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The
Link Between Prophecy and Evangelism
Today there is a major
push to bring the gospel of salvation to the entire world, to all the
language groups in the world. By
reading the documented accounts of the field work of the major international
evangelistic organizations it becomes totally obvious that the Holy
Spirit is behind and fueling this drive to promote the gospel of
salvation in today’s
“modern” times. But support and funding of these excellent international
evangelistic organizations is insufficient and sporadic at best. Some Christian groups and denominations don’t necessarily think
this worldwide push of evangelism is Biblical, or necessary, while others
do. What did Jesus Christ have
to say on this subject? It’s time to take a hard look at what Jesus actually
said and determine that what he said should govern our actions and beliefs
in this important area. First
let’s note that he said there would be a major push to promote the
gospel of the kingdom to the entire world just before the end
of this evil age and his 2nd coming. Matthew
24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” What
end? Verse 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 Judea flee unto the mountains…” To those who understand Bible prophecy, verse 15 of Matthew 24
marks the beginning of World War III, called the great tribulation in
Bible language. But in Jesus’ own
words, he said that there would be this huge push to promote the gospel
of salvation around the world, and that when this was accomplished, then
the end of this evil age would come, and ultimately, if you keep reading
Matthew 24 through to verse 31, the 2nd coming of Jesus himself. These are all Jesus Christ’s own words, directly quoted and not
taken out of context. The very
first commission Jesus gave to the 500 or so disciples (students) who
had faithfully followed him, and by extension, all Christians from then
on, is found in Matthew 28:18-20. It’s
the only major job assignment Jesus gave Christians to perform until
he comes again. Let’s read it. Matthew 28:18-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” There
are two parts to this assignment: 1) Preach, teach the gospel to all
nations, and 2) obviously, to those who respond favorably, baptize them
and teach them to observe all things, whatsoever Jesus had commanded
them (and now recorded in Scripture). This
was spoken in similar time sequence to Acts 1:8-9, where Jesus said this, “But
ye shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” That
is basically the only job assignment Jesus gave his disciples (disciples:
archaic king James language for students), and by extension all
Christians born of the Holy Spirit. That
job entails preaching the gospel of salvation, which is called in some
places, the gospel of the kingdom--and to teach those who respond
favorably (obviously one can’t do much teaching to those who don’t respond
favorably, their minds are closed) the details of how to be a Christian
or believer in Jesus. This job
can be broken down into two areas, one is promoting and preaching the
gospel to everyone, and the other is nourishing and supporting the body
of Christ--made up of those who respond favorably to the gospel message--believers,
nourishing them in the Word of God. Some
Christians have been blessed with talents in the nourishment end of this
assignment, while others are good at evangelism. Let each of us use the talents God gave us in the area of this
assignment where we best fit.
But
now what is the connection between prophecy and evangelism? As we have just seen in Matthew 24, Jesus
predicted (prophecied) that there would be such a large push to promote
the gospel of the kingdom just before the start of World War III,
the tribulation, and that this gospel would go around the world and
reach all nations and peoples. Then
right after that is accomplished the end of this evil age would come. Also in Matthew 24 a great persecution of Christians takes place,
which Jesus also predicted in Matthew 10, tied right to this “end
time” push of the gospel message. Could
it be that this push of the gospel message is going to be so powerful
and so extensive that it stirs up a hatred aimed at Christians? It appears so. But it hasn’t happened yet, not in this country yet (the United
States). Why? Because the gospel of the kingdom isn’t going out to the world
in sufficient power to cause this hatred and persecution of Christians
on a worldwide scale that would include the United States. Doesn’t that tell us something? Roughly
a third of the Bible is prophecy, some already fulfilled, but a lot
of prophecy is 2nd coming of the Messiah prophecy, yet
to be fulfilled. Then about
a third of the Bible is historical in nature, and about a third is
instructive in nature, showing how we ought to live spiritually,
growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. But
prophecy does show that when this major push to evangelize the world
is accomplished a lot of the world will reject the message. If
we are to believe Jesus, immediately following this worldwide dissemination
of the gospel (and its rejection by the world), World War III starts. In this war, God totally gives this world
over to Satan for a 3.5 year span of time (Dispensational Pre-Millennialists
believe it’s a 7 year span--no matter, we’ll see when it occurs {if
we’re still alive}). But
God’s major lesson to mankind is this: Look
and see what you get when you reject God’s invitation to a better
way of life and Eternal Life at the end--you get destruction and
annihilation. Then when the world has had it’s fill of destruction
and annihilation, Jesus comes and stops the war, locks up Satan and
the demons and brings salvation to all who are left alive. The start of a whole new world without Satan
begins and lasts for 1,000 years—a world where the knowledge of salvation
and of God fills the earth as the seas cover the earth--salvation
freely offered to everyone with no more blinding influence coming
from Satan, everyone’s eyes will be opened to the truth of God (cf.
