Rabbi Schneider - Preparing for the End Times
God bless you today and shalom beloved ones. My name's Messianic Rabbi Kirt Schneider. Welcome today to Discovering the Jewish Jesus where we are continuing in a very long series called, Decrypting the Book of Revelation. This is the first episode of season 5 in this series. The book of Revelation is the longest prophetic writing in the entire Word of God and the information is very heavy, so what I've done is I've broken it up into seasons. We've gone through season 1, 2, 3, and 4. Today, once again beloved ones, we're beginning season 5. I encourage you to get this entire series. Now what I want to do, is I want to just give a refresh as we begin this fifth season. I want to go back to the beginning and just review some of the details, not looking into the details of the details, but look at some of the general sequences that we've gone through as we see God's prophetic timeline unfold as revealed in John's writing, in the book of Revelation.
Let's begin by looking to the Lord in prayer. Father God we just worship you today. I pray Father for a spirit of wisdom and revelation. And I ask Father that You would release Your Word into the minds and hearts of Your people and prepare us for the end. In Jesus name amen. As we begin today in review, we should start out with what Jesus said about the book of Revelation. Jesus said two times in the book of Revelation, "Blessed is he that studies the words of this prophecy". So Jesus Himself said it is very important for His people to look at and to understand, to meditate on, to read, to look to the Lord for revelation on the book of Revelation.
You see the book of Revelation is not just information, but the Lord gave us this prophetic word that we would be prepared for the end. That's the point. Many people have began to study Messianic prophecy, many people have looked at prophecy about the end times and their primary aim is just has been to gain knowledge. But the goal that God has for us in studying end time prophecy is that we would be prepared by it for what we're gonna face as things become more difficult in the world and for King Jesus' soon return. So once again off the bat I'm making the point, children of God, how important the book of Revelation is and how it is so much a part of God's heart for us that we study it, that we would be prepared to meet Him. Now the book of Revelation deals with God doing some incredible things on the earth before the return of Jesus. Then we move into His return and then we look at the new heavens and the new earth.
Let's go back to the beginning. John is on the island of Patmos, he's been exiled there because of his faith in Jesus. In other words, they wanted to isolate him so that he couldn't keep stirring things up as he was proclaiming Jesus. So he's on the island of Patmos. He's alone. The book of Revelation begins by telling us as he was isolated on this island, it says that, "Suddenly on the Lord's day one day, he heard a voice from heaven and he was translated," beloved ones, he was transported into the spirit realm and he saw the Lord on His throne. He heard Jesus speak to him. Jesus communicated to him through angels and what Jesus showed him was what was gonna happen on the earth in the last days. Now John sees in heaven, he sees Jesus and he sees Jesus opening up a book, a set of seals, a scroll. And as Jesus opens up the scroll and He begins to go into the scroll judgments begin to pour out upon the earth. All in all there are twenty one judgments that John sees Jesus releasing upon the earth in the last days, twenty one judgments.
Now listen, I don't want you to become overwhelmed by the details, so just you know get the main concept here. But there are twenty one judgments and these twenty one judgments are broken up into three steps. The first seven judgments are called the seven seals. Then the second seven judgments are released with seven trumpets. And then the last seven judgments I should say, are called the bowls of wrath, the seven bowls of wrath. So there are seven seals that are broken. Then there are seven trumpets and when the seventh trumpet blows it releases what are known as the seven bowls of wrath. Now when the seventh trumpet blows before the seven bowls of wrath are released, something very mysterious happens. The church beloved ones, is taken off the earth. So what I've been teaching is that God's people, the church will be in the world for the first seven seals, then they'll be here through the six trumpets. Once again, the seven seals and each trumpet releases judgment. But at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, listen now, the church is taken up or raptured out of the world.
Now those that have studied end time prophesy recognize that there is debate on when the church is taken out of the world. Will the church be taken out of the world before any of the judgments begin? Will the church be taken out of the world in the middle of this judgment of God that's being poured out upon the earth, or will the church be taken out after all the judgments are poured out on the world? What I am teaching you beloved, is that the church will be taken out of the world, listen now, before, listen, the seven bowls of wrath or the wrath of God. Listen again, I know it's confusing. Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls of wrath; I believe the church will be in the world for the first seven judgments that are released with the first seven seals. I believe that the church will be in the world once again, for the judgments that fall when the first six trumpets are blown. But when the seventh and the last trumpet is blown, at that point the church will be taken out of the world. And that seventh trumpet not only brings the rapture about where the church is taken out of the world, but the seventh trumpet the book of Revelation tells us, also releases God's final seven judgments on the earth, which are known, get it now, as the seven bowls of wrath.
