FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END

WE ARE LIVING CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS GENTILE AGE OF GRACE: AND AMONG CHURCH-GOING PEOPLE YOU CAN HEAR ALL KINDS OF PREDICTIONS AND PROJECTIONS ABOUT THINGS THAT MUST TAKE PLACE BEFORE THE LORD JESUS COMES FOR HIS BRIDE CHURCH; BUT THE PITIFUL PART OF IT IS THAT VERY FEW OF THOSE PREDICTION ARE BASED UPON THE SCRIPTURES. THAT IS WHY I WANT TO TAKE A LITTLE TIME AND DEAL WITH SOME THINGS REVELATED PEOPLE ARE TO BE AWARE OF IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF THIS TALK ABOUT THE END TIME. I WILL TITLE THE MESSAGE, "LOOKING FOR CLUES," BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT WILL BE ABOUT. GOD HAS GIVEN HIS TRUE CHILDREN MANY CLUES: THAT WHEN STUDIED PROPERLY WILL LET THEM KNOW WHERE THE CHURCH IS, SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING, AS HER DEPARTURE TIME DRAWS NIGH. I HAD ALREADY STARTED THIS MESSAGE BEFORE WE WENT TO NORWAY; BUT AFTER GOING THERE AND HEARING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE BEING CIRCULATED AROUND, I FEEL AN EVEN STRONGER URGENCY TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME SCRIPTURAL FACTS. THERE ARE THINGS WRITTEN EVER SO CLEARLY IN OUR BIBLE'S THAT ABSOLUTELY TAKE ALL OF THE GUESS WORK OUT OF OUR CONVERSATION CONCERNING THE COMING OF THE LORD AND WHAT MUST TAKE PLACE FIRST.

Some of the Norwegian church people expressed much interest in respects to what is going on in Jerusalem: about the ark of the covenant and also about the fact that among a certain element of the Jews there is a searching for the ancestral background of certain families within the Jewish Levite tribe. They are definitely beginning to become concerned that they could be getting close to the time there will be a temple built. If so, there has to be certain Jewish Levites that are capable by their background, by their genealogical heritage, as well as morally, to function within that priestly role. Then upon arriving home, I had two tapes here sent to be by a brother in Bloomington. The information, the literature itself comes directly from Jerusalem. There is definitely a movement among a certain element of Jews in Jerusalem now, and has been for a long time; but it seems that somehow or other those people have been suppressed by the news media and are not looked upon as being very important: But the movement is called "The temple mount and the rebuilding of the temple movement." It tells how this particular man that is pressing hard for the re-establishment in the minds of Jewish people the importance of the temple being rebuilt, is a descendent from a rabbi that goes back many years ago: that immigrated into Israel. His interest at that time was to begin to spread throughout the land of Israel, among those Jews that really were found living there then, that the time was getting close when the Jewish people must take the responsibility of doing something about regathering the tribes from the ends of the earth. He had the ten tribes at heart at that time. Somehow or other that old rabbi was killed by Arabs: because they wanted to shut him up. They did not want this state of Israel to come into existence. To them, it would be a hindrance to the overall vision they felt the Islamic Arab world had. You have to realize, in and around the little land of Israel, when you look at all the Arab states, as well as many of the non Arab states, that are all under this Islamic religion, there is now a combining of political and religious philosophy. They cannot tolerate this statehood of Israel to be there in the midst of what they claim is their land. That is exactly why, from the political standpoint of Israel, they are reaching out to western leaders, especially the United States leadership, hoping to bring about negotiations for a peace settlement. It is being suggested that there be a certain portion of land within the confines of what is now Israel partitioned likewise to form another Arab state within the confines of the land of Israel. These particular Jews realize this is completely contrary to Bible prophecy. Let me just say this, We all know that for the last 50 years, since the close of WW2, the United States has pressed hard under every administration, for Jews from every nation to be allowed to immigrate back to the land of Palestine and settle there. Now just take for instance this thought, I saw a census not long ago of the Jewish population in the world. It runs into many millions. Now our leadership is saying to nations, you must for human rights sake, be willing to let the Jews go home. Then on the other hand, they press the leadership of Israel within the territory, you must be willing to give up land at the same time, in order for the Palestinians that are already living there to have a homeland. That is absolutely like putting one million beans in a quart jar. It is impossible. It is unreasonable to think you can crowd millions of one race of people in a small territory which does not cover the size of southern California, and at the same time slice out another part of it just to give the Palestinian Arabs that are there a statehood of their own. They may very well try it; but we know that scripturally it can never work like that. It looks like craziness on the part of our leadership to even devise such a plan. The Bible gives us a complete picture of what God has ordained for these last days if we will just lay aside our own carnal feelings of what we consider to be fair and just and let the Holy Spirit direct our thinking. Therefore I am just praying, Lord help me put this message together in a meaningful way. We need to realize, If we are living close to the time when Israel is going to be given an opportunity to build a temple, then it means that we, as a Gentile people, a Church, right