Nik’s Notes

It struck me the other night that what Jesus said above (in Matthew 16) was strikingly simple yet illuminating. Too many times I’ve read scriptures that deal in prophecy and/or prophetic events and found myself responding with a form of fear that underlies (more often than not) a sense that man’s interpretation of prophecy and application to present day events seems somewhat arbitrary. That is to say that when Jesus speaks of signs in the heavens, the powers of heaven being shaken etc…, there isn’t an automatic response to place that in the context of the prophecy. But Jesus Himself seems to say fairly clearly that “signs”, when from God, are very purposeful and have great context into which they can be placed.

So in dealing with prophecy, it is well to remember that all signs have more purpose than simply to be a marker. God’s dealings with Daniel’s people was marked out by the commandment to rebuild their city and temple on the one end (beginning the 70 weeks) and the ending of oblations and the making of desolate the temple on the other end (completing the 70 weeks). These are not just arbitrary markers but pertinent to Daniel, his people and God’s dealings with them. They are tied up with God’s dealings in a very intimate way. So to make the desolation of the temple a yet future event seems to me to be wrong because, partly, it is arbitrary. God has not permanently cast away the Jews, but the times determined upon them have been determined and completed (as I read it). The purpose of the times visited upon the Jews was made clear - and, with the completion of fulfillment of these purposes, the temple sacrifices are made redundant. Thus, the desolation. Now, with Christ ascended, God’s dealings with ALL men are based upon Christ and not sacrifices. Thus, to see the end of the 70 weeks as anything but already fulfilled nearly 2000 years ago is to make some future desolation more significant than the destruction and desolation upon Jerusalem of 70AD. And in so doing, it subtly legitimizes the continued animal sacrifices when it is obvious to all believers that God no longer deals that way. The Jews being a sign of that - partly in that they rejected the perfect sacrifice so that the world would know Him - only goes to support the interpretation that the completion of the 70 weeks was at a critical time with respect to the Jews and to ushering in righteousness etc…And that it happened in 70AD after 70 weeks of years on the heels of 70 years of captivity is only another mark that these things are all related.
But what significance is there of a future desolation?

Jesus wanted men to be sure that signs given are for the benefit of those who can receive them. Those that just look arbitrarily for signs that meet all the superficial criteria of prophecies are prone to either having an overabundance of possible “fits” to prophetic identifications or not finding anything and missing the sign that was intended. An example of overabundance of “fits” is the multiplicity of interpretations of the Mark of the Beast. People have speculated everything from VISA to Nero, to Ronald Reagan to Bill Gates to a computer in the EU - all of which fit superficially, but none (save possibly Nero) of which fit the context of the prophecy and fit the application of the sign. An example of not finding anything and (possibly) missing the sign(s) is the entire futurist scheme - notably with application to the last week of Daniel’s 70 weeks. Or even much of the book of Revelation. Arbitrary, superficial application of prophetic signs as mentioned in scripture are bound to lead into confusion unless the prophecy as a whole and its intention are considered.

When Abraham was told that his posterity would inherit the land of Canaan, he was also told that things would have to be accomplished before that could take place. Most notably, the iniquity of the Amorites would have to “come to the full”. That is, the Lord was telling Abraham that his descendants would have to find themselves in a spiritual position that enabled them to overcome their enemies in the land of Canaan. Until then, their iniquity would require much of them (400 years in bondage in Egypt, for one) before they could even approach the promised land.

So, too, are the end times spoken of. The time of the end is a time of great peril. It is a time that is characterized primarily by attributes of men rather than political, military and economic situations. Twice, in his letters to Timothy, Paul speaks of the end times as being highlighted by the accented evil of men come to FULL FRUITION. Just as the Israelites could not possess the promised land until the Amorites filled up their cup of iniquity to overflowing, so too are the people of God told that their possession of the land and fulfillment of many “wrapping up” prophecies are dependent upon the marked division between the faithful and the faithless. As one who sees the bodily return of Christ being referred to here, I find that it is a SIGNIFICANT SET OF SIGNS that Paul has shown to Timothy. The disciples already asked Jesus what the signs of His coming and of the end of the age/world were to be. Notice that Jesus spoke FIRST of earthquakes and famines and wars and said that the end was not yet. He, as I see it, was telling the disciples that natural disasters were to continue to happen and disasters would continue to occur. But when He gets into the REAL signs that lead up to Him saying “When you see all these things, know that it is near…”, it is overwhelmingly a list of the abundance of the appearance of iniquity. False Christ, false prophets, deceitful signs, tribulation, men mourning - all these things support Christ’s summation that one knows harvest is near when the fruit is on the trees (though notice that THE Great Tribulation is discussed in Matt 24:21,22 as NOT being at the end - for the VERY NEXT VERSE has Jesus saying “THEN, if any man shall say unto you Lo there He is…etc….” that it is NOT to be believed. His return is NOT YET. It even looks like it is AFTER the Great Tribulation - so called - that the prominence of AntiChrists is to take place.). In other words, the increase of iniquity is a sign - a direct consequence of something that brings about Christ’s return. This concept is so important, that Jesus - after speaking plainly - uses two parables. First of the fig tree. Then of the evil servant.

So what is Jesus saying is the importance of the fruit that brings about Christ’s return? We can look at all the fruit that is detailed in I Tim 4 and II Tim 3, but what do these things say? I believe we can investigate this to see what the purpose of Christ’s return - and the timing of it - is. Returning to Genesis, we find that Israel was refused entry into the Promised Land until after 400 years in Egypt AND THEN 40 years in the wilderness. We are told that they could not enter in because of their unbelief. So what did God do? He essentially waited around and tested Israel while an entire generation passed along and a new generation was prepared. One that would not grumble and complain, but realize the immensity of God’s provision and enter in gladly and in faith (okay…so that didn’t exactly work out immediately, either!). The Lord was using that time to separate to Himself a people that were faithful to Him. He is doing so today. He told the disciples to let the wheat and the tares grow up together and, in the end, He would separate them. He has a purpose for allowing iniquity to show up. Not because He desires iniquity but because there is something much deeper at work that man has little or no control over. He is showing up the sons of righteousness and the sons of iniquity. He is forming, vetting, reforming, honing, burning, testing, proving and reproving those that claim to be His. His return, then, is for the final separation - faithful from hypocrite. His purpose in delay, then is for formation, separation and strengthening. For beneath it all is a great spiritual activity that goes beyond all we can even conceive.

As such, the times of the end should be primarily concerned with spiritual activity rather than physical. Yes, there will be physical outworkings of things - signs in the earth. The powers of heaven will be shaken, but the importance of that is to be found in its significance, its context and its relevance to the signs it is foretelling. The powers of heaven are spiritual forces. They are great dominions and principalities that, no doubt, have physical extensions. The woman riding the beast, for example, is identified with the Catholic Church. Not so much for her externalities, but for the spiritual harlotry that characterizes her dealings. She has dealt in the traffic of men’s souls and has committed fornication with the kings of the earth. All primarily spiritual at heart - but with physical and doctrinal extensions that can be directly measured. Such great influence she has had over all nations - even today she has political clout in every nation even as a primarily religious entity! Revelation 18 reveals how her iniquity comes to the full and she is rewarded for her unbelievable evil. So it is that all are warned to stay as far away from her for then men become partakers in her sins and ultimately her judgment. Though we need to remember that things said of her were also said of Jerusalem - all the righteous blood from Abel to Zechariah was to be demanded of Jerusalem and all the blood of the prophets and saints and all that were slain upon the earth. Oh, such great harlotry to be responsible for all blood! This, surely, is a spiritual principal being found in some entity. For she had traffic with all kings - all nations - of the earth. If that be so, then it must be seen that the principle of the harlotry is important. Maybe even more significant than JUST the Roman Catholic church. While she may be the main extension of this in the natural world, it would be no exaggeration to say that the spirit that energizes the harlot church extends beyond denominational borders. But the main point is that it is all mainly spiritual in importance. I don’t say there isn’t physical realization of these things - nor that they may be the cause of great political, economic or military events, but if we are to get to the real importance of prophecy, it is to be found in the nature and detail of the sign.

Christ is returning - in that I believe 100%. But the distress of nations is a secondary byproduct of that which Christ is now (and has always) been doing in the assemblage of His Kingdom throughout the ages. If we do not recognize that He is now making up His jewels, we will put it off till future and limit it mainly to an external event. But if we realize the importance of the signs, the significance of His return and the purpose of His Kingdom, it will be the spiritual aspect and its physical outworking that will form our greatest concern. In that is to be found the crux of the matter of the signs of the times. We are not looking for a physical happening - thought it be physical - but we are looking for a victory and a marked manifestation of the spiritual triumph that was completed in Christ 2000 years ago and continues to require something of men that name themself as His. The reformers recognized this and they, by their spiritual warfare and perseverance, helped deal Babylon a blow that will never be forgotten - and from which she may never fully recover. If we, today, were to worry less about what’s going to happen and more about what the spiritual state of the church, nation and world is, we would be far more in tune with the purposes of God and the progression of His Kingdom - even unto the return of Christ. Which return has great spiritual importance yet men look mainly to its physical outworking.