The Strategy of the Tares

Now how do we get prepared for the coming end of this world? What does the Bible say about this? It has so much to tell us. After all, the Book was written for believers. We began to see last time how attacks on believers could be grouped into a system of six major denials of truth found in the Scriptures. These denials are not from the secular world but come from within the church itself. The Parables of the Kingdom, especially those of the mustard tree and the leaven tell us that there will be much turmoil and division within the churches. Jesus sums up this chasm into what He calls, the wheat, the believers and the tares, the non-believers, who are living together in the visible church. The tares’ strategy can be seen using these six denials.

Last week, we looked at the first four denials. The first one is an attack on the person and nature of the Messiah. This is surely why the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament put so much emphasis on the divine nature of Yeshua, something the tares are trying so hard to deny or diminish. The second denial naturally follows the first. It is the denial of the validity and of the inerrancy of the Scriptures. As the serpent did in the Garden of Eden, they will try to instill doubt and even directly deny God’s Words. The third denial is what might be expected after the first two. It is the denial of the faith; that is, when one moves away from God and from His Word. At this point the person has lost his point of reference and becomes disoriented and no longer understands his place in the Kingdom of God. The fourth one follows course after the third. The denial of faith will bring the denial of biblical morality and holiness. When we remove God, His Word, and refuse His gift of faith, then sin will settle in, and immorality will flow out instead.

The fifth and sixth denials are what might be expected and are so rampant today. The fifth denial is a refutation of what is a solid biblical foundation in the teaching of Scripture. It is the denial of the end time prophecies. This was a problem with Israel and so it is with the church as well, especially at a time when we need them the most, in these very times we are living.

This phenomenon we see today started to permeate the nominal church 2000 years ago. It was prophesied by Peter in 2 Peter 3: 3-4. See what he says, “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” In these last days, Peter says, many will rise and mock those who believe in the prophecies, many who believe for example, in the rapture, those who believe in the coming Antichrist or those who believe in the coming Messianic Times or Millenium. Have you experienced these mockeries lately?

But beyond these godly men, let us learn from Yeshua Himself when it comes to prophecies.

We remember what God says through Hosea that, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge Hosea 4:6. But what part of God’s revealed knowledge was neglected which played such a pivotal role in the nation’s fall? Jesus tells us. See what He told Israel in Luke19:42-44, after giving them His prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70AD. Referring to the temple, He tells them something so crucial. He said, And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

What did He mean when He mentioned the time of your visitation? Which visitation is it? It was His coming. It was His first coming. And how would they know about the timing, when and why and where, if it were not from bible prophecy? But see how precise and specific it is; see the Greek word He uses for the word time.

There are two words in ancient Greek for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to what is regular time, sequential time, this is where we get our word chronology. However, the other word kairos, the one used here, speaks of a specific time. The term has the sense of a decisive moment. What Yeshua is telling them is that they did not know the exact time of His first coming which was prophesied by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 9:24-27. We remember that the first false messiahs in Israel came at the same time as Jesus because they knew the prophecy of Daniel but the religious leaders did not consider them.

But now, what is the sixth and last denial? Here again it flows from the previous one. It is the denial of the Bible’s promises concerning the nation of Israel, the refutation of its right to the land and even of its right to exist.

It is either in ignorance or it is a rebuttal of those many prophecies which promise the Jewish people’s soon return to their land. This includes them becoming the priestly nation that God promised they would become when He told Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed”. These unconditional promises were reaffirmed over and over by the prophets.

Today, as the protestant and evangelical churches are moving more and more away from the premillennial position, they are withdrawing from their stance in recognizing Israel in her divinely ordained position. I am not saying that all those who are not premillennial are anti-Israel and / or anti-Semitic, but I will surely say that the seed is there and history testifies that Christian anti-Semitism stems from this position of amillennialism and postmillennialism. And what is common to all these denominations in this New Christianity? They all believe they are the new Israel and today Israel is becoming more of a hindrance to the outworking of their theology.

But why is Israel so disliked today in the world by almost every nation and even many believers?

Have you thought about the reason? It is linked with the Second Coming of Yeshua which the forces of evil are trying so hard to prevent. See what Jesus says in Matthew 23:39 right after His prophecy concerning the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem. He said, “For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! See how Israel plays such a major role in the end time prophecies. What this verse tells us is that Yeshua will not return to the earth until the Jews and the Jewish leaders ask Him to come back, until they say,“Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.”  This is a quotation from psalm 118:26, from the last psalm of the group of Hallel Psalms, from Psalms 113-118. This is a messianic greeting, and it will signify their acceptance of His Messiahship. This brings us right to the end of the tribulation, when they shall recognize the One they have pierced. The denial of the right of Israel to exist is a satanic plot, but it would not last for very long.

Click Here for the Teaching: The End Times – Getting Well prepared