here somewhere before that event occurs, are living now in a little short interval of time when we can expect God, by His Spirit, to finish among us, everything that is written scripturally pertaining to a Gentile Bride Church being prepared and made ready to be presented to the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a lot of things to say; and I do not know when I will get it all said. Nevertheless I am going to take my time and try to cover this message, "Looking For Clues:" from every angle. What are we looking for? We are looking for clues that will help us better understand how close we are getting to the coming of Jesus Christ. That is what it is all about. We realize Jesus said very plainly, no man knows the day nor hour of the coming of the Son of man: Not even the angels of heaven know the day or hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. He was talking about the coming of the Lord for His Church. It is a mystery. We know from the scriptures that when He does come visibly with the saints, with the armies of heaven, as is described in Revelation 19, that is not a mystery; but His coming for the catching away of the bride Church is a mystery. When He comes back with His armies from heaven, heaven will be opened and every eye will behold that great event. Every knee will bend, every head will bow. The wicked will flee to the mountains and cry for the rocks to fall upon them; but their efforts will all be in vain: because He is coming to judge them. That coming is not a mystery: it will be fulfilled at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel. He will not be coming then as a thief. He is only coming as a thief in the night, to take His little bride Church out of this world. When you talk about a rapture, this degenerate, perverted society we are living in wants to treat you as some kind of odd-ball character that must surely be in some kind of cult. Well the most highly recognized of all the denominational churches in the world is also the largest cult in the world. Their true followers are under bondage; and there is nothing about it that honors the Creator. You talk about something dangerous: that is it; but no, they want to pick on people who do truly have a revelation of the scriptures and are trying to live accordingly, and investigate them. I said a few weeks back, No doubt there will be more Waco Texas type groups rising upon the scene before the end; because scripturally that is one of the signs of the end time. At the same time though, there is going to be another element of people that are the real people of God; and they are going to have an understanding, a vision, and a picture in their mind's of how to yield their lives to God and get ready to leave this world.

Let us go into the 2nd chapter of Haggai: for that is where our message begins: in a prophecy given over 500 years before the advent of Christ. We get the setting from this. We could even go back into the writings of Ezra and read the same thing we find here. In fact it gives a more overall picture of the dedication of the little temple we are going to read about. Around 520 or 519 two prophets arose on the scene. We do not even know from history where they came from, as to their background and former activitye. All we know is, Cyrus made a decree that all the Jews who out of a willing heart wanted to go back from Babylonian captivity, back to Jerusalem to help build the house to their God were free to do so. He even exhorted the political leaders and such that sums from the treasury should be given them for this cause. When you go to Ezra you can read how there was taken all those golden instruments, vessels and such, that King Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from the temple when he invaded their land and took them captive. All of those things were brought out and restored to the hands of the Jewish people: to be taken back to their home land and placed in the rebuilt temple. They were exhorted to start building their temple. That was their commission. Not a word was said about rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. Anyhow all of this fits into the 70 weeks of Daniel. We will be sticking to this from the prophetic picture, the types and things established here, and from it we will bring over certain prophetic fulfillment that is pointing to the hour you and I now live in. It is important that we see the picture from the standpoint of how it is applicable to our day and time, as we see the types portrayed. (Haggai 2:1-3) "In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?" This name, Zerubbabel, was an important name. We do not know much about the man, but he was a political and social leader that somehow or other had been appointed over this people to govern them in their social, domestic, and political affairs. There was also another man by the name of Joshua. He was of the Levite tribe. He was in the company; and was to be the priest that would function in this temple once it was built. Joshua, was the same name our Savior was called by, setting a perfect type. It would have been strange, if that temple had been rebuilt and they had chosen a Jewish Levite who had a name like Simeon, or Nathaniel, or something other than Joshua; but it was all a master plan of the great Creator, so his name was Joshua: the same name Jesus is derived from. Of course the very fact that I have said this makes it necessary for me to say certain other things along this line and put it in the message; because I have in my possession various literature that has been sent to me through the years from various groups of Gentile people who somehow or other keep wanting to insist that we all refer to God as Joshua or Yahweh, that being the Hebrew name of Jesus. They want to pronounce the name of Jesus that way: giving you the