The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah. 8On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. 9So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
[Zechariah 12:7-9]
I am often asked what makes this generation different from past generations when it comes to discerning the signs of the end times. After all, the 20th Century alone produced two world wars and the introduction of the atomic bomb, which naturally caused many to assume that the end was near.
As understandable as the sentiment was in those days, there was just one very important piece of the prophetic puzzle that was missing.
By the end of World War II, there was no nation-state of Judah. Jerusalem and Judea were still under the control of foreign nations. The overwhelming majority of Jewish people remained in exile. The house of Judah had no unified government or religious solidarity in their homeland.
The reason this is so significant is because there are dozens of Biblical prophecies that describe the events leading up to the end of the age, the return of the Messiah, and the final battle of Armageddon, and all of these prophecies share one necessary component.
The house of Judah is depicted as not only living in the land but more importantly as having governmental and religious authority and autonomy. These end-times prophecies describe the house of Judah under political and spiritual leadership in Jerusalem.
In other words, it was impossible for any of these prophecies to ever come to pass until a nation-state of Judah existed.
And of course, that is precisely what happened against all odds in the wake of World War II and the horrors of the Jewish holocaust. In May of 1948, by the most narrow of margins, the United Nations voted to recognize an autonomous Jewish state, and after 1,900 years of exile, the Jewish people were once again united and established in their homeland.
For the first time in nearly two millennia, the Jewish nation was reborn.
For the Bible scholar and prophecy watcher alike, this historical event was seen as perhaps the greatest fulfillment of Biblical prophecy since the coming of Christ Himself. And for good reason.
To demonstrate this point more specifically, allow me to share some of the prophetic passages that clearly depict a national Jewish presence in Jerusalem and Judea before the return of Christ.
The Leadership of Judah in Power
Many prophecies describing the political and religious establishment of Judah in the last days clearly depict Jewish leadership having the power to make significant geopolitical decisions. This would have been impossible before 1948 when the Jewish nation was reborn.
“Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, 15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” 16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. 17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. 18 Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it. 19 Asoften as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
Isaiah 28:14-19
Beyond that, Jesus Himself gave a prophetic warning to the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem of His day. The Jewish leadership had rejected their own Messiah and condemned Him to death, and Jesus pronounced a severe judgment upon them. He said that they would not see His face again until they repented and acknowledged Him as Messiah.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.‘”
Matthew 23:27-29
Hosea also prophecies about the necessity of the house of Judah to repent before Messiah returns.
“Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Hosea 5:15
The House of Judah will Repent and Mourn for Jesus
The prophet Zechariah describes a spiritual awakening of the house of Judah just before the Lord Jesus returns to wage war against God’s enemies.
“Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”
Zechariah 12:10-11
The Final Invasion of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the epicenter of the world, and all of redemptive history will culminate with the final battle for Zion. It only makes sense that the Jewish people first had to be dwelling in Jerusalem and Judea in order for enemy forces to invade and surround the city. Certainly Jerusalem is no stranger to such foreign invasions.
History reveals significant antichrist figures besieging Jerusalem on more than one occasion. King Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Roman Emperor Titus are among the most prominent rulers to capture Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, Hitler and the Nazis had little regard for Jerusalem primarily because the city was not under Jewish leadership at the time.
Scripture, however, reveals at least one last invasion of Jerusalem at the very end of this age, predicting a coalition of many nations will once again surround the city to prepare for the final battle. The primary distinction characterizing this final invasion will be the return of Christ to fight for the city of the Great King!
“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land … Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. 16 The Lord also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
Joel 3:1-2, 14-17
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem. 3On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured. 4On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations. 5Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: ‘The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.’“
Zechariah 12:2-5
“For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city. 3Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. 4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. 5You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.”
Zechariah 14:2-5
Drawing from the prophets, Jesus also prophesied of this final invasion of Jerusalem just before His return.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near.21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. 22For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.“
Luke 21:20-24
Clearly these prophesies have not been fulfilled at any point in history and could not have been fulfilled until the Jewish nation was reestablished in 1948.
Beyond that, the current war in Israel is escalating into a regional conflict and causing alarm for the potential for another world war. Again, we must wait and see, but for the first time in centuries the signs of the times are pointing to the end of the age, the great tribulation, and the return of Christ.
