The Rapture 40 + years away?

No one knows when the rapture will accrue but I eagerly await in excitement for it. However I believe it is at least 40 to 50 years away if not many more. There is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled that needs to come to past before the rapture can come, according to my understanding. And it is found in Ezekiel 29:9-16. It tells of the land of Egypt becoming desolate and uninhabitable for 40 years and like Israel, Egypt will be scattered among all nations for 40 years. After forty years Egypt will be regathered and brought back as a nation but converted as a Christian nation [ Then they will know I am the lord! (Verse 9 ) ]

Ezekiel 29:9-16 NIV

Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord. “ ‘Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it, ” [10] therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. [11] The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years. [12] I will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. [13] “ ‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. [14] I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom. [15] It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. [16] Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. ‘ ”

Just something to think about! If it’s true at least we have more time to do his will/work. So don’t waste it get to it!

Christ First Came For Isreal Not The Church!

Mathew 15:21-28

Mt 15:21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
Mt 15:22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
Mt 15:23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
Mt 15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
Mt 15:25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
Mt 15:26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
Mt 15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Mt 15:28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” and her daughter was healed from that very hour.

What’s going on here? Jesus not only calls her Israel’s dog but says something very KEY here “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” See Christ came to give Israel the earthly kingdom/promised land. He came to establish a kingdom where Israel alone would rule over the land under the reign of Christ and over all gentiles. I would like to add that had Christ reigned over all the world through Israel it would still have been a wonderful thing for the Gentiles for Christ is a Great and fair ruler. In fact, Christ will still reign over the whole world from Isreal during the millennium but we will get into that a little later.

God had set apart Israel as a nation of his own. (Lev 20:26)

Lev 20:26 You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

You see Israel was called to be a separate nation whereas the church is called to be a separate people and sent to all nations to preach the Gospel. When Christ returns he will rule for a thousand years. This is called the millennium (Revelation 20:1-6) and its purpose is to fulfill the covenant with Israel and give them. The promised kingdom.
(Isaiah 60:12)
The Promised Kingdom!
Isaiah 60:10-22 & 2 Samuel 7:12-16

Isaiah 60:10-22
[10]“Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.
[11] Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal procession.
[12] For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
[13]“The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet.
[14] The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
[15] “Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.
[16] You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
[17] Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler. [18] No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. [19] The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. [20] Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
[21] Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
[22] The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”

2 Samuel 7:12-16 NIV
When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. [15] But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. [16] Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever. ‘ ”

Pay close attention to 2 Samuel 7:15 & 16 God says his love will never be taken away from him and his throne will be established forever and Jesus is the seed of David hints is why he’s referred to by people in the gospels as the Son of David. Had Israel not rejected Christ in the first place this covenant would have been fulfilled then and they would have lived under the reign of Christ, the dragon/devil would have been thrown into the abyss, and this world would act and be completely different. Paul speaks of this in (Romans 11:25 – 26)

The Millennium
Rev.20:1-6

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
Rev 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Rev 20:3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
Rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

So to sum it this way the purpose of the millennium or the thousand year reign is to fulfill the promised kingdom that the Israelites rejected the first time when they rejected Christ.

Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited:  Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
Romans 11:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
Romans 11:27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

Christ came for Israel alone however because Israel rejected Christ through unbelief and broke their covenant with God. Because of this Christ extended his covenant to us all! This is the mystery of the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1-14

This is the mystery of the parable of the wedding banquet.

Matthew 22:1-14

Mt 22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:
Mt 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
[The son of course is Jesus Christ]
Mt 22:3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
[The servants here are the Old Testament prophets like Mosses and Isaiah and those who have been invited are Israel alone.]
Mt 22:4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
[The servants here are Elijah and John the Baptist, (mt 11:14) for Christ was among them and the wedding was ready]
Mt 22:5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.
Mt 22:6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.
Mt 22:7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Mt 22:8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
Mt 22:10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
[And the servants here of course are the apostles or the church]
Mt 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
[wedding clothes here refers to repentance]
Mt 22:12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
Mt 22:13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
[attendants here refer to angels]
Mt 22:14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
You see the promise was intended for Israel alone but they Refused Christ and killed the prophets even beheading John the Baptist. So God extended the promise to all mankind.
Paul speaks further about this spending nearly 3 chapters in Romans explaining this. Chapter’s 9-11 Pay close attention to Romans 11:11, 11:19 & 20, 11:25-26

Romans 11:19-23 NIVYou will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
[20] Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.
[21] For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
[22] Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. [23] And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
Romans 11:11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

Author: William Marchbanks