impression that when we say Jesus, (which is truly supposed to be the name) it is a pagan name; and that the letters in it have no value. They are trying to imply that we, as Gentiles, must come back to using Yahweh, or Yahshua, like the early Christian apostles did. Well saints, I am going to say certain things that will no doubt be offensive to people like that; but I feel that it is necessary: so bear with me. We are approaching the end. I know some of these people take me for a nut, simply because I am not an educated person according to their standards. I admit that I am not; but I do not rely on my education for what I teach: I rely on the ONE that knows all about everything. It is just the grace of God that has helped me through the years: to look at some things, at certain types and shadows and see what they pertain to. I will accept your information, how that in the first century, and no doubt for a period of time onward, those early Christians did use either Yahweh or Yahshua, rather than the term Jesus. I have no reason to disagree with that. However I am looking at the picture here in 1993: after many centuries of Christianity since the days they refer to have come and gone; and I find that from many of these groups that teach these things they also say that we have to come back to the Jewish Sabbath and observe it. They say that worshipping on the first day of the week, on Sunday like we do, is a pagan practice. Well I just preached a message on that very thing some months back. They cannot prove by early Christian history of the first and second century, that early Gentile Christians worshipped on the Jewish Sabbath. They accuse the Catholic Church of instituting the practice of worshipping on the first day of the week; but I ask you, Where did they get the idea to do that? They got it from the Bible; because the first century Christians did assemble on the first day of the week. Upon returning home from Norway I found other literature waiting for me showing these very same things. Listen! Saints: Every prophecy that is typed in the first chapters of Leviticus, coming up to chapter 23, every ceremony, every feast, every day festivity, every type it portrayed was literally fulfilled in and during the first advent of Christ. Therefore we are now looking to the next order of types: because when we go into the day of atonement, and the feast of trumpets, where all the Israelites gather and for seven days feast and fellowship, eating under booths made from limbs and leaves and things, keep in mind, all those types that are yet to be fulfilled and there is no doubt we Gentiles are typed in those things. Just remember, those types are not activated until the Jews have a spot on which their temple and altar is set in motion. Once that altar is set in motion and sacrifice is made active, then watch the types. Prophecies of the Bible are just like a stop watch. When it gets to a certain part of a second you push the trigger and the watch stops counting time. It matters not how much time goes on, it just sits right where it is stopped; but when there is a certain time factor that certain details are to go into motion, the stop watch is pressed again and it starts clicking again. That is exactly how we have to look at some of the things people are looking at in these types. I will now bring that right back to the usage of the name Yahweh, or Yahshua. I am just a dumb Gentile. If a Jewish person anywhere should ever get hold of this message, PLEASE, I want you to understand, I respect the language and the word, how it is portrayed in the Hebrew as to how you name your God, and also how Jesus, or Joshua, or Yahshua, is pronounced. I respect all of that. However I, as a Gentile believer in the same God, feel no responsibility to use your language in referring to HIM. When those apostles, who were Jews, came to the Gentiles almost 2000 years ago, I read in the book of Acts and see how they presented the gospel every place they went. I find that every one of those assemblies were started with Jewish converts. Therefore since they were preaching to Jewish people they naturally used a language understood by them; but I challenge anyone who tries to teach that God cannot be worshipped using our own Language. You make a mockery out of the whole concept of worship: when you confine it to your narrow minded interpretation of what God will accept. I have no doubt whatsoever that in the first century of Christianity those apostles of Christ did most of their preaching in languages that were native to those they were preaching to: for their first converts in every place they went were Jews; but do not try to push that language concept almost 2000 years beyond that time when the people you are dealing with have their own language; and the scriptures translated into those languages. It would be ridiculous for anyone to think we all have to learn Hebrew in order to worship God. I hope all of you understand what I am pointing out. I believe many of those Jewish families that were converted in the first century of Christianity, left children that continued on in the faith. Even those would leave children behind them that would continue on in the faith for a century or so; but after so long, when preeminence, which was primarily in the Middle East and the Asiatic areas began to change position, and time begins to move into the western world of Italy and Europe, by this time the Jewish presence is fading out of the presence of the Gentile church. It is true the Gentile church was also declining, revelatory wise, from many of the original things the apostles taught; but my point is, They would surely hold to a language structure that was easy for them to use in all their communication: regardless of where they were. Naturally I say this with godly respect to anyone that wants to hold to