Has the Church age come to an end?
Christ prophesied in
Matthew 24:32-33 that when Israel became a nation again, we would
know that we are in the last days. They did in 1948. What will happen in these
Last Days?
The Great tribulation:
Matthew 24:21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(the Tribulation is spoken of further in
Mark 13,
Revelation 13,
Daniel 7,
Daniel 8)
Consider
Revelation 13:7,
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:
and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
What does this mean?
Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they
shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
With these verses in mind, we must ask, what is going on in the churches? There
is an ever-growing emphasis on "signs and wonders" (Mark
13:22) in them, and a shift from the Bible being the authority to
confessions, church traditions and secular culture becoming the authority (as
church leaders see if an idea squares with their confessions and popular opinion
instead of Scripture). The ‘social gospel’ is being preached, saying that
Christians are to meet the physical needs of people instead of going out to warn
them about the consequences of sin: hell and damnation. Even worse, the word
‘hell’ isn’t hardly ever said in church anymore, leaving the people going to the
church almost in the same boat as those outside it. Divorce and remarriage are
taught as acceptable, though
Romans 7:1-3, and
1 Corinthians 7:39 teach otherwise. "Dreams" and "visions" are becoming
authoritative in the churches, supplanting Scripture. The list of ‘high places’
(1
Kings 13:33) goes on and on.
Does the Scripture give us any precedent for a similar situation? If we consider national Israel’s day of judgment in the Old Testament, we do see one.
We read many times in the Old Testament that National
Israel was the people of God. They were told in
Exodus 19:6, "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an
holy nation..."
Deuteronomy 7:6
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
But the warning was given:
And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto
me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins… And I
will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases
upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make
your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not
smell the savour of your sweet odours.
Speaking of Israel later, we see that this did come to pass:
Ezekiel 6:3,4
And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the
Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys;
Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high
places.
And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will
cast down your slain men before your idols.
It is particularly horrifying to read the depths of sin Israel fell to:
Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus…
God lays out the state of things and the consequences:
Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:…
For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not…
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
Isaiah 1:10-15 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Jeremiah 25:7-9,11,12
“Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to
anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this
land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round
about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an
hissing, and perpetual desolations...
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will
punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity,
and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.”
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
In short, God rejects national Israel:
Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my
people, and I will not be your God.
What do the destructions and captivities of Israel and Judah mean? These were
God’s people; He had identified Himself with them. Every word in the Scripture
is God-breathed and meant for us to listen carefully to. As David said
“Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be
right...”
Psalm 119:128. The Lord warned both Israel and Judah that He would destroy
them unless they repented of their idolatry and other sins against Him. They
would not and He kept His promise, laying them waste.
What spiritual significance does this have for Christians
today? Could the same thing happen to the physical New Testament churches?
In this latter end of New Testament days, what will the believers' adversary,
Satan, be allowed to do in the tribulation?:
Revelation 13:7
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:
and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Daniel 7:25
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be
given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Daniel 8:11,12
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily
sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and
prospered.
How is the church typified in the Last Days and what
will happen to it because of this?:
Revelation 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven
golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and
the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven
churches.
Revelation 11:3,4,7
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand
two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before
the God of the earth… And when they shall have finished their testimony,
the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them,
and shall overcome them, and kill them.
What did Christ have to say to the churches He mentions in Revelation?:
Revelation 2:2-5
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that
holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how
thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they
are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first
love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
If those churches did not repent of their sins, their false teachings and
behavior, then Christ would come and ‘remove their candlestick,’ to make the
church cease to be a church. We know from history that the seven churches
Christ was talking to (Ephesus, Philadelphia etc.) were cities in what is today
Turkey. These churches don’t exist anymore, all were destroyed, and today
Turkey is thoroughly a Muslim nation.
God had spoken to the nation of Israel as a whole (so He speaks to all the churches):
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
With this in mind let’s consider:
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to
revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
What does that last verse mean? Could it apply to those verses above? When the
churches' time of obedience to Christ is over, He will "revenge all
disobedience", begin judgment?
1 Peter 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the
gospel of God?
So we see that God’s judgment on the world will begin at ‘the house of God’ which is all the churches and congregations…
2 Thessalonians 2:3,4
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
So we know that Satan will be allowed to 'sit in the temple of God'
attempting to be it's object of worship. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light.” -2
Corinthians 11:14
Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of
the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the
overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 11:31
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of
strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the
abomination that maketh desolate.
Daniel 12:11
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred
and ninety days.
Does God give us any commands about what to do when this happens?:
Matthew 24:15,16
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
The mountains are a picture of God in
Psalm 121:1, where a believer's help comes from, so therefore the command is
to flee to God outside of the city (the church).
Jeremiah 21:9
He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by
the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege
you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
(Significantly, in
Jeremiah 29:5, those that are carried away captive from Jerusalem are told
to build houses in the land of their captivity, plant gardens there, have
children and marry them off so that they may have children, etc. In short, they
will not come back to Jerusalem (the church). This also gives the sense that
the believers will be in this situation for some time, and are to continue
vigorously spreading the Gospel since bearing children symbolizes bringing the
Gospel to someone whom God saves)
Luke 21:20-24
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the
mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let
not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of
vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them
that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall
be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled.
Believers are told to flee to the mountains just as Lot was told to flee Sodom
in
Genesis 19:17. Significantly, God speaks of Jerusalem as "Sodom and Egypt",
Revelation 11:8. And again, the mountains are a reference to God being the
believer's help,
Psalm 121:1
Christ lines this time up with the destruction of Sodom by saying:
Luke 17:31,32
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house,
let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him
likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife.
We see a plain warning to the New Testament churches citing the judgment and destruction of Israel:
Romans 11:17-21 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
How do we know this time has begun?:
2 Thessalonians 2:3
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first..."
Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect.
There has never been such a falling away as today; nations like the US, Canada
and those in Europe have fallen far from their past national Christianity. Most
of their citizens believe in a god, designing their own religion by their
own opinions. Not just that, false doctrines are spreading like wildfire; the
'tongues' phenomenon, people being 'slain in the spirit,' dreams and visions
etc.; all kinds of false teaching is becoming the norm in the churches.
But isn’t a church full of people that are saved Christians?
The state of any church:
1 Corinthians 3:12,13
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
hay, stubble;
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what
sort it is.
Matthew 3:11,12
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will
burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Christ is the foundation, the rock to build your house on (Luke
6:48). Chaff are the things besides wheat that grow in a wheat field. In
every church there is gold, silver, precious stones and also wood, hay, stubble;
burnable stuff; believers and unbelievers (elect and non-elect).
Luke 21:5,6
And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and
gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in
the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be
thrown down.
Many have thought this is referring to the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Romans, but it cannot be because there are still
stones of the temple that are standing upon one another there. This is ‘the
Western Wall’ that Jews pray at today on the temple mount.
What will happen to one if he doesn't leave the church?:
Jeremiah 21:9
He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by
the pestilence…
Jeremiah 29:16-19
Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David,
and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are
not gone forth with you into captivity; Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I
will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make
them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the
pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the
earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among
all the nations whither I have driven them: Because they have not hearkened to
my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets,
rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
As terrible a thought as it is, this shows clearly that God's judgment will come
upon those who will not go into captivity (leave the churches).
Well if that's the case, is there still salvation? And how will the Gospel
go forth now? (we know it will):
Revelation 7:2-4,9
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living
God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to
hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the
trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I
heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and
forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel… After
this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Revelation 7:13-14
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed
in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.
And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and
have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
How can this be if the churches aren't blessed by God to work anymore?
It must be because people are being saved outside the churches as the Gospel goes out by radio, satellite, and the internet having nothing to do with the church. Of course individual believers still work where they physically are as they always have, so we know God will still be saving.
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Appendix:
In
Matthew 24:24, God declares the character of the great tribulation:
"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect."
Never before in all of church history has there been such an interest in signs
and wonders, miracles, such as we see today. All over the world there is an
intense interest in this kind of activity. This evidence alone assures us that
we are living in the period of the great tribulation.
A second evidence is the world wide evidence of people falling backward. The
churches that practice this miracle call it 'being slain in the Spirit.'
This miracle was foretold in
Revelation 13. The whole chapter of
Revelation 13 is describing the great tribulation period. In
verse 13 we read:
"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the
earth in the sight of men."
Satan, of course, cannot literally call down fire from heaven. This is proven
by the contest between the 450 prophets of Baal, who were Satan's emissaries,
and Elijah. But God gave Satan a demonstration that showed that causing someone
to fall backward to calling down fire from heaven.
In
2 Kings 1 we read about the wicked king of Israel who sent a captain with 50
men with a command to Elijah that he was to come to the king. Elijah caused
fire to come down and destroy these men. Likewise in
Revelation 20 we read about the nations from the four quarters of the earth
surrounding the camp of the saints, and fire from heaven came down and destroyed
them.
There is another incident recorded in the Bible when Satan wished to conquer the
kingdom of God. That occurred when Jesus came out of the Garden of Gethsemane.
There stood the emissaries of Satan, the temple servants, together with Judas
who was in-filled by Satan and they desired to bind Jesus and have Him
crucified. At that moment Jesus following the example of Elijah or of God in
Revelation 20:10 should have called for fire to come down and destroy these
wicked men.
But Jesus had to be bound and taken to be crucified. This was an integral part
of the atonement. However, to show that He had the power to call down fire from
heaven and destroy them, when He answered them Jesus caused all of these wicked
men to fall backward to the ground.
Satan, therefore, was an eyewitness to the fact that causing people to fall
backward to the ground is equivalent to calling fire down from heaven.
Thus, this miracle of people falling backward to the ground which is occurring
all over the world is clear evidence that we are now in the great tribulation
period of
Revelation 13 and
Matthew 24.
Malachi 1:6-14,
"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father,
where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of
hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we
despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein
have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the
lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be
pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and
sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD
of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen."
Exodus 19:6, "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy
nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of
Israel."
Appendix above copied and/or paraphrased from:
The End of the Church Age... and After
Some pages on the Church age issue:
http://worldwide.familyradio.org/zusa/graphical/literature/church/church_contents.html
http://www.ebiblefellowship.com/isthechurchdead/index.html
http://www.daysofvengeance.com
http://www.mielke.cc/~melissa/letter.html
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