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Luke 21:5-38.

(Final Part)

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh,” Luke 21:25-28.

This is our final study of the Saviour’s prophecy recorded in Luke 21:5-38. In the verses that make up the section we wish to look at in this study, we are moving to the Saviour’s references to events at the close of this age.

The concluding words of the last portion of this chapter we studied were those of verse 24, “and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

This reference to the fulfilment of the ‘times’ of the Gentiles  brings us to the time of the Saviour’s return, for it is then that the Lord will restore Israel and deliver her from the Gentile nations which will, at the close of this age particularly, set themselves to utterly and finally destroy her.

That terrible time was prophesied by the Psalmist.

“«Maschil of Asaph.» O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually,” Psalm 74:1-23.

There never have been events like these in the history of Israel. That is because this prophecy is of future events, even though it is spoken of in terms of the past.

That is a common feature when reference is made to that which is future in the experience of God’s people.

Paul wrote: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified,” Romans 8:29-30.

The words underlined all refer to those past experiences in the life of the believer, but the final experience, underlined and in bold text, is an experience with lies yet in the future.

Our glorification has not yet taken place but its is so sure and certain that Paul speaks of it in the past tense, as if it had happened!

Likewise, the prophets, when speaking in the spirit of prophecy, refer to events yet to happen as if they had already occurred. Again, the certainty of that, which God has decreed to take place, WILL INDEED TAKE PLACE, in the exact fashion God has purposed! (more…)

This headline appeared on the local BBC news website on Wednesday 28th January. It serves to remind Christian parents, Free Presbyterians in particular, that there are teachers in the state system who do not necessary believe the Bible but who nevertheless teach pupils ‘about’ Christianity!

View the BBC news article here.

This teacher freely acknowledged that “he was not ‘anti-Christian,’ and did not “have a problem teaching children about Christianity.”

Problem

His problem with the state system is stated as: “He said there was currently a system where ‘one worldview is dominant’.

‘I just think it places a burden on a six-year-old or a seven year-old to understand where Christianity sits in relation to other religions or no religion,’ he said.”

There are many in the teaching profession who would share his view. Indeed, out there in the ‘religious world’ there many clerics in the ecumenical denominations who have long taught that there is more than ‘one world view’!

After all, King Charles III desires to be known as the ‘Defender of Faith’, rather than the title, ‘Defender of the Faith’, which is a reference to Protestantism, when the title was later defined!

It was originally bestowed on Henry VIII by Pope Leo X in 1521 for defending Roman Catholic doctrine, but it was later reaffirmed by the English Parliament to signify the monarch’s duty to defend of the Reformed faith. A duty most monarch’s failed in most dismally!

Luther

But the nation, indeed, nations, have moved on from the 16th century Protestant Reformation. That ‘religious movement’ was in essence, a return to Bible truth after centuries of practising the superstitions and perversions of Roman Catholicism.

It is generally agreed that one of the first steps back to the Word of God was Martin Luther’s nailing up his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. (more…)