Subject: “WHEN DOES IT BEGIN?”
Scripture: I Thessalonians 5:1-10

The term “the Day of the LORD” is used 25 times in the Bible. It is the day of God’s vengeance and wrath upon a world that has rejected Him. It is God’s revenge on the nations of the world for their attitudes and attacks upon Israel.

The question of “When does it begin?” has troubled believers throughout history. It is not an easy matter to resolve. Many have set dates only to be exposed as false prophets or misguided interpreters of Scripture.

The following views are held by Bible teachers throughout history:

(1) It began in 66 AD and ended in 73 AD – involves the Roman war and destruction of Jerusalem (preterist)

(2) It begins and ends with the Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Messiah (post-tribulation)

(3) It begins with the removal of the two witnesses and ends with the end of the Tribulation (mid-tribulation)

(4) It begins with the pouring out of the bowls of wrath – seven last plagues (pre-wrath)

(5) It begins with the opening of the sixth seal (sixth seal)

(6) It begins and ends with the 70th week of Daniel and refers to the Tribulation – seven years (pre-tribulation)

(7) It begins with the start of the Tribulation period and continues until the end of the Millennium (all future events)

1A. IT WILL COME AS A SURPRISE!
I Thessalonians 5:1-3 – “thief in the night”
cf. II Peter 3:8-10

2A. IT WILL COME AS A SNARE!
Luke 21:34-36

3A. IT WILL COME AS A SHOCK!
Luke 17:26-30

4A. IT WILL COME AS A SEPARATION!
Matthew 24:37-41; Luke 17:31-36

1B. A separation of FAMILIES
Mark 13:12

2B. A separation of WORKERS
Matthew 24:40-41

5A. IT WILL COME AS A SUFFERING!
Matthew 24:19-20; Mark 13:17-20

6A. IT WILL COME AS A SEDUCTION!
Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24; Mark 13:22
II Thessalonians 2:1-3 – “falling away first”
I Timothy 4:1; II Timothy 3:5

7A. IT WILL COME AS A SURVIVAL!
Matthew 24:21-22, 34-35

CONCLUSION
The Bible clearly warns us and admonishes us to watch and be ready – Matthew 42:42, 44; 25:13; Mark 13:32-33, 35-37 – precisely because we do not know the day or the hour when it will begin.

Subject: “DON’T BELIEVE THE LIES!”
Scripture: I Timothy 4:1-2

I Timothy 4:1-2 – “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

LIES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL

1. Abraham offered Ishmael, not Isaac, on Mt. Moriah! Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 12; Hebrews 11:17; James 2:21

2. The Jews never owned the Temple Mount – it is an Islamic holy site! II Samuel 24:18-25

3. There never was a king named David!
Psalm 78:70-72; 89:34-37 (mentioned 1085 times in the Bible)

4. The Jews never built a temple on the Temple Mount and there never was a king named Solomon! I Kings 6:1; II Chronicles 3:1-2

5. The city of Jerusalem never belonged to the Jews –
it was and is a holy site for Muslims.
(Jerusalem is mentioned 811 times in the Bible; not once in the Quran!) I Kings 11:36; II Chron. 6:6

6. The land was and is called “Palestine” until the modern State of Israel occupied it. Matthew 2:20-21 – The name “Palestine” was not officially given to the land until the 2nd century AD when Hadrian named it after the Jewish Revolt under Bar Kochba to offend the Jews by naming it after their ancient enemies – the Philistines.

7. The modern State of Israel was started by Jews who took land away from the Palestinians!
The Jews were given a homeland by international agreement but never took any land away from anyone!

When the holocaust Jewish survivors came to Israel, Egypt told some 300,000 Arabs to leave their homes in Palestine for a few days while the armies of seven Arab nations would wipe out the Jews. When they lost the war of liberation in 1948, the Jews invited all of these “refugees” to return. Some did; others did not. The Jews paid huge prices for land from a few Arab landowners – mostly swamps, desert land that was filled with rocks.

