Revival/Reformation (3)
Reformation Reports
Table of Contents (Scroll down to view all)
1. Kingdom Eschatology
2. The Sons of Issachar Company
3. End-times
4. The Rapture
5. The Great Tribulation
6. The Continual Coming of Jesus
7. The Continual Coming of Jesus (2)
8. The Continual Coming of Jesus (3)
9. The Continual Coming of Jesus (4)
10. The Continual Coming of Jesus (5)
11. The Continual Coming of Jesus (6)
Kingdom Eschatology
By Lanny Swaim
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Jesus in John 10:27
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Romans 8:14
I was initially born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit in 1970, during The Charismatic Renewal and The Jesus People Movement among young people, which Time Magazine dubbed The Jesus Revolution.
Many in both these movements embraced an end-time doctrine made popular by bestselling books such as The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsay, which taught a so called rapture (the sudden disappearance or catching away of believers), which would be followed by a seven year Great Tribulation, when a one world government would come to power led by a person known as the Anti-Christ.
Many, including me, believed this rapture could and probably would take place at any moment. I made life altering decisions based on this belief, and some of those decisions I regret to this day.
I married and had children, believing my kids wouldn’t grow to adulthood, because they would be raptured before they could reach adulthood.
Playing in a Christian rock band, I frequently sang a song written by Larry Norman (one of the first Christian rock artists), I Wish We’d All Been Ready, which was covered by numerous other recording artists, including Pat Boone.
For years I didn’t question all this, but as time went on I got a gnawing feeling in my spirit that something just wasn’t right about it.
So I asked the Lord one day, “Why do I have this feeling that something just isn’t right about the end-time doctrine I’ve been taught?”
Over the years I have grown to recognize the voice of the Lord, which manifests in different ways. When I have that feeling in my spirit that something isn’t right, I have learned to seek the Lord about it, knowing He will reveal the truth to me.
When I asked Him about end-times, He didn’t answer me immediately, but over time the answers came. I say answers (plural) because this wasn’t a simple answer but entailed many different aspects.
Perhaps He didn’t answer me immediately because there wasn’t a simple answer, and my understanding of the subject would require much revelation from scripture as well as a study of history.
It’s going to take more than one Reformation Report to cover this entire subject, so I’ll just briefly mention some of the things we’ll take a closer look at.
While there are some who think differently, the rapture doctrine wasn’t taught before 1830. We’ll look at how this came about and who is responsible for it.
Much scripture is to be taken figuratively and not literally. We need discernment to know the difference. And scripture confirms scripture so we can fall into error taking one scripture reference and running with it without comparing it to other scripture. Also, it is important to look at who was being addressed in any portion of scripture. While some scripture can be understood as addressing any generation, other portions of scripture are for a specific generation.
When studying prophetic scripture, something that has been ignored for the most part is the prophetic significance of The Feasts of God, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, the three main feasts with seven total. The feasts are historical but also prophetic, with more than one prophetic fulfillment. The first prophetic fulfillment is now historical. Jesus was born during Tabernacles, crucified on Passover, and the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. But there is a second prophetic fulfillment of the feasts, which sheds much light on all other prophetic scripture. There is an entire book on The Feasts of God on my website that can be read there free of charge. In upcoming Reformation Reports, we’ll look at some of the highlights of that book.
When I first began seeing the truth about so called end-times (a term that is not in the Bible), I was cautious about who I shared my thoughts with. To confront what I had discovered to be error could quickly get one labeled a heretic.
But when God reveals major truth, while initially it may be to just one person or a few people, as time goes on more and more see it. Such was the case with The Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther is given credit for starting it, but there were others seeing much that Luther was seeing, which quickly spread the reformation worldwide.
So it is with the popular end-time doctrines that have been widely accepted by Christianity for many years. I am not so cautious about mentioning and teaching what more and more are now seeing, in hopes that even more will see it as well.
How we see our prophetic future is important, because it determines how we navigate life and history right now, spiritually, socially, and politically.
We are the Lord’s Ekklesia (Greek translated as Church, meaning a governing/legislative body), and as such we must know and understand the destiny of mankind.
And this is why our eschatological view must be a Kingdom view and not a religious view, because surely we were born for such a time as this.
