idioms” that each were easy to
understand and convey their meaning.
I want you to focus on
one passage that Jesus spoke of, and it starts the sermon off with
what can only be described as this idiom that any Jewish man of those
times would have understood immediately because it was part of their
culture, their very life and unless we understand these idioms of
speech, then the meaning gets lost in translation. What was Jesus
referring to when He made the statement “no man knoweth the
day or the hour”? Our Lord was saying that He was going
to return on a certain day of the
Jewish calendar
that was celebrated each year. It was a phrase that was used to
illustrate what the event held to each of them listening. It was a
most Holy Day and a special Sabbath of worship that was celebrated in
the fall of the year and was signified by the blowing of trumpets,
which was to mean the “Return of the King.” Let us examine this, and will deal
with a day that I believe, Jesus was giving reference and when all of
His church should be watching for as the end grows ever
closer.
The second part of this sermon will be
focused on signs that were given by God, as it was in the “days of
Noah” and an event that could signal that the day is upon us and we
must be getting our houses in order and develop an urgency to reach
as many people as possible to get them into the Kingdom of God
through belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
But note one thing, I make no prediction of the Lord's return, as we
cannot know for proof positive, but am referencing scripture that
gives us the information that points to a specific set of days as
clues in His Word. These are found in the New Testament, as well as
the Old Testament. This was believed in the 1st Century that Paul had to correct, as many believed Jesus had come back to earth and taken all who found in Him forgiven of their sins, and they were sore afraid they were entering the Tribulation and Nero was the Anti-Christ. This message are expressions of culture at the time Jesus
and His disciples lived in and were ingrained into their lives. Now
back to the focus of this sermon.
God's
Plan for Mankind
God
has given us a plan to show how He wishes to draw men unto Himself.
Many have discarded this knowledge as being Jewish (to their great
error) and having no relevance to the modern church. But what if I
told you that God has used each of these signs to reveal the timing
of the first coming of His Son into the world, to die and to be
resurrected and will use these signs to announce the second advent of
His Son coming back into this world , leading up to Him ruling and
reigning for 1000 years? Would you stand up and take notice? I urge
you to take due diligence and study the scriptures and these words I
give you. The old saying, “Don't believe me, believe your bible”
is what I want you to do. Put this information next to the text. Look
in the Strong's Concordance and find the original Greek and Hebrew
words and how they are expressed. In other words, do your homework and
your own study. These commandments coming from the Voice of Almighty
God that gave us God's appointments with the salvation of mankind. They
show exactly what has happened in the past, and will most definitely
fulfill His plan in the near future. Let us dive right into what God
gave us nearly 4000 years ago to reveal His plan for the salvation of
mankind.
2"Speak
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the
feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, even these are MY feasts.
4These
are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you
are to proclaim at their appointed times:" (Leviticus chapter
23:2,4)
Note
that God says that these are the “LORD's” feast, not belonging
any one people, not the Gentile nations, not the Jews, or the Hebrew
children, not any other people, but that belonged to Him. In another
scripture God emphasizes, “These are MY feast”...Now some
think that the word “feast” denotes something with food. It has
nothing to do with food, but denotes a commandment for a gathering of
His children, His people to acknowledge and worship Him, as a “Holy
Convocation” or commanded meeting time/gathering. To the people of
the time of Ancient Israel these “feasts” meant one thing, which
was descriptive of their national relationship with Jehovah post
Exodus leading into their agricultural life and had specific date
events that were connected to each day or set of days. But to the
modern day Church of the Living God, it means something entirely
different. We are not Israel, but each of these days pointed to one
thing and One Person, Jesus Christ. To His church, it points to the
historically completed events that God has already accomplished or
one-half of His plan for the salvation of man. He waits to complete
His work and fulfill His plan to redeem His creation to live with Him
for all eternity. These are prophetic rehearsals of God's Son coming
into the world the first time as a suffering servant and ultimately,
our Savior and High Priest, but the 2nd time or noted by the last
half of these commanded days, as conquering King and Lord of Lords.
He came first as a lamb, but the next time He sets foot on this
earth, He will come as a conquering warrior....a roaring Lion of
Judah full of wrath of Almighty God.
To describe His plan in
language that we can understand, God chose to bring His Son to come
into the world to complete the first part of His plan on the exact
days of His appointed times the Bible calls “His Feast” that were
given to Moses. They were divided up into observances. Four in the
spring of the year, and in the fall of the year the remaining three.
The spring appointed days were Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread,
First Fruits, and Pentecost. What happened on these days that were
completed on the exact date that these times of worship were
given by God in the Old Testament and completed in the New Testament
that effects the Church?
-Passover- Jesus offered Himself
as the sinless lamb of God. His shedding of His blood was for the
salvation of the world and the payment for our sins.