Yahweh, if the word fits into the language you normally speak; but do not try to convince me that I have to speak Hebrew in order to pray and speak of the God I serve. When you say everything else is heathen, then those that want to hold to Sabbath keeping, and say we are worshipping on a pagan day are justified by you. Where does this nonsense stop? It goes from that to circumcision and meat eating; and those who are deceived by such teachings are right back under bondage; and the gospel of Jesus Christ is of no benefit to them. My point is, I respect the Jewish language for those who speak it; and I have no quarrel with the pronunciation of those various words; but I maintain that those words belong to those who speak the language the words belong to. I do not speak Hebrew and see no need to. They will argue that this letter has no value, and that letter has no value; but as you have heard me say many times, In English my name is Raymond. In Spanish it is Ramon; but please do not say Ramon when you want me to answer you. I will not respond either. Now I ask you, Have I used a foolish explanation? I do not believe so. I think many times people want to use things that actually puts a price on a revelation. What they have is far more important than what you have. Well I am looking at something down here at the end of time: when there is a Gentile people God is dealing with. It is true they have been in paganism, (Gentile denominationalism) and have been guilty of yielding their lives to all kinds of traditional ideas; but that is all in the past: for those who have come to this marvelous light revealed to us in this age of Laodicea. There will be people going to church houses all over the land today: who will submit to some kind of ritual; but when they leave those places, they will be just as void of revelation of the plan of God as they were when they went in. They will hear a little sermon; but will that sermon cause them to know more about God and His plan and purpose for mankind? I seriously doubt it. Leaving those things as they are though, I say with respect to these things, As we get closer to the end, (and I can begin to see already) that somewhere there is an element of Jewish people that will begin to reach out toward a Gentile society, realizing that certain Gentiles have something they want, and then you can rest assured, there will be many opportunities for the proper pronunciation and usage of those words. It will all fall right in line, and there will be no confusion because of it. By that time the Gentile church will know that all this arguing about the Jewish Sabbath is hocus pocus, that the first day of the week was typed in the Levitical functions in prophecies; and that the name of our Savior is whatever proper translation into our language makes it. As for what day Gentiles are to worship, That is why Jesus rose on the first day of the week, and the Holy Ghost descended on the first day of the week. That established the point right there, that Jesus Christ is the beginning of a new creation. He is the beginning of the redeeming of the family of God. Therefore it points to a new day. The eighth day was characterized in it.

Let me return to Haggai. In verse 3, the question was asked, "Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?" If you would take that and read over in Ezra where the house was actually dedicated, you would see there more details of the audience and type of people. We can say, This temple, as it was reaching a completed state and the hour of dedication had arrived, many of those older Jews which were children carried away 70 years ago, stood there in their older years looking at the size of this one and it was definitely not an expensive looking building. They were standing there, appreciative, yes, but there was a feeling of, It just don't look like it did before. There is no doubt in their minds there was the thought, somehow or other we believe that when our Messiah comes to rule and reign, He is to rule in a magnificent temple, not in something that looks like this. You have to keep in mind, There was a lot of questions in their mind's. That is why the spirit of the Lord, through the prophet, spoke like that to them. "Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?" That means Solomon's temple. It was known in the days of Solomon, when that temple was erected and it finally reached completeness, (you could go back in the Old Testament and read about it) when they finally brought in the ark of the covenant, (which had been housed in a tabernacle, a tent of badger and goat skins) and placed it in the temple, in the Holy of Holies, the Shekinah glory came down and hovered over it, and the priests and people as they sang and worshipped God, the anointing was so great it reached a point when the priests could not even minister because of that anointing. They were all caught up in that anointing presence of God. That was Solomon's temple. The ark was present then; but as we read here, and as you compare that with the corresponding chapters in Ezra's writing, you see no ark of the covenant present. What is wrong? As I said in another message, It has to be understood that because time is getting closer to fulfillment of what the ark represented, it (the ark) had already fulfilled its purpose. It was an instrument projecting a type: not something that was to be eternally present. Right here, 500 years before the advent of Christ, we see a little house being dedicated; but the older people had many questions in their mind about it. God took that occasion to speak to them. Two prophets, while they are ministering to the needs, and the edification of those people who are caught up in the building of this little temple, these two men themselves set a precise type, pointing ahead to the hour you and I live in. Neither of