The Spirit of God: Prophecy Week: "Bible Prophecy Blog" Saturday April 14 2012 Nisan 22, 5772

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Prophecy Week: "Bible Prophecy Blog" Saturday April 14 2012 Nisan 22, 5772

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

Transitions in the Book of Acts

By Dr. Thomas Ice
Pre-Trib Research Center

Virtually all students of the Bible would acknowledge that the Book of Acts is a transition from Israel to the Church, as God’s instrument through whom He uses to spread His message. There are three major passages that should be understood in order to properly grasp what this transition is about. Those three passages are Acts 1:3–10; 3:11–26; 15:6–21.

Let me also state up front that the New Testament teaches that the church is a mystery (Rom. 16:25–27; Eph. 3:3–9; Col. 1:26–27), always part of God’s plan for history but hidden from man until the Apostle Paul reveals it in some of his writings. Thus, the Church Age is a temporary phase in history in which the gospel is preached, “until the fulness of the Gentiles (i.e., literally “the full number” has come in” (Rom. 11:25). When the Lord’s purpose for the church draws to a close, He will rapture His Bride to heaven in order for God to finish His incomplete dealings with Israel during the 70th week of Daniel, also known as the seven-year tribulation.

Acts 1:3–10

The first transition passage is found in chapter one of Acts before the church began in the next chapter. We are told by Luke, after His resurrection, Jesus repeatedly appeared to His disciples during a forty-day period “speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (1:3). Why did Christ teach them concerning the kingdom when there are so many other things He could have taught them? It appears to me, since these men were all Jewish, and the great hope of the Jewish people is for the Messiah to come and reign with them in a future earthly kingdom, they must have thought because the Messiah was victorious over death it meant the kingdom was at hand. Just such a mentality is reflected in the question they kept asking Jesus repeatedly [1] the day of His ascension. “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel” (1:6)? It is clear that they expected the Jewish kingdom that we know as the millennium to come in at this point in history. However, God had other plans.

Jesus’ answer to His disciples concerning their repeated question was, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (1:7–8). Notice, Jesus did not rebuke their view of the kingdom as expressed in verse 6, “the kingdom to Israel.” Christ did not say they had the wrong view of the kingdom since He was shifting from a literal kingdom with Israel in the center to a spiritual view of the kingdom. Instead, Christ’s answer spoke to the timing of the establishment of the kingdom of Israel and turned their focus to the establishment of the impending church age by providing the fifth repetition of the Great Commission. [2]

It should be noted that when the nation of Israel officially rejected Jesus as her Messiah at His first coming in Matthew 12, Jesus follows with the mysteries concerning the kingdom program in Matthew 13. The essence of His teaching in Matthew 13 is that the kingdom will one day arrive, but for now it is being postponed. Christ’s answer in Acts 1:8 echoes this teaching. So it is that the Old Testament kingdom of Israel has been postponed in history, but during the interim the Church is called to evangelize the world with the Gospel.

Acts 3:11–26

The issue of the postponement of the kingdom is further clarified as the Book of Acts moves into chapter 3. This event appears to have occurred just weeks after the founding of the church in Acts 2. As a result of the circumstances noted in the passage, Peter is preaching a sermon within the Temple Mount area to the Jews and tells them that they need to repent and believe the Gospel. Peter adds the following declarations:

“Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time” (3:19–21).

Acts 3 further establishes in the New Testament that there is a future kingdom for Israel, but this passage also clarifies the condition for the coming of the Jewish kingdom. The requirement for the establishment of Israel's kingdom is that the nation must reverse their rejection of Jesus as their national and individual Messiah (i.e., repent), which will lead to the forgiveness of their sins. Until such repentance takes place, Peter says that Jesus, the Messiah appointed for the nation of Israel must remain in heaven. However, when that condition is met, then the Messiah will return and establish “the period of restoration of all things” and “the times of refreshing,” which are references to the millennial kingdom. Peter says that “the times of refreshing” and “the period of restoration of all things” are also spoken of throughout the Old Testament by the prophets. The noun “restoration” is from the same Greek root that is used in Acts 1 as a verb when the disciples kept asking Jesus if He would at that time “restore” the kingdom to Israel. This provides a clear linkage from chapter 3 to the kingdom in chapter 1.

