Messianic Viewpoint

Guest (Female): Welcome to Shalom Ariel and to this our 83rd sermon from the Gospel of Mark with Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon. We have been keenly aware in this chapter, in fact, in many chapters of the scriptures, in how the Lord lets us know in advance concerning what he will do. He warns us and he comforts us that he has everything under control.

Now, concerning warnings, we're going to see in today's message that again the declaration goes out to Israel that in these tribulation times, they are going to need to flee, not to the north where we find the mountains of Israel, but to the mountains of the Negev in the south. In fact, we are getting an accurate direction as to where they should be heading to: Bozrah, also known as Petra. God prepared the way in advance so they would know exactly where to go. They were warned where to go when it was the right time, when it was the abomination of desolation.

You know, warnings do not always need to be negative or associated with something bad ahead. We are warned, for example, that the Rapture will come as a thief in the night. And while we're not told exactly when it will happen, we are forewarned to stay ready and to comfort each other with the words from scripture.

So here is a question for those of us who take the Rapture advent seriously. How are we preparing ourselves for the Rapture? Not so much in what we're going to take with us, but rather with everything that we are leaving behind. Do you have teachings, notes of encouragement, devotions, letters, things of that nature that you would want to put into the hands of those who are left behind?

We've thought about that concerning all the teachings from Beth Ariel and considered covering the charges of the website at least five years in advance so that perhaps this teaching would be there even if we are not. Or perhaps have we considered putting our teaching into writing? It reminds us of what goes on at Petra. If any of you have taken a trip to Israel and went to Petra in Jordan, you would have become aware that believers have actually left small notes or Bibles between the rocks in hopes that when the Jewish people come fleeing there at the three-and-a-half-year midpoint of the tribulation, they will find scriptures waiting for them there.

Let's keep prepared for all these end-time events, remembering that even in these days, our holy walk counts for so much as we try to keep in step with the Lord. Be blessed as you listen to today's program and shalom.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: In the prophecy of Mark 13, he told Israel not to carry anything for he will, Jesus will provide for her. As he provided for Israel in the wilderness for 40 years, he will provide for them during these three and a half years.

The same figure is repeated in Revelation 11:3 when the Lord promises great power to the two witnesses who are about to come. "And I will give them power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,260 days," here the number again, "clothed in sackcloth." While the remnant of Israel will be protected from annihilation, these two witnesses, who some believe will be Moses and Elijah or some individuals who will come in the spirit of Moses and Elijah, will then stand as witnesses to others there I believe on the Temple Mount.

But how would the abomination of desolation be realized for that Yeshua asks the believers to take as a trigger for the last 42 months of this age? Notice the word right after he mentions, "Let the reader understand." Understand what exactly? The way the Greek is written is not according to the laws of grammar here. If I tell you something like "the wooden chair, he stands on four legs," it does not make sense for I should have said, "it stands on four legs," but what I did is to personify the chair.

In the same way, the way the Greek is written, the abomination of desolation is personified. It literally reads, "See the abomination of desolation, he will stand where it should not be." Who's the he? This fits very well the subsequent prophecies about the Antichrist, who is the abomination of desolation himself. The abomination is personified in the life of this man.

Paul throws light to this verse. He explains it to us in 2 Thessalonians chapter two and he says, "for that day, that is the day of the Lord, the seven-year tribulation, will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God and that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

Here it is explained to us what the abomination of desolation is. He is the man of sin, the son of perdition, the coming world leader called by John the Antichrist, who will come into the temple and sit there and proclaim himself as God. This is the sequel of that last link of Satan's sin, attempted to fulfill that greatest sin when he wanted, remember in Isaiah 14, he wanted to ascend into heaven and exalt his throne above God.

But he could not do it in heaven, so he tries here on earth by sending this man whom Paul calls the son of perdition and in imitation of the Son of God. This will be his last try. Originally, Daniel uses these two words, abomination of desolation, to explain how the Holy of Holies in the temple was desecrated. This is when Antiochus back in 175 BC offered a pig on the altar and put the statue of Zeus later on. To fulfill the full realization that is of the abomination of desolation will be when not when an animal will be actually offered. It would be when the Beast, like Daniel and John calls this Antichrist himself, will come and sit and take over that temple.

This is then what is behind the word abomination of desolation that Yeshua is asking the believer of the time of the tribulation to be watching for. This does not pertain to us directly, who will be taken away at the Rapture before the tribulation, before this time that is. This is specific to those during the tribulation time who will live in Jerusalem, especially and across all Israel. So fierce will this time be that Yeshua gives so many details about it.