Revelation 19:1-21; 20:1-6; Zechariah 14:1-19; Isaiah 35:1-10; Isaiah
11:1-16; Ezekiel 36, whole chapter). That’s the connection between Evangelism and
prophecy. Both are part of
God’s lesson plan for mankind. And
as things get close to the beginning of verse 15 of Matthew 24, we
as Christians must be about the job Jesus gave for us to accomplish,
the job he said would be accomplished before
the start of World War III, the tribulation. So
when you read these prophecies, understand, this is God’s lesson
plan for mankind. And we Christians have been given a very important
teaching job within that lesson plan of God to the world. Ask yourself this, why did God leave Satan
and the demons on this planet when he created mankind through Adam
and Eve? God is the ultimate teacher. Jesus was called Rabbi, Teacher, by his students
(disciples). God is teaching
the whole of mankind a lesson He doesn’t want forgotten--not just
what His way of life brings--but what Satan’s way of life brings--death. There’s a positive and negative side to God’s
lesson plan. Some like to
avoid the teaching of all prophecy and stick entirely to teaching
about Christianity. They
avoid some of the central lessons God has to teach about what happens
when you follow Satan’s way of life. The
whole gospel is a full-bodied message with a positive element and
a negative element. Even the apostle Paul in his thorough description
of the gospel of Christ in the book of Romans points out the problem
of mankind that the gospel is meant to address (cf. Romans 1). And prophecy clearly shows the negative side
of the lesson plan--if you ignore the gospel offer from God, destruction
and annihilation will be the end result. So
we see that prophecy, the balanced teaching of it, is a vital part
of God’s lesson plan for mankind and Christians alike. And
as we see things getting close to the end, prophecy should make us
want to redouble our efforts to support worldwide evangelism, and
evangelism at all levels. Don’t lose sight of the job God has given
you to do as a Christian or Messianic believer in Yeshua. If
you wonder how you could do anything to support evangelism, that
you’re just not cut out for that--that’s fine. Your
talents may be in the area of nourishing and support of other Christians
and new-believers. But you
can always lend support to those who are doing the job in the international
areas of evangelism, and doing it quite effectively. The
one thing that they do need is steady contributions. (And it doesn’t
have to be much. A steady
habit of giving is far more important to the international evangelistic
organizations than the amount you can afford to give.) And
that is something we can all do. This
site has a whole section on evangelism, and the Mission Statement
at the bottom of the Homepage shows some of the ways international
evangelism can be supported (http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/missionstatement.htm ). You can make a difference
in how many people are given an opportunity to chose life instead
of death--eternal life! God
says that he places life and death before us, and commands us to
chose life. Deuteronomy 30:15, “See, I have set before
thee this day life and good, and death and evil…” That lesson
is spelled out in prophecy and evangelism, when they are properly
coupled together as they should be.
Prophecies
of Jesus Christ's 2nd Coming I
am reproducing some introductory comments from John F. Walvoord's book "ARMAGEDDON,
OIL and the MIDDLE EAST CRISIS" that are most appropriate for this
study of prophecy. Mr. Walvoord says, "The study of prophecy, however,
has been plagued by two extremes. The one extreme is to disregard prophecy
or to interpret it in a non-literal sense. About half of the prophecies
in the Bible have been fulfilled. The study of these demonstrates that
when prophecy is fulfilled, it is fulfilled literally. Brushing aside
prophecies or doubting that they will be literally fulfilled is not
supported by the pattern of fulfillment in the past. What follows is a book report, made from excerpts taken from Michael L. Brown’s “Our Hands Are Stained With BLOOD”.
Forward
It is said of a good book, “I could not put it down.” I
must say of Our Hands Are Stained With Blood, “I wanted
to put it down, set it aside, not read it or deal with its issues”—but
I couldn’t. The Lord would
not let me put it down. I
was too convicted. Convicted of my ignorance. Ignorance of the spirit of
anti-Semitism that has been in the Church and in many so-called Christians
throughout history. I
did not know the extent of the persecution by Gentile “Christians” toward
our Jewish brethren in the past. I
know it now—thanks to Mike Brown’s thorough research and indisputable
historical facts. The statements
of Christian leaders of the past toward the Jew left me shaken and
awakened.
