October 1998

October 14, 1998

Read this if ye have ears to hear what 'The Lord Spoke: 

Matthew 27:50-53

"Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many."

We see in these verses that when Jesus, the Anointed One, God's only Son died on the cross the spiritual battle was finished.  God also manifested His power in the physical earthly realm.  The veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom.  There was an earthquake.  Rocks broke into pieces.  Graves opened up.  Dead men got up out of their graves and walked the streets - among the living!  Those who rose after Jesus' resurrection went into Jerusalem.  Many people saw them.  

Can you imagine what it would be like to see someone walking into the church whose funeral you had just attended?  Who were those who came out of their graves with Jesus at His resurrection?  The Old Testament contains prophetic Words about Jesus resurrection. See Ezekiel 37:1-14 for the entire Word of prophesy.  Look specifically at verses 10-14.

"So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel:  behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up our of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people and brought you out of your graves.  And shall put my spirit in you and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land, then shall ye know that I have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." 

The land referred to is heaven.  Jesus took those who came out of the grave at His resurrection with Him to be with Him in heaven. We know that life is a sequence of events :  we are born, we live our life, we die, and go to  either heaven or hell.  These saints completed their birth, life and had died.  Per the Ezekiel passage above God opened the graves of the house of Israel and brought them into their heavenly land. Jesus fulfilled this prophesy when He took these saints out of their prison of hell. During the three days when Jesus descended into hell He preached to gospel to the dead in prison.

I Peter 3:19-20

"By which also he (Jesus) went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days on Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

Contrary to what you may have heard, "...no man cometh to the Father but  by Me..." The 'saints' of the Old Testament were not born again.  Jesus was the first born among many bretheren.  Even these Old Testament characters had to be born again.

These saints went to heaven with Jesus at His resurrection.  Look at what goes on in heaven as described in Revelation 20:1-8.  We will look specifically at verses 5-6.

Revelation 20:5-6

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years."   

Jesus truly won the battle and finished the seed planting time.  Today we live in the harvest time.  We shall reap the harvest of all seed planted since the fall of Adam and Eve.  Come quickly Lord Jesus.   

I Corinthians 15:50-53 speaks of what will occur to the Body of Christ, either those who are still alive or those who have died, when the seventh trumpet sounds. "Now this I say, brethern, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:  for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."  The dead in Christ shall rise and we who are alive will meet Him in the air. See I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

The last days or the end times began when Jesus said, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven at hand."  See Matthew 4:17.  Jesus also states in Mark 1:15:  "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel."  

The last days have been stretched by God's grace into two thousand years.  The last days began with Jesus ministry on the earth.  However the years of God's grace will soon finish.  God's grace period is the time gap between Daniel's 69th and 70th week of years.   Hear this:  God's grace period is almost finished!      

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