Daniel Unlocked #64

Daniel Unlocked #64. Styrofoam Castles - It’s Happened Before!

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.” Luke 17:20 NLT. When Jesus came the first time? His people misunderstood and misapplied the prophecies regarding His kingdom. They were eagerly awaiting Him to establish a literal, earthly, even military kingdom. Jesus constantly explained that His first coming was to establish a spiritual kingdom.

After the crucifixion some disciples declared “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). The nation of Israel and even the disciples were looking for a muscular Messiah. The disciples brushed aside or simply ignored Jesus’ comments regarding His spiritual kingdom. They tried to make these spiritual prophecies literal, and the crucifixion crushed their expectations of an Israel with dominion over all the Earth.

Even after the resurrection! “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6.

Today’s church is making the same mistake.

They are misapplying prophecies regarding spiritual Israel and the temple and interpreting them in a literal sense without basis? They are preparing themselves for a diabolical, deception and a devastating disappointment!

There are five pillars of the Zionist movement that are a Foundation of Sand that have no Biblical support. The five pillars are these: The rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948, a soon-coming seven years of “Great Tribulation.” The rebuilding of the Jewish temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. (Where the Islamic Dome of the Rock stands,) the Antichrist’s rise during the tribulation; He’ll enter the temple to proclaim himself God, and a final war against Israel, which will result in Armageddon. There is not one shred of evidence for any of these.

Tragically, millions of Christians are vigilantly guarding this Styrofoam monument with no prophetic veracity and building on these crumbling sands of popular evangelical trends. Here is the big question: Are all these end-time prophecies in Scripture regarding Israel and the temple speaking of the literal nation of Jews and a physical building, or is there a deeper spiritual application? Unfortunately, we are seeing a re-run of that which happened prior to Jesus first advent being marketed again as credible theology, despite it having no backbone, and being as hollow and light as a Styrofoam monument. The main thrust of popular end-time scenerios revolves around this styrofoam monument. Prophecies from Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekial that were unfilfilled to literal Israel now belong to the church – spiritual Israel! Daniel was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Isaiah predated them by over 100 years.) These prophecies to literal Israel were all conditional on the basis of them being faithful – ‘ifs’ and ‘thens’ appear frequently in their writings. Daniel’s apocalyptic prophecies do not contain any conditional elements. Daniel’s prophecies were conditinal on the Messiah’s faithfulness! Refer again to Daniel Unlocked #62 that outlines how the Christian Church inherited the promises and blessings of Israel.

We have come to that part of Daniel where the focus increases on last day events – our time. It will increase in the final vision of Daniel.

As we finish considering the prophecy of Daniel 9 and the 490-year probationary period for the nation of Israel that ended in A.D. 34, there is one more important fact to contemplate.