Last Days of the Church
An Introduction
As a minister of Christ, I feel that the Lord has giving me an insight
into what the church will be going thru in the last few years of the
church. Many have taken their hand to give an explanation of how
this is to be played out in our lives. It has been probably 20 years
since I have read or listened to any interpretation of the last days.
I do not read religious books and very seldom use the Greek or
Hebrew dictionary to better understand a passage except, with names
of people or places.
I
did not study this out, but rather it came to me around 1997 when
seeking the Lord. But at that time was unable to put it all
together. And then again when seeking the Lord in 2011, he brought
it back to me and added some further understanding. My understanding
is not from any denomination or any preacher that I might have heard
expound on the subject in my days of serving the Lord. But it would
not surprise me if what I understand agrees in part with another
preacher’s or denomination’s theology. Anyone that
preaches Jesus Christ has a part of his light and his light will
illuminate some part of the scriptures to that individual, even
though they may not be able to put it together correctly with other
scriptures.
In
this article there are five messages, they are
There
could be other scriptures, explanations and even a better structure
to this message, but as I am writing this, the Lord has directed me
in what order to present this. I have tried to add scriptures to
save time in searching out the scriptures as you read.
Because
of the way or sequence in which the Lord gave this to me and the
order he had me to write it in, you will need to read all Five Parts
of it to get the full understanding of what is being said. It would
be expected that one might need to reread parts or all of this, to
get the understanding of it. Thank you for taking the time to read
this and may God bless you through the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
This
article was written by Gary Hyde, any questions please contact me at
garyhyde@tds.net.
Last Days of the Church
Chapter One
LAST WEEK OF DANIEL - NOW!
The Passage in Daniel
Let
us start with reading this passage: Daniel 9:25-27
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And
after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for
himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a
flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And
he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate.
There
may be many ways that one may try to understand the beginning and the
timing of the 70 weeks, where each day represents a year, for a total
of 490 years. But there should not be any doubt in our mind, that
God established who this commandment to restore would come through.
Isa 44:28 That saith of
Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even
saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy
foundation shall be laid.
We
see the fulfilling of this prophecy in 536BC, …Ezr 1:2
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me
all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an
house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
The
problem with the mind here is that it is more than 566 years between
the commandment by Cyrus and the beginning of the ministry of Jesus
Christ.
The
answer is this, when God spoke and said it would be a 7 week period,
a 62 week period and a final 1 week period. He never said that these
three periods would be consecutive nor was it ever his desire to let
us know the time of Christ’s first coming or his second coming.
God only gave enough information so we could know the seasons and be
watchful in prayer, that he would not catch us unaware.
For
that reason, he sent John the Baptist to prepare the way before him,
and stir and awaken the saints of that time to look for the kingdom
of God. John preached that the kingdom was at hand, and if the
people did not believe John’s message, then they probably were
going to miss Jesus’ message, …since they were not of
his fold or the seed of God.
It
says in Daniel that after threescore and two weeks that the Messiah
would be cut off. Later in the passage he says he will confirm the
covenant for many for one week. You should see that it makes no
difference if you think this passage applies to natural Israel or to
spiritual Israel, or both. I would like to take the remainder of
this message to explain as the Lord has let me see the last week.
The Church : Spiritual Israel has Mirrored Natural Israel
As
we are approaching the last days of the Church age, we see that the
church has followed in the footsteps of natural Israel in all its
abomination, idolatry, rebellion and disobedient to God. Just as in
Jeremiah’s time and in Jesus’ time, the actions of the
people of Israel brought about a natural punishment and destruction
of the nation of Israel. There was a ceasing of the daily sacrifice
because of these abominations and even the vengeance of God on the
disobedient and rebellious nation of Israel. At each of those times
he forewarned his people before it happened, so those who where
following his voice or light in that day, would not have to suffer
the blunt of the Israel’s punishment. Although they were a
part of the nation, they were not a part of its evil ways.