“A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. 22So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.“
[John 16:20-21]
The most prominent and powerful illustration used in Scripture to describe the events leading up to the end of this present age is the analogy of labor pains. The Lord Jesus tells us that we will be able to identify general signs that will materialize and progress like birth pains. These signs include mass spiritual deception and counterfeit Christianity, ethnic division and conflict, revolutions, international wars and reports of wars, famines, and earthquakes.
The initial challenge in identifying current events as sure fulfillments of these “birth pains” comes with the obvious fact that these types of general signs have been present on some scale throughout all of human history. The enemy has always been sowing seeds of deception within organized religion. Historically, we are no strangers to racial tensions and international wars and revolutions. Famines and earthquakes are nothing new to the human experience.
We must be careful of using the modern news cycle as the primary source supporting our prophetic predictions. It is tempting to correlate every single war or major earthquake with a sure sign of the end times. So how are we to determine the difference between the commonplace and the prophetic birth pains associated with the last days?
In my opinion, it is imperative to let the illustration of labor pains speak for itself. The only way we will ever know if we are witnessing the beginning of birth pains will be if the signs themselves follow the natural progression of a pregnancy. When the time finally comes for a mother to give birth, we can be certain that a baby is coming soon, but she must first endure the birth pains.
Once labor begins, we can be sure of the following.
Using the natural process of labor as a guide, we should be able to quantify the visible intensification and frequency of these signs leading up to very end of the age and the return of Christ. So we can expect the birth pains to grow stronger and more intense the closer to the end we are.
Counterfeit Christianity
“Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.”
1 Timothy 4:1-2
I have always been interested to understand what Jesus meant when He warned against spiritual deception. He says, “For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” [Matthew 24:5]. One possible interpretation is that many will come claiming to be the Christ and deceiving the masses with astonishing signs and wonders. Of course this spiritual deception will culminate with the revealing of the man of lawlessness — the counterfeit Christ — and the false prophet.
Another possible way to read Jesus’ words is to expect many so-called Christian leaders to come in the name of Christ and claim that Jesus is the Christ, yet at the same time teach a perverted version of Christ so as to deceive the church with false doctrine.
Like so many prophetic mysteries, it is likely to be a both-and scenario. Either way, we should expect a massive defection of the true gospel that once and for all was delivered to the saints (Jude 1:4). Even as I right this, we are witnessing nearly every mainstream denomination adopt the doctrines of demons and endorse heretical teaching contrary to the Word of God. The likes of Southern Baptists and Catholics and Methodists and everything in between continue to compromise to satisfy the desires of a wicked and perverse generation.
It is only a matter of time before the entire world “will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires and so turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” [2 Timothy 4:3-4]
Wars and Revolutions
We are not waiting for random wars and conflicts. Near the very end, we will begin to hear international reports (rumors) of wars dominating the news cycles. Next we can expect to see a series of revolutions, insurrections, and regional wars that exponentially will intensify into another world war scenario. Eventually everything will culminate with the war that ends all wars — Armageddon.
Right now the two major conflicts of interest are the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas War, both of which likely could erupt into regional or world war scenarios. We must wait and see before we can confidently make a call.
Famines, Earthquakes, and Pestilences
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.”
[Romans 8:22]
In the years and months leading up to the end of the age, we can expect an exponential increase in famines and drought, pestilences and contagious disease, and tectonic activity, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. For these signs to qualify as birth pains, they must be more than random droughts, infrequent earthquakes, or even Covid-19 scenarios.
Scripture is clear that over the last 42 months, or 3 1/2 years, of human history there will be unparalleled famines and drought, apocalyptic plagues, and a series of major earthquakes culminating in the greatest shaking of the earth the world has ever seen [see Isaiah 24:17-23, Revelation 6:12-17 and Revelation 16:17-21].
It Gets Worse before It Gets Better
“Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. 8Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.“
[Isaiah 13:8]
The general signs of birth pains teach us one important lesson. Things must first get worse (i.e. great tribulation) before it will ever get better (i.e. the return of Christ).
My feeling is that when the world finally is in full-blown labor, we won’t have to guess. The beginning of birth pains may start somewhat slow, but there will be no way to mistake the intensity and frequency of prophetic signs that characterize the end of the age.
The good news is that once Christ returns, our sorrows will turn to joy and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” [Matthew 24:3]
What is a sign?
