Revelation 22:7… “Behold,
I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of
this book”…
By Evangelist Ron Davis, a minister of Christ,
of the Kush Edifying Ministries proclaims
the whole counsel of God. This ministry believes in the command of Jesus to His
disciples in Matthew 10:7-8 “As you go, preach this message: 'The
kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who
have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (NIV). Jesus
commands us to “freely” preach the
word without demanding that those preached to give you a tithe or tenth of
their earnings. "For if I do this willingly, I have a reward...That in preaching
the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without expense [by not
demanding an offering from you], so that I may not abuse my authority in the
gospel." For if I do not receive an offering from you, should I
stop preaching the gospel to you? "Woe to me, if I stop preaching the
gospel... What then is my reward?" (See I Corinthians 9:15-18).
Sign of His Coming – Understanding the words of
Prophecy...
What will be the Sign of Your Coming, and the End of the
Present Evil and Adulterous Age?
In
Matthew 24:3-5 (NKJV)... The Disciples of Christ Jesus asked
Him these questions concerning the end of this present evil and adulterous age,
they came to the Man Jesus the Messiah (the Christ) "privately, saying, 'Tell
us, when will these things be?" "And what will be the sign of Your
coming, and of the end of the age?"
Then the Man Jesus, the Son of the Living God
replied in Matthew 24:4-5 (NKJV)… "And Jesus answered and said to them:
'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I
am the Christ [Messiah],' and will deceive many." This
means in the last days “many” will
be deceived into following a false religion (1 Timothy 4:1-3).
So
today, we as Christians must ask the Holy Spirit these same questions because
of this deception which is coming; indeed, is already here. Read it again, for it says, “Many” shall come saying things in
Christ’s Name and will “deceive many”.
That is, we as followers of Christ Jesus should not become deceived following
the viewpoint of these false teachers in this present evil age. What I mean is this: that we as
Christians must pray to be granted wisdom in understanding God's Holy word,
understanding prophecy. For understanding prophecy gives us as followers of
Christ hope and increases our faith; and the warnings of the book of Revelation demands that we watch and
pray so we do not fall into temptation as the unbeliever and the sleeping
professing Christian. For Jesus the Christ spoke to His disciples, which
includes us as followers of Christ today, “These things I have spoken to you, that you
should not be made to stumble” (John 16:1 NKJV).
Just as our Savior, Jesus the Son of the
Living God also says in the Garden of
Gethsemane, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41 NKJV). We as followers
of Christ Jesus must remain awake in these deceitful times for the Day is nearer than when we first began as
sojourners and pilgrims while persevering on this evil and adulterous planet (1 Thess. 5:1-11).
Now, in
Luke 12 the crowd as well as the world is warned by the Man Jesus, the
Christ to learn to interpret the times in which we live… Luke 12:54-56 (NIV)... Saying to them, “When you see a cloud rising in
the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the
south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You
know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that
you don’t know how to interpret this present time?"
Again
in Matthew 24:14 (NKJV), Jesus says, “And
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to
all the nations, and then the end will come.”
This will be fully fulfilled by the two witnesses in the book of
Revelation 11, where it is said, “they
will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth”
(Rev. 11:3 NKJV).
It is also said, at the “Sign of His Coming”, “when you see the ‘abomination of
desolation’, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”
(Matthew 24:15 NKJV). This tells us that understanding and studying the
book of Daniel will help us in
understanding the words of prophecy written in Holy Scriptures.
The Holy Spirit spoke to Daniel the prophet after revealing the events of kingdoms leading
up to the “time of the end”, the “Day of the Lord” saying, “The
vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given to you is true, but
seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future” (Daniel 8:17, 26
NIV). And just as Daniel the prophet
prayed to gain understanding and humbled himself before God the Father in
heaven, we as followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ must pray and
humble ourselves before God and He who is faithful will provide us with
understanding of His words of prophecy (Daniel
10:12 and 2 Timothy 2:18).
Matthew
24:29-30… “Immediately after the
tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give
its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will
be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (NKJV).
Some Keys to understanding Prophecy
Isaiah 28:9-10
(NIV)… "Who is
it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children
weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is: Do and
do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule a little here, a little there."
Daniel 12:4, 9-10
(NKJV)… “But
you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end;
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase… And he said, ‘Go your
way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do
wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall
understand.”