Now the book of 1 Thessalonians tells us this, speaking again that the church will be raptured out of the world at the seventh trumpet, which is the last trumpet. Listen, what the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16 and 17 tells us. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord". Paul tells us in the book of Corinthians that it's gonna be at the last trumpet that the church will be taken out of the world. So we just read in 1 Thessalonians that the church will be taken out when the trump sounds and Paul gives us further revelation in the book of Corinthians that the trump in which the church will be caught up in to the air to meet the Lord in the air with, the trumpets gonna sound as the last trump or the seventh trump. But I'm gonna make it easier to understand.
Twenty nine times in the book of Revelation Jesus and His acts are connected, listen, to the lamb of God. Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation, listen now, twenty nine times. This is very important to understand. I know this is review for some of you, but I just want to set the stage as we've moved into this new season on Decrypting the Book of Revelation. It's extremely important to understand, because the Bible, listen, is unity. The Old and New Testaments, listen, are in unity with each other. The New Testament is not separate from the Old Testament, but the New Testament completes the Old Testament and the same type of patterns that we see in the Old Testament are repeated in the new Testament.
For example, just to take a little bit of a side note. Think about Joseph. Joseph, he is rejected by his brothers, right? And then he becomes the savior of his brothers, a type of Jesus. Rejected by Israel, but he becomes the savior of Israel. We could go on and on and show you how the patterns in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible are fulfilled in the New Testament. This is why Jesus said to, "Not think that I've come to abolish the law and the prophets. For I've not come to abolish," but listen now, " fulfill". So knowing that the Bible is a book of patterns and knowing that Jesus is referred to twenty nine times in the book of Revelation as the Lamb, we have to ask our self, "What could God be saying to us about Jesus being the Lamb"? In other words, Jesus in the book of Revelation is the Lamb. He's referred to as the offspring of David. He's referred to as the Bright and Morning Star. But those are just one or two times, but overwhelmingly He's the Lamb.
So we have to ask ourself since the Old and New Testaments are connected, that's why the first chapter in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 1 verse 1, begins by showing us Jesus' genealogy. In other words, by connecting the two together, since Jesus is referred to as the Lamb we have to ask our self what does this mean? And we find out about the Lamb and the Lamb's ministry by going back what? To the Tanakh, to the Torah, to the Old Testament, to the book of Exodus chapter 12, where we find that Israel, listen now, was delivered out of Egypt, get it now, through the blood of the Lamb. Jesus' whole ministry is bringing the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt to it's fullest climax when He delivers all of God's people, Jew and Gentile alike, out of the world, out of the dominion of Satan and into heaven through, listen now, His blood.
When Yeshua, when Jesus was first introduced to the world through John the Baptist at the Jordan River, John pointed at Yeshua and he said to everyone that was there, "Behold," listen now, "the Lamb of God". Jesus is introduced to the world as the Lamb and in the book of Revelation at the end of everything He is also seen, get it now, as the Lamb. Peter told us that we've been redeemed and purchased for God by the precious blood of the Lamb. Paul told us, get it now, that Christ has become our Passover. So knowing that Jesus brings the Exodus story in the Torah to fulfillment by becoming the Lamb of God that purchases God's children out of the world for God Himself, that He is the deliver and the Savior through the blood, we have to then interpret the book of Revelation, which identifies Jesus as the Lamb, get it now, through the lens of the Passover story, through the lens of Exodus. So when we think about God pouring out His judgment, get it now, on the Egyptians.
Listen, when we think about God in the book of Exodus pouring out His judgments on the Egyptians we ask our self where were His people? Where was Israel when He was pouring out His judgments? We know that there were ten plagues that God poured out on Egypt. Where was God's people when these ten plagues were being poured out? Beloved ones, they were in Egypt. God protected them in Egypt, but they still felt the effects of the plagues and so it will repeat itself. The same pattern is gonna repeat itself at the end of the age for the first seven seals, the first six trumpets and then when the seventh trumpet is blown God takes His people out of the world. Then He releases, get it now, His wrath. Just as God did with Egypt, He released His final wrath on them when He drowned them all in the sea. Israel was in Egypt, listen now, for the ten plagues, but when God poured out His final wrath upon the Egyptians He first took out Israel out of that scenario by parting the sea supernaturally, which is a symbol of the rapture. He translated them supernaturally to the other side of the sea by parting the sea and then Egypt was drowned in that same sea when God poured out His final wrath upon them.
So let me sum it up once again. Israel, listen, in the book of Exodus is a type of God's church today. Egypt in the book of Exodus is a type of the world. Israel was in Egypt and the church will be in the world as God's judgments begin to fall on the world, but we'll be protected. Pharaoh in the book of Exodus is a symbol or a shadow, listen now, of Satan. The plagues or I'm sorry, the signs, the false signs and wonders that Pharaoh's magicians did in the presence of Moses are a symbol of the type of false supernatural activity that will take place upon the earth during the end of the age, both in the secular realm as well as with the false prophets and false teachers that will even try to infiltrate the church. Many lying signs and wonders, the New Testament tells us, will take place at the end of the age.
Jesus said in Matthew 24, "Watch out for false teachers. Watch out for false prophets". Jesus said that the supernatural deception is gonna be so great at the end of the age that if it were possible even the elect would be deceived. And so we see that back in the Old Testament when Pharaoh's magicians took their staff, threw them on the ground and they turned into snakes, lying signs and wonders. Furthermore we see that the plagues, get it now, the ten plagues that God poured out upon Egypt in the book of Exodus will be almost identically repeated during the Great Tribulation on the earth. For example, we're gonna see the waters turn to blood upon the earth, just as they were in ancient Egypt. We're gonna see, there's gonna be a plague of frogs. There's gonna be a plague of frogs that will cover the land, which are symbolic of demonic spirits, just as frogs covered the land in ancient Egypt.
We see this for example in Exodus 8 verse 1 and 2 and then the fulfillment in Revelation 16:13 and 14. We also see in the book of Exodus that great boils came upon the Egyptians in Exodus 9, verses 8 and 9. Similarly we're gonna see the plague of boils come upon those that don't know God on the earth during the Great Tribulation, in Revelation 16:2. We read for example as well, continuing in the book of Exodus, that giant hail stones fell upon ancient Egypt in Exodus 9 verse 23 and 25. Similarly we'll see the same plague of giant hail stones falling upon the world, bombarding mankind in Revelation chapter 8 and Revelation chapter 16. And so these are just once again, examples of the pattern that's repeated here. I'm summing up now, we need to be ready. Jesus gave us the book of Revelation so we would be ready. The church beloved ones, is gonna be facing difficult times.
Now this is nothing to be afraid of. Jesus told us when these things happen, He said, "Do not be afraid". He said, "But rejoice and look up for your redemption draweth nigh". But we need to be prepared. We can't just have this mentality that you know we're never gonna face difficult times, because if we have that mentality and what I'm telling you is correct, which I believe it is, when difficult times come you won't be prepared to face them. This is why Jesus gave us the book of Revelation. This is why He instructed us to buy from Him silver and gold. In other words, to build our life upon Him. "To dig deep," He said and "build your home upon on the rock," so when the waves come and the floods come you're going to stand. Beloved one listen to me, if I'm wrong and Jesus takes His people out of the world before the Tribulation begins, then if you believe what I'm saying and I'm wrong you'll have lost nothing, because after all what Jesus is after isn't that we have all our end times theology right, our I's dotted and our t's crossed all correctly. What He's after is He wants us to be prepared for His return.
If I'm wrong and Jesus takes us out of the world before anything difficult happens on the earth, before the Tribulation begins, you've lost nothing. You've prepared yourself for His return, because you thought you were gonna face difficult times and He came earlier than you thought. Praise God you were ready. But listen, if I'm right and you don't receive what I'm saying and get ready and get prepared knowing that you're gonna face difficult times and you just kind of coast through life and as a result you never build your faith deep in Him. If I'm right and you don't pay attention, when these difficult times come you may fall away, because Jesus said in the last days many will fall away from the faith.
Beloved one, this is nothing to argue about, but I want to deliver a message to you that is more important now than ever. Difficult times are coming. We already see beloved, the birth pains. We're looking all over the world now and seeing rogue countries get their hands on nuclear weapons. We've seen morality falling apart all over the world. These things are not going to decrease in intensity, they're gonna increase in intensity. And you know what? Jesus told us when we see these things we should get ready, for His return is near. Beloved, I'm here today to tell you that Jesus is coming back soon. He's coming back for you and He wants you and I to be ready. You see Jesus loves us. He's after our hearts. And I don't want anything that I shared with you today to make you afraid, because God doesn't want us to be afraid. But what I do want to do is provoke you to be more serious than ever about your personal relationship with God. Father loves you. I love you. God bless you today. This is Rabbi Schneider saying to you, shalom from Discovering the Jewish Jesus.