A sign generally is defined as an object or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the presence or occurrence of something else to come.
Signs grab our attention. Provide information. Give us direction. Warn us of danger. And perhaps most importantly, signs compel us to take decisive action. Signs can be heeded or missed. Obeyed or ignored. All depends upon whether or not we are looking in the first place.
For those who operate on a spiritual plane and value Biblical knowledge and understanding, it is imperative to identify and discern signs as they apply to God’s personal revelation, prophetic prognostication, and ultimate intervention in the affairs of mankind.
So signs can be of tremendous value to those who are able both to clearly perceive and properly interpret them.
Before delving into God’s intended purpose for providing signs to His people, it must be said that sign seeking should never be the foundation of our relationship with God, but rather the sufficiency of truth as revealed in Scripture itself. Obsessive sign seeking can become a fruitless distraction and cause many to waiver in their faith. Jesus condemned the leaders of His generation for demanding a sign on their own terms, while at the same time willfully denying the self-revelation of God in their very presence.
Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
[Matthew 12:39]
Those seeking and discerning signs, therefore, must be grounded in Scripture, attuned with the Holy Spirit, and walking closely with Christ to avoid being deceived and deluded. For we also are commanded to guard our hearts from being enticed by the convincing and dangerous appeal of false signs and wonders generated by the powers of darkness [see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12].
As you can see, properly understanding the signs of the times is vitally important for the body of Christ, which is why I have been compelled to dedicate an entire series to this topic. Consider just a few passages that admonish God’s people to identify and interpret the prophetic signs associated with the last days.
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you in advance.“
[Matthew 24:24-25]
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.“
[Matthew 24:32-33]
“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. 36Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. 37Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns.”
[Luke 12:35-37]
‘Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you. 2For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.5For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.‘
[1 Thessalonians 5:1-6]
Most would agree that we are living in troubling times. Many feel a sense of heightened awareness and a spiritual heaviness unlike any in recent memory. More so, it is impossible to survey the current spiritual, cultural, and geopolitical landscape without recognizing signs of Biblical proportions.
Before we can accurately interpret the signs of the times, we first must be able to identify them. Once we properly identify and interpret Biblical signs, then we must acquire the godly wisdom to take decisive action.
So what should we expect to see if we indeed are the generation living at the end of the age? Fortunately, the Bible has revealed specific signs that are unique to the last days.
“Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.”
[Matthew 24:34]
Birth Pains and Beyond
Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.“
[Matthew 24:4-8]
In the most comprehensive and authoritative message about the end times, our Lord Jesus provides the foundational teaching describing the distinct signs that will precede His return. Popularly known as the Olivet Discourse, this teaching forms the central framework upon which all other end-times prophecies can be interpreted.
When His disciples asked about what signs will define the days prior to His return, Jesus answers without a hint of ambiguity. He obviously wanted all disciples of every generation to be certain about what to expect so that we neither would be in darkness nor surprised, but rather awake and ready.
Jesus first provides a general description of events that he calls “the beginning of birth pains,” and then he proceeds to reveal more specific signs in detail. My goal is to start this series by first examining the general birth pains and then dive deeper into more specific signs.
For now, I have compiled a working list (though not exhaustive) to serve as a guide. We can be certain, that the following signs will characterize the conclusion of this present age and precede the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Birth Pains
Spiritual Deception
Counterfeit Christs and Christianity
Real time world-wide reporting about geopolitical conflicts
So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
[Genesis 11:8-9]
Babel — The gate of the gods.
What was the Tower of Babel? Why did Nimrod build it?
Was it an ancient skyscraper?
Was it a rocket launcher?
Or perhaps we have looked at the tower of Babel all wrong.
It is more likely that the tower of Babel was an ancient ziggurat and pagan temple complex that was specifically designed to open a portal to the other side. Babel was a gateway for the gods, summoning the dark powers of heaven and opening a dimensional door into the spirit realm.
When we consider what the modern-day mediums are doing with the likes of the massive hadron collider at CERN, it is apparent that one of their goals is to once again open a door to the other side and summoning powers to come upon the earth.
To discover more about this and more, be sure to access the free digital resources for Session 23 in my Genesis study below.
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These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.