Revelation 22:7, 10
(NLT)… “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words
of prophecy written in this book’… Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the
prophetic words in this book, for the time is near.”
1) Fear God and Obey God – Then Read and
Study the books of Daniel and Revelation - (This is a
must in your beginning to understanding all prophecy of the “end of the age”). The words of the
book of Daniel was closed and sealed
up during his time because the “time of
the end” was not yet come (Daniel
12:9). But, now the words of the book of Revelation is not closed and sealed because the “time is near”; and we the wise shall
understand (Rev. 22:10 and Daniel
12:10).
Proverbs 9:10 (CEV)… “Respect and obey
the LORD! This is the beginning of wisdom. To have understanding, you must know
the Holy God.
Matthew 24:15 (NIV)… “So when you see
standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of
through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand -" (See also Daniel
9:27, 11:31 and 12:11).
Revelation 1:3 (NIV)… “Blessed
is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear
it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
2) Follow the time of events which gives
us a way to judge the times in which we live using more than one or two versions
of the Holy Bible for comparison of Scripture translations
- Historical events and things predicted to happen leading up to Christ’s
return just as the events predicted before leading up to the Word of God coming
in the flesh as the Man Jesus the Christ came true so will the events predicted
in the end come true (Isaiah 7:14-16,
9:6-7, Daniel 9:1-3 and John 1:1, 14).
Luke 12:56 (NIV)…
Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky.
How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?"
In Exodus 12:1-28, God gave the
Hebrews a Festival called by the Jews today as the Passover… The
institute of the Passover ceremony among the house of Israel was commanded by
God that the Hebrews, the Israelites shall observe the Passover throughout
their generations by taking a “lamb”
on the 10th day of their first month and kill and eat it on the 14th
day of the month. Saying, “When your children say to you, what do you
mean by this service? You shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord’s
Passover… (Exodus 12:26-27 RSV).
In John 19, Our Lord and Savior Jesus
the Messiah was crucified on the very same day given to the Jews as the
Passover to observe throughout their generations… These
verses in the books of Matthew and John show that the Jews turned Jesus over to
the Romans to be crucified (put to death) on the charge that He was the Son of
God (Matthew 26:59-68), on the night
before the evening that would be the 14th day of the first month,
the same day the Jews killed their Passover lambs which was instituted in Exodus 12. See also John 18:28 where when they turned Jesus
over to the Romans they did not enter the hall for fear they would become
unclean and could not eat the Passover supper that evening.
John 19:7, 14-16 (AMP)…
“The Jews answered him, We
have a law, and according to that law He should die, because He has claimed and
made Himself out to be the Son of God… Now it was the day of Preparation for
the Passover, and it was about the sixth hour (about twelve o'clock noon). He
said to the Jews, See, [here is] your King! But they shouted, Away with Him!
Away with Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Crucify your King? The chief
priests answered, We have no king but Caesar! Then he
delivered Him over to them to be crucified.”
1
Corinthians 5:6-7 (NIRV)… “Your bragging is not good. It is like yeast. Don't you know
that just a little yeast works its way through the whole batch of dough? Get
rid of the old yeast. Be like a new batch of dough without yeast. That is what you
really are, because Christ has been offered up for us. He is our Passover
lamb.”
3) Use other Scripture to identify the symbols
and signs used in prophecy remembering that Scripture interprets itself (Isaiah
28:9-13) – these describe events and things that have in the past happen and /
or will happen in the present or future; and identify those involve in these
prophecies - Such as the snake in Genesis and the dragon in Revelation
represent the evil one called Satan, the devil, the fallen angel formerly
called Lucifer (Genesis 3:1, 13-15 and
Revelation 12:9).
Isaiah 14:12 (NKJV)… “How
you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground,
you who weakened the nations!”
Revelation 12:9 (CEV)… “Yes,
that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools
everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan.”
Isaiah
28:9-13 (KJ21)… “Whom shall he teach
knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned
from the milk and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept,
precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a
little." For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this
people, to whom He said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the
weary to rest," and, "This is the refreshing" -- yet they would
not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept
upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little,
that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken.