The Sons of Issachar Company
By Lanny Swaim
In our last Reformation Report we looked at Kingdom Eschatology, and I made the statement that it would take several more Reformation Reports on the subject to completely cover the subject.
In this Reformation Report I want to continue to look at the importance of a correct eschatology, because what we believe about the future greatly determines how we navigate the present.
This Reformation Report is longer than most, but the length of it is necessary to cover the subject.
There is a remnant of believers today who are coming into a much better understanding of present and future events, and like the sons of Issachar, are carrying an anointing to communicate their understanding of the times to The Body of Christ.
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
1 Chronicles 12:32
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
There have been times in my life as a believer when one statement from God literally changed everything for me. Other times I have read a book that was divinely ordained for me to read at that specific time, and it opened up revelatory knowledge to me that changed the way I read the Bible.
I was walking my dog one day, thinking about the gnawing feeling I had inside that something wasn’t right about the so called end-time doctrine I had accepted as true for a number of years. So I asked the Lord to give me understanding and teach me concerning future events, and how they would play out on the timeline of history.
Sometime later I read a book entitled, The Feast of Tabernacles by George H. Warnock, written in 1951, the year I was born. As I read this book, I became aware that Warnock was a forerunner, seeing decades ahead of his time. I wondered if anyone was able to read his book when it was first published and have any understanding of what he was saying.
An Open Door
After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Revelation 4:1
It seems to me that reading Warnock’s book was much like the experience John had that day on Patmos, when he saw an open door in Heaven and heard a voice talking with him that sounded like a trumpet, if you can imagine that.
When this verse is read in light of a prophetic understanding of The Feast of Tabernacles, which is a three part feast, the trumpet talking with John begins to make sense. The first part of The Feast of Tabernacles is The Feast of Trumpets.
Trumpets were blown in ancient Israel when an important announcement was about to be made, perhaps calling an assembly or preparing to go to war. This trumpet voice that was talking with John was announcing to him that he was about to be shown future events.
After reading The Feast of Tabernacles, I read a book by Joseph Good, a Messianic Rabbi, entitled Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom To Come. Rosh HaShanah is the Hebrew name for The Feast of Trumpets.
In the author’s foreword, he makes this statement:
It is hoped that this material will aid students of the scripture as they read the Gospels and the Epistles, which were written in the language of the festivals (feasts).
Then on page seventeen, Good writes this:
If one can obtain a good working knowledge of the festivals, then he will have in his possession God’s blueprint for mankind.
I am convinced that without a working knowledge and understanding of the prophetic significance of The Feasts of God, it is impossible to understand The New Testament. Much has been believed and taught concerning The New Testament that is in error, simply because those reading and studying it did so without an understanding of the importance of the feasts as rehearsals for future events.
Interestingly, Jews who did not accept Jesus as Messiah, continued to rehearse His coming every year as they kept The Feast of Passover right on up until the present time, when in reality, the first prophetic fulfillment of that event had already occurred with the coming of Jesus as the Son of Man.
Likewise, many today who are expecting so called end-time events to play out in a certain way, are missing the reality that what they perceive to be future is happening right now, in a different way than they anticipate.
Two Prophetic Fulfillments of the Feasts
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…
John 1:14
When Jesus came to Earth as The Son of Man, He was the first prophetic fulfillment of The Feasts of God, which the Hebrew people had kept yearly since Moses led them out of Egypt into the wilderness and on to Canaan.
Jesus was born during Tabernacles, crucified on Passover, and the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. But there is a second prophetic fulfillment of the feasts that must be understood in order to understand the times (history past, present and future). It is only in understanding the times that we know how to proceed as we walk out our destiny as believers.
The Church has, at least to some degree, experienced Passover (salvation) and Pentecost (power and church government)
The Feast of Passover did not allow leaven. Before the Israelites left Egypt, they were ordered to bake bread without leaven.
Leaven in scripture is representative of a mixture. Passover is about the salvation that Jesus’ crucifixion paved the way for. Jesus crucifixion is the only way to salvation, so there can be no leaven in Passover.
However, Pentecost did allow leaven. The Church was birthed on The Day of Pentecost as recorded in the second chapter of Acts. The continual prophetic fulfillment of Pentecost has been what I refer to as The Church Age, as we have seen the powerful Church of the first century digress into a dead religious organization by the fourth century.