What scares me is that a similar spirit
of anti-Semitism is in the Church today among some segments of the
Body of Christ. This has come
in the form of a popular teaching circulating in the Church called “Replacement
Theology,” the idea that the Church is the new
This book is therefore a wake-up call
to the Church. As a pastor
I want anti-Semitism to stop at the church door. It
must have no place among true Christians. Wherever we see this attitude raise its ugly
head we must work to change it. And
may intercessors be raised up to pray for the gospel to go “to the
Jew first.”
I consider myself to be a lover of
My prayer is that you will be as deeply
moved as I was by this book, and that you will see that it gets into
the hands of pastors, Christian leaders and laymen, as I plan to
do—whether they are sensitive to Jewish issues or not. No
one can be the same toward the Jewish people, both those who believe
in Jesus and those who do not, after reading Our Hands Are Stained With Blood.
Don Wilkerson
Publisher’s Foreword
This book needed to be written. Gentile believers need to know what was done to the Jewish people over the centuries in the name of Jesus. We Gentile believers need to understand
the pain and suffering that countless pseudo-Christians have brought
upon the Jewish people. Only
then can we ever begin to comprehend the depth of the pain and sorrow
they have endured at the hands of so-called “Christians”.
Although much of what you will read cannot
be attributed to genuine Christian believers, some of it can. There is an unnerving trend toward a renewed
anti-Semitic spirit, even among Christians, not only in the
We need to understand our responsibility
“to stand in the gap” on behalf of God’s still-chosen people. Genuine prayers of intercession need to be
offered on the behalf of
Finally, we need to be reminded to pray
for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Scripture commands us to do, that
the glory of the Lord might subdue the earth, and that at His coming,
there would be a Bride made up of Jewish and Gentile believers alike,
standing together in genuine unity and in the bonds of peace.
From
the Preface:
“…It is the
Christian Church—in name, though not in spirit—that has actually written
much of
An Orthodox Jewish author in a book published in 1991, could say: “Today, one of the most fundamental causes of Jewish suffering is the hatred of Christians towards Jews and the Jewish faith.” This Jewish author actually believes: From his birth,
every Christian, practicing or nominal, imbibes the belief that
the Jews, i.e., any and every individual Jew, are answerable for
the murder of his messiah. Indeed,
the overwhelming majority of the acts of persecution, religious
coercion and massacres suffered in history by our People came at
the hands of Christians. Thus we see that Christianity was a significant
and major cause of Jewish suffering (Meir Simcha Sokolovsky).
As you read some of the chapters that follow—especially as you realize that for many Jews, this “Christianity” was the only brand they ever saw—you will feel revulsion, shock and anger. No doubt your reaction will be, “But that’s not the real Church! That’s not me! True Christians are filled with love, not hate.” On the one hand, that is absolutely true. The Church that butchered Jewish men, women and children could only be a thoroughly apostate Church. In order to emphasize that point, I have often put the words “Church” and “Christian” in quotation marks. Throughout the book, you will be reminded of that… …we must realize that both in the past and in the present, the erroneous theology of true Christians has helped open the door for all types of murderous persecutions of the Jews. The fact that some of this theology is still alive today is strong evidence that the contemporary Church needs to repent…” “…Worse still—this is almost beyond comprehension—there are Christian leaders whose ministries are largely devoted to warning believers to beware of evil Israel. I am not exaggerating! There is still an ugly spirit in the Body that must be exposed. It is bad enough that the same diabolical spirit of anti-Semitism influences much of the world today. But that it still exists in the Church is unthinkable! Would to God that this generation of believers would finally drive out that foul spirit. This book has been written with a burning (and often broken) heart, in the hope that the people of God today would utterly repudiate the Church’s sins of yesterday. This will bring reconciliation—reconciliation of the Church to the Jewish people, and reconciliation of the Jewish people to their Messiah. No doubt there will be controversy, from both Christian and Jewish perspectives. I only ask that you, the reader, read this book with an open heart before God. The results are in His hands. May your heart be stirred to action as you read the pages that follow!
Chapter One
The Final Solution
“You are about to go on a journey. The soldiers have ordered you aboard and the train is ready to leave. You stand side by side with your family, wondering what will come next. You are crowded into a railway cattle car, packed with dozens of other adults and children. Where are they taking us now?…”
Let’s find out:
“…The old,
the sick, pregnant women and small children, two thousand innocent
souls, were shot and brutally thrown into [freshly dug] graves, one
on top of the other. Many of
them were still alive! For most
of the children they didn’t even waste a bullet. They
were just thrown in alive. And
together with those who were only wounded, finished their lives under
the pressure of the human mass…We learned of the massacre from the
Polish police themselves. They
told [our friend] Moshe Hersh about it in great detail, because they
themselves had taken part in that slaughter. On the following Sunday, they went to church
with their families, as if nothing had happened. They suffered no guilt feelings. After all, they were only murdering Jews, with
the blessing of their priests, who inflamed them from their pulpits
on Sundays” (Martin Rosenblum, quoted in Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust: A History of the Jews During the Second World War [New
York: Henry Holt, 1985, p. 445, my emphasis] p.