We
are now praying and longing for Jesus to return. But, if he were to
return to today’s Church, which is now the Israel of God
according to Jesus and Paul, he would find it in torn and tattered
garments which have been defiled by worldly lust, false doctrine,
false spirits, corrupt ministries, etc. For that reason he would end
up having to destroy his people because of his holiness and the
church’s uncleanness and unrighteousness. That does not mean
that there are not clean, true to the word saints in the church, the
Israel of God. I am speaking of the church as a whole, which was
also the case with Israel as a whole, which is our example, in both
O.T. and N.T. times.
An Overview of the Last Week of the Endtime
For
a general overview, the last week or 7 years is broke up into two
parts according to… Daniel 9:27…and
in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall
make it desolate, even until the consummation…
The
1st 3 ½ years is a ministry of Christ, that will be like
Moses, Elijah and Jesus combined. It is 3 ½ years of warning
or wake up call for God’s people who have turned from the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Pressure will be put on the church to repent
and turn to God from the error of their ways. This is a true
revival we have longed for in the church.
The 2nd half of this week is to stop the true daily sacrifices of worship
toward God through Christ, and allow the spirit of Satan to come in
to his temples, which were once God’s temples. This will allow
the son or sons of perdition to be revealed, bringing life to the
beast image.
In
this final week, the Messiah, confirms the covenant...
Daniel 9:26 And he shall confirm
the covenant with many for one week…
This
is not a new covenant like in Jesus’ time, but rather Christ is
confirming or bearing a second witness of the prior covenant that
Jesus gave to Israel at his first coming. This Israel is now made up
of Jews and Gentiles as was revealed by Jesus and preached by the
Apostles. That the people of God from both Jews and Gentiles, are
the seed of Abraham thru faith in Jesus Christ, to make up the
church, the Israel of God.
A Call to Awaken the Church
To
get a foundation of the better part of what is being done during this
3 ½ years, read also Revelation chapters 8-11.
There
are more passages that apply to this period but the objective is not
to tie down every passage that relates with the period, but rather to
speak in a broad sweep of what will happen. Then, ministers and
saints will be watchful in prayer as we see the day approaching.
The
purpose of the first 3 ½ years of this time period is for the
ministry to stir the hearts of the people and awaken them from their
sleep, slumber and drunkenness. This will allow them to hear the
word of the Lord for their life and make themselves ready for the
coming of the Lord. The Lord will bring sorrows and plagues upon the
church to get them to repent at his word. During this time, it is
not to destroy the church or to bring the wrath of God on it or the
world; but rather to preserve, clean up, make ready and bring
repentance in the church.
The
church has three parts:
Those
that have made themselves ready,
Those
that are defiled in some manner,
Those
that have tasted the heavenly gift and have become disobedient or
rebellious bringing forth corruption.
These
three groups of people have always been in the church. But in the
last days, how you heed and obey the word of God will separate you
into these parts, which will determine your blessing or suffering
during the last 3 ½ years.
This
can be seen in the scriptures in…
Zech 13:8-9 And it shall come to
pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall
be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they
shall say, The LORD is my God.
Christ Confirming His Covenant
Let’s
take a look at different passages which show us how Jesus is going to
confirm his covenant during this period.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God.
Again
in..
Lu 21:27-28 And then shall
they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift
up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
It
is seen in..
Re 10:1-3 And I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a
rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and
his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book
open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on
the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and
when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
This
can also be seen in the two witnesses of..
Re 11:1-3 And there was
given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise,
and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship
therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and
measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city
shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give
power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
At
first reading of all these passages you may be thinking of multiple
ministries of people bringing about the work in this time period. I
would like to explain that there will be many ministers during this
time, just as there were in Moses’ and Jesus’ time. But
there was only one ministry that was a full representation of Christ
in that testimony.
