The Prophets Speak

The Prophets Speak
By Rev. Ken Ervin
We live in an uncertain world. People today are casting about eagerly, and almost pathetically, in search of meaningfulness. As a society we have amassed great knowledge, yet we seem to have missed truth. Indeed, apart from God and from His revealed words that constitute the Bible, mankind and life and time do seem to be essentially purposeless. Yet the Lord of Grace and Glory, who once sent His Son Jesus Christ to redeem the world (John 3:16), will some day send Him again to lead this world into its intended goal of glorifying God (Romans 11:36). This is the hope which pervades the whole of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. Evangelical Christianity has consistently recognized that the Bible is mankind’s only valid source of truth in respect to God and to the future. It is to this end that this Newsletter, "Your Redemption Draweth Nigh" is dedicated.

Of all the scriptures which speak of Christ return, and there are some 535 verses in the New Testament alone, none seem more important to me then Acts 3:17-21. Here we find that Jesus must remain in Heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything as promised long ago through His Holy Prophets. One must take note of two things stated here. First - Jesus will remain in Heaven until the time comes. So there is a time that will come, a certain time. Second - that time will be defined as the time when God restores everything spoken by the Holy Prophets. A wise student of the Bible would search the prophets to see what must be restored, and to see if we are living in the "until the times come."

The Prophets teach us we are living in the "Until The Times Come" period of history.

The nation of Israel is the Key:

Israel is God’s miracle nation because of its final restoration.

The nation is born 1948.

Jerusalem is reclaimed in 1967.

The Prophet Ezekiel speaks; (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

Here we have the prophecy of the Jewish people being brought back to the land that God gave to their forefathers. The prophecy continues to speak of a cleansing from all sin. God says I will give them a new heart and give them my spirit. (Read also Ezekiel 20:32-34)

The Prophet Isaiah speaks; (Isaiah 11:11-12)

Here again we see a gathering of the Jewish People to their homeland, here the prophet tells us, In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant from other countries. This especially important because when this happens, God say’s it will be a raised banner for all the nations to see. It is God’s statement that we are in the restoration period. Isaiah goes on to tell us how they will return to their homeland. (Isaiah 60:8-10). They will fly along the clouds, like doves to their nest. Could this mean by plane? Could it mean by "Wings of Eagles" the ministry that has airlifted thousands of Jews out of Russia to Israel? If so many of us have been a part of this Prophecy.

The Prophet Jeremiah speaks; (Jeremiah 16:14-15)

Here is what this prophet has to say, "However the days are coming, declares the Lord, when men will no longer say, as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt, but will say, as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he banished them. For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers."

The Prophet Amos speaks; (Amos 9:14-15)

"And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof, they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God." Israel is God’s miracle nation. God’s plan of restoration is happening as you read this Newsletter. The final restoration of the Jews to their homeland is a demonstration of the truthfulness of the Bible and the faithfulness of God. Let us be prepared, spiritually awake, children of light as we live in these times of the restoration spoken of by the Holy Prophets.