Tuesday, March 28, 2023

PT-4 "The Riches of Poverty" (John 19:26-29)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/28/2023 1:42 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus: PT-4 “The Riches of Poverty”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 19:27-29

 

            Message of the verses:  27 Then Peter said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?" 28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29  "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”

 

            I said at the end of yesterday’s SD that I wanted to begin by looking at 28b in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

            John MacArthur writes “The term palingenesia  (regeneration) literally means new birth.  It was used by Josephus for the new birth of the Jewish nation after the Babylonian Captivity and by Philo of the new birth of the earth after the Flood and after its destruction by fire.  It is used only twice in the New Testament, here and in Titus 3:5, where Paul uses it to refer to the personal new birth of believers.” “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5).  “In the present passage, however, Jesus uses it to represent the rebirth of the earth under His sovereign dominion at the time of His second coming.  It will be paradise regained and a global Parallel to the individual rebirth of Christians.”

 

            I can’t help myself in talking about what I have studied about the future things that are going to happen, things that it seems that Jesus is referring to here in verse 28b.  We are living in what the Bible calls the church age, and it began on the Day of Pentecost seen in the second chapter of Acts.  The church age will end at what is called “The Rapture of the Church” and this is seen in a number of places in the New Testament.  “13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thes. 4:13-18).

 

            The highlighted portion of these verses explains the Rapture, and it is also seen in 1 Cor. 15:52-27.  After the Rapture, and I believe it will be a very short time after the Rapture that the prophesied Antichrist will come on the scene and as soon as this man makes a covenant with the nation of Israel for seven years that will begin what is called the Tribulation period.  The Tribulation period will consist of seven 360 day years and in the middle of that the Antichrist will break his peace treaty and he will go into the rebuilt Jewish temple and declare himself to be god, and this is what is called the Great Tribulation period.  Many billions of people will die during this time period which will end with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ as seen in Revelation chapter 19:11-21.  Now comes the time when the rebirth of the world will take place and I want to quote from the 12th chapter of Daniel to help us to understand this.  “11 “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 “How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! 13 “But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.’”  Notice the number in verse eleven is 1290 days, which is 3.5 years, and then notice the number in verse 12 which is 1335 days.  Jesus returns at the end of the tribulation period of seven years and after He returns there will be things that He does which will take 45 days.  He will separate the sheep from the goats, the saved from the unsaved.  He will cast the devil, the antichrist, and the false prophet into the lake of fire.  I believe that those unsaved people will go into the place where all unbelievers are which is what is called Abraham bosom, and this story can be seen in Luke chapter 12 where Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  There are two parts of this place and as you read through this story, (not a parable) you can see that the rich man is in the hot part of it, while Lazarus in with Abraham.  The rich man is not there because he is rich, but because he is lost.  When Jesus died on the cross, I believe that He went into this place and took all the OT believers to heaven with Him because their sins have been paid for, and the rest remain there until the thousand years of the Millennial Kingdom is over as seen in the first part of Revelation chapter 20.  Then in the last part of chapter 20 we see what is called the Great White Throne Judgment will take place where all unbelievers will stand before Christ and be judged, sent into hell for eternity. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). 

 

            Now back to the verses in Daniel 12 and why I believe there is a difference between the number of days, and that is because as said Jesus had things to do of which we have talked about.  I believe it is at this time when the Lord will bring restoration to planet earth and make it like it was when He first created it, so the earth will be perfect during the Millennial Kingdom, and yet there will still be rebellion against the Lord, so it is not the environment that causes people to sin.

 

Sorry that this took so long to document, but like I said I can’t help myself when it comes to end time prophecy.

 

3/28/2023 2:33 PM

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