[Genesis 10:32]
The race baiters of our day would have us to believe that systemic racism is alive and well in America, and anyone who dares to stand against the godless agendas of our day are automatically labeled as racists. Not only is history being rewritten to stoke the fires of racism in our culture, but an entire generation is being taught to judge others not by the content of their character but by the color of their skin.
If only this generation would take the time to read the Bible, it would become abundantly clear that the idea of inferior and superior races is not a Biblical concept. Quite the contrary, the Bible that there are not multiple races but only one race and one blood — the human race. We all are sons of Adam and because we all come from one man, there exists a true brotherhood of man created by God as His image bearers.
The Bible specifically speaks of the divisions of the earth in terms of nations, tribes, and languages. The Bible also reveals that every territory and nation on earth has been ruled and oppressed by fallen gods.
Not only did Jesus come to save us as a representative of mankind — the Son of Man — but also He came on a cosmic mission as the Son of God to redeem us from the bondage of these fallen gods once and for all.
To discover more about this fascinating topic, be sure to download the resources from my Genesis study below.
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When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said,“Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
[Genesis 9:24-25]
The Biblical authors were not in the habit of embellishing the truth and falsely portraying the heroes of the faith in unrealistic light. There are many negative examples that we can learn from in Scripture that remind us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
Only One has ever perfectly lived before God, and He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Whether Noah or anyone else, we all need Jesus.
Furthermore, the curse of Canaan carries some mystery and innuendo, which means that there is something more to it than meets the eye.
Why was Noah so angry with Ham, and why did he curse Ham’s son, Canaan, instead?
To find out more, be sure to check out Session 21 in my Genesis Study and access the free resources below.
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Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
[Romans 1:24-27]
In the aftermath of the great cataclysm of the global flood, the Creator God made a universal covenant with Noah and subsequently with all mankind. Never again would He destroy all flesh from the face of the earth, and never again would He bring universal judgment by means of water.
The sign of God’s covenant … the rainbow.
God alone gets to decide what the rainbow is and more importantly what it means.
The rainbow is sign of God’s justice and judgment of sin, while at the same time it is a sign of God’s mercy and long suffering with sinners, not wishing that any should perish.
In a direct affront to God, the LGBTQ+ advocates and apologists have hijacked the symbol of the rainbow and redefined it to represent every form of sexual perversion and sin. Sadly, we have an entire generation that now marches under the banner of the rainbow believing that it stands for sexual liberation in celebration of all forms of sexual expression.
It is no accident that the leaders of the LGBTQ+ community chose the rainbow as their universal symbol. They knew exactly what they were doing — collectively spitting and laughing in the face of a holy God.
I am calling all people of faith to stand with me and reclaim the rainbow in this perverse and wicked generation.
And the only way we will succeed is through another symbol — the greatest symbol of God’s mercy and justice the world has ever seen.
We reclaim the rainbow through the cross of Jesus Christ, who was willing to give His life in the place of sinners that He might bring us to God and save us from the coming judgment.
To learn more about how followers of Christ can reclaim the rainbow through the gospel of Christ, check out Session 20 in my Genesis Study below.
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When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. 22As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
[Genesis 8:21-22]
Climate change is all the rave these days, yet the modern-day environmentalists peddle a false narrative about global warming, carbon footprints, and going green to save the planet.
Although the neopagans grossly exaggerate an impending environmental apocalypse and have successfully propagated a false gospel nature worship to an entire generation, the reality remains.
There has always been climate change and always will be. For the Bible tells me so. God informed us about climate change thousands of years before the foolish trends of today.
And as far as cataclysmic, apocalyptic disasters, God told us about those as well. Yet instead of the myth of man-made global warming, God will surely come to judge the earth as an all-consuming fire to melt the elements as they burn with fervent heat.
When Noah and his surviving family stepped off the ark, they stepped into a brave new world suffering from legitimate climate change. The aftereffects of the cataclysmic flood would have caused extreme shifts in weather patterns, magnetic fields, atmospheric insulation, acid rain, and the like, eventually causing rapid freezing and casting the planet into an ice age.
To discover more about this brave new world, check out all the free resources for Session 19 in my Genesis study below.
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“Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. 16Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. 17He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. 19He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!“
[Job 40:15-19]
Since the term “dinosaur” was coined in the mid 19th century, man and child alike have been fascinated with these massive, terrible lizards in the fossil record.