This passage confirms and also further develops the progress of God’s revelation concerning Israel’s kingdom promises from the Old Testament, which are not being superseded by the establishment of the church. Acts 3 further establishes a future but postponed kingdom for national Israel when they come to faith in the Messiah (Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:25–27). The tribulation period, which is the 70th week of Daniel, will be a future time when Israel will “repent” and “return” to the Lord resulting in removal of their personal sins and national redemption.

Acts 15:6–21

The Jerusalem Council is recorded in Acts 15 and provides the context in which our last transition passage occurs. The issue involved is whether Gentiles had to be circumcised and convert to Judaism in order to believe the Gospel, or could they simply believe the Gospel as a Gentile without any relation to Judaism? Such an issue gets right to the heart of God’s purpose for the church age, which began in Acts 2 and its relation to Israel.

James, the half-brother of Jesus and head of the church in Jerusalem, which was the center of early Jewish Christianity, supported the view of Peter, Barnabas, and Paul who taught that Gentiles “are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they [Jews] also are” (15:11). James makes the following statement:

Simeon [Peter] has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, “AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT” (Acts 15:14–16).

James builds his comments around a quotation of Amos 9:11 which speaks of the permanent, last days restoration of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, “and they will not again be rooted out from their land” (Amos 9:15). When we look at Amos 9:11–12, we see that James drops the phrase “in that day,” which begins verse 11 and adds in Acts 15:16a “After these things I will return.” “In that day” in Amos 9:11 orients the fulfillment of when the Lord will rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David, which is within a millennial context (compare Amos 9:13–15). James’ prologue of “after these things I will return” orients the Old Testament quote to the current church age. Clearly “after these things” refers to the period of time that James and his fellow believers were in, which is the church age. James was telling the council, which was primarily Jewish, that after the present church age is complete, then the Lord will “return” and He will fulfill the promises for Israel. This provides a clear outline for history—current church age followed by fulfillment of the Davidic promises to Israel in the millennial kingdom.

Conclusion

In all three transition passages in Acts the word “restore” is used in some form. That word is key to understanding that God is not finished with Israel and will one day “restore” the kingdom to her. James tells us that the purpose for the current church age is to take out from among the Gentiles a people for his name, which is the church, the Bride of Christ. When the full number of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11:25), then God will return and deal with the nation of Israel, leading to her conversion and the arrival of the millennial kingdom. The New Testament does not teach that the church has replaced Israel, instead it reconfirms the teachings of the Old Testament that Israel will enter into her kingdom once she believes and calls for Jesus as her Messiah during the time of Jacob’s trouble (Rom. 10:13–15). Such a Jewish ingathering will lead to even greater Gentile conversions (Rom. 11:12) as Jesus returns to literally reign and rule from Jerusalem through the nation of Israel and with His Bride by His side.

Endnotes

[1] The verb in verse 6, “were asking” is in the imperfect tense: “The action is portrayed as being in progress or as occurring in the past time.” Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics—Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999; 2002), p. 541.
[2] The first four statements of the Great Commission are Matthew 28:16–20; Mark 16:14–18; Luke 24:44–48; and John 20:19–23.

Iraq Rebuilding Its Military, Even as They Rebuild Babylon: Prophetic Significance?

By Joel C. Rosenberg
JoelRosenberg.com

Bible prophecy indicates that in the End Times, the nation we know today as the Republic of Iraq—known variously in Scripture as Babel, Babylon, Babylonia, Mesopotamia and Shinar—will emerge as the global center of wealth, power and terrible evil. Eventually Iraq will pose a direct and existential threat to the State of Israel, particularly during the Tribulation.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein and his regime in 2003, Iraq has not been a regional threat, much less a danger to Israel. Some have assumed, therefore, that Iraq would no longer play a major role in Middle Eastern or global affairs in the future. But such a conclusion would be a mistake. As I wrote about in my first non-fiction book, Epicenter, those who read, understand and believe Bible prophecy have been watching for Iraq to: 1) begin rebuilding its offensive military capability; 2) begin rebuilding its economy; 3) continue rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon into a major center of commerce and tourism.

Interestingly, all three developments are currently underway.

