Between Christmas and New Year is a time to reflect on the old and look forward to the new.
We should all do a personal reflection.
Lord, how’d I do last year?
Did I honor You?
Did I put You first?
Did I allow You to shine through?
As a Church, let’s do the same.
Over the past 12 months, our little flock gave away about
100 Bibles (nice ones), and Bible tabs (those little tabs that help you find
the Books in the Bible better). We also gave away well over 100 Christian books.
Why did we do that?
Isaiah
55:11
So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it.
Thank You Lord, for the honor of planting
Your Seed. We water it with prayer and thank You for causing it to prosper to a
bountiful, Eternal harvest of souls, that we may never know this side of heaven.
Over a hundred times during the last 12 months, we
turned a little Clubhouse into a Church House and opened Bibles and spoke God’s
Word.
Why’d we do that?
Romans
10:17
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word (Rhema,
spoken Word) of God (Christos; Christ).
Thank You Jesus for showing up in our
midst every time we get together. Thank You for a year’s worth of Faith
Building Seed, Rhema Word, planted in our souls. We pray our hearts are fertile
soil where You may grow.
In that Word birthed Faith we not only gave Bibles and books but
also thousands of dollars to meet local needs right here in our community.
Why?
James
2:14-17
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is
naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to
them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the
things which are needed for the body, what does
it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have
works, is dead.
We didn’t just give away stuff from a distance but put
skin in the game.
Now, for those who think, I didn’t do anything. All
I could do was show up and say amen now and then.
Let me tell you, encouragement is a huge ministry. Your
amens, your calls, texts, cards, letters, comments on social media, may seem
invisible but make no mistake, your encouragement is powerful. It’s the
invisible air that lifts the eagle.
In the past twelve months, we rolled up our sleeves.
We got involved, got sweaty and dirty. We piled sandbags, repaired hurricane
damaged houses, cleaned up messes, delivered food, crocheted blankets, visited hospitals, nursing
homes and assisted living places.
James
1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit
orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted
from the world.
Okay, enough looking back, now, let’s look forward to the New Year.
What are we going to do going forward?
The answer is in the poem we looked at last week, by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
I
heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And
thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till
ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then
from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It
was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And
in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
When the accursed canons thunder.
We’ll ring louder.
When the earth shakes, and our hearts are rent.
We’ll bow our head, not in despair, but in prayer.
We’ll stay the course. Steadfast. Stable. Reliable.
Faithful.
We’ll ring the Church bells loud and deep every Sunday,
every Wednesday, every chance we get.
We’ll roll along the unbroken song, God is not dead
nor doth He sleep, wrong shall fail, right prevail.
We believe Jesus' Words, I will build My Church and the
gates of hell will not prevail. Matthew 16:18.
We follow Galatians 6:9, Weary not in well doing for in due season you shall reap if you faint not. In other words: If you don’t quit—you win.
We heed Luke 9:62, No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
All throughout the letters to the Churches in
Revelation Jesus repeats that heaven is for overcomers.
Overcomers
in Christendom are simply those who are willingly overcome, by Christ.
James
1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally
and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
What does wisdom from God look like:
James
3:17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and
without hypocrisy.
What does “good fruits” look like?
Galatians
5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control.
Are you wise and fruity? Full of God’s Wisdom and Good
Fruit? You can be, should be, need to be.
Okay, we’ve reflected over the past year and looked
forward to the new, but to get a bearing for where we’ve been and where we’re
going, we really need to know where we’re at.
Where are we on God’s clock? On His road
map?
Daniel 9:24-27 gives us a great map.
About 500 years before Christ, (538 BC) God sent His angel Gabriel to Daniel to give him a map, for us to read.
Daniel
9:24, Seventy weeks
are determined for your people and for your holy city...
Notice these 70 weeks are all about Israel. To do the
following six things:
to
finish the transgression,
to make an end of sins,
to make reconciliation for iniquity,
The first three deal with sin. Pointing to Jesus’ 1st Coming. The Cross. The price He paid, for our sin.
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the Most Holy. (place)
The last three, point to Jesus’ 2nd coming
to set up His millennial Kingdom in Jerusalem.
Daniel
9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command
to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there
shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
Know therefore and understand.
Daniel is commanded (and so are we) to be active listeners.
Weeks, is the Hebrew
word, shabua, from Sheva, meaning seven.
Literally reads, there will be 7 sevens and 62 sevens.
It can refer to weeks or years. In context, it refers to years.
7 x 7 = 49 years.
62 x 7 = 434 years.
49 + 434 = 483 years.
Why did Gabriel split it up like that? Why didn’t he
simply say, there’ll be 69 weeks?
From the command to rebuild and restore Jerusalem, it
took 49 years to complete the work. From then to the Messiah was another 434
years.
So, simply put, from the command to restore and
rebuild Jerusalem to the Messiah was 483 years (using the Hebrew calendar of 360
day years).
There were multiple similar commands, but only one fit
exactly. The command was made by the Persian king Artaxerxes on
March 5, 444 BC. He sent Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-8).
From that decree 483 years to the day,
Jesus, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as Messiah, as a King coming in peace.
The crowds were shouting, praising, claiming Him to be
the Messiah by saying:
Hosanna
to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna
in the highest!