-Feast of
Unleavened Bread- His death and burial removed our sins outside of
the camp.
-Feast of First Fruits-on the first day after the
Sabbath on this Passover week, the priest waved a sheaf of barley in
the temple as an offering of first fruits of the harvest, and
simultaneously, Jesus was offering Himself to the Father in heaven as
the First Fruits of those born of the dead in resurrection and full
payment for the sins of the world.
-Pentecost, or the Feast of
Weeks- 50 days from First Fruits, The Holy Spirit came in power
exactly on time! 3000 were saved and the Church was birthed!
Note
that Jesus completed His act of salvation by His death and burial on
the exact days of these original God given appointed times. He sent
God's Holy Spirit, as our comforter, counselor and advocate on the
exact day that was given in the Old Testament and the church was
born. These are called God's Spring Holy Days and they have
significant impact on the Christian's life and his understanding of
what has happened in the past and what is coming in the near future.
Believe one thing, my reader, God is always right on time. Being a
God of unchanging order and He does nothing by chance, but gives His
Word in power, to inform of us of His plans and to all those He has
called in these last days to proclaim His truths. Does it not stand
to reason and totally logical and scriptural, that if He fulfilled
His plan of salvation for all men on the appointed times of God's
Plan for Man on THE day in these springs observances, that He will
fulfill His plan beginning at His return to gather His church, and to
set up His Kingdom to rule and reign for 1000 years on
these EXACT days appointed?
As He completed His
redemptive act on the very day appointed, He will be right on time
with His second entrance into the affairs of men in the chosen day
appointed as noted by the coming fall feast, known as Trumpets, Day
of Atonement, and Tabernacles, as God has had a plan. It is a wise
man that seeks to understand His ways and His plans by making
preparations to be ready when they are “right at the door”.
LET
ME EXPLAIN SOMETHING
Returning
to the phrase “no man knoweth the day or the hour”. We still
need to answer that question, what was Jesus saying that the apostles
were completely familiar with? By the explanation above, I think you
can see how these days mean something totally different to the
Church, than it did to Israel when they were given on Mt. Sinai. What
significance does the remaining Holy Days of God affect you and me?
The 3 Fall Festivals start on the first day signified by the new moon
in the 7th Month of Tishrei. This is the only Holy Day marked
by the New Moon and is set apart for that reason as special. All
other festivals are set or counted by the full moon as Passover,
Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and even Pentecost are counted from
the full moon of Nissan which is in the early spring, so The Spirit
of GOD is pointing to this festival as a certain day! . This is
separated by months (the Age of Grace, the Church Age) from the last feast and must be carefully
witnessed by men of great authority in the land of Israel. It was a
very involved process that must be guaranteed by two witnesses to
it's beginning reported to the Sanhedrin during the time of Ancient
Israel. Since it must be authorized, as they called it, “sanctified”
before the month's activities could begin, the appointed time is
stretched into two days, as “NO
MAN KNOWETH THE DAY OR THE HOUR.” (emphasis
mine). It is the only Feast Day that is named as such, because they
just didn't know which day was the correct day. Hence the quote is
connected to this day. Why two days? It is because that with the days
counted of 29.5 from new moon to the next, no one is sure if it's the
29th or the 30th day of the month, so to be sure, they
count both. To further explain the reasoning why two days, I went to
the internet and looked up the reason. What follows is an
explanation:
“Yom
Teruah is the only festival that no man knows when exactly it will
occur. This is due to the fact that it begins on the new moon. The
new moon was sanctified when two witnesses see the new moon and
attest to it before the Sanhedrin in the Temple.
This
sanctification could happen during either of two days, depending on
when the witnesses come. Since no one knew when the witnesses would
come, no one knew when the Feast of Trumpets would start.” (Watch
Unto Prayer)
A new moon is called “rosh chodesh” in Hebrew.
As mentioned, new moons must be validated in Israel by 2 witnesses
who will watch the dark black sky at the end of the moon cycle for
the first glimmer of the moon to reappear. This is the beginning of
the 30 day cycle which determines Israel’s months. (Moon is the
word from which we get months). As soon as the new moon is sighted
and verified (2 witnesses) then the Sanhedrin, or the High Priest
will send runners from the east to the west with signal lights to be
lit on high mountains to inform the people that the day has been
sanctified and they can begin their counting for the month and the
Feast of Trumpets can begin and worship God. They are said to
run “like lightning” This highlighted and bold
statement “like lightning” is another Jewish idiom that any
Jewish person of the time would instantly recognize and it is
connected to the fall observance of the Feast of Trumpets.
