Seven Scriptures and An Interpretation - 12:44 PM, 12/10/2008 |
Seven Scriptures and An Interpretation Bernard Pyron. The Scriptures are Zephaniah 3: 12-13, Zechariah 13: 8-9, Daniel 11: 33, II Thessalonians 2: 3, I Timothy 4: 1-2, II Timothy 4: 34- and II Peter 2: 1-3. Zephaniah 3: 12-13: I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. 13.The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. ((Revelation 14: 4-5) Zechariah 13: 8-9: And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. (Ezekiel 5: 1-5 and 5: 12) Note that Ezekiel 5: 1-12 is a parallel text to Zechariah 13: 8-9 and presents three groups plus a very small fourth group which is not in Zechariah 13: 8-9. Daniel 11: 33: And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. II Thessalonians 2: 3 says "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;" I Timothy 4: 1-2 says "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2.Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;" II Timothy 4: 3-4 says "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4.And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." Then, II Peter 2: 1-3 says "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." In the classical dispensationalist view of the Tribulation, the Church is raptured off earth before things get rough, and then God turns to deal with the Jews, to save them in mass. But starting from Zechariah 13: 8-9, and Ezekiel 5: 1-12, as well as the trumpet judgments of Revelation 9, the Tribulation can be seen to be to a great extent God's judgment upon the people who claim to be his, the church. Zephaniah 3: 12-13 is about the Remnant of Israel, in Old testament times as a small number who were faithful while the larger number turned away, and as a small number in the period right before and including the Tribulation. "Israel" can mean Christians who have been born again. Christianity is Israel re-created at the Cross and at Pentecost, or born again. We do not believe that God has two entirely separate groups, the Jews and the Church, which he deals with differently. This is the view of Calvinists and Orthodox Lutherans (Missouri synod Lutherans). They say that this view is not Catholic Replacement Theology. Daniel 11: 33 is a text within a chapter about the struggle between the king of the north against the king of the south, which runs in the ancient time line as the battle between the the Seleucid and Ptolemy dynasties before Christ and which runs again in the end time timeline. In the end time running Obama may be the next king of the North. This text is two verses below the one on the abomination of desolation. In the end time timeline Daniel 11; 33 predicts that a group who understand will instruct a larger group, but the larger group will fall by the sword, by flame, by captivity and by spoil. If we should put Daniel 11: 33 together with Zechariah 13: 8-9, saying that one third of the church are to be put through a fire, purified and turn to the Lord who accepts them, then those being instructed by the Remnant are this one third of the church. If you apply Zechariah 13: 8-9 to Christians, the Church, during the Tribulation, you can see what implications that has for dispensationalist theology. This interpretation starts by saying that for some reason God is displeased with the Church and is going to judge it. Two thirds are to be cut off and they will die, while one third are to be put through a fire and purged and they come out seeking the Lord who accepts them. II Thessalonians 2: 3, I Timothy 4: 1-2, II Timothy 4: 3-4, and II Peter 2: 1-3 all support the idea that during the Tribulation and probably also right before it starts the churches will be in apostasy, that is, teaching doctrines that are contrary to Scripture. This suggests the reason for the judgment against the church and its division into three parts in Zechariah 13: 8-9. Bernard |
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