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About Jesus Steve
Sweetman
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In
Acts 1:8 Jesus predicted that His disciples would first be witnesses to
Him in
Jerusalem, then in Judea, and then
Samaria. Eventually the gospel
these Israeli believers preached would reach to the ends of the earth.
Jesus made a similar prediction in Mathew 24:14 when He said,
"this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as
a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come".
As
an aside, note that it's the "gospel of the
Kingdom
of
God" that is referred to in Matthew 24:14, not the "gospel of
forgiveness of sins". There's
more to the gospel than forgiveness of sins.
Also note that the "gospel of the Kingdom" will be
preached as a "testimony to all nations", not just to
individuals. The
"gospel of the Kingdom
of
God" has just as much relevance to nations as it has to individuals.
The
gospel of the
Kingdom
of
God
was first preached in Jerusalem. From there, it proceeded
north to Judea and Samaria. From there it spread in
all directions, but mostly to the west.
Many believers took the gospel west across northern
Africa. Others, like the apostle
Paul, spread the gospel
north west
to Rome
and possibly Spain.
From
Rome
the gospel spread north into Europe. European explorers sailed
west to the new world where they spread the gospel to North, Central,
and South America. The gospel eventually
spread farther west into the far east.
During the 20th century, especially since the rise of
communism in the far east, millions of Chinese men and women gave their
lives to Jesus under the threat of great persecution.
Now,
from the orient, the gospel message has headed even farther west into
Iran
and surrounding Islamic nations. Countless
numbers of Muslims are now miraculously turning to Jesus, and like their
oriental counterparts, they are suffering great persecution.
So
where does the gospel head next? It
continues on its westward trek. There's
only one place left for it to go, and that's where its journey began.
The gospel will soon head west from
Iran
back to
Israel. The last great gospel
movement will take place in Israel, and then the end will come, as Jesus predicted.
The 144,000 Israelis of Revelation 7 will preach the gospel of
the Kingdom to a war torn and weary
Israel. Israelis were the first to
preach this gospel and they will be the last to preach it. This
is what Paul spoke about when he said "all Israel
will be saved". (Romans 11:26) This
is also the fulfillment of countless Old Testament prophecies that
predict this great gospel revival in Israel. (example - Zechariah 13:8 and 9)
The
gospel will have spread west from Jerusalem, to the ends of the earth, and back to Jerusalem
again. It will have come
"full circle". Its
journey is almost complete. From
Iran, the next and last stop on its journey is Israel. When it lands in
Israel
, "the gospel of the
Kingdom
of
God" will no longer be a "testimony to the nations" as
stated in Matthew 24:14. The
Kingdom
of
God
will come in reality and all nations will submit to it or else.
(Zechariah 14;16 – read whole chapter)
Keep
your eyes on Israel. The gospel will land in
that nation like a squadron of jet fighter returning from battle.
The noise and commotion it makes with its arrival will be
unmatched in human history. The
Lord Jesus Christ will suddenly appear before a repentant Israel
and rule the entire earth from a place of authority on David's throne in
Jerusalem.
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