Let
me better explain. There are three ministrations from the Ark of the
Testimony or Covenant;.. that which was, that which is and that which
is to come. We see the first ministry of Christ in the time of Moses
bringing his people out of Egypt and giving them a word or law of God
so they could have a relationship with God going forward. We see
the second perfect ministry of Christ in Jesus the Son of God when he
brought deliverance from sin and redemption to mankind thru his blood
that was shed. We see the third ministry of Christ that is to come,
described in the above passages as a vessel or body that he has
prepared to speak thru to prepare his people for the last exodus, the
redemption of the body. The vessel is not Jesus Christ, no more
than Moses was Christ, but the message is Christ speaking with the
same power and authority as he spoke thru Moses.
The Ministry of the Two Witnesses
This
can be found in Revelation 11 and Zechariah 4 when he talks about the
two olive trees which he also refers to as anointed ones or sons of
oil. It is seen again when he put the cherubim’s at the gate
of the Garden of Eden to keep the way. We even see a natural example
of the two cherubim’s facing each other, with God speaking from
between the cherubim’s on the Ark of the Covenant. One
cherubim represents Moses and the other represents the Son of man to
come, which is the third ministration from the Ark of the Testimony
referred to in the prior paragraph. Jesus is the one that speaks
from between the two cherubim’s on the Ark of the Covenant and
gives life to these ministries. Now just as Moses’ testimony
pointed to Jesus Christ and redemption thru him, so will the
testimony of the Son of man, point to Jesus Christ.
Now
let’s go back to the two witnesses in Revelation 11, some may
have concluded that this is two separate people, or ministries, but
Jesus said in..
John 8:17-18 It is also
written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one
that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth
witness of me.
This
same reference to him and the Father is seen over and over in the
gospels as Jesus being a witness and the Father in him being a
witness and doing the works. In the same similitude we should see a
vessel like unto the Son of man that has been prepared by the Holy
Ghost for Christ to speak thru, just like Moses was prepared from the
tribe of Levi.
Thereby
having two witnesses or prophets, just like Jesus and the Father
where two witnesses and here in this Son of man, we have a brother in
the Lord and Spirit of Christ as the two witnesses.
The
aspect of the ministry that is seen here is similar to that of Elijah
and Moses. It is not the person of Elijah or Moses to be manifested,
but rather the nature, character and anointing of that particular
ministry. This is according to the power of God which was given to
them as seen in..
Rev 11:6 These have power to shut
heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have
power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with
all plagues, as often as they will.
The
ministry of Elijah and Moses was never to hurt the church or Israel,
but was to free them, and turn them from ungodliness so they could
worship God.
As
mentioned earlier, this ministry of the two witnesses is not to
destroy the church or to bring the wrath of God on the church. There
ministry is not as the 7 vials of the wrath of God which fall on the
disobedient. The ministry of these two witnesses is to preserve,
clean up, make ready and bring repentance to the body of Christ.
The Church Divided in Three Parts
The
church has always had these three parts, but the division of these
parts is done, for the judgment that effects each part differently
during these last days. I will refer these parts as:
Firstfruits
- those that have made themselves ready,
Defiled
- those that have defiled themselves in some manner, and
Rebellious
- those who have tasted the heavenly gift and have become
disobedient.
Firstfruits
: Gold
Are
clean living saints, holding firmly to the Word of God and have been
watchful in prayer and keeping that which they have received in God,
…that no man takes their crown.
Re 14:4
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God
and to the Lamb.
God
has sealed these from the wind and tribulation which are to come in
the last 3 ½ years.
Re 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the
earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the
servants of our God in their foreheads.
Re 9:4 And it was commanded
them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any
green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the
seal of God in their foreheads.
Yet,
I do not want to imply that the Firstfruits group do not feel the
effects or suffer to some extent during this time. We saw that all
of Israel in Goshen felt the effects of suffering during the first
three plagues on Egypt. It is the same as the Hebrew children who
were carried into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Those young men
suffered some pain and trial of faith, before God began to preserve
them in Babylon. And those that heard the words of Jesus Christ and
obeyed him also escaped or at least lived to became slaves at the
time of Titus, when God destroyed Jerusalem.