177, Notes section of Our Hands
Are Stained With BLOOD.
Chapter Two
A Terrible, Tragic Past
“Christianity
did not create the Holocaust; indeed Nazism was anti-Christian,
but it made it possible. Without
Christian antisemitism, the Holocaust would have been inconceivable…Hitler
and the Nazis found in medieval Catholic anti-Jewish legislation
a model for their own, and they read and reprinted Martin Luther’s
virulently antisemitic writings. It is instructive that the Holocaust was unleashed
by the only major country in
“…The German
Nazis, then, did not discard the past; they built upon it. They did not begin a development; they completed
it. [Raul Hillberg, The Destruction of the European Jews…1985]”
Chapter Three
A Blessed and
Beautiful Stream
“It is true that the Church has sinned terribly against the
Jewish people. But not all the Church has sinned. Wherever
Jesus has been lifted up and adored, there have always been genuine
lovers of
Learn about this stream of love and river of blood and who plays an active role within each.
Chapter Four
The Rabbis: Stiff-necked,
Hardhearted and Proud?
“There
are hypocritical leaders in every religion. There
are charlatans in every faith. But
are the rabbis especially guilty? Are
they worse than everyone else? Do
they all conceal horrible sins in their hearts? Are they ungodly blasphemers, since they deny
Jesus as Lord? Are they superficial
legalists, since they reject the New Covenant?” The truth about the way most of the rabbis
are and were in history will amaze and humble you. Are you ready for the truth?
Chapter Five
Miriam and Jacob:
Household Names in the
Savior’s Home
“What do you think of when you hear the words, “Mary, the mother of Jesus”? Do you think of a statue in a Catholic church somewhere, with the Son of God as a babe in His mother’s lap? It certainly sounds “Christian,” doesn’t it? Now, what do you think when you hear the words, “Miriam, the mother of Yeshua”? Quite a different picture comes to mind! This one looks extremely Jewish. Well, for the record: The mother of Jesus was named Miriam as surely as the sister of Moses was named Miriam. In fact, all the Mary’s in the New Testament were Jewish women called Miriam. (That’s right, Mary Magdalene was actually Miriam of Magdala! If we had called her “Mary,” she would not have known we were talking to her.) Because the New Testament was written in Greek, the names have come down to us in Greek dress. But, if we want to get our facts straight, we need to understand that John was really Jochanan (pronounced Yochanan), Matthew was really Mattityahu (Mattai for short) and good ol’ Simon Peter was really Shimon Kepha. In fact, James was really not James at all. He was Jacob!…” Do you really understand the culture the Christian church was born out
of? If you’re so not sure
now, you need to read this chapter. Modern
Messianic Jewish congregations may be carbon copies of the original
Chapter Six
Bad Reporting,
Bias and Bigotry
“What do the major newspapers, news magazines and news broadcasts on television and radio all have in common? It is a history of misleading, anti-Israel reporting! Here are some examples… What follows in this chapter is a factual expose of reported stories
and the actual truth that debunks each and every one. Do you have the courage to learn the truth
and be set free from all the lies? Read
the real plain truth about this bias as Chapter Six exposes and
separates fact from fiction behind the sensational news stories
of the mainstream press. Who are the real bigots?
Chapter Eight
The Inquisition Isn’t Over
“Everyone has heard about the Spanish Inquisition. In the days of Christopher Columbus and of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, the Catholic Church launched a terrible persecution against suspected heretics. Thousands [of Jews] were imprisoned, tortured and burned at the stake. All this is common knowledge. But how many of us know that there was a particular “heresy” the Spanish Inquisition sought to uncover and destroy?” This one will amaze you! But it has been part and parcel of the apostate church as well as many genuine churches, that Jews who converted to Christianity up until very recently had to forsake every vestige of their Jewish background and religious practices. But be it known: “Rather
than taking the Law away from
Of course, observance of the Law does not make us more righteous, more loved or more spiritual. Through the cross our sins are forgiven, and the Spirit leads us in paths of life. But where is it written that believers, in particular Jewish believers, are forbidden to observe the Law? Where is it written that the Spirit always leads us away from and against the Law? Let’s get more specific: Where do the Scriptures clearly and decisively make Sunday into the Sabbath? (Forget about Church tradition. What does the Bible say?) Then why are Jewish believers who set aside Saturday for Sabbath worship considered divisive? Where does God say to forget the biblical feasts? Then why are Jewish believers who celebrate the feasts instead of later, man-made holidays, accused of going back under the Law? [and certain Sabbatarian Christian churches and denominations who keep the biblical feasts instead of the man-made holidays—they are labeled (I say libeled) as legalists.] Where does the Word teach that Jews must become Gentiles to be saved? We have really forgotten our roots!