them knew they were to set a type of something that would be manifested 2500 years later. That was not in their knowledge. But as God spoke through them, we see from the message they declare, that they did truly set a type. It is important. Why is it important? Because as you and I, a part of the Gentile church which will not be here to witness what takes place when that Jewish nation does go into the 70th week of Daniel, (because we will be taken up in the rapture before then) we have certain things to look at that will enable us to know when that hour of time is getting close at hand. Just remember, there are many things this side of the beginning of that week that we believe must begin to show themselves, things that must begin to materialize and begin to come on the scene. Through these things we begin to see God working, setting the stage, restoring, setting everything in order for that eventual hour of time when that week will be set in motion and that Millennial temple will be in the process of being built. Therefore is how we begin to see the Spirit of God using scriptures, along with world conditions, to begin to line up those scriptures to inform us of how close we are getting to the hour of time when we definitely will be caught up together with the Lord and taken out of this world, while the Jewish nation goes into the fullness of that week. Yes the question was asked, "Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?" That was how God acknowledged to the people, I know all about the smallness of it, I know it is not as expensive looking, and as elaborately decorated. By that, He put their mind at ease. (verse 4) "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: (5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not." God used that occasion to launch a picture of something that was far off in the distance. These two verses I am reading, were definitely speaking to that generation of people. God dealt with their hearts. He comforted them and edified them. So now I want to bring that thought over to us Gentiles. For the past 30 years we can say there has been a message in the earth, a message God brought to first bring us out of our Babylonian confusion those denominational systems had us in. God is not going to unite us in Babylon. He will only unite us outside of Babylon. We have to come back to one strategic point and basis of unity. That is the word of God. Just as the nation of Israel must come back and be united, not in Italy, not in Russia, but only in the land of Israel, the land of Palestine, which is the land of their heritage, so does the bride Church have to come back to a certain place before God will unite them. There is a little spot of ground for the Jews; and there is a place in the word of God for you and me. When we look at ourselves, looking back through the years of confusion, and all the things the devil has thrown among us to try to disrupt the process, it sometimes causes discouragement, and even heart ache as we consider all the well meaning friends and loved ones that are still out there. Many times we have the feeling that it is impossible. We think, It just simply cannot work; but it will work. God is in control and He says it is going to work. Our perfection is sure: if we truly are one of His. His word cannot fail. If what God planned here for those natural people worked, it is going to work for you and me; but we all have to have the same picture put together in our mind's. It takes more than just coming to church because our parents come: we each must have our own personal experience with the Savior. I do not come here just to fellowship flesh. If I had six blood brothers sitting here, I would not be coming just for fellowship with them: I am here to fellowship with God. Why? Because of truth. Because He has led me into truth. My brothers can do as they please, my sisters can do as they please, and mother and dad can do as they please. I am here because of Jesus Christ and truth God has revealed to me. We all have to be more interested in fellowship with Him than with each other, if we expect to receive anything further from Him. Notice how, in the 5th verse God spoke comfort to those Jews. "According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth among you; fear ye not." Those words were all applicable right then to the Jewish people that stood there, as they looked, and was gathered around that little temple. No matter how small, God wanted them to know, I am with you. Today, as we look back through the centuries of time, observing how God has dealt with His people, and then look forward to a time when He will surely deal with us in the same way, it ought to cause us to be a little anxious for that time to arrive. As God was with the early church, and we read about it in the Bible and see how His power worked in their midst, it makes me very confident that He is going to be with a little nucleus of people here at the end time the same way. He is going to encourage and instruct them. He is going to be with them, even while the world despises them, talks about them and desires to be rid of them. Look at Israel today. Even in the nation of America there are people sitting in Gentile churches today that wish this Jewish state was done away with. They say it is a hindrance to progress. That goes to show that they do not know a thing about Bible prophecy. They are not even interested in prophecy. They are just interested in that club they belong to, which they call a church: because it is something they can hide behind. Christianity is not something you can hide behind. You can only hide behind the Lord Jesus Christ. If you truly hide behind Him, then He puts you in the Church. If you are not hid in the Lord Jesus Christ, recognizing that His shed blood is what gives us hope, you are not in His Church.