The Great Coming Judgement on You and Me / October 2000

As I sit and write today, Israel, the Palestinians, and world leaders are still trying to figure out what to do with the temple mount and Jerusalem. Pressure is building. According to those leaders, it is now or never. The American congress will adjourn before the elections in November. Clinton won't be able to buy the Middle East off with U.S. taxpayer dollars without an appropriation from the congress. The Israeli Knesset (assembly) will reconvene after the fall holidays (October 22). Barak's government is facing certain collapse with the Knesset's call for new elections. Barak will have no authority to make any agreement with a no confidence vote. Even Arafat is running out of time. He has delayed the announcement of the Palestinian state to the very last and it is still not a sure thing. If he declares the Palestinian state unilaterally, that is, without international support, he will have no funding and face eventual failure. The U.S. and other nations will not give their support to the new Palestinian state without them making an agreement with Israel. If he delays the announcement of a state much longer, his own people will be his undoing. So, there you have it. Clinton is running out of time because of congress. Barak is running out of time when the Knesset reconvenes and he won't have the power to make an agreement any longer. Arafat is losing support and needs the agreement for his new state. Clinton wants the Nobel peace prize; Barak wants to be a hero; and Arafat wants to be the "George Washington" of Palestine.

There is a basic rule in intensive negotiations. The deal won't happen until all parties want to have a deal happen. It has taken seven years because of interim deals, jockeying for position and advantage; but everyone is now agreed on the deadline. Now, all we have to do is sit the decision makers down and do it. Well, it's not quite that simple. We also have to convince Arafat he won't be assassinated if he makes a deal with the Israelis. [Good Luck] We need to convince the Palestinians that the Jews should have a fair share of the temple mount. [Better send a truck load of luck.] And, we need everyone in the Arab world to accept the agreement. [The real easy part.]

For those of you who have watched with me all these many years, the time of our waiting is drawing to a close. A decision must be made. As the leaders are saying, "It is now or never!"
According to the prophecy of the Bible, from Moses to the Apostle John, the world as we know it is being prepared for a final judgment. The final judgment is to come at the end of the ages and result in God making His dwelling place with us. The focal point of this impending judgment is to be Israel, the city of Jerusalem, and specifically the ground called the "Holy Place" (the temple mount). It is from this location that an altar symbolizing God's ownership of the world will be operating and then forced to stop. This will be the power play of the ages by the antimessiah and the false prophet. This is where Yeshua told us to watch the events that would convince us that we have come to the end of the age and His resultant coming. This is the sign of the end.

For these past seven years we have seen the "Peace and Security Agreement" come to be just as Paul warned us in 1 Thes 5:3. Israel is saying, "Peace and Security," that precedes the sudden destruction. We have watched the Middle East Peace Accord become a negotiation for Jerusalem just as Zechariah the prophet said, "Jerusalem shall become a trembling cup." We have watched the words of Isaiah come alive as he described the "covenant with death" and the "pact with sheol (hell)." The bizarre nature of the agreement has now dominated a seven year period just as the prophet Daniel said. We have seen this agreement confirmed by a prince of the ancient people who came and destroyed Jerusalem (the Romans). The stage has been set for the other prophesied scenes. All of this has lead us to the greatest judgment of the world to ever occur. You and I are about to experience what that final judgment called the "Day of the Lord" is all about.

Let's step back for a moment and deal with our hearts. The concept of God's judgment is a controversial thought amongst us. What was your first reaction when you read the title of this article B The Great Coming Judgment … upon You and Me? Was it the same reaction to the previous paragraph when I stated that "you and I are about to experience" this judgment? How did you feel about the idea of you being subject to God's final judgment even though you are a believer of Yeshua the Messiah? How do you think other brethren react to the statement that they will soon be subject to God's final judgment? I suspect that they don't handle it well based on their aversion to this subject. I think many believers are in denial to God's prophecy of a great apostasy of faith and final judgment. I think most believers regard God's final judgment as something reserved for others and not for them. I believe most Church leaders have coated the souls of our brethren with self confirmation and false affirmation so completely that the concept of God's judgment and apostasy are not even considered relevant for today. When end time prophecies and the day of the Lord are addressed, they are simply dismissed out of hand or explained away by theological definitions and eschatological scenarios. "That's for the Jews!" is their most common expression. Simply said, they despise [look down on] what God and His prophets have said. They are stubborn in their ways and refuse to yield to the warnings. They deny God's warnings by saying, "We will have peace and no calamity will come upon us!" This stands in sharp contrast to the Biblical fact that there will be judgment and judgment comes first upon the household of God.

Let's review some of those Biblical facts. And in particular, let's examine how the Scripture addresses this denial as expressed in our days.

Here is how Moses prophesied about this denial phenomena.

And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, "I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry."

Deuteronomy 29:19

The stubbornness of the heart Moses is referring to is in the face of God's words of impending judgment. Even though judgment is announced, the stubborn man says defiantly that he has peace. The latter expression "in order to destroy the watered land with the dry" is a Hebrew metaphor about the all encompassing nature of the judgment. "Watered" is an expression of drunkenness. "Dry" is an expression of sobriety. Therefore, the total expression is that judgment will come on both the drunkard and the sober minded. Obviously everyone is included; either you are drunk or sober. However, this defiant one says he is separate and not part of those two groups. Many New Covenant Christians believe they are separate from the drunken and sober men of this world. They separate themselves from Christians of the past and the future. They make themselves to be autonomous by their local church standing. Therefore, they disregard the Word of God when He speaks of all men in the final day. This is most evident in the teaching of some pretribbers who think that mortals will survive the day of the Lord and inhabit the earth as their servants in the millennial kingdom.

The prophet Zephaniah declaring the word of the Lord says that no one, not one inhabitant, man or beast will survive the judgment of God at the day of the Lord.

AI will completely remove all things from the face of the earth," declares the Lord. AI will remove man and beast; I will remove the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth," declares the Lord.

Zepheniah 1:2-3

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Zepheniah 1:18

The prophet Isaiah says that man will be more rare than fine gold. Now, if you look hard enough you can find fine gold. However, Isaiah goes on to say that mankind will be more rare than the golden wedge of Ophir. There was a legend about King Solomon's gold mines. The legend was that his gold mines were so filled that they found a gold bar (a golden wedge) in the mine. It was only a legend. It wasn't true. Therefore, Isaiah has prophesied that following the day of the Lord a mortal will be more rare than the gold of Solomon's gold mines.

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man's heart will melt. And they will be terrified, pains and anguish will take hold of them; they will writhe like a woman in labor, they will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.

Isaiah 13:6-12

The notion that God's final judgment and the day of the Lord will somehow not be as complete and pervasive as the prophets have warned is pure unbelief at its worst. But this is exactly what is held in the hearts of unprepared believers. They stand in the face of God's curse and say, AI have peace" and prove the stubbornness of their hearts.

Moses describes the punishment of this kind of unbelief and stubbornness. It is identical to the judgment upon the world in His final judgment.

The Lord shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.

Deuteronomy 29:20

This same message given by Moses is also given by the prophet Jeremiah, making the second witness. The context of Jeremiah's warning, however, is very specific to our days, to the last days of the ages.

They keep saying to those who despise Me, the Lord has said, "You will have peace"; and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, "Calamity will not come upon you."

Jeremiah 23:17

Jeremiah's warning deals with false prophets, those who do not speak the word of the Lord. The message of these false prophets is exactly as Moses warned against. These false prophets instill a sense of disregard toward God's final judgment. They are the voices to explain away God's warning by saying it is for others. But for their deceived audience, these false prophets say that they will have peace, and no calamity [judgment, tribulation, or trouble] will come upon them.

Brethren, the whole of Christianity is being told by various Church leaders that God's judgment will not be upon their attendees. Many evangelical Christians do not believe that God will permit such things to happen in their country, city, or church. The Messiah warned us that there would be many false prophets, so prolifric that they would almost deceive the elect.

For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:24

Look about us brethren. We live in the days when only a few are seriously interested in the second coming. Only a few of us are paying attention to our days. Only a few of us are preparing, spiritually and physically. Only a few of us actually believe and take to heart the Lord's warning. Within the average church, people do not want to hear about Adoom and gloom." They don't want to hear about apostasy and judgment. They definitely don't want to hear that they are subject to God, even though they attend church. They would rather stop the discussion completely and ignore all facts and believe that God will neither do good nor evil. They just don't want to deal with it.

Even this attitude and rejection of God's warning is addressed in the prophecy. The prophet Zephaniah speaks to this directly while describing the day of the Lord.

And it will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, "The Lord will not do good or evil!"

Zepheniah 1:12

The reason that God searches Jerusalem is because certain so-called believers are there who do not believe. God refers to all men who disregard the message of final judgment as men who are Astagnant in spirit." That pretty well describes those among us who ignore and "pooh-pooh" the signs of the end. The Lord says that He will seek them out personally for punishment.

Calamity is the phenomena that shakes us out of our complacency and demands the real us to come forth. I have always taught that the measure of a leader is how well he deals with confrontation. In like manner, a believer is measured by how strongly he believes in the face of calamity. The whole purpose of the great tribulation is to measure God's people and to prepare them for the transition to immortality. God has promised that He will shake all things. Only those things that are real and true will remain. Calamity is God's way of shaking things up. Denying that God is not going to shake things up is absurd and devoid of understanding His ways in the past. God has not changed. He is the same God today that He has always been. Moses speaks directly to God's character on this point.

Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them.

Deuteronomy 32:35

The story of Job is the story of a man who was measured by calamity. A profound truth presented in a very subtle way is given to us concerning those who disregard calamity. He says those who ignore the idea of calamity coming to them actually hold the subject in contempt. He says that this is the sign of those who are prepared for the fall.