Naturalistic evolutionists have used the discovery of dinosaur fossils to propagate their fanciful fairytales of prehistoric ages hundreds of millions of years before man supposedly “evolved” on the scene. Evolutionary apologists have successfully promoted their unscientific Jurassic fantasies in everything from the pages of children’s books to the silver screen of Hollywood blockbuster films.
The influence of the so-called “scientific” community quickly infiltrated the church, where uneducated pastors and capricious theologians began to question the validity of the Scriptures, compromise the clear teaching of God’s word, and embrace the evolutionary models of millions of years. These futile attempts to harmonize Genesis with Darwinism proved fatal to generations of impressionable Christians who now had cause to be skeptical of the truth of the Biblical account of creation.
As a result, the foundation of redemptive history has been destroyed and countless millions have departed the faith altogether, finding no sufficient scientific answers to the evolutionary paradigm that now challenges the authority of Scripture.
So where do dinosaurs fit into the Bible?
Did man live alongside dinosaurs in the recent past?
What scientific evidence has emerged in the fossil record that radically has challenged the narrative that dinosaurs lived on the earth millions of years ago?
To discover answers to questions like these and more, check out Session 18 in my Genesis Study Below.
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“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
[Matthew 5:17]
Do you remember the popular trend just a few decades ago — What would Jesus Do? (W.W.J.D.) Followers of Jesus of all ages wore bracelets and t-shirts with the W.W.J.D. acronym, as a reminder of the call to committed discipleship.
Although I appreciated that trend while it lasted and still commend any sentiment that encourages followers of Christ to a life of obedience, I would like to revisit that same question through a new pair of eyes and a greater understanding of God’s word.
So … What would Jesus Do?
If Jesus were walking the earth today, what would He be doing? How would He be living? What path would He be walking?
More importantly, can we honestly say that the overwhelming majority of Christians today are following the example of our Lord and Savior and walking in His ways?
Jesus Fulfilled the Law
“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
[Matthew 5:18-19]
In my rediscovery of Torah, I now read my Bible and see Jesus through entirely different lenses. I no longer see a Messiah who came to abolish an old, broken system and subsequently create an entirely new religion. I no longer see a Messiah who came to set us free from the oppressive laws and burdensome commandments of God. I no longer see a Messiah who came to finally get rid of all those “Jewish” customs and replace them with the pagan traditions of the Gentiles.
I now see Jesus as the one who did not come to abolish God’s Torah but rather literally to embody and express the heart of God to the fullest possible extent.
I see Jesus as the One who came to set us free from the “curse” of the law [Galatians 3:10-14] — which is death — and then promises to give us His very own Spirit of freedom to walk in obedience to God’s law — which is righteousness and life [Galatians 5].
Unfortunately, there has been a gross misinterpretation of what Jesus meant by saying that He came not to abolish the law (Torah) but to fulfill. All my life I was taught that by fulfilling the law, Jesus somehow did away with the law once and for all and rendered the law obsolete. I was taught that because Jesus fulfilled the law, then the law was no longer applicable or beneficial to me as a follower of Jesus. I was taught that by fulfilling the law, Jesus liberated me from the law itself, and I no longer had to concern myself with all of those oppressive rules from the “Old” Testament.
This rank antinomianism has pervaded the Christian “church” and caused so much unnecessary confusion and error.
When Jesus says that He came to fulfill the law, He means that He is fullest expression of God’s Torah. He is the perfect example of keeping God’s commandments. He is the Only One who ever finished the race and crossed the finish line of life without sin by fulfilling perfect righteousness.
Therefore, Christ is the end goal of the law — meaning He is the standard — but that doesn’t mean He put an end to the law itself. He is the perfect example. He is the One we strive to be like. He is the One we focus on and follow if we want to live a life pleasing to the Father. Jesus is our flesh and blood demonstration of what it means to keep the Torah!
For Christ to fulfill the law DOES NOT MEAN that He put an end to the law! God forbid! He upholds the law. He promotes the keeping of the law. He is the one who expects His followers to walk in His ways and obey His commandments. Keeping the law was never the means to save the sinner, but it is the evidence that the sinner has been saved!
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
[John 14:21]
Not only is this theologically undeniable but also logically self-evident.
Just stop and think about it …
If Jesus came to abolish the law so that His followers did not have to keep the commandments anymore, then that would mean that we are free to ignore and break His commandments.