This happened because of leaven. We find in the Church a mixture of God’s ways and man’s ways. A mixture of scriptural truth and religious tradition. A mixture of sin and righteousness, of right and wrong, of truth and lies, causing much division in the Church, splintering it into many denominations and various sects.
And yet, God has continued to work in this broken system, gradually restoring what has been been lost, line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little (see Isaiah 28:9-10), which has brought us to the present time.
Not only has He allowed leaven in the Church, He seems to have blessed it at times. We’ve watched great ministries accomplish much for the Kingdom, only to end in disarray and defeat. We’ve seen mega-ministries and mega-churches teach doctrine that eventually proved out to be wrong and in some cases, destructive.
So we have seen the second prophetic fulfillment of Passover and Pentecost, at least to some degree. But we have not yet seen the second prophetic fulfillment of Tabernacles, which is about God fully indwelling a people.
We know that when we were born again (born from above), Jesus took up residence in us. But His being fully developed in us is a process that takes time. The apostle Paul prayed for the Church at Galatia that Christ would be fully formed in them (see Galatians 4:19 AMP). This comes about through the process of sanctification, as we become like God in character.
Throughout Church history we see imperfect men being used by God to move the Church on toward perfection. Martin Luther, who is credited with starting the Protestant Reformation, received revelation that righted some of the wrongs of The Catholic Church. But later in life, Luther wrote that it was an honor to kill a Jew. It seems Luther’s view of grace was greatly flawed.
Luther is but one example, but I dare say that no one has yet reached the full indwelling of Christ (the Godhead).
The Second Prophetic Fulfillment of Tabernacles
And these all [those mentioned in this chapter], having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:39-40
Hebrews 11:39-40 is a prophetic scripture revealing to us that God will have a people who reach perfection, while in physical bodies on Earth, which has to happen for all who have gone before to be perfected.
Saints of God, I submit to you, that this will be the second fulfillment of The Feast of Tabernacles.
Currently we are in the prophetic fulfillment of The Feast of Trumpets, the first part of The Feast of Tabernacles. There is a remnant of The Body of Christ today, who has glimpsed and tasted of the coming fulfillment of The Feast of Tabernacles, which will take place sometime during this seventh millennium since creation, which is the ultimate Sabbath of all Sabbaths; the day of the Lord and that day spoken of throughout the Bible.
This remnant is a Trumpet People, actually the last trump of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16. They are also an Issachar Company, understanding the times in which we live, like the sons of Issachar did as recorded in 1 Chronicles.
The sons of Issachar were only two hundred men, a small remnant of the entire nation of Israel, with special ability and anointing to discern the times and to communicate that knowledge to the entire nation.
So it is with The Sons of Issachar Company today, a remnant of The Body of Christ, proclaiming the coming second prophetic fulfillment of The Feast of Tabernacles, for any and all who are able to hear.
It seems that down through history prophetic voices have spoken and in some cases demonstrated the Word of the Lord, which often and probably usually went against the status quo. Often these voices were shunned and persecuted by those who refused to hear anything that challenged their traditional thinking.
But those of us who are getting a clearer understanding of the time in which we live and of the future, in concert with greater revelation of The Kingdom of God, have done so in such a way, orchestrated by God, that we cannot doubt what we have come to know.
And we cannot shrink back simply because of opposition. Like the prophets of old, we must speak what we know to be true. And not only speak it, but become the example of it.
Surely we were born for such a time as this.
End-times
By Lanny Swaim
Unto him [God] be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Ephesians 3:21 (emphasis added)
We’ve been studying Kingdom Eschatology. Today, we’ll look at the term, end-times.
Many interpret the term last days in scripture as end-times, but there are no end-times. That term cannot be found in the Bible. Last days is simply referring to the last days of the week. And, I believe that while God uses the Hebrew calendars in Biblical prophecy, He also has made provision for and uses the Gregorian calendar as well. And while the Gregorian calendar was not in existence when Peter made the following statement, I believe his statement plays out on the Gregorian calendar.
Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8
Using Peter’s mathematical statement, the world has lasted for six days so far and is now entering into the seventh day; the last day of the week. But the Bible also gives us a hint of the eighth day, which can be found in The Feast of Tabernacles.
As I frequently state in my writings, The Feasts of God contain a blueprint for the timeline that plays out in scripture. There is an entire book on my website on the prophetic significance of The Feasts of God that can be read there free of charge.
There are seven feasts total, with three main feasts, Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, with Tabernacles being considered a seven day feast.
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
Leviticus 23:34
But The Feast of Tabernacles was to be sandwiched between two Sabbaths, and was to continue on into the second Sabbath, actually making it an eight day feast.
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Leviticus 23:39
Why do you suppose Tabernacles was considered to be a seven day feast when it actually continued on into the eighth day?
Perhaps there is a mystery here for us to understand.
Seven in scripture is the number of completion or perfection. The Bible focus on seven days (millennia).
Eight in scripture is the number for new beginnings.
This tells me that the message of the Bible plays out in seven days (millennia), which will be followed by a new beginning. This also tells me that time will continue on after the seven days the Bible focuses on instead of coming to an end.
There is a parallel between the seven days of creation and the seven millennia the Bible focuses on. When God rested on the seventh day of creation, it wasn’t the end of anything but instead was the beginning of history as we know it.
During this seventh day (millennium) of/since creation, God will bring His creation to completion/perfection, paving the way for a new beginning that will be beyond anything we can presently think or imagine.
So there are no end-times, only the end of a week and the beginning of another.
World without end. Amen.
The Rapture
By Lanny Swaim
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) was an Anglo-Irish Plymouth Brethren leader who developed the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine in the 1830’s.
It is debatable whether he was the first to develop such a doctrine, but he is the most recognized and if the rapture was taught before that time, it wasn’t widely accepted.
Some think a fifteen year old Scottish girl who had a dream that became widely known around that time may have influenced Darby, but that possibility is in question as is the interpretation of her dream.
Darby’s rapture doctrine became popular and was spread not only by him but by others as well.
Perhaps the most profound spreading of his doctrine came with the publication of The Scofield Reference Bible, first published in 1909.
Cyrus Scofield (1843–1921) was born in Michigan but grew up in Tennessee. He fought for the Confederacy during The War Between the States, later studying law and becoming involved in politics. After experiencing drinking and marital problems he became a Christian in 1879, and began working with the YMCA in Saint Louis, Missouri. It was there that he was first introduced to dispensational theology under James Brookes, an advocate of Darby’s rapture doctrine.
Scofield later pastored in several different churches and was involved in various other ministries. However, he developed a reputation of questionable character and is thought to have used ministry for monetary gain.
In the footnotes of his Scofield Reference Bible he wrote of a pretribulation rapture as if it was Biblical fact, when in fact it was only his interpretation of scripture, based on what others had taught, primarily John Nelson Darby.
The 1909 Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford University Press, supposedly financed and supported by prominent American and British evangelical allies, including members of the Exclusive Brethren movement, Arno C. Gaebelein, and potentially wealthy supporters like the oil tycoon Lyman Stewart.
However, some believe it was financed by the Rothschilds and/or Rockefellers, families associated with globalism.
Globalists today believe it is their destiny to rule the world, and what better way than to convince Christians that Biblical prophecy predicts a time when a one world government must come into being, ruled by an anti-Christ, and that there is nothing they can do to stop it from happening. And to put icing on the cake, so to speak, convince Christians that they will be raptured out of the world prior to this hell on Earth that cannot be stopped, not having to go through this so called Great Tribulation, which in reality cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. But that’s a subject for our next Reformation Report.
Jesus prayed that we (Christians) would not be taken out of the world but instead kept from evil (see John 17:15-16). If we are going to be caught out of the world (raptured) to escape evil, then Jesus’ prayer was in vain.
There are numerous scripture references that confirm that Jesus’ prayer is being and will continue to be answered. We will look at some of those in future Reformation Reports.
The only rapture believers experience is being caught up spiritually to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 2:6), while physically living on Earth.
So if you are still looking for the great escape (rapture), you may want to do your own research while praying that God will show you the truth.
The way we see the future determines how we navigate the present, and how we navigate the present has the potential to determine our future. We need to get it right, now more than ever, because, surely we were born for such a time as this.
The Great Tribulation
By Lanny Swaim
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Nowhere does the Bible mention The Great Tribulation. Matthew 24:21 speaks of great tribulation, but not The Great Tribulation. The tribulation of Matthew 24:21 took place in AD 70, when the Romans destroyed the temple and most of Jerusalem, killing many of the Jews and shipping others off to the slave markets of the world.
While numerous believers put the things Jesus spoke of in the 24th chapter of Matthew somewhere off in the future, Jesus clearly said in Matthew 24:34 that the things He spoke of in that chapter would be fulfilled before the generation He was speaking to passed.
To put those things off into our future is gross misinterpretation of scripture. So how did this false doctrine come into existence?
After the invention of the printing press and the beginning of The Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church became concerned about the possibility of their subjects discovering the truth and realizing the anti-Christ spirit of the papacy. Francisco Ribera (1537-1591), a Jesuit doctor of theology, decided to put a futurist spin on historical prophetic scripture in order to take the focus off the anti-Christ spirit of the Roman Catholic Church.
As a result of events that occurred in the sixteenth century, primarily the propagation of Ribera’s false doctrine concerning so called end-time events, we have been taught there will be a seven year Great Tribulation when The Anti-Christ will rule the world and that it will be a time of great judgment against the world. Nowhere in The New Testament is the word tribulation used in reference to judging the world. New Testament scriptures that use the word tribulation are Romans 5:3, 8:35, 37; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 7:4; Ephesians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:4, 6; Revelation 1:9, 2:9-10, 20-22, 7:14.
The 24th chapter of Matthew speaks of great tribulation that came on the Jews in AD 70, when the Jewish nation and temple were for the most part destroyed. In one scripture reference tribulation is pronounced on persecutors of the saints (see 2 Thessalonians 1:6). In one scripture reference Jesus speaks of tribulation concerning believers that commit spiritual fornication (See Revelation 2:20-23). All the rest of the above scripture references speak of the tribulation endured by God’s chosen elect.
Everywhere tribulation is mentioned in The Book of Revelation refers to the refining of believers. It is not used in relation to judgment on the world or on unrighteous people, except for the one reference to persecutors of the saints, and in many cases that too has been instigated by the religious community rather than by the world.
The definition of tribulation is grievous trouble; a severe trial or suffering; affliction; and it has to do with pressing, squeezing or threshing.
Pressing or squeezing is the process that makes wine out of grapes or olive oil out of olives, and threshing is the process that separates kernels of wheat from the chaff.
Tribulation is the process that reveals the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23) in believers, which is the character of God. It will ultimately reveal the sons (mature believers) of God to the world (see Romans 8:19).
The fabrication (by Ribera) of a future seven year Great Tribulation requires a false interpretation of scripture that is based on Daniel 9:24-27. Here Daniel speaks of 70 weeks. These are not weeks of days but instead weeks of years, or 490 years.
Ribera put forth the idea that there is a gap between Daniel’s 69th and 70th week, with the 69 weeks already having come to pass and the 70th week still in the future. He said the 70th week would be a seven year Great Tribulation, when someone known as The Anti-Christ would rule the world.
Nowhere does the Bible even hint there should be a gap between Daniel’s 69th and 70th weeks. The 70th week runs consecutively with the other weeks. In the beginning of the 70th week Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan and began His ministry. 3 ½ years later He was crucified and the veil in the temple was rent in half from top to bottom, stopping the Levitical functions in the temple. 3 ½ years after that Stephen was stoned and the persecution of Christians began.
That is Daniel’s 70th week.
So, there is no seven year Great Tribulation anywhere in the Bible. It’s a lie to take the heat off the anti-Christ spirit of the papacy. And if there is no seven year Great Tribulation, there will be no one world government ruled by a person known as The Anti-Christ.
The only one world government I’m looking for is Jesus Christ, with the government upon His shoulder (see Isaiah 9:6).
The Continual Coming of Jesus
By Lanny Swaim
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Nowhere does the Bible speak of a first and second coming of Jesus. He was here in the beginning when everything was created (see John 1:1-5). He appeared as Melchizedek to Abraham (see Genesis 14:18-20 & Hebrews 7:1-3). He was born as a baby in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:1-16).
After His crucifixion and resurrection He appeared to many and continues to do so. One morning several years ago He walked through the closed door of my bedroom at 6:00am, sat down on my bed and talked with me.
And He is continually coming in a people, as we will see in today’s teaching.
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Genesis 5:22-24
The Hebrew rendering of the English translation of the name, Methuselah is Methushelach. It is taken from two Hebrew words, math and shelach. In Hebrew math means of full stature, like an adult. Shelach means a missile or spear (weapons of war) or a shoot of growth or branch.
As you may know, Biblical names, especially Hebrew names, have meanings that often establish or declare the destiny of the individual bearing the name, prophesying who that individual will become and what that individual will accomplish in life.
As you probably also know, Biblical numbers, like Biblical names, also have meanings. In Jude, verse 14, we are informed that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam. Seven in scripture is representative of completion or perfection. And that would make Methuselah the eighth generation, eight meaning a new beginning.
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.
Jude 14
Of these in Jude 14 is referring to ungodly people mentioned in the preceding verses. Verse 15 speaks of the Lord coming to execute judgment on these ungodly people.
So in essence, the name Enoch chose for his son, Methuselah, prophesies of the coming of the Lord to execute judgment.
The word that is translated as cometh in Jude 14 is the Greek word, erchomai, which signifies an action begun in the past and continuing in the present, with the emphasis on the present, or an act in progress (a process). So, when Enoch prophesies the Lord’s coming, he is not speaking of a future one-time event, or of a first and second coming. Instead, he is speaking of a continual coming.
Jude 14 speaks of Jesus coming with a very large number of saints, or believers. The Greek word translated as with in this verse is en, and literally means in. So, Enoch’s prophecy in Jude 14 actually says, “The Lord continually comes in ten thousands of His saints.”
Jude, verse 15 informs us that Jesus is coming to execute judgment on ungodly people. Again, this is a continual event and not a one-time event. The English word judgment in this verse is the Greek word, krisis. From krisis, we get the English word crisis.
Krisis in Greek implies a separating or surrendering, a trial or contest, especially when justice and injustice, right and wrong are considered.
We first learn of Enoch in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, (Genesis meaning beginning), very early on in the fifth chapter.
To clearly understand scripture, especially prophetic scripture, we must compare scripture with scripture. I find it incredibly enlightening that in the beginning of the Bible a biblical truth is established; that Jesus’ coming is continual. Not future, not first and second, but continual (past, present and future).
Without this knowledge, it becomes very easy to misinterpret much of the rest of the Bible. And a misinterpretation of prophetic scripture greatly affects the way we function as the Lord’s Ekklesia (Greek for Church, meaning a governing or legislative body).
So it is of great importance that we correctly understand times and seasons, Biblical eschatology and the nature of the coming of Jesus, in order to understand who we are in Christ Jesus and who He is in us, and how to function in the present, because, surely we were born for such a time as this.
The Continual Coming of Jesus (2)
By Lanny Swaim
For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Hebrews 7:1-3 & Genesis 14:18 (note: a difference in spelling – Melchisedec in Hebrews, Melchizedek in Genesis, but the same person)
In our last Reformation Report we took a prophetic look at the name, Methuselah, the first son of Enoch, from the fifth chapter of Genesis and the New Testament Book of Jude, which indicates that Jesus’ coming is continual and not a first and second coming, or any other number for that matter.
In this teaching, we are going to look at another Genesis confirmation that Jesus’ coming is continual.
There has been much speculation as to who Melchisedec actually was. Hebrews 7:3 states that he was made like the Son of God. When taken at face value, this statement seems to indicate that he wasn’t the Son of God, but only like the Son of God.
But let’s put this statement in the perspective of when Melchisedec appeared on the timeline of history, long before Jesus was revealed as the Son of God when He was born in Bethlehem.
When we look at the description of Melchisedec in Hebrews and then at the fact that He served Abraham what we commonly refer to as communion (see Genesis 14:18), long before Jesus went to the cross on the timeline of history, and that Abraham tithed to him (see Genesis 14:20), it appears that he was made more than like the Son of God. It seems he must have been a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God.
The fact that he served Abraham communion long before the crucifixion took place on the timeline of history is confirmation that Jesus was crucified from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8), from an eternal perspective. He was not initially crucified at the time of a so called first coming but instead has always been crucified.
Another way of saying this is that His crucifixion was revealed when He was crucified on the timeline of history, or that it was a confirmation that He has always been crucified.
Melchisedec was the king of righteousness and the king of Salem (Salem meaning peace). He wasn’t born into the world having a father and mother, nor did he have ancestors. His life had no beginning and no end on the timeline of history.
Who else could he have been other than a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus?
And, if he was in fact a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, then Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem many years later was not His first coming. And if there is no first coming, there will be no second coming.
His coming is continual, period.
The Continual Coming of Jesus (3)
By Lanny Swaim
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-3, 14
…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8
In the last two Reformation Reports on the continual coming of Jesus, we have looked at His coming being continual on the timeline of history. In this teaching, I want to look at the eternal aspect of His continual coming.
Revelation 13:8 informs us that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4 tells us that we were chosen to be in Him before the foundation of the world.
So everything that has happened, is happening or ever will happen on the timeline of history in a time/space universe, has not only already happened and will forever be happening; it is continually happening.
Someone has said that God created time to keep everything from happening at once. Perhaps another way to look at eternity would be to say it is an ever present now.
The Hebrew view of eternity is a never ending circle, going round and round and round.
The better I get to know the Lord, and the better I understand scripture (especially prophetic scripture), the more I experience eternity even though I still live in a physical body on a physical planet in a physical universe.
While on a day to day basis we make choices and decisions that have benefits and/or consequences, from the eternal perspective, we have no control over our lives, having been chosen to be who we are and on the path we are on. From that perspective our destiny is sealed, period.
The primary revelation that has opened up this eternal perspective to me and caused me to realize that Jesus’ coming is continual rather than a first and second coming, is an understanding of the prophetic significance of The Feasts of God; Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, with Passover and Tabernacles being three part feasts. So there are three main feasts with seven total feasts.
The coming of Jesus as the Son of Man, being born during Tabernacles and crucified on Passover, and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in the second chapter of Acts, are the first prophetic fulfillments of the feasts. However, there is another prophetic fulfillment of them that has and is taking place during the Church Age of the past two thousand years and the Kingdom Age, which we are now entering into.
For more on the second prophetic fulfillment of The Feasts of God, go to “The Feasts of God” at the top of any page on this website and scroll down to read an entire book on the subject, free of charge.
Without a working knowledge and understanding of the prophetic significance of The Feasts of God, it is impossible to fully understand The New Testament or any of the prophetic scriptures in The Old Testament or The New Testament.
The Feasts of God contain understanding of God’s plan for mankind and for all of creation.
To realize that Jesus’ coming is continual rather than a future second coming will change your understanding of the purpose of the Gospel and of God’s purpose for you and the ministry He has called you to and chosen you for.
And, if you are one of the chosen remnant for this new day we have now crossed the threshold of on the timeline of history, this realization will help you to better understand and navigate the tests and trials you have and very possibly are continuing to be subjected to, as you are being prepared to reign with the Lord, ruling and discipling the nations as The Kingdom of God comes in/on Earth as in Heaven.
Surely, absolutely we were born for such a time as this!
The Continual Coming of Jesus (4)
By Lanny Swaim
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Matthew 24:36 & 42
In Matthew 24:34 Jesus said that the generation He was speaking to would not pass away before the things He was prophesying in this chapter came to pass. That being the case, the coming He was speaking of here is past history, not future history as many want to believe.
However, considering the continual coming of Jesus we have been studying, perhaps there is a principal set here that encompasses additional time periods other than the fulfillment of this chapter in AD 70 when Rome destroyed much of the city of Jerusalem, including the temple, killing many of the Jews and shipping many others off to the slave markets of the world, leaving only a remnant in Judea (the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew).
Jesus’ coming is not confined to a first and second coming or to any specific number of comings. It is continual, and those continual events in the lives of individuals or of the Church or even nations, usually if not always are unexpected in the moment they actually happen.
When I have had supernatural experiences, some of which Jesus actually appeared to me, I wasn’t expecting them when they happened. Often I wasn’t in a spiritual state of mind at all.
So, while we can be expectant or watching for these occurrences to come, the manifestation of His presence or the presence of angels or perhaps a dream or vision, seems to usually be somewhat of a surprise.
I have and usually experience His manifested presence when I lead worship as a worship leader in a group setting, but I have learned that even then it is a mistake to expect Him to show up in a specific way or in the way He has done in the past. He seems to enjoy taking us by surprise.
I say this to make a point.
We have tried so hard to put future history into a chronological order based on what I believe is usually an intellectual understanding of prophetic scripture rather than a revealed understanding of it, with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit refusing to be put in our boxes.
He wants us aware of the significance of the time in which we live so we know how to proceed in faith and in agreement and corporation with His plans, but that kind of knowledge only comes by revelation of the Holy Spirit. Intellectual knowledge just will not cut it. In fact, intellectual knowledge will mislead us and cause us to fail in our callings.
At such a crucial time in history, we cannot allow that to happen.
We must do what 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to do:
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The Continual Coming of Jesus (5)
By Lanny Swaim
This is God speaking to the Israelites in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land:
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. If thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Exodus 23:20, 22, 29-30
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.
Isaiah 28:9-10
We have been taught that Jesus will one day touch down on the Mount of Olives, set up His earthly Kingdom and rule the world from Jerusalem.
Have you ever thought about what a kingdom like that would look like and how it would function?
That kind of civil kingdom would have to have laws and those laws would have to be enforced.
Does that concept not go against Jesus ruling the world by changing people’s hearts?
In the wilderness, before they began conquering the Promised Land, the Israelites were given laws to follow, only to prove their inability to follow those laws.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.
Hebrews 8:10
The people of Israel could not obey God’s laws by attempting to do so. They proved that over and over. It took another action on the part of God to enable them to keep His commandments. It took the coming of Jesus as the Son of Man, going to the cross and then being resurrected and sending the Holy Spirit to indwell believers.
That action established a covenant between God and His people, changing their nature and character, enabling them to obey His commandments.
As Christians we would like everything to be instant. But more often than not, God’s way of dealing with mankind is a process rather than instant.
That’s why mankind has suffered through the past six thousand years of pain and death to bring us to this new day (millennium) when mankind and creation will be perfected.
Perfection cannot happen instantly. Perfection where mankind is concerned is about character, and character cannot be created; character has to be developed.
That’s why Adam and Eve had to fall in order to become like God in character. They had been created sinless but not perfect. In order to begin the process of perfection, they had to come to a knowledge of good and evil, without which Jesus could not have come as the Son of Man, enabling mankind to begin the process of perfection, which is completion.
As we enter this new day, the continual coming of Jesus is bringing us closer and closer to the completion of God’s plan of redemption and restitution, not only for mankind but for all of His creation.
Surely we were born for such a time as this!
The Continual Coming of Jesus (6)
By Lanny Swaim
And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven: This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Acts 1:9-11
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Luke 21:27
In this Reformation Report we will look at one of the misconceptions or misinterpretations of scripture that puts a coming of Jesus somewhere off in the future rather than His coming being continual like we have been studying.
According to Acts 1:12 the narrative that took place in Acts 1:9-11 happened on The Mount of Olives, with Jesus ascending into the sky until He was hidden by a cloud. Because the angels told those gathered there that Jesus would come in like manner, it has been assumed that at some point in the future He will touch down on The Mount of Olives, and that The Mount of Olives will then split in half.
The Mount of Olives splitting in half is based on Zechariah 14:4:
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
In his book, Secrets of Golgotha, Ernest L. Martin (the author) states that a rabbi named Jonathan witnessed the departure of the Shekinah glory of God (the glory cloud) from the temple in AD 66.
If this is true, God’s presence had not left the temple after the veil was torn in half from top to bottom on the day Jesus was crucified (see Matthew 27:50-51/Mark 15:37-38), signifying that everyone, not just the High Priest, now had access to God.
When the glory cloud left the temple in AD 66, it then allegedly rested on The Mount of Olives for three and a half years before ascending into the sky several months prior to Titus and his army arriving in Jerusalem in AD 70, fulfilling Zechariah 14:4, which states that God’s feet (not Jesus’ feet) (see Zechariah 14:3) would stand on The Mount of Olives, and that The Mount of Olives would be split in half.
The Mount of Olives was in fact split in half when the Romans built a road from east to west in the first century, creating a valley through the middle of it.
So, the belief that Jesus will at some future time touch down on The Mount of Olives and split it in half is not in the Bible. It is an assumption based on Zechariah 14:4, taking that verse out of context, because it has already occurred and is definitely referring to God’s presence resting on the Mount of Olives, not Jesus’ feet touching down on the Mount of Olives.
In our next teaching on the continual coming of Jesus, I want to look closely at the cloud that hid Jesus as He ascended from The Mount of Olives and the cloud spoken of in Luke 21:27.