This
group is in the most critical shape at this time, for they are the
ones who have defiled their garments. These were not watchful and
committed idolatry and abominations with the world or its religious
system. Nevertheless God’s mercy desires to bring them unto
himself thru much tribulation and trials. God does not want to cut
them off or separate them from himself forever. God is sending them
this ministry during the first 3 ½ years to purge and refine
them as silver and gold so that they might be able to escape the
wrath to come.
Mal 3:2-3 But who may abide the
day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is
like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap. And he shall sit as
a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of
Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the
LORD an offering in righteousness.
Yes,
we have seen this in part but it will increase during this first 3 ½
years. We see another illustration in Zechariah where one part is
cut off from God; another part dies just as we are to die or to be
crucified with him; and another part God takes thru the fire.
Zech 13:8-9 And it shall come to
pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall
be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they
shall say, The LORD is my God.
The
Rebellious is like the..
Rev 3:17-18 Because thou
sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried
in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
They
are not only defiled, but have allowed corruption to consume or
control the vessel to a much greater level. These do not repent when
God reproves or corrects them now nor during this time of trouble.
A good example of this is Judas, who at one time was part of the
ministry, but in time turns back unto perdition.
The
Purpose of the Two Witnesses
The
purpose of the two witnesses is to…
Measure
the temple, the altar and they that worship in it. Rev 11:1
Bring
about a demonstration of God’s power, to excite the saints and
the ministry to get serious about God again.
Bring
natural and spiritual afflictions in the church so it will turn back
to God.
To
fight against those people, who say they are Christ like, but are
not. Re 2:9
…I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and
are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
To
forewarn of the great tribulation ahead, to those who have not
repented and are not making themselves ready.
The
Word of God has always been our measure of the temple and altar in
our life. But this ministry of the anointing is measuring us to the
Word that was giving to us by Jesus and the Apostles. This is not
the work of man but of the Spirit of Christ comparing us to the
stature of Jesus Christ.
The 1st Four Trumpets : Touching Four Principle Areas
During
these years of awakening in the church, there will be pressure upon
the church, which can be seen in the first four trumpets in…
Rev 8:7-12
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled
with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of
trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second
angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood. And
the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life,
died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third
angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it
were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon
the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called
Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many
men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the
fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and
the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as
the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a
third part of it, and the night likewise.
These
trumpets come upon the church in the form of plagues, afflictions,
tribulations and troubles. The trumpets apply pressure from both God
and from the world upon the church; both spiritually and naturally.
The
first 4 Trumpets each target one of the four areas of the core
principles or doctrines of Jesus Christ that we are to follow and
adhere to. The Lord is going to judge, correct or punishes us in
some manner if we have not fulfilled his purpose or if we have become
defiled in these four areas. We see the two witnesses are to bring
plagues, sufferings, trials and inconveniences so that the church
might cry out to God for help and change. This is God’s
attempt to save and preserve as many that have come into the church,
before he has to purge out all the unclean people in it.
Let
me explain briefly. All of the doctrine that we are to live and obey
that pertains to our hope of eternal life and receive our reward in
heaven, can be found in these four areas.
The
Word of God
- to know, live and obey it.
The
Outer Man
- to crucify it, bury it, keep it under subjection, to live in honor
and sanctification and put off the works of the flesh.
The
Inner Man
- to be born again, put on the new man and its fruit, let it rule
the outer man, come unto the fullness of the stature of Christ and
putting on the whole armor of God.
Follow
the Spirit
- the spirit of the Lord to lead and guide us into all truth and
from the false.
Each
of the trumpets in the same order speaks either spiritually or
naturally of judgments, pressures, afflictions and chastening
corresponding to the four areas identified above. The purpose is
that the saints might repent, be washed and put on clean garments.
A
biblical pattern of the relationship of these four areas may be
easily seen in the four rivers that flowed from the one river in the
Garden of Eden. This pattern is seen by also looking at the message
and spirit of,…the first 4 books of the OT,…the first 4
books of the NT,…the first 4 books of the Prophets,…the
4 faces of the cherubim’s,…and the 4 beast before the
throne in heaven. For example: the 4th
face of a cherubim is an eagle which is also the fourth beast in
heaven. This Eagle represents the revelation, light or leadership
of the spirit in our life as we journey with God. This same spirit
flows out of the books of Numbers, Daniel and John. The Lord has me
explain this better, a little later in the message.
The Voice of the Seventh Angel Sounding
In
the following passage we see a representation of Christ,
Rev 10:1-2 clothed with a cloud:
and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun,
and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little
book open.
Remember
it says in…
Re 5:4-5 And I wept much,
because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither
to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not:
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
I
believe we could conclude that the seals have been loosed from the
book, for revelation could not be brought forth until they were
removed. The angel told Daniel in..
Dan 12:4 …, shut up
the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end….
We
could also say that there is still a mystery of our full redemption
that has not yet been revealed or else we would be walking in that
state of immortality and the church would know the meaning of the 7
thunders. But the time is not yet. The angel said in..
Re 10:7 In the days of the
voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery
of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the
prophets.
This
voice was never given to the angel of the 7th
church. Nor was this voice given to the angel of the 7th
seal, and neither was this voice given to the angel of the 7th
vial. But there is a voice given to the 7th
trumpet…
Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and
heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud
voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the
other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to
sound!
This
voice of the seventh angel is: the same voice that proclaims the
revelation of the seven thunders, the same voice of the two
witnesses, the same voice of the Son of Man that is to come and the
same voice of Christ confirming his covenant.
In
Revelation 10 we have a message of the seven thunders which is to be
revealed to the church from the little book which was opened and
given to John to eat. The parallel here is this book and message was
given to one of the brethren, and secondly, the book is the same book
that only Jesus can open.
Peter
said in …
2Pe 1:20-21 Knowing this
first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus,
the Author and Finisher of our faith is the only one that can open
any of the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and the full meaning
of them. The voice of a thunder in the Old Testament scriptures is
often accompanied with a battle to discomfort the enemy, or cause a
trembling amongst God’s people.
Here
we have a message that has not been heard yet by the church. It is
not a new message, but simply the revelation of the scriptures which
we already have, but do not understand. Remember when Jesus came,
the majority of his doctrine came from the law and the prophets.
And when the true light in Christ shined upon those scriptures, they
took on a whole new meaning without destroying the old.
In
like manner the revelation of the seven thunders is hidden in the
Bible we now have. We just need the light of God to shine upon it as
the noon day to reveal it to us. That is the purpose of this
ministry found in Revelation chapters 10 & 11, during the 1st
part of the last week of Daniel.
Summary
We
have the fulfilling of the Lord bringing forth a shout, with the
voice of a mighty one, and with the trumpets sounding. The covenant
that was once delivered by Jesus Christ is confirmed again unto the
saints by the Spirit of Christ thru this last messenger referred to
as the Son of man, which is the ministry of the two witnesses.
This
message and ministry should bring about a purifying of God’s
elect who have a heart to do so. This gives those that have defiled
their garments a second chance, a space of time to clean their life
up and prepare their garments for the Lord. Also, the Lord reaches
out one last time to the rebellious, giving them an opportunity to
forsake their corrupt ways. Another purpose is to prepare a people
for the coming of the Lord. This preparing is to warn God’s
people of the coming tribulation that will shortly come upon the
whole world. The followers of Jesus Christ will also be shown that
they can be protected and preserved during the times ahead, just as
written in the scriptures.
Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter
thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself
as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Rev 7:14 … These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Mat 24:21-22 For then shall be
great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world
to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake
those days shall be shortened.
During
this time of preparation, ministers that have an ear to hear the
message of that hour, and will preach what they should have been
preaching all along. They will now concern themselves with preaching
the whole counsel of God.
Before
this time, they concerned themselves with building their ministries
and their churches, making their ministries attractive to all the
people in their churches who really didn’t have a heart to
change from their ungodly ways, but who did have money to put in the
offerings to help further their ministry.
Blessed
is he that has an ear to hear what the spirit has to say to the
church.