Hal Lindsey
Do you realize how many false religions there are that talk about the lost tribes of Israel? Some of them even say they're one of the lost tribes! In part 23 of his line by line examination of the book of Revelation Hal explains God says He will draw 144,000 'Super Billy Grahams' from the lost tribes of Israel to evangelize the world! At the same moment every Christian on Earth is snatched up to Heaven in the blink of an eye, God will miraculously bring these 144,000 Israelites that believe in Him. How will that happen? Like with the apostle Paul, God will appear directly to some. But not all. Not everyone will have the same experience. You may have even witnessed to some of these that after we're gone, what you said to them, the Holy Spirit will bring back and use. Maybe it will be a video or a passage from a book you shared? Just know what you say and do today is laying the groundwork for the most phenomenal evangelists in all of history!
Who are the ambassadors of God? Primarily Gentile. Today, if you are a Jew or an Israelite and you believe in Jesus Christ, you've become one with Christ and part of the body of Christ. Today, if you're a Gentile, you become one with Christ and become a part of the body of Christ. And it says today there's no difference in God's sight between the Jew or the Gentile, and Israelite or a Gentile. We're all one in Christ, right? Well, in Revelation chapter 7 only Israelites are addressed as the evangelists, and only Israelites are mentioned as the prime movers during this period of tribulation. This is proof positive we Christians aren't going to be here! Because if we were still here, Gentile and Jew would be equal, but in Revelation chapter 7 it says they are not. |
Sorry, in my book that's a very poor argument, to say that mentioning 144,000 Hebrews from all 12 tribes of Israel that that means the Church is gone in a Pretrib Rapture! That's non sequitur reasoning.
Can you imagine my saying that the book of Esther only mentions Israel as God's People that any Gentile who believes in God's Law must've been raptured?
1st, there are no 12 tribes of Israel anymore. So John must've been referring to a vision substantiating the fulfillment of what God literally promised to the 12 ancient tribes. The fulfillment of all 12 tribes is the current nation of Israel, when a remnant of them maintain their faith in Christ.
The 12 tribes were never meant to remain 12 tribes. But all were promised to produce descendants who would evolve into a nation of fatih. And though the nation, Israel, did have faith, they fell on hard times in the time of Christ.
And so, Israel is not yet completely fulfilled. The nation has to come back to God by embracing Christ. And that process began in the NT era by having a small remnant of Jews carry on faith in Jesus.
That's all, I believe, that Rev 7 and 14 were talking about, the reality of a current Christian remnant of Jews and the ultimate destiny of Israel to become a Christian nation at the 2nd Coming of Christ. There is absolutely nothing here about a Rapture. It's all about promises God made to Israel.
And it is noteworthy that immediately following this vision there is another vision showing the other part of God's promise to Abraham, to give him not just one nation of faith, but many nations of faith. We call them the Great Multitude. And they emerge at the end of the Age of Tribulation as victorious and righteous, holding to their testimony of faith in Jesus.
So both Israel and many nations of faith are there as the age winds down to a close. We are called upon to carry our testimony of faith in Jesus to the end. An early exit is cowardice. We need to hold to our faith even in tough times, just as it has been throughout this age, from pagan Rome to the Progressive and Communist movements today.
