Before Jesus was crucified, He had a long talk with His disciples and told them what to expect and how to behave after He was gone. You see, while He was walking and talking with them, they were under His protection. He rebuked them when necessary, so they didn’t stray. Then, it was time for Him to allow Himself to be crucified because that was why He was born…to give the opportunity for all humanity to make the choice to repent of sin, believe in Him, and live eternally. It was up to His disciples to choose to continue to follow His teachings.
Even among the twelve chosen disciples, there was a traitor. Judas followed Jesus, heard his words, saw the miracles, and, like many people today, he chose to reject Truth in favor of secular lies. Jesus knew the temptations His disciples would face and spoke to them openly at their final supper together. Judas had already gone to betray Jesus, but those remaining disciples heard some amazing things. These men were all Jewish and understood rules and Laws, but Jesus had a new commandment for them:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35).
Life was about to change forever. Christ had taught His disciples all they needed in order to share the Gospel; it would be up to them to change the world! They still needed one thing. They needed power from the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that these 11 men were trustworthy to spread the Gospel without compromise. We still need to do that.
Jesus knew what He was about to face. He knew the torture that would be inflicted and then He would be crucified. He also knew what this meant for humanity. Adam lost paradise, but Jesus was about to get it back for us.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).
This statement seems a little cryptic but holds a blessed promise. I would encourage you to study the Jewish wedding practices of that day. A simple explanation is when a man became engaged, He would then return to his father’s house to build a home for his bride. When all was ready, he would surprise his bride to be and take her to the home he had prepared. The bride didn’t know when her bridegroom would come, so there was a thrill of expectation waiting for the wedding. Jesus, our Bridegroom, has returned to His Father’s house, and will come for His Bride when all things are ready. Are you eagerly waiting for that moment? I am. I expect it to happen very, very soon. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
During that last chat, Jesus made a promise to His disciples. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16-18).
What a blessing! It’s important to take a look at the word “another.” That seems like a simple word, but it’s important to understand what the Greek word means. There are two Greek words which mean another. One word is heteros. If I am using a pencil and want a heteros pencil, that means I don’t care if it’s a lead pencil or a red or blue pencil, but the word used here is “allos.” This means another of the same sort. If I’m using a lead pencil and I want one exactly like it, I would ask for an allos pencil. Jesus said He would send an allos Comforter, which makes it clear the Holy Spirit is God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit had always come upon people but never indwelt them. When King David committed his great sin with Bathsheba, he was in real danger of God removing the Holy Spirit from him. David didn’t justify his sin but humbly went to God for forgiveness.
“Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” (Psalm 51:9-12).
We need to learn from David and see how our sin can interfere with our walk with Jesus. Christians are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit, so He can’t be taken from us, but our sin can certainly take our joy away and interfere with our witness for Christ. If it weren’t for Christians and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, this world would be a much darker place filled with more wickedness than is here now. Actually, that time is coming.
The disciples had a rough few days ahead. They saw Jesus arrested then crucified. They must have questioned their faith in Him. Then came the news that the tomb was empty. What were they to think? Would they be the next to be arrested and crucified? They had a lot to fear. They gathered together behind locked doors just be together. To their surprise, in walked Jesus!! He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side, then He told them what they had to do.
“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:21-22).
The Holy Spirit would give them power to do God’s will. Their fear would fall away, and they would remember all that they had learned from Jesus.
The next celebration for the Jewish people would be Pentecost. This is an important celebration. It involves counting the Omer. This begins the Sunday after Passover, and they count 49 days.
“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD” (Leviticus 23:15-16).
This commemorates the giving of the Law to Moses. According to tradition, it was also Enoch’s birthday as well as the day he was Raptured. Interesting.
The disciples were gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost, and that’s when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4).
People thought they were drunk. It was Peter who stood up and preached a powerful sermon. It wasn’t a seeker-friendly one that sugar-coated sin, but one that caused about 3,000 people to come to salvation. From there, the Gospel spread. Each new believer was sealed with the Holy Spirit.
From the start, there have always been people who try to stop the spread of the Gospel and twist it to their own purposes. Still, God preserves His word for us. We can trust it to be the same as was originally written. Keep in mind that sometimes we can get off track because we read it in our own language instead of the original language, so a concordance is important. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is a powerful force, but we can choose to ignore Him. When Christians stop relying on Him and start walking according to the world, we compromise His power.
As we draw near to the end of days, we can see prophecy being fulfilled. Sin in the world is growing strong, and even Christians are leaving Biblical morality in order to join the non-believers in sin. When we do this, we take the Holy Spirit with us into our sin. We then stop listening to His guidance.
“Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
Through the years, there has been much evil in the world, but it is the Holy Spirit indwelling Christians and guiding us that restrains evil. Christians seem to be willing to plug our ears to God rather than standing firm on His truth. The time is coming when the restrainer will be removed. When that happens, literally all Hell will break loose.
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:6).
This is another verse that might need a concordance. The word “letteth” is from the Greek “katecho” which means to hold back, restrain, or hinder. So, he who holds back the iniquity that is in the world will at some point be removed. Only God can hold back sin and iniquity, and the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) dwells in Christians.
As we approach Daniel’s final week, we can see iniquity becoming worse, but as long as Christians are in the world, total evil cannot take over. When the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way because of the Rapture of Christians, that will allow the Man of Sin to be revealed and to take over the world.
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Christians have the blessed hope of the Rapture. Praise God! The Holy Spirit will still be working in the world but won’t indwell people who come to faith during the Tribulation.
What is the “mystery of inequity?
When a mystery is mentioned in Scripture, it speaks of knowledge that hasn’t been fully explained yet. The prophet Daniel was given much knowledge regarding the end of days, but he was told not to reveal everything.
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4).
Humans have gained much knowledge since Daniel was given that prophecy. Anybody who studies prophecy can see the signs of the times getting stronger. Wickedness is increasing, the war in Israel is setting the stage for the final battle, we are moving closer and closer to global government, people are deluded over the belief that all religions lead to Heaven, and so much more is becoming clearer each day. Knowledge of Scripture is increasing, but so is the wickedness that Christians are willing to tolerate.
We are swiftly coming to the day when we will hear some wonderful words from our Lord. “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).
The Bridegroom will have come for His Bride, and we will watch the remainder of Revelation from a vantage point in Heaven. Only God knows when that day will be, but we can do something to hurry it along. We can share the Gospel with others.
The Apostle Paul was chosen to reveal the mysteries God withheld until the time was right. God is not finished with Israel yet, and they have not been replaced by the church.
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).
There will be a specific number of Gentiles who come to faith, then the Rapture will happen, and God will turn His attention back to Israel. The final seven years of tribulation will have begun.
If you have been presented with the Gospel but haven’t decided to repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness, then I hope you decide soon. Time is drawing to a close, and when Christians have been taken to Heaven, you won’t want to be left on Earth.
God bless you all
Nathele Graham
Recommended prophecy sites:
www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com
All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).