Iraq Is Rebuilding Its Military

Now that the Iraqi government has forced the American military out of their country, they have embarked on a dramatic arms build-up, including the purchase of American weapons systems that could be used for offensive purposes in the future. Examples:

The Iraqis are buying 140 state-of-the-art American M1A1 combat tanks. “The Government of Iraq has purchased 140 tanks from the United States, all of which have arrived in Iraq,” reports an Iraqi business website. “131 of those tanks are already in the possession of the Iraqi Army. The nine remaining tanks are in Iraq, but in U.S. possession.”
The Iraqis are buying 36 advanced American F-16 fighter jets. “Israel is monitoring Iraq’s rearmament program, particularly Baghdad’s acquisition of 36 Lockheed Martin F-16s, with some disquiet amid intelligence reports Iran is consolidating its influence in Iraq following the U.S. military withdrawal,” reports UPI. “Baghdad ordered the F-16 Block 52 multi-role Fighting Falcon jets—enough to equip the Iraqi air force’s first two fighter squadrons—in two 18-plane batches in 2011 at an estimated total cost of $7 billion.”
In 2010, the Iraqis embarked on a $13 billion weapons spending spree. “Iraq is preparing to buy as much as $13 billion in American arms and military equipment, a huge order of tanks, ships and hardware that U.S. officials say shows Iraqi-U.S. military ties will be tight for years to come,” reported USA Today. “‘It helps to build their capabilities, first and foremost; and second, it builds our strategic relationship for the future,’ said Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, the ranking U.S. officer responsible for training and advising Iraq forces.”

Iraq Is Rebuilding Its Economy

Now that the war of liberation is over and most of Iraq has been pacified and stabilized from the terrorist insurgency, Iraq’s economy is not only growing but is poised for hyper-growth. Analysts expect Iraq’s GDP to grow by more than 9% annually for the next few years, and expect Iraq’s oil production to nearly triple by 2017.

“Iraq’s gross domestic product is expected to grow by an average rate of at least 9.4 percent annually between 2012 and 2016 as the oil-producing country benefits from larger windfalls in oil revenues, a senior central bank official said [in February],” reports Reuters. ”Iraq, which has the fourth-biggest oil reserves in the world, is currently producing around 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd). Iraq’s oil minister said last year he expected production to reach between 8-8.5 million bpd by 2017.”
Some analysts within the Iraqi Planning Ministry believe Iraq could reach a 47% growth rate by 2014, once the oil starts flowing fast and furious.
More and more major international companies are signing deals to do business in Iraq—see this intriguing list published by Reuters in December 2011.
In 2011, Exxon Mobil—the world’s largest oil company—signed amajor deal to help develop the oil industry in Iraq’s northern region of Kurdistan. Despite the fact being mired in some political controversy, the deal is likely to be fully ratified in the not-too-distant future.
Also in 2011, Royal Dutch Shell signed a $17 billion deal to help Iraq develop its enormous lucrative oil industry in its southern regions.
In 2010, the Iraqi government ratified four other major oil deals.

Iraq Is Rebuilding the City of Babylon

Largely overlooked by Westerners is the fact that the government of Iraq is moving forward with plans to protect the archaeological remains of the ancient City of Babylon, in preparation for building a modern city of Babylon. As I wrote in 2009, the project—originally started by the late Saddam Hussein—is aimed eventually at attracting scores of “cultural tourists” from all over the world to see the glories of Mesopotamia’s most famous city. What’s more, the Obama Administration has actually helped contribute U.S. taxpayer dollars to “The Future of Babylon Project” through the State Department’s budget. Read more at the World Monuments Fund website for the rebuilding Babylon project.

In 2011, I noted that the New York Times had published an intriguing articleon Iraqi efforts to preserve, protect, restore and then rebuild the ancient city of Babylon and make it a draw for tourists, with U.S. taxpayer assistance. The Times reports that a modern Babylon museum will open later this month. Times’ reporter Steven Lee Myers also posted a fascinating four minute video walking through some of the rebuilt ruins of Babylon, and explaining Iraqi efforts to protect and restore numerous Biblical sites.

“The Babylon project is Iraq’s biggest and most ambitious by far, a reflection of the ancient city’s fame and its resonance in Iraq’s modern political and cultural heritage,” the Times reported, noting that “in November, the State Department announced a new $2 million grant to begin work to preserve the site’s most impressive surviving ruins. They include the foundation of the Ishtar Gate, built in the sixth century B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar’s father, Nabopolassar, and adorned with brick reliefs of the Babylonian gods Marduk and Adad.”

“The American reconstruction team has refurbished a modern museum on the site, as well as a model of the Ishtar Gate that for decades served as a visitors’ entrance. Inside the museum is one of the site’s most valuable relics: a glazed brick relief of a lion, one of 120 that once lined the processional way into the city. The museum, with three galleries, is scheduled to open this month, receiving its first visitors since 2003. And with new security installed, talks are under way to return ancient Babylonian artifacts from the National Museum in Baghdad. The fate of Babylon is already being disputed by Iraqi leaders, with antiquities officials clashing with local authorities over when to open it to visitors and how to exploit the site for tourism that, for the most part, remains a goal more than a reality. Even now they are clashing over whether the admission fee should go to the antiquities board or the provincial government.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012

The Chinese Yuan and a One World Currency

By Dr. Chuck Missler
Koinonia House

China has long wanted to replace the U.S. dollar as the world reserve and trade currency, and efforts are being made in Beijing to set up the Chinese yuan for that ambitious purpose. Just three years ago, the governor of China's central bank wrote a proposal for the creation of a global currency, one single monetary unit that could be used to buy and sell worldwide. Central bank officials hope to have the yuan more easily convertible and ready to use for its own international trade by 2014.

The U.S. dollar dropped to 1.3208 per euro Thursday after it was announced that first-time unemployment benefits claims had risen to 380,000, shooting up by 13,000 last week. Corresponding to the fall of the dollar, gold is climbing back up toward $1700 per ounce (up from $700 per ounce just five years ago). The Federal Reserve anticipates that interest rates will stay low for some time to come, and the U.S. economy is still "quite fragile" according to Eric Viloria, senior currency strategist at Forex.com.

In the meanwhile, China is pushing toward its goal of pushing the U.S. dollar out of its king-of-the-mountain spot as the dominant world currency. In 2009, Governor Zhou Xiaochuan of China's central bank suggested that the world's financial situation would be improved by moving toward a "super-sovereign reserve currency." The yuan is in no position to take that job, but China may be working to make it a possible contender in the future.

Considering China's size and the extent of its trade, an effort to internationalize the yuan is not unexpected. Right now, China's central bank is working to improve the convertibility of the yuan so that it can be used instead of dollars to settle payments on Chinese goods. While the yuan may not take over the dollar anytime soon, it will lighten some of the demand for the dollar in international trade.

"The new system will link domestic and overseas participants directly, and support different languages including Chinese and English. What's more, the working hours will be extended to 17 or 18 from the current eight to nine hours to cover yuan settlement demand from different time zones," said Li Yue, director of the payment and settlement department at the People's Bank of China, according to China Daily.

For several years, China promoted the idea of a single global currency under the IMF. This currency would mean the end to national economic sovereignty. A super-sovereign reserve currency, however, would promise to be a headache for member countries. The European Central Bank suffers over making policy for just its 17 member nations. Europe has struggled to get through the Greek debt quagmire, and while Italy managed to sell nearly 2 billion euros worth of bonds at an auction this week in the effort to clean up its debt, the interest rates on three-year bonds jumped up as a reminder that investors are not completely confident the country can manage its debt. Moving to the euro has not been all crepes and sausages. A central bank managing the economies of the entire world would prove a bureaucratic nightmare. Plus, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find truly neutral parties to run the exceedingly powerful IMF at that point.

A Declining Dollar

As the dollar value drops compared to other currencies, like the euro or the Swiss franc, it means that foreign imports will cost more to U.S. consumers, hopefully encouraging Americans to purchase more items "made in America." It also means that U.S. exports will cost less to foreign buyers, narrowing the enormous U.S. trade deficit. If U.S. companies can sell more goods to foreign markets, that could potentially mean the creation of more jobs in the U.S. (Though China, with its artificially low currency, will remain a rough competitor).

At the same time, a falling dollar equals a loss of purchasing power for Americans and for those holding U.S. dollars. German cars and Japanese electronics become more expensive for Americans to buy. Dollars buy fewer goods and services while employers remain reluctant to increase paycheck amounts. The costs of building American-made products increase, and the cost of food promises to rise. As the prices of imports climb, American companies may take advantage of the weak competition to push up the prices on domestic products.

In the investment world, the weak dollar also can cause problems in the long run. Foreign investors are less likely to invest in U.S. stocks because their value might go down over time, which in turn means less capital for young or expanding businesses. Investment creates jobs and provides the money to purchase goods and services that get the economy wheels turning, yet a weak economy and low interest rates provide investors a poor return on their weakening dollars. As bond prices fall, interest rates eventually push back up so that investors can make up for the loss in earnings.

While a super sovereign currency is not yet sparkling on the horizon, China still has high hopes for the yuan. China's ability to internationalize the yuan would give it another way to compete with the United States and would give another shove to the already shaky U.S. dollar.

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