No law! No problem!
Jesus has us covered. It’s all grace! Do what you want. He doesn’t care. Finally! No more rules!
Let’s just start with the 10 Commandments themselves.
Wanna murder? No big deal.
Commit adultery and lie? It’s ok … Jesus got rid of all those oppressive rules.
Dishonor your parents and start worshipping idols? Yep. No worries. All that Old Testament stuff has been abolished by Jesus!
Forgive the sarcasm, but I needed to make my point.
It is altogether absurd to suggest that Jesus came to abolish the law and get rid of God’s commandments. Of course that’s not true!
But because of gross misinterpretations, the “church” has propagated and perpetuated error for generations without taking the time to follow such teachings to their logical and absurd conclusions.
Now I realize that most Christians would at least still affirm the 10 Commandments (well except number 4) and cherry pick and choose a few other “moral” laws from the Old Testament, but beyond that most Christians practically are averse to God’s Torah.
“All the rest of that old stuff is only for the Jews,” they say. “We are the Gentile church,” they say.
But wait a minute, aren’t we trying to answer the simple question … What would Jesus do?
Was Jesus a Gentile or a Jew?
Did Jesus abandoned the Torah and teach His Gentile followers to do the same?
Or did Jesus expect all of His disciples, Jew or Gentile, to align themselves with His ways and His teachings and His commandments?
What Would Jesus Do?
“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
[Matthew 12:7-8]
Any committed follower of Jesus Christ should stop to consider just what it means to live as Jesus lived. If Jesus is the fullest expression of God’s Torah and our perfect example of righteousness, then should we not simply just want to live as He lived, walk as He walked, and do what He did?
Now I would like assume that most committed followers of Jesus are doing pretty good at keeping the obvious commandments. Surely we understand that if we love our neighbor we should not murder, lie, steal, and commit adultery.
But beyond keeping the obvious commandments, what else would Jesus do if He were alive on the earth today?
Jesus was Circumcised on the 8th Day — Genesis 17:1-14
As a male descendant of Abraham and a member of the covenant community of Israel, Jesus was circumcised according to the Torah. The sign of circumcision was first given to Abraham and eventually confirmed with the children of Israel.
For Gentiles, circumcision has never been a condition for salvation, as Paul and the Jerusalem council clearly taught (Acts 15 and Romans 4). However, once a person trusts the Lord Jesus by faith and is grafted into the covenant community of Israel, then circumcision is an act of obedience much like baptism.
Jesus kept the Sabbath Holy — Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11
Jesus would rest from ordinary work every 7th Day of the week — which is Saturday not Sunday — and gather with other believers to pray, read the Bible, sing praises to God and break bread in fellowship. Jesus never broke the Sabbath and never commanded His disciples to break the Sabbath. We are never told anywhere in the New Testament that God has done away with the Sabbath or that God’s people were supposed to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
I find it bizarre and logically inconsistent that most Christians have no problem with the other nine commandments, but for some reason we have completely stripped out the 4th Commandment and removed it from God’s tablets of stone. Not only was Sabbath established at the very beginning of creation, but God’s covenant people will be keeping Sabbath in the coming Messianic Age.
Jesus kept the Dietary Laws, eating only animals that God determined to be food — Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14
The Creator has determined what is considered to be food and what is not to be consumed as food. Jesus would never have eaten any animal that was not clean, according to Torah. Once again, the dietary laws, contrary to popular opinion, have never bee abrogated or abolished. In other words, if God the Creator has determined an animal unclean as food, then that animal still is not food in God’s sight and should not be consumed.
Jesus kept the Appointed Feasts of the LORD — Leviticus 23
We are given multiple examples of both Jesus and His Apostles observing the appointed feasts of the LORD, as prescribed in the Torah. These divine appointments were established by God as a blessing for His covenant people to celebrate and rejoice and remember His goodness, mercy and love.
The appointed feasts were given as statutes to be observed forever, throughout all generations, not to mention the fact that Jesus’s work of redemption itself was accomplished on these appointed feast days to the very last detail.
Of course, there are many other laws that Jesus would have kept as well, but that is beyond the scope of this post.
My point is simply this. If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and desire to be like Him as much as possible and walk in His ways and walk in obedience to His commandments, then are we willing to set aside the traditions of men and truly do the things that Jesus did?
Days of Noah 