Sermon Tone Analysis

! Dispensationalism

 

!!

The Last Days

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*/Mr.

Stam tells us: \\ The Old Testament Scriptures have a great deal to say about the "last" or "latter" days.

The phrase looks forward in a general way to the coming of Messiah and the establishment of His kingdom (Gen.

49:1, Num.

24:14, Deut.

4:30, Isa.

2:2, Dan.

2:28, 10:14, Hos.

3:5, Mic.

4:1).

Several similar phrases are used in connection with the same events, such as: "last time," "latter time," "the days come," "His days," "those days."

/*

*/The coming of Messiah and the establishment of His kingdom in the last days is the goal of prophecy.

Indeed, even the New Testament Scriptures view Messiah's coming and kingdom as the great climax of the prophetic program (Mark 1:15, Luke 1:68-75, Acts 3:21-24, I Peter 1:11).

/*

\\ *I agree with this statement of the author completely, however as we will see in this chapter, the author, as stated earlier, will make a gap between the coming of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom on this earth.

It is my belief, through the study of the scriptures, that there was no gap between the coming of Christ and the setting up of His kingdom.

Paul tells Timothy he is in the last days in I Tim.

4:1 and II Tim.

3:1 and tells us we are in the last days in Heb.

1:2.

John also tells us we are living in the last days I John 2:18, as does Peter, I Peter 1:5-20, II Peter 3:3-9.

Note these letters were written long after Paul had shared his commission with the apostles in Jerusalem.

II Pet.

3:15.*

*When Christ tells those in Galilee that "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, I must, because Christ is not a liar, accept the fact that what he says is true.

Note He says the time IS fulfilled, not it will be fulfilled 2000 years from now.

And that the words "at hand" mean, at hand, it amazes me that a man who insists on a literal translation of the Word of God when it pertains to apocryphal language cannot accept it when it is spoken by Christ in the everyday language.

The same is true in Luke 1:68-75- Zacharias, not on his own, but filled with the Holy Spirit, (vs.67) speaks of the event as being in the present time not some time in the future.

In Acts 3:21-24 We see that Christ is to be ABSENT from the earth ,in a physical sense, during the time of the restoration of all things.

This is a direct fulfillment of the scripture which we find in Psa.

110:1 "The Lord says to my Lord; Sit at my right hand until I make Thine enemies a footstool for thy feet."

Where is the Lord at this time?

He is at the right hand of God the Father, his physical, earthly work was completed at the cross of Calvary.

Now he awaits the day when He will return to the earth, not to start a kingdom but to receive one (I Thess.

4:17).

Read John 16:8-11 and you will see that the building of the kingdom is promised to be through the work of the Holy Spirit, not the work of Christ physically present on the earth.

Even the scripture the writer uses in I Peter states that the glory of Christ would follow His suffering.

We know from Paul's letter to the Philippians 2: 6-9 that the reason for his glorification was the fact of his obedience to the Father through His actions as a man.

Paul himself even states the glorification of Christ as being completed in verse 9 when he says "Wherefore God also HATH highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name."

The action is fulfilled, Christ is now glorified through his action of obedience to the Father.

All men now stand guilty before their creator because Christ has proven to the universe that a perfect man , just as Adam was a perfect man, was able to withstand the temptation of Satan and remain faithful to God.

For this reason Paul tells the Athenians in Acts 17:30 that the days of ignorance have ended, because of the action of Christ they must all repent or face the righteous judgment of Christ.

A judgment which is never spoken of in temporal, physical sense but one that is seen as spiritual and eternal.

*

*/ \\ Mr. Stam tells us: \\ When Peter stood up nineteen centuries ago and declared that the last days had come (Acts 2:16,17) he showed that he was totally ignorant of God's plan to usher in a dispensation of grace before the return of Christ.

/*

\\ *Peter was the instrument of the Holy Spirit in this passage of scripture as we see in Acts 2:4, therefore it was not Peter who was ignorant, if what the writer says is true, but rather the Holy Spirit.

And since the Spirit of God is not ignorant of the will of God, being God, he then used Peter to lie to the people of Jerusalem if the kingdom did not at that time appear as Peter prophesied that it would.

*

*/ \\ Mr. Stam tells us: \\ It is important to notice, however, that not all the signs of "the day of the Lord" appeared at Pentecost.

There were the "signs in the earth beneath" but not the "wonders in the heaven above."

There were the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the tongues and visions and prophesying, but not the "blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke," nor as yet was "the sun turned into darkness and the moon into blood" (See Acts 2:17-20).

/*

\\ *Unfortunately I was not present in days of Peter so I cannot be an eye- witness to what occurred in the heavens or in the earth.

Josephus, one of the most noted historians of that day was, and although he was not a believer, he has this to say about the period in question.

Taken from "Wars of the Jews" book VI, chapter V sec.3./

"Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they did not attend, nor give credit, to the signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation; but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or minds to consider, did not regard the denunciation that God made to them.

Thus there WAS A STAR RESEMBLING A SWORD, WHICH STOOD OVER THE CITY (He is in reference to Jerusalem) AND A COMET, THAT CONTINUED A WHOLE YEAR.

Thus also, before the Jews rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, (Nisan) and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round about the alter and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day-time; which light lasted for half an hour."

/ \\ He goes on to state other signs in this chapter which, he says, those men of understanding took to be forecasts of the coming desolation of Jerusalem and Israel.