4) Study the Scriptures to understand the
meaning of words and phrases used by the Holy Spirit in describing persons,
peoples, nations, kingdoms and events – these help to identify those involved
in prophecy fulfillment – Such as the woman called “Jezebel” in the books of I Kings, II Kings and Revelation 2:20. Notice, what is said
about this “Jezebel” in the below
verses.
2 Kings 9:1-7 (NASB)… “Now Elisha the prophet called one of the
sons of the prophets and said to him, ‘Gird up your loins, and take this flask
of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.’
"When you arrive there, search out Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and bid him arise from among his
brothers, and bring him to an inner room. "Then take the flask of oil and
pour it on his head and say, 'Thus says the LORD, "I have anointed you
king over Israel."' Then open the door and flee and do not
wait." So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. When he came, behold, the captains of the army
were sitting, and he said, "I have a word for you, O captain." And
Jehu said, "For which one of us?" And he said, "For you, O
captain." He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his
head and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I
have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 'You
shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of
My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the
hand of Jezebel.”
See also my article on
“Jezebel” at the below web page:
https://www.kemonline.org/bible-questions.html
5) Remember that prophecy is foretold by
comparing and contrasting present events with future events; prophecy is often
spoken and interwoven with events written in the present tense while at same
time speaking of future events and spiritual truths yet to come – These
events and stories are written concerning the evil forces of Satan and the
powerful forces of good and God the Holy Father in heaven and His Christ in the
salvation of those being saved from Genesis
to Revelation. Such as when the
prophet spoke in Hosea 11 saying:
Hosea 11:1 (CEV)… “When Israel was a child, I loved
him, and I called my son out of Egypt.”
Matthew 2:13-15 (KJ21)…
“…behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,
"Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and
be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young Child to
destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by
night and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
"Out of Egypt have I called My Son."
6) Remember that prophecy is often given
as a story that moves the reader and the hearer of the Word through history to
the end of this present evil and adulterous age to the coming of the Holy One
called Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Son of Man called Jesus, the
Savior of us all. Always giving us spiritual truths - such
as the story told in Malachi 3 where
the Holy Spirit is speaking both in the present and future tense at the same
time.
Malachi
3:1-5 (NCV)… “The
Lord All-Powerful says, "I
will send my messenger, who will prepare the way for me. Suddenly, the Lord you
are looking for will come to his Temple; the messenger of the agreement, whom
you want, will come." No one can live through that time; no one can
survive when he comes. He will be like a purifying fire and like laundry soap.
Like someone who heats and purifies silver, he will purify the Levites and make
them pure like gold and silver. Then they will bring offerings to the Lord in the right way. And the Lord will accept the offerings from
Judah and Jerusalem, as it was in the past.
The Lord All-Powerful
says, "Then I will come to you and judge you. I will be quick to testify
against those who take part in evil magic, adultery, and lying under oath,
those who cheat workers of their pay and who cheat widows and orphans, those
who are unfair to foreigners, and those who do not respect me.”
7) Finally, remember as it is written, “the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1
Peter 4:7 NKJV). For as a follower of Christ Jesus, we
must be diligent to present ourselves “approved to God, a worker who does not need
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV). We must use a host of various versions
of the Holy Bible, as I have used in this paper on “Understanding Prophecy”. For
the Holy Spirit exhorts us in the below Holy Scripture that the what we read in
the Scriptures are spiritual truths we can set our hearts on saying,
2 Peter 1:16-21 (New Century Version)… “When we told you about the
powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling just clever
stories that someone invented. But we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own
eyes. Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory, when he received honor
and glory from God the Father. The voice said, "This is my Son, whom I
love, and I am very pleased with him." We heard that voice from heaven
while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain. This makes us more
sure about the message the prophets gave. It is good for you to follow
closely what they said as you would follow a light shining in a dark place,
until the day begins and the morning star rises in your hearts. Most of all,
you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the
prophet's own interpretation. No prophecy ever came from what a person wanted
to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God” (NCV).
In Christ Jesus Love,
Ron Davis, a minister of Christ
By Evangelist Ron Davis, a Minister of Christ, of the Kush Edifying Ministries the author of these types of messages, some were given in part on his Kush Edifying Radio Ministry. Similar messages maybe heard on radio station WFBR 1590 AM coming out of Glen Burnie / Baltimore, Maryland area and my Spreaker Page. Minister Ron Davis proclaims the whole counsel of God. You may contact Ron Davis and this ministry with your comments at the below email: