The Mistakes of Israel/Israelites versus The Mistakes of The Church/Christians

The Mistake of Israel/Israelites versus The Mistake of The Church/Christians

Text:   Luke 19: 28-44

28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.

31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.

32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.

33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?

34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.

36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.

37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Introduction

It has often been said, in one of the dialects of Nigeria, that any daughter that follows the footsteps of her mother will end up getting the results that her mother got. If the result of her mother was failure, she is likely to fail. If her mother’s result was success, she is likely to succeed as well.

The relationship between the Israel/Israelites on one hand and the church/Christians on the other hand can be likened to that between a mother and her daughter. If we assumed that Israel/Israelite is the mother, then we can assume that the church/Christians is the daughter.

It is grossly amazing that the steps that Israel/Israelites once took that led to their spiritual blindness and missing of their divine visitation are the same steps that the Church/Christians are also taking. What is more grossly amazing is that the Church/Christians are now hoping to get a different result.

The Israel/Israelites failed to watch for, and perhaps disregarded altogether, the signs that God gave them to recognize the birth, personality and ministry of the Messiah. Consequently they were judged for not knowing the time of their visitation.

Consequently the Church/Christians are failing to watch for, and perhaps disregarding altogether the signs that God gives us to recognize the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ, at rapture and of the end of the world. And like her ‘senior sister’, the Church/Christians may get the same result of missing her divine visitation, which is the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the rapture of the saints.

We believe that the Church of Christ and the Christians will read this teaching and share among one another and prevent the impending spiritual disaster of missing divine visitation or, at the least, reduce it to the barest minimum.

The Significance of Signs

John 4:48 

48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except  ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

The principal reason why God gives signs is to make people believe His Word, or agenda.

The real reason why Gospel has been able to spread across the earth is because signs and wonders follow it wherever it is been preached and that makes people, to whom the gospel is preached, to believe.

In the same way, if God gave signs for any purpose, He intends to make His people believe that purpose through the signs.

The Mistakes of the Israel/Israelites

From Egypt, through the wilderness, unto the Promised Land and till the birth and death of Jesus Christ, the Israel/Israelites made many spiritual mistakes. However, their most fatal mistake was to fail to recognize that the Messiah that had visited their land.

The process of their major mistake can be summarized with the following points

-1.  God gave Israelites signs concerning the first coming of Messiah.

There are hundreds of prophecies, or otherwise signs, all through the bible that God gave the Israelites to recognize the Messiah when He would be born and to believe Him.

Among the numerous signs that God gave the Israelites to recognize and believe the Messiah, I will mention two of them.

          -a.  A virgin shall give birth to Messiah.

Isaiah 7:11-14                                                                                      

11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

God expected that by this sign, Israelites should be able to recognize and believe that he that was born of a virgin is the Messiah and believe in Him. 

           -b. the messiah will ride on a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9                                                                                      

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

-2. God Expected Israelites to Recognize and Believe the Messiah Because He had Given Them Signs Concerning Him.

In this regards, God expected Israelites;

  -a. to recognize that it was messiah that was conceived when Mary, a virgin conceived. (Isaiah 11:14)

He expected them to know that since it would be a strange thing for a virgin to conceive unless that God had said it that it would happen to signify the birth of Jesus, then it was the Messiah that Mary, a virgin had conceived. 

-b. to know, when they saw a man riding upon an ass towards Jerusalem, that it should be the Messiah and they should rejoice greatly because ONLY the Messiah, their King should ride an ass into Jerusalem. (Zechariah 9:9)

-3. Israelites Acted in Sharp Contrast To God’s expectations.

In sharp contrasts to God’s expectation, Israelites did the following;

           -a. at birth, they wanted to kill the Messiah, rather than worship Him.

Mathew 2:3,16                                                                                                

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 

The scripture above shows that when the virgin gave birth, which was to be a sign for them, both Herod, the king and all Jerusalem were troubled. And they planned to kill Him.     

-b. rather than join those who are worshipping the Messiah that was riding upon an ass into Jerusalem, the Israelites asked them to keep quiet.

Luke 19:37:40                                                                                         

37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

-4. Israelites were judged for their blindedness

The signs given by God meant to make His people believe Him for what He had would do. When His people now see His signs and hen failed to believe Him for the reasons of the signs amount to provoking Him. God then could be saying,’ what then do you want me to do to make you believe me’?

Consider the scripture below.

Numbers_14:11

11  the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

Here, God showed the Israelites, in the wilderness, lot of signs to make them believe Him but rather believe they continued to disbelieve God and ultimately their negative attitude of disbelief provoked God and God destroyed them in the wilderness.

In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ saw the highest level of spiritual blindness of the Israelites that should rejoice because their King had come to them but rather commanded that He should not be worshipped.

This attitude made the Lord, Jesus Christ, very sad and He wept.

Luke 19:41                                                                                                    

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

And consequently, the Israelites were judged. They were handed over to their enemies. And Messiah made it known to them that their judgment was as a result of not knowing the time of their visitation, which means they failed to recognize that He was the Messiah because they did not pay attention to the signs of the coming of Messiah.

Luke 19:43-44                                                                                        

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

-5. Consequences of their judgment

-a. their temple and land was destroyed and made desolate by Emperor Nero in 70 A.D, after the crucifixion of their Messiah.

         -b. Israelites were scattered all around the world

         -c. God transferred the salvation meant for them to the gentiles

-d. God transferred the salvation meant for them to the gentiles

The Mistakes of The Church/Christians.