Chapter Nine
Are You a Crusader
for Christ?
“According to Romans
11:11, “salvation has come to the Gentiles to make
If
you think so, then you need to read what follows in this chapter--what
an Israeli writer has had to say on this subject. Also,
why do Jewish believers insist on
calling themselves Messianic
Jews?
Chapter Ten
“More Tears”
“A
little more than 100 years ago, a Christian minister to the Jews “was
asked what he thought wanting on the part of the friends of
Why more tears? What does he mean
by this?
Chapter Eleven
So Near and Yet So Far
Is Judaism evil and anti-God? Learn
the plain truth on this matter. The
facts revealed in this chapter will astound and humble you.
Chapter Twelve
Has God Forsaken
His People?
“Some
things are non-negotiable. God’s
covenant with
This is a question that needs answering once and for all from an honest
and biblically accurate study of God’s Word. This
chapter provides a clear definitive answer from just such a study.
Chapter Thirteen
Natural Children and
God’s Children
“Romans is Paul’s theological masterpiece. In the first eleven chapters, he lays out the absolute essentials of our faith. In the last five chapters, he tells us how to live. If we understand Romans, we understand the gospel. It
is in Romans that Paul demonstrates that all have sinned, Jew and Gentile
alike. It is here that he opens up the incredible
revelation of justification by faith [the same identical faith Abraham
was saved by]. (Think of trying
to understand that without Romans!) It
is here that he speaks of our struggle with sin, our victory over sin
and life in the Spirit of God. And
then he brings it all to a climax with an in-depth teaching about
A proper understanding of what Paul teaches about Israel in Romans clears
up just which Israel Paul is teaching about in Romans—the natural
children of God—the Jews—or the spiritual Children of God, the
believers in Jesus. Have
we been wrong in our understanding of just who
“Here is where the Church, which has been primarily
Gentile since the second century, has made a big mistake. She has been guilty of boasting over the natural
branches, forgetting her root and misinterpreting
Chapter Fourteen
“Thou Shalt Not Steal”
“…We
[Jewish believers in Jesus] are not as much the fourth branch of Judaism
as we are the Jewish part of the Church! It
is only together with the rest of the Body that we will be perfect…It
has not been enough [for the Gentile church] to spiritually apply God’s
promises to
Want to see how this happened?
Chapter Fifteen
A Diabolical Plan
“With every fiber of his depraved, sinister being, Satan despises the Jews. He hates them with a perfect hatred. Their total destruction is his goal. He is the author of the spirit of anti-Semitism. There is no other way to explain the venomous hostility that has been hurled against the Jews by so many people in so many countries for so many years. Why
the Jews?…anti-Semitism existed before Christianity
began.
Hatred against the Jews has been too intense, too cruel, too universal, too destructive to be explained in terms of divine punishment alone. Yossel Rakover’s Holocaust prayer says it so painfully well: You say, I know,
that we have sinned, O Lord. It
must surely be true! And
therefore we are punished? I
can understand that too! But I should like You to
tell me whether there is
any sin in the world deserving such a punishment as the punishment
we have received!
Anti-Semitism has clearly overstepped the bounds of heavenly judgment and chastisement. But why? Who’s responsible? Is it God, as many assume? Or is it really Satan. Read the evidence provided in this chapter
and decide for yourself.
Chapter Sixteen
Life From the Dead
“…Did
they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not
at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation
has come to the Gentiles to make
The
day will come when Gentile believers will make
“[For] if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! (Rom. 11:12).”.. …Today,
there are men and women across the globe who are children of the living
God, the spiritual seed of Abraham, joint-heirs with the Messiah, recipients
of eternal life, blood-washed, Spirit-filled, consecrated saints as a result of Israel’s transgression. How
much greater will
At
this very moment, a continuous stream of praise ascends to heaven in
more than 2500 languages, and angels shout for joy as sinners repent worldwide as
a result of
Find out how and what must be done first to
bring this about—to do this, you must order the book and read it.
To order online try any of these urls:
http://www.icnministries.org/resources/books.htm
For a
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