He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, as prepared for those whose feet slip.

Job 12:5

There are many Christians today that think not only are they exempt from God's calamity, but that modern Israel is as well. I have heard many speak of Israel never being driven from their land again. They boldly declare that God would never allow the Jews to be harmed again as in the holocaust.

There were a lot of ancient Israelites that didn't think God would judge them after having just saved them from the Egyptians. There were a lot of them that didn't think that God would permit them to be taken captive, or allow Jerusalem to be destroyed, or allow a holocaust to occur. The trauma of those judgments have caused many Jews to not even utter the statement, :We were judged by the Lord." Instead silence is a partner to unbelief.

Christians like you and I suffer from the same choice of silence and matching unbelief.

For those who will not listen to Moses or the Prophets, the Apostle Peter addressed this subject very directly in the New Testament.

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

II Peter 3:3-7

According to Peter, there will be mockers (those who despise and speak against) concerning the subject of the second coming. Peter goes on to say that they do not deal with the subject of God's final judgment as well. The mockers fail to believe God's previous judgments upon the world and disbelieve judgment to come upon them as well.

Israel is rushing toward unbelief and disobedience again. This September 30th is the 1st of Tishri on the Hebrew Calendar. It is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is also the beginning of the Sabbatical year in the land of Israel. Every seven years is a Sabbatical year. The Lord has instructed that no cultivation or harvesting in the land of Israel is to be done in the Sabbatical year. Now consider the modern state of Israel today. How will Israel do this? Israel is the primary source of fruits and vegetables throughout the Middle East. Most of the flowers sold in Europe come from Israel. What about the tourist industry and the hotels? How can Israel obey the Lord and keep the Sabbatical year by not cultivating and harvesting from the land?

This is now a burning issue in Israel between the religious and the secular. Israel is at a huge spiritual crossroads of blessing and curse. If they obey the Lord, God promises blessing, His blessing. But, the average Israeli farmer is staring into a loss of revenue and market share by keeping the Sabbatical year. If Israel disobeys the Lord, as they have in the past, they will provoke the Lord just as they have before when they entered the land with Joshua leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem. So, what am I saying?

Modern Israel has enjoyed the use of the land of Israel for more than 50 years. This is the seventh Sabbatical year that the land has not had its rest as required by the God of Israel. Do you really believe, given the history of Israel on this matter, that the Lord is going to let this slide unnoticed? Even further, the government of Israel is now making a policy decision to not honor the Sabbath day with its government workers. The Middle East Peace Accord is the dividing of the land of Israel and giving it to Israel's enemies. The city of Jerusalem, the city of the King, is up for grabs with the government of Israel giving in. What do you think is going on in the Lord's heart about these matters?

I submit that the Lord is preparing to bring out His judgment that has been stored for a long time. I believe the Lord when He says that He is long suffering, but He has His limit to this mess. The prophets have described how the Lord comes to His end of this matter. It is called the "great tribulation,"A Jacob's trouble," "a time of distress as the world has never seen," and "the day of the Lord." This is the time of judgment to come upon all inhabitants of the earth. The only hope for mankind during those days is to take refuge in the Lord. There will be no safety in gold or silver or in any other god. Either you are with the Lord or you are in a lot of trouble.
Today, we are standing at a crossroads with the Lord. Will we follow in the same path of unbelief as modern Israel or will we believe and obey the Lord? Will we be embarrassed by the mockers and unbelievers of our own communities and shrink back in our faith, or will we stand firm exhorting our brethren to trust the Lord just as Joshua and Caleb did? Do we want to blend in with others and not "rock the boat" or are we the remnant of faith standing with Elijah against the prophets of Baal? Are we in the assembly of Babylon or with the outcasts of the Living God? We say we love the Lord. Are we willing to be hated without a cause, just He was, to walk with Him?

Israel is preparing for God's judgments by turning away again. This time God's judgment starts with Israel and comes to the rest of the world. You and I must make some decisions now concerning where we stand. This judgment is certain; it has been prophesied; it will happen. It has happened before, and it will happen again. The only question is whether we will learn the lessons of the past, believe God, and prepare for the test of the ages. Those who pass the test will walk into the kingdom being transformed from mortality to immortality.

Is there any hope of passing this test? What makes us think that we will pass this test when many others before us have not? Our knowledge of the past does not necessarily enable us any more than others to learn and to succeed. However, if we believe the prophets= warnings are true and will be fulfilled, then we should believe the positive and encouraging word that the prophets speak of us as well. The prophet Zephaniah concludes his warnings with a word for those who walk into the kingdom.

The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the Lord.

Zepheniah 3:15-17, 20

Do not shrink away in your faith. These are the days when our faith will grow and be strong. Be strong in the Lord and take refuge in Him.

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