Rabbi Schneider - A Blueprint of the End Times

Shalom, beloved, did you know that the Passover is a blueprint for understanding end times events? Join me on today's important message. God bless you and Shalom, beloved one. My name's Rabbi Schneider. Welcome today to this edition of Discovering the Jewish Jesus.

Father God, we love you today. We worship you. I pray, Father, that your Word would run swiftly by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus's name. Father, thank you that your Word is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. We pray that it would make entrance into our hearts today and change our lives for the glory of King Jesus and for your name's sake. Amen and Amen.

Well this is the Passover season, beloved ones, and I'm bringing a message today that I'm titling, Passover; A Blueprint for Understanding the End Times. Do you know when we go through the Passover Seder, which is the special meal that we celebrate each Passover season, at the very end of the meal we turn our attention to a place setting at the table where no one is actually sitting? The plate is there. There's a cup of wine that's there. But no one is actually sitting there. And that special seat where no one is sitting, it's called Elijah's Seat. And that special cup of wine is called Elijah's Cup. And the reason that, that setting and cup is there is it's an invitation for Elijah to come back. And the reason that we invite Elijah to come back at Passover is because we are looking for the next deliverer.

Now as believers in Jesus, you and I know that that next deliverer has come. But the Jewish world is still waiting for the second Moses, for the second deliverer. And the Bible tells us in the book of Malachi that before the day of the Lord comes, Malachi says that Elijah is gonna come first. So at the Passover Seder, Jewish people celebrate how Moses delivered them out of Egypt 3,500 years ago, but they're also looking for the next deliverer. They're looking for the second Moses, because in the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 18, verse 15, the writer of Scripture writes that the Lord will raise up, he's quoting Moses's words there. Moses is actually writing it about himself. And Moses actually says, the Lord is gonna raise up for you a prophet from amongst you like myself; listen to him.

That same passage of Scripture, Deuteronomy, 18:15, is quoted in the Book of Acts when Peter says that Jesus is that deliverer whom Moses spoke of. So Jewish people at the Passover Seder, they're waiting for Deuteronomy, 18:15, to be fulfilled. But they know that the great deliverer won't come until Elijah comes first, because the Book of Malachi tells us that before Messiah comes, Elijah will come and announce his coming. And so we set that cup out at Passover Seder, Elijah's Cup, because we're waiting for the deliverer to come. We're waiting for the end times deliverer to come.

So Passover, beloved ones, points to the end times for traditional Jewish people, but it also points to the end times for you and I today in a different way; because you see, Passover is a blueprint for understanding how the Great Tribulation and the return of Jesus will manifest on earth. Some of you have studied what we call eschatology, which is the study of the end times. And eschatology asks the questions, at what point will Jesus return? Will he be coming back before the tribulation? Will he be coming back in the middle of the tribulation? Will he be returning at the end of the tribulation? For some of you this is known as pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib.

I used to be what's called pan-trib. What's pan-trib? I just thought, I don't know. It's gonna all pan out sometime, somehow. But the Lord showed me years ago that the way to understand events that are associated with Jesus's return, we see the blueprint for understanding this when we study the Passover story, because Passover again is the Gospel in its primitive form.

Now let me just give you some illustrations