Being a personal eye-witness to this desolation, he makes in the Preface of the Wars of the Jews, sec.4 this statement /"According it appears to me, that the misfortunes of all men, from the beginning of the world, if they be compared to these of the Jews, are not to be so considerable as they were;" / \\ The blood, fire and vapor of smoke are seen in Old Testament prophecy to relate to war, for all three of these are evident in a area that is experiencing the ravages of war.

A study of history will prove to any student that Jerusalem during the time of Titus and Nero experienced the greatest ravages of war yet known to mankind.

We also know that the sun was turned to darkness literally at Calvary (Luke 23:44-45, Mark 15:33, Matt.

27:45).This leaves only the moon to be turned to blood, which many non-dispensational theologians believe happened at the same time as the sun being darkened.

This being a phenomenon which is seen in a total eclipse of the sun, when the moon passes between the earth and the sun.*

*/  \\ Mr. Stam tells us: \\ Furthermore, the signs which did appear soon passed away again (I Cor.

13:8) as the prophetic program made way for the unfolding of "the mystery," God's secret, eternal purpose.

/*

\\ *Let us look at I Cor.

13:8 and see exactly what is meant by this verse when it is read in context.

Paul, as seen in these verses of scripture, is making a comparison between the outward signs of the kingdom of God and the inward spiritual signs of the kingdom.

He is telling the church at Corinth not to rely upon the outward manifestations of the kingdom of God because they are temporal, only the inward actions of the Spirit of God are eternal vs.13 "NOW ABIDETH faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

\\ The writer tells us that the signs of the ushering in of the kingdom soon passed away, Paul tells us in I Cor 13 that the outward signs will pass away, (he doesn't state when, in fact he states that even he prophecies, even if only in part, vs.9+10,) but the inward signs, the true evidence of the kingdom of God being established on the earth, are found to be the only ones on which to base our assurance of truth and salvation.

This agrees completely with the following Old Testament scriptures concerning the true kingdom of God.

Ps.37:31; 40:8, Jer.

31:33; 32:40.

*

*/ \\ Mr. Stam tells us: \\ Just before our Lord's ascension the apostles had asked: "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).

Our Lord, of course, had known that Israel would reject the offer of the kingdom, but He could not tell the eleven this for they could not then have put much heart into their appeal to Israel and Israel, in turn, might have had some excuse for further rejecting Christ./*

\\ *Think for a moment about what the writer is implying concerning the actions of the Holy Spirit.

He says contrary to I Cor.1:17-29, that the convicting of men's souls lay in the action of the speaker not in the action of the Spirit through the Word of God.

When unbelievers stand before the Lord they will have no excuse for their sins Rom.

1:20.

As we look at this paragraph one thing becomes evident, the writer, in his need to establish his doctrine in the hearts and minds of his listeners, at this time tells us the very mind of God.

He has received it seems a special revelation, FOUND NOWHERE IN THE SCRIPTURES, that Israel might say to God, Gee, God we would have believed if you would have tried a little harder.

This line of reasoning comes only from the deductions of human reasoning and has no scriptural support what-so-ever.

How then should we look at these scriptures?

We must as in all cases view them in light of the rest of God's Word.

The Apostles not yet under the influence of the Holy Spirit asked this question in Acts 1:6.

Look at the answer which Christ uses to reply, /"It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own POWER.

But ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."/

\\ What is meant by this word "POWER"?

According to Thayer's Greek- English Lexicon, page 159; "strength, ability, power; a univ.

inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth: \\ What Christ is saying is this, The times and the seasons are none of your business only God has this knowledge.

But in verse 8 we see that Christ says they would receive that power of God after the Holy Ghost was come upon them.

In other words God's plan would be revealed to them through the Holy Spirit of God.

And they through the actions of this Spirit would become witnesses to the rest of the world, telling all men what the revealed plan of God was.

The writer tells us God kept it from the apostles, Gods Word tells us it was revealed to them.

Did the apostles, after Pentecost, ever again speak of the kingdom being restored to Israel?

Never!

They only spoke of the kingdom's presence in the world and the need for all men to accept it and enter into it for salvation.

Did they know after the coming of the Holy Spirit, what the answer to their question was?

You better believe it, the answer was NO !

Acts 2:40 /"And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, SAVE YOURSELVES FROM THIS UNTOWARD (evil) GENERATION." /They knew after Pentecost that Israel as a nation was not to be saved at this time, but that believers were to be saved from the wickedness of Israel as a nation.

*

*/  \\ Mr. Stam tells us: \\  Thus our Lord declined to answer their question and said: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.

"But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and YE SHALL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME BOTH IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDAEA, AND IN SAMARIA, AND UNTO THE UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH" (Acts 1:7,8).

The house of Israel, then, received a bona fide offer of the return of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom as Peter cried: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when [that so] the times of refreshing shall [may] come from the presence of the Lord: "And He shall [may] send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you" (Acts 3:19,20).

/*

\\ *We again see an example of how the writer twists scripture in order to make his theology work.

He quotes Acts 3:19, 20 in this way, the words in parentheses are his.

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when (that so) the times of refreshing shall (may) come from the presence of the Lord: "And He shall (may) send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you."

*

*He takes what Peter states a fact and places it in the realm of a hope, depending on the action not only of the listener but of Israel as a nation.*