Psalm
18:11-14 “He made darkness (the new moon on Feast of
Trumpets) His secret place (the day no man knows the
hour); His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick
clouds of the skies (describing the Day of the Lord). At
the brightness that was before Him his thick clouds passed, hail
stones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and
the Highest gave His voice (the sound of the trumpet – the
shofar); hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, He sent out His
arrows, and scattered them; and He shot out lightning and
discomfited them.” (Parenthesis are my explanation)
There
are numerous passages that use the same Greek word in Strongs, #796
“astrape, or astropo #797 meaning a bright shining light, a glare,
lightning, bright, shining. Other scriptures where the word is used
are :
Luke
10:18 “And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning (astrape)
fall from heaven." Which would make sense, as when God
brings His people home, Satan is kicked out of heaven and comes down
to earth with his demon hordes.
Jesus
said:
Matthew
24:27 “For as the lightning (astrope) comes out of the east, and
shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be.”
Luke
17:24 “For as the lightning, that lightens out
of the one part under heaven, shines unto the other part under heaven
(the east to the west); so shall also the Son of man be in his
day.”
All
describing the beginning of the Day of the Lord and the Feast of
Trumpets.
WHICH
TRUMPET ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
There
is a direct connection with this God ordained observance that Paul
alluded to in 1st Corinthians and many people do not understand
that Paul is talking about the Feast of Trumpets when during this
time it is historically noted that 100 trumpets were blown and then a
long, louder blast of the shafor and a silver trumpet called the
“last trump” then the “Great Trump” respectively.
“Behold,
I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1
Corinthians 15:51-53) and again in
1st Thessalonians,
“For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)
We
cannot go to the Book of Revelation and say that the trumpet of the
seventh angel is what Paul is referring to (Revelation 11:15) as John
had not even wrote his testimony yet when Paul wrote his in these two
passages. This is the last trump (of the 7th angel) that many
people try and make this connection in error, because they don't
understand the context. This particular trumpet the angel blows is a
trump of horror and destruction. One they labor to connect the two, as
they believe that the church will experience the same horrors that
the rebellious nations will be subjected to right along with everyone
else. I speak it again as in past messages posted , and to further
drum home this truth, since the tribulation is designed to purge and
refine Israel as silver is in the fire because of their centuries of
unbelief, and the nations are destroyed because of their rebellion
and unrepentant lawlessness, what is the point of refining the Church
during the same period? Was the blood of Jesus not good enough? Did
He not do what God intended His perfect sacrifice to accomplish? Then
why the conflict? Answer is there is no conflict, only a lack of
understanding on our part.
No, Paul is speaking of a trumpet
that will herald an emotion of joy unspeakable and full of glory for
His church redeemed and starting the judgment upon the nations, but
the seventh angel who blows his trumpet signifies the fulfillment of
unspeakable horror and untold death and destruction. They are two
separate references to a trumpet and not the same one.
In
further explanation of Jewish history, in the first century when Paul
wrote these words, the last trump (shofar) meant a specific day in
the year, as he was describing. In Judaism, there are three trumpets
that have a name. They are the first trump, the last trump, and then
the great trump which is a silver trumpet blown. Each one of these
trumpets indicates a specific day in the Jewish year.
The first trump is blown on the Feast of Pentecost
(Exodus 19:19).
It proclaimed that God had betrothed Himself
to Israel. The last trump is synonymous with Rosh HaShanah,
according to Theodore Gaster in his book, Festivals
of the Jewish Year,
in his chapter on Rosh HaShanah. Herman Kieval also states the same
thing in his book, The
High Holy Days in
the chapter on the shofar. The great trumpet is blown on
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which will herald the return of Jesus
back to the earth to rule and reign and put down all rebellion
(Matthew 24:31). In between these two events of Rosh HaShanah
and Yom Kippur are the 10 days of awe, which in Jewish tradition are
the days God judges mankind. These could correlate to the tribulation
period and a time of intense judgment on the earth. Got that? First
and last trump on Pentecost, then Rosh HaShanah or Feast of Trumpets
respectively, followed by a period of 10 days of judgment, and then
the great trumpet blown on the Day of Atonement, or AT-ONE-MENT with
God or the return of Jesus Christ with His saints to reign and
rule.
The first and last trump relate to the two horns of the
ram, which according to God's Word, was caught in the thicket on
Mount Moriah when Abraham was ready to slay Isaac and offer him up as
a burnt offering. This ram became the substitute for Isaac even as
Jesus became the substitute for us and provided life for us through
His death.
The last Feast day to be completed is the Feast of
Tabernacles, which God has said in His Word, Zechariah chapter 14,
that all men would come to the Jerusalem to worship Him at HIS Feast
of Tabernacles.
"And it shall come to pass, that all who
are left of the nations who came up against Jerusalem,shall go up
year to year to worship the LORD of host , to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles.”
It is the only Feast observance left, as all
have been completed and fulfilled by our Great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ."
WE
ARE CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT
Paul
makes a reference that we are not in darkness, in 1st Thessalonians,
(repeating this passage),
"But
of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write
unto you.
2 For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night.
3 For
when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh
upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape.
4 But
ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake
you as a thief.
5 Ye
are all the children
of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor
of darkness.
6 Therefore
let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For
they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night." (2nd
Thessalonians 5:1-7)
We
are not in darkness, so as we see the day approaching, we will not be
surprised as the rest of the world is, being in the dark. We are in
the light, as God has shined His Light on our hearts through His Holy
Spirit. God gave us signs in His Word and signs in the heavens that
will alert us, that the time is at hand.
Remember the words of
Jesus in Matthew 24?
37 But
as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be.
38 "For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,
39 And
knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then
shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other
left.
41 Two
women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the
other left.
42 Watch
therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But
know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch
the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have
suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore
be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man
cometh." (Matthew 24:37-44)
Only
Noah knew of the appointed time. He didn't know the day, but he knew
the season, so he worked on the ark as God commanded. God says that
they were all surprised and swept away by the flood, but Noah was not
surprised. Also, in this passage as the goodman of the house, we are
to watch. We may not know the hour, but we know the season. But note
one thing concerning Noah and his family...when he and his sons began
to build the ark, some 100+ years prior to the beginning of the
flood, they had no idea what day the rains would come, but as the
time grew closer and closer and they were a week out from the rains
starting...what did God say to Noah?
Genesis7:4 "
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made
will I destroy from off the face of the earth."
God
made it known to His servant when the time was right for him to
know...He would know even the day.
Now Noah had not known
for all those years what day it would be that God would fulfill His
judgment on the earth but he believed. But when it was only 7 days
hence, God told Noah straight out the exact day He would bring it to
pass, just not the hour. What is my point in this reference? Some
2000 years ago, when Jesus our Lord and Savior made these statement
“no man knoweth the day or the hour” identifying that He would
return on a future Feast of Trumpets that all these men surely
recognized, they had no idea what year it would be...just a day in
the season of a future year. Now 2000 years down the annals of time,
we are as Noah, children of the light who see the day approaching,
and God is telling us to expect Him to even narrow it down to a small
window of time. How will He do that? He told us that there would be
signs in the heavens...in the moon, in the sun and in the
stars.
Revelation chapter 3,
"Because
thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from
the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try
them that dwell upon the earth."
As
the day approaches, the gathering of God's people to keep them from
the hour of temptation as John wrote above, will trigger the Day of
the Lord preceded by the church's removal from planet earth. Some
feel that it begins latter in the chapters of Revelation when Jesus
is physically present, but God will bring judgment upon this earth
and rebellious mankind beginning with the opening of the 1st Seal
loosed in Chapter 6. God will begin the process of preparing the
earth and the heavens for the reign of His Son, Jesus Christ and
removing the defiling rebellion of wicked men and the polluting of
His creation. As God in His grace attempts to bring man to
repentance, the destruction will grow worse and more intense Joel
described it as such chapter 2,
1 "Blow
ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let
all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD
cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2 A
day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people
and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any
more after it, even to the years of many generations."(Joel
2:1-2)
On down in verse 30,
"And
I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire,
and pillars of smoke.
31 The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
32 And
it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the
LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD
shall call."
This
is the beginning of the sorrows of unrepentant man and his
wickedness, not the end. It will continue until the full measure of
His wrath is poured out by the seventh angel and the bowl
judgments.
God has given us clear examples and words that
point to a time in the near future when He will begin fulfilling His
past prophetic rehearsals of God's plan for man, and beginning the
Trumpet call to announce the coming of the King. Will you be ready?
TIME
TO BELIEVE THE PLAN OF GOD!!
We
have already seen the signs in the heavens, moon and the stars that
signal a coming window of time in the near future that just might
fulfill the scriptures that Jesus spoke of and like Noah, give us a
warning of it's nearness that will fall exactly on this coming Holy
Day. Just as He completed the spring, He will complete the fall
observances, as well. Time will tell , if like Noah in his day, will
God tell us the exact day of His coming. Don't be caught flat footed
and the coming of the Lord for His Bride catches all by total
surprise. Become a child of the light, not of darkness...How do you
become a child of God?
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:15-19)
Don't be one of those who are doomed to enter the greatest horror in all of the history of mankind....make Jesus your Savior, TODAY!!
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)
Should
you neglect so great a salvation, then the coming of the Lord will
come in secret, as a thief does in the night...Don't be caught
unawares, but seeing the light, not in darkness..
SO
COME LORD JESUS
This
is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying God's salvation through Jesus Christ
our Lord, comes into your life. Should you need counseling, prayer,
or just a listening ear, email me at pastor
miketaylor@yahoo.com, or
visit me online for more biblical lessons that speak of Jesus the
ONLY WAY, and His soon return.
God
bless you all, till we meet at Jesus feet.