This powerful fulfillment of prophecy is recorded in all four gospels and in the Old Testament too. (Zechariah 9:9–13; Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:28–40; John 12:12–19).
Matthew notes this fulfilled a 500 plus year old prophecy from Zechariah
9:9:
Matthew
21:4-5
All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the
daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
This is one of the most celebrated, undeniable proof
prophecies in HIStory. It’s celebrated around the world, every year. We call it
Palm Sunday.
That’s interesting and awesome Doug, but I thought we were talking about us; where we fit on God’s timeclock.
We are.
This fulfilled prophecy triggers a timeout for the
Jews and puts gentiles on the clock.
You see, after Jesus rode into Jerusalem, Israel, as a
nation, rejected Jesus as their Messiah. In a matter of days, they flip flopped
from shouting “Hosanna” to crying “Crucify Him!”
Jesus knew what they’d do and paused the 70-week clock
after just 69 weeks.
He also paused His ride into Jerusalem and wept
(sobbed right out loud) because they did not recognize the day of His visitation.
Luke 19:44.
Do we miss the day of His visitation?
He promises to show up every time the Church bell
rings, every time we get together in His name, He’s right smack dab in the
midst with us.
That’s why we show up whenever the Church does
anything. I even go to Sunday night sing-along, and I can’t sing. But I go, ‘cuz
I know, Jesus goes, and where He goes, I follow.
But some, so easily blow Him off. I’ll go next week,
one day, someday...
One day, the bell will stop ringing. His non-stop knocking will cease.
Will you, have missed His visitation?
Okay, back to Daniel, to see exactly where
we’re at.
The angel Gabriel continues to map Israel’s timeline,
and this is where it takes a sharp turn toward you.
Daniel
9:26a
And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself...
As Jesus paused on that hill overlooking Jerusalem, He
peered through the tears to the joy on the other side of the cross.
He endured the pain and the shame for the joy of seeing us, in His House, at His table. Heb. 12:2.
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
As Jesus sobbed
over Jerusalem He prophesied of its demise. In 70 AD the Romans destroyed Jerusalem,
and the temple. Leaving not one stone upon the other. Which is
exactly what Jesus said would happen. Luke 19:44.
Daniel
9:27
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one
week;
But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and
offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on
the desolate.
Then... starts Israel’s
70-week clock that’s been on pause for about 2,000 years.
Then, is in our future.
Verse 27 refers to a time you do not want to be here. The seven-year tribulation period after the rapture of the Church. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-55.
The antichrist will craft a seven-year peace pact that
appears to include rebuilding the Jewish temple and reinstating the religious sacrifice
and offering system.
In the middle of the week his fangs will flare, he’ll
break the peace pact, and all hell will break loose.
That’s where we’re at. Between
Daniel 9:26-27; between Israel’s 69 and 70th week.
We’re at the very threshold of, “Then...” when
the clock starts again. The end of the Church age, and the beginning of Israel’s
70th week.
By looking at the signs, it appears the 70th
week clock is about to begin again.
What signs?
Well, Ezekiel 38-39 describes a war that takes place
near the starting gate of the 70th week.
It’s Russia, Iran, Turkey, and others coming against Israel. This is taking shape by the minute as we speak.
God will fight for Israel with an earthquake, torrential rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Ezekiel 38:18-23.
Luke 21:24 reads:
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away
captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
In 70 AD Jerusalem was trampled by the Gentiles and
will be until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Israel was in Egypt 400+ years until the iniquity of
the Amorites was full, (the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled). Then God
sent His deliverer (Moses, then, Joshua) to take His people into the Promise
Land, Genesis 15:16.
America, it’s been 400+ years since the Mayflower
compact, a covenant with God.
Are the times of the Gentiles fulfilled?
Is the iniquity of Americanites full?
Is it time for God’s Deliverer (Jesus) to take God’s
people to His Promise Land?
Let’s read some more signs.
Luke
21:25
And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and
in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea
and the waves roaring;
Sea waves roaring:
Signs in the sky:
Come 2025, the meteor showers called Quadrantids will be unlike any others. Their explosive arrival and mysterious origins defy meteor logic.
They will be seen between constellations Boötes and
Draco the Dragon.
Their origins are more mysterious than other meteor
showers. They say there may be a third “great” comet behind the Quadrantids
that scientists believe broke up about 2,000 years ago.
Did it come from the Bethlehem star, that only wisemen
saw?
We don’t know.
What we do know for sure and certain is that Israel’s 70 week clock will start again and Israel will be center stage.
Which is exactly
what’s happening.
Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was just named person of the year.
Israel’s population just reached 10 million. As you know, the number 10 represents completion of Divine Order.
May 14th, 2024, Israel celebrated its 76th
anniversary.
Jesus says in Luke 21:28-33, when you see these things, know that the kingdom of God is near; this generation will not pass away until all be fulfilled.
The bells are ringing loud and deep.
Are you actively listening?
Are you ready?
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we don’t know the day or the
hour, but according to the signs, we know You’re coming soon. Help us redeem the
time and be ready, and help others be ready, to move to that
Promise Land, where all things are new.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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Email: pray4measap@aol.com
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Watch online:
Facebook: 2025,
Where Are We on God’s Clock? Daniel 9:24-27
You Tube: 2025, Where Are We on
God’s Clock? Daniel 9:24-27
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you
to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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