From careful study of the bible, it may interest one to conclude that the church is like the spiritual equivalence of Israel while Christians are like the spiritual equivalence of Israelites. The church/Christians are just repeating every step that Israel/Israelites took all through the bible. I will not be able to make a complete analogy between the church and Israel in this teaching/message. However, for the purpose of this teaching, I will mention the mistake that the church/Christian are making today that is exactly of the same pattern that I attributed to Israel/Israelites above, as follows.

-1. the church asked for the signs of the coming of the Messiah at rapture.

Mathew 24:3                                                                                          

3 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?

-2. the church/Christians were given signs for the coming of the Messiah at rapture the same way Israel was given the signs for the coming of the Messiah at birth.

Among the signs given to the church to watch out for the coming of the Messiah at rapture include the following

          -a. false pastors, false prophets and false christs

          -b. wars, rumours of wars and violence

          -c. earthquakes in divers places

          -d. pestilences

          -e. famines. (Click here for full details of the signs of rapture)

-3. God expects the Church/Christians to know that Messiah is coming to rapture His Bride and that the world is coming to an end.         

Having seen the signs mentioned above happening intensely and continuously on daily basis across the world, God expects the Church/Christians to understands that it is the Lord, Jesus Christ that is coming to rapture His bride because that is what God gives those signs to signify.

In this regard, God expects the church/Christians to

        -a.  to repent

-b. to live a holy life

-c. to prepare themselves and others for the coming of Jesus Christ

        -d. to focus on heavenly things for their redemption is nigh

        -e. to announce the coming of the Messiah across the whole earth like Noah

          -f. to rebuke sins

-4. The Church/Christians are acting in sharp contrast to God’s expectations

The church/Christians are acting in sharp contrast to God’s expectation in the face of the rapture signs that are bombarding us like torrential rains. Rather than prepare the way of the Messiah in repentance, holiness and righteousness, the church/Christians

-a. are becoming more engrossed in sins and worldliness

         -b. are building their treasures on the earth rather than heaven.

         -c. are not preaching the Gospel of Christ again but the ‘gospel of money’

         -d. even, don’t want Jesus Christ to come again

This is an absolute spiritual blindness that is falling upon the church/Christians, the way it fell on Israel in their own time.

-4. The church/Christians will be judged for their blindedness

For failing to recognize the signs of the return of The Lord, Jesus Christ, at rapture, the Church/Christians will be judged the way Israel/Israelites were judged for not knowing the time of their visitation. To this end,

        -a. many Christians will be left behind at rapture.

-b. many Christians will be caught in sudden destruction and go straight to hell

-c. left-behind Christians will be handed over to the antichrist to persecute and behead.

-d. many of the left-behind Christians will worship the antichrist, his image and also take his mark.

-e. Christian churches will be destroyed and plundered.

These are few of the consequences that the church/Christians will face for repeating the mistakes of Israel.

Summary

Israel/Israelites failed to recognize the time of their visitation. They failed to know that their king that they had long expected was the child that Mary, a virgin, had conceived and delivered- the same child they wanted to kill at birth. 

At the peak of their spiritual blinded was also failing to recognize that it was the Messiah that was riding on the colt. And for their blindness, they were judged greatly- only if they had watched for the signs.

The Church/Christians are also about to repeat the same mistake. They may just mistake their divine visitation- the rapture of the saints. Thank God, his can still be reversed it they pay attention to the signs of His coming and do what God expects of them.

Conclusion

Surely, the Messiah is coming, but the church is not ready to receive Him.

Actions

Are you an elect of Christ? Are you truly saved? Are you on the narrow road? Do you want to make the rapture/heaven? If your answers are yes, then,

                                                                        

• Make all efforts to heed the warnings of Jesus Christ.

• Be watchful. Pay attention to what is happening around the World and see whether they match what the scriptures say.

• Be filled with the Holy Spirit and be in the Spirit all the time.

• Fast, consecrate yourself, run away from sin and worldliness.

If your answers are NO, then you can repent today. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Kindly sincerely and faithfully pray the prayer of repentance below and make a determination never to commit sin again.

Prayer Of Repentance

Lord, Jesus Christ, I am sorry for all my sins. I confess them with my mouth and I ask for mercy. Please forgive me and wash me in your blood. I accept you as my personal Lord and Saviour. Write my name in the book of life. Give me power over sins and fill me with your Spirit and Joy of Salvation. When rapture trumpet sounds, let me make it. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, I pray.

Begin to read bible. Begin with the book of John. Pray always. Fast regularly (you can begin with once in a week). Look for a bible believing church where they teach repentance, holiness, salvation and fellowship with them. Pray before you go. Always run away from SINS.

Need More Information?

For more information, question or contribution, please send email to us at raptureglorious@gmail.com or jesuscoming@yahoo.com or visit us at www.jesuscoming1.blogspot.com   and please tell others to join us. We teach people deep word of God about holiness, righteousness and how to prepare for rapture. You can send email to us to receive the teachings, free.

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Please, Share This Message And Also Drop A Comment.

We will like to get as many people as possible ready for rapture. We wish nobody misses the rapture. What are happening now are child’s play. In view of these, please, share our messages on different media to help circulate as fast as possible before Trumpet sounds. Also, you can drop a comment. Thank you. God bless you.

Shalom.

To Make Rapture:

Confess your sins to JESUS CHRIST and ask Him to save you.

Repent of your sins constantly on daily basis and run away from sins.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit
Live in Holiness and Righteousness
Do all Restitutions

Cut off all worldliness.

Forgive all people.

Pray and fast.

Consecrate and study the bible.

Watch.

JESUScoming