But there's another signs, other signs, two more that will accompany this one that we take from other scriptures. Another is back in Daniel 9:27. See what he says again. He says "he, the Antichrist, he will confirm a covenant with many for seven years. And in the middle of the seven years, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings." A second sign is that he, the Antichrist, will put an end to sacrifice and offering. That means that by the beginning of the seven-year, the temple should be up and running. But after three and a half years, this man of sin will stop it from functioning.

I realize that that sounds so far-fetched to many that the temple would be rebuilt. But you need only to visit the Temple Mount Faithful Museum where we find all the necessary elements for the function of the temple, from the priest's instruments to their clothing and even to the ancestry of the Levites. Almost everything is ready for it. This is in Jerusalem.

Did you know that today, the only tribe in Israel we can identify with certainty are the Levites, whom God chose to take care of the temple worship? We know who they are today. They even have some chromosomes that other Jews do not have. I believe that this knowledge was left to the Jews so that they could recognize and use them for the third temple to be rebuilt. And that is quite amazing considering the 2,000 years have gone by and we can still identify that one specific tribe. The others we don't know who they are.

This Temple Mount Faithful have even built a menorah. You know the menorah that will be in the third temple is on display in the Jewish quarter in the old Jerusalem. For the Jews in Israel, religious and secular, it's not that far-fetched anymore since they have been praying for this temple daily to be rebuilt. It's part of biblical prophecies.

Daniel's prophecies also tells us what will trigger the last seven-year tribulation. He says that he, the Antichrist, "he will confirm a covenant with many for seven years." The moment a powerful politician signs a covenant of peace with Israel for seven years, you know that the tribulation had begun. This is why during the description of the war of Gog and Magog, we find Israel with open borders. This would be due to the signing of the false peace covenant.

As Gog attacks Israel, the Lord says, "and they are living securely all of them." This is where you go in verse eight of Ezekiel 38. And the signing of a false covenant is what Isaiah calls twice over a covenant with death. Isaiah 28:15 and verse 18. This is also why we see in the opening words of the tribulation time in Revelation 6, "as I look," John says, "and behold a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him and he went and conquering and to conquer." That's the Antichrist.

Here is one who has a crown but he's no king at all. He is the Antichrist and he has a bow just by itself. This word bow in the Greek is the word for rainbow. It is a word used for a covenant. But this time it is a false covenant for what follows is war and famines and death. So when they see the abomination of desolation and when the Antichrist will stop the sacrifice and offering, this will be the beginning of the end.

But there's one more sign that Yeshua gives us this time, but through the Gospel of Luke. He says, "when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you know that is desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Luke 21:20 to 21. So here three main signs are given for the people to flee to the mountains: the taking away of the daily sacrifices, the abomination of desolation, and armies surrounding Jerusalem.

We are told through Amos the prophet, you know, God says "surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret counsel to his servant the prophets." Amos 3:7. All we need to know about things to come is enclosed in the scriptures. Those believers who will go through the tribulation and ourselves as well, we go through this time now, have all we need in the scriptures to strengthen ourselves.

When Yeshua asks the remnant of Israel to flee to the mountain, by the way, which mountains should they flee to? Surely not up north where we find the mountains of Israel where the battle of Gog and Magog will take place and where Armageddon will also take place. But prophecies from the Hebrew scriptures indicate south of Jerusalem, the mountains of the Negev in the south.

The prophets Isaiah, Micah, and Habakkuk gives us the direction they will need to flee in. And all these prophets associate the second coming of the Lord with Bozrah, which means sheepfold, or Petra, which means rock. For instance, we read in Isaiah 63 verse one, "who is this who comes from Edom with red garment from Bozrah, this one who is glorious in his apparel traveling the greatness of his strength? I who speak in righteousness mighty to save." He speaks about Yeshua.

Here Isaiah sees the Messiah coming from the south, Bozrah, and there the Messiah is asked why his garments are red. He answers and says that it comes from warring against the enemies of Israel. Bozrah, Petra, this is why so many believers today who go to Petra, they put Bible in the between the rocks with the hope that they will serve the remnant of Israel when God will hide them from the devil as it is written in Revelation 12.

I remember in one of our trips in Israel, I told the Israeli guide about this prophecy of Yeshua and the abomination of desolation and told the person to head south to Petra when he sees all these things occurring. The person was very surprised by the mention of Petra until I mentioned Isaiah and Habakkuk. They need to know this, but we know that the two witnesses, which also are mentioned, will be there perhaps on the Temple Mount will speak of these things.

And so Yeshua says that when these things occur, not to wait but to head to the mountains. And he adds, see what he says, "but woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days, but pray that it may not happen in the winter."

How can we understand this? Why mention those who will be pregnant and would be nursing babies? These words are surprising and incomprehensible if we don't take into account the severity of the time. Perhaps we can compare it with a similar situation at the destruction of the first temple. Did you know that God told Jeremiah not to get married? Why? Because the time where were of wars, of invasion and not of peace and so would the tribulation time be. So perhaps these words of Jesus may be a warning of those of the time of the seven years when they see that it began, just prepare for the second coming.

And why not in winter? Surely because in winter the flight will be much more difficult because of the cold and especially, especially because of flooding. During the winter, the wadis, the riverbeds, can become impassable and very actually dangerous in Israel. This is perhaps why the feast of Israel begin in March and April after the rainy season so the Jews can come from all over the world to Jerusalem.

It was known at the time and before that traveling in the winter in Israel was hazardous. This is why again the feast of Israel were at that time. And this is there's a beautiful story attached to the end of the rainy season found in ancient Jewish writings. There we read that God has shown Israel a great goodness. How so? On the 10th of Tebeth, approximately January, according to Ezekiel 24, all the Israelites had to go to Jerusalem into the exile. This is the day they have chosen.

But the Lord said, according to this tradition, if they go on now in the cold, they will die. What did he do? He waited with them and had them go in the exile only in the summer on the 10th of Ab. This is when actually they went. So God made sure that the exiles to Babylon did wait until the summer to travel.

And in Matthew, Yeshua adds, "pray that it will not occur on the Shabbat." But why not the Shabbat? In Israel and increasingly so today, there is no activity on the Shabbat because of the power of the religious who close many areas of the Shabbat.

Now there's something else I want to point out, something important. We see how Yeshua is so adamant on the suddenness of these things and how he tells the remnant of Israel to leave northern Israel and Jerusalem at the first sign. Today there are many Christian ministries who are working very hard to bring as many Jews as possible back to Israel with the belief that the more Jews in Israel, the faster Jesus will come back. They are under the false belief that we have entered the beginning of the Messianic times and so they spend a lot of money and bring Jews from all over the world to Israel. Now there's nothing wrong for all the Jews to go back to Israel if they want to, but not under false promises like this.

But listen to what they say. They use scriptures like Isaiah chapter 11 verse 12 and say, "because of you, we are seeing biblical prophecies fulfilled today as we gather the Jewish exiles from the four corners of the earth." When in fact, Yeshua himself said he prophesied telling the Jews to leave Israel when they see these signs.

And they even quote on their website Revelation 21 which speaks of the eternal state as happening right now. They believe based on Romans 11:11 which says that salvation come to the Gentile to make Israel jealous that it is the task of the Gentiles to bring Jews to the land of Israel. But it is Yeshua who's going to do that at the end.

As for the state of Israel, the government love these ministries and they support these ministries. Do you know why they support these ministries? Because these ministries do not speak the word of God to the Jewish people. They only spend money to bring them there. And so even Netanyahu, he says, "there's no better friends than these Christians." He's not talking about us. He's talking about those who give money but do not speak about the word of God to these Jewish people. The Israeli government will never support a work of evangelism. However, these ministries who are taking a lot of money from the churches are acting on false premises and directing Jews to the land when Yeshua warns us about being there during the end times. We have to be careful to whom we give the money.

And so after listing these prophecies, Yeshua then says something very, very powerful about the coming time in this planet. Verse 19: "For those days will be a time of tribulation as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now and never will." Here he quotes again Daniel and Joel and after this he will describe the manner of his second coming which we'll see later on. There will be a time like there was never before, but nor will there ever be. That's the good news by the way that it will never be. For after this, a new world will emerge and the greatest things ever will begin and we will live in harmony with God and nature. Yes, wars are coming, but short time. 1,260 days, 42 months he says, three and a half years, no longer than that and perhaps he said I will shorten these days, perhaps he will. But after that we're talking about a great time of harmony. This is what is eventually coming in this earth and this is also coming very soon.

To conclude, we have considered these signs which in the overall are not always easy to read, especially that they have begun to show their force and increase in intensity around us today and I believe they will as we move on forward. So I would like to close with what rabbinic, one rabbinic commentator has noticed about the evil of this world and God's sovereignty.

This is what he wrote about the suffering of the diaspora of the Jews in the Midrash Rabbah. He says when Israel are dispersed, the Shekhinah, that is the Holy Spirit, is with them as it is said, "the Lord shall return your captivity." It is not said he will bring back, but he will come back, that is he will come back with you, meaning that he is with you even in captivity, even in suffering, as we have seen as Yeshua actually showed and went through that path before the disciple and many other believers.

In all these prophecies, the Lord will be there to protect, to cover and to comfort, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, "the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." When our faithfulness is tested, we have God's own faithfulness as our resource and anchor. This is his promise. Let's bow head in prayer. I will combine the prayer of Habakkuk and Jude here.

Now blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, by your word you sanctify us and through your infinite love and kindness, you take great delight in us and give us your Spirit. We thank you for these great prophecies you have given us to enlighten us. And so we say with Habakkuk, "Lord, I've heard the report about you and I fear. O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In wrath, remember mercy."

And so we say blessed are you, O Lord our God, our Father, for there's no one like you. And O Lord, bless our heart, cleanse us from any wrong motives, put away our sadness and problems and make us free so that we can reflect your glory to others. And now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, blameless with great joy, the only God and Savior through Messiah Yeshua our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen and amen.

And for the congregation, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord makes his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen and amen.

Guest (Female): Please join us for the Q&A portion of this program. The question being asked today for Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon is: Is our salvation eternally secure? Be blessed and shalom.

Guest (Male): The question concerns our eternal security in the Lord. I understand that salvation is a free gift from God. That means I did not earn it by any means. How then do we maintain our salvation? How do we keep it? Do we need to earn it in some way? I think of the verse from Philippians 2:12 which says, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Does that mean we run the risk of losing our salvation if we don't work hard enough at maintaining it?

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: You see, this is a verse that is often used to try to prove that one can lose his or her salvation. Let me begin by saying that once we get the gift of God, it is forever, that is the gift of salvation. It's written in Romans 11:29, "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Once God chooses and elects, it is forever. The argument in Romans chapter 11 is that as God chose Israel and never forsook the nation, so he chose every believer.

And Paul confirmed this truth in this letter to the Philippians where we read to work out our salvation. In verse six of chapter one, he says, "for I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Messiah Yeshua." There are many more verses of course throughout the scriptures about our eternal salvation, but for now, let us concentrate on Philippians 2:12 to 13. This is what it says again.

Guest (Male): "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now how much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure."

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: Now the question is if salvation is eternal, why do we have to work at it? Let us look at how the Bible presents salvation itself. It divides it into three parts: past, present and future. We have been saved, reborn, renewed and justified, which is past as we read in Titus 3:5, "he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." So it is a full gift from God. Past because it is guaranteed.

Now, while it is past, the Bible will also present it as present, as an ongoing process as we read in 1 Peter 3:2. We read that he now saves us. While we are now saved, there's still sin in our lives and all around us. It is also present because it is here we are working it out as the verse says. This working out is understood by the word sanctification.

And salvation is also future. It's a future condition when we will be, when Yeshua comes back to take us to heaven, will be completely sinless, either at the Rapture or at the resurrection, whichever comes first for us. As for the present state of salvation which believers are now undergoing, Paul stresses this fact in the verse right after Philippians 2:12 when he says, "it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure."

This reminds us that when one accepts Yeshua as his Messiah, this person is saved with the presence of the Holy Spirit in him, as we are told in 2 Corinthians 1:21 and 22. "Now he who establishes us with you in the Messiah and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge."

You see, in secular Greek, the word pledge was a down payment in a transaction. In the same way, the Lord seals every believer with his Spirit so that we can work out our salvation, our sanctification, until he comes. It is because of that permanent seal we can keep operating to work out this precious responsibility that is given to us. So we are saved forever, but in the present time we are working this salvation that is ours in order to prepare ourselves for eternity.

Guest (Female): Shalom Ariel is a daily radio program emphasizing the Jewish perspective of scripture. God is not through dealing with Israel, nor will he renege any of the promises he has made to her. Our teacher for this program, Jacques Isaac Gabizon, is a Messianic Jewish believer and Messianic leader at Beth Ariel congregation, right here in Montreal. If you've been encouraged by the messages, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 1-888-685-5902 or you may write us at info@bethariel.ca. You are also welcome to join us for our Saturday morning services. We are located at 6297 Monkland Avenue, corner of Madison in NDG. The message is given in English, but we do offer simultaneous translation into French and Russian. Services begin at 11 AM. We have Shabbat school for children of all ages up to and including teens. You may also download audio messages from our website at bethariel.ca and enjoy other in-depth teaching from Jacques. If you would like to sign up for informative newsletters, log on to our website and add your name to our email list. Shalom Ariel is a listener-supported program. If you have it on your heart to donate, it will be a great blessing for the continued ministry and outreach of Beth Ariel. Thank you and shalom shalom.