There never were a Palestinian people, culture, nation, or language. There never was an Arab state on that land. The late Syrian leader, Hafez Assad, said: “There is no such thing as a Palestinian people; there is no Palestinian entity – there is only Syria!”

8. Tel Aviv is the capital of Israel, not Jerusalem!
Jerusalem is the only capital Israel has ever had, both from ancient times to the present day!

LIES ABOUT THE LAND

1. Israel forfeited its right to the land by their disobedience and sin! Leviticus 26:40-45

2. This land belongs to Islam! Leviticus 25:23

3. God’s covenant to Israel about the land was conditional and temporary!
Genesis 17:7-8; Psalm 105:8-11

4. If the Jews give up land to the Palestinians, it will bring peace!
The policy of “land for peace” has failed 9 times! Psalm 83:2-5

5. There is nothing unbiblical about dividing the land between the Jews and the Palestinians! Joel 3:1-2; Daniel 11:36-39

LIES ABOUT ARABS

1. All Arabs are Islamic! Over 50% are Christians!

2. All Palestinians are Arabs.
Many Palestinians (those who have lived in this land prior to 1948) are Jews. Most of today’s so-called “Palestinians” are Jordanians who lived on land held by Jordan from 1948 to 1967.

3. Most nations in the Middle East are Arab nations!
Most nations are Islamic, but not Arab. The Arabs live within those nations. Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and even Saudi Arabia, are not Arabs. The Arabs are the direct descendants of the 12 sons of Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian handmaiden named Hagar – I Chronicles 1:29-31

4. Jewish settlements are being built on Arab land.
No settlements have ever been built on confiscated or privately-owned Arab land. The land upon which they exist was given to Israel by God, and the modern State purchased much of this land from Arab land owners who never lived in this land.

5. The Middle East problem is between Jews and Arabs! The problem is between Jews and Muslims who are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel and the extermination of the Jewish people.

LIES ABOUT GOD’S PROMISES

1. The modern State of Israel is NOT a fulfillment of Bible prophecy! Ezekiel 37:11-14; Amos 9:13-15

2. God has forsaken Israel because of their sin and disobedience! Isaiah 41:8-9, 17; 49:13-16; Romans 11:1-2

3. God rejected the Jewish people for crucifying Jesus!
Matthew 20:18-19; Luke 18:31-33

4. God’s promise of salvation to Israel was conditional, based on their performance and obedience! Romans 11:25-27

LIES ABOUT JESUS

1. God has no Son! Psalm 2:6-7, 12; Proverbs 30:4

2. Jesus was a Palestinian Arab and an Islamic Prophet! Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 2:4-11

3. The Messiah is never called “God” in the Jewish Bible! Psalm 24:7-10; Isaiah 24:23; 44:6

4. Jesus predicted the coming of Mohammed!
Islamic scholars teach that the Greek word “parakletos” in John 14:15-16 means “one whom people praise exceedingly” – actually it means “one called alongside of” – Islamic scholars teach that it refers to Mohammed as the other “Comforter” because his name in Arabic means “the praised one.”
5. Jesus was never crucified or resurrected! The Qur’an says in Surah Nisaa, verses 157-158: “and surely they slew him not, but Allah raised him unto himself” – Matthew 20:18-19; Romans 10:9-10; I Corinthians 15:3-4

6. Jesus will return at Armageddon and kill all non-Muslims; he will marry and have children, live for 19 years and then die! Revelation 1:18; 19:11-16

7. Jesus is not God!
John 1:1, 3, 14; II Corinthians 5:19; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:6; I John 5:20

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:22

It was rather startling to read the recent Jerusalem Post article that had as its headline “FALWELL: JEWS CAN GET TO HEAVEN.” The article states that Jerry Falwell of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA, and the Chancellor of Liberty University with thousands of students, has agreed with the position of John Hagee from Cornerstone Church in San Antonion, Texas, that Jews can be saved without believing in the Messiah! it is called the “dual covenant” theology. It is the belief that God has a separate plan for Jews to be saved and that faith in the Messiah is not required.

But, whoever wrote this article in the Jerusalem Post did not check with Jerry Falwell who has never met the Rabbi was quoted in the article and who is involved in this new alignment between Jews and Christians. Jerry Falwell has already denied that he ever agreed to such a position. He still supports Israel and believes that the Jews are God’s chosen people, but he also still believes that all peoples, Jews and Gentiles alike, must believe in the Messiah of Israel in order to be saved and go to heaven. This is simply another example of how the Internet is being used today and the damage that can be caused by bad journalism that does not seek the truth from the parties involved or mentioned.

Christian leaders who supposedly have offered their support of this “dual covenant” belief include Jack Hayford, Paul Walker, Rod Parsley, Benny Hinn, Geroge Morrison, Kenneth Copeland, Steve Strang, Gary Bauer (Family Research Council of James Dobson), and Matt Crouch (Trinity Broadcasting Network). But, were these men consulted before their names appeared in this manner?

But, what about this so-called “DUAL COVENANT” theory? Does God have two plans of salvation? Can Jewish people be saved without believing in the Jewish Messiah?

Does the Bible teach that salvation for the Jew is different than the Gentile? Absolutely NOT! Genesis 12:1-3 (the very covenant they keep mentioning) is not only a covenant about a NATION and a LAND, but about a DESCENDANT of Abraham Who would bless all nations! The argument of Galatians 3 which quotes this Genesis passage is clear – it is referring to the salvation which only the Messiah of Israel can bring. He was a “LAMB slain BEFORE the foundation of the world” says Revelation 13:8. Isaiah 53 makes it quite clear that a single Jew (called the “servant of the LORD”) is the only One Who can save us from our sins! The pronouns are NOT plural – they do not refer to the Nation of Israel (also described as the “servant of the LORD”) but to the Messiah alone!
Verse 6 of Isaiah 53 says “the LORD laid on HIM the iniquity of US ALL.”

In Isaiah 45:22 the Messiah says, “LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: FOR I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NONE ELSE.”

In Psalm 2:12 we read “KISS THE SON, LEST HE BE ANGRY, AND YE PERISH FROM THE WAY, WHEN HIS WRATH IS KINDLED BUT A LITTLE. BLESSED ARE ALL THEY THAT PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM.”

Have Christians forgotten the arguments of the Book of Romans, which quote voluminously from the Tanakh (Jewish Old Testament)? Romans 3:22 tells us that “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto ALL and upon ALL them that believe: FOR THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE.”

Romans 6:23 says that “the gift of God is eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.” John 14:6 quotes the Messiah Himself and says “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, NO MAN (Jew or Gentile) COMES UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.”

Consider Romans 10:11-13: “For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on HIM shall not be ashamed. For there is NO DIFFERENCE between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the LORD shall be saved.” How could the Bible make it any clearer? Romans 11:25-27 makes it very clear that one day in the future, the partial blindness on Israel will be removed, and the One Who will take away their sin is the Deliverer Who comes out of Zion.”

Galatians 3:28-29 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s (Messiah of Israel), then are ye Abraham’s SEED, and heirs according to the promise.”

How can anyone ignore the clear evidence of the Book of HEBREWS? The whole argument is how the Person and work of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) is the only way to forgiveness and everlasting life!

It is hard to believe what is happening in our “so-called” evangelical world of today! The compromise, the lack of clear Biblical understanding and teaching, the substitution of man-made opinions and interpretations for the clear facts of the Bible is utterly amazing! May God return us all to the preaching and teaching of the Bible itself – NOT what we think, but what it actually says!

We also are confident that Jerry Falwell, Pastor of the large Thomas Road Baptist Church and Chancellor of Liberty University, holds to the integrity, inerrancy, and inspiration of the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. May those who have contributed to this kind of journalism understand the danger of what they have done and offer a sincere apology to those who were addressed in this public newspaper.

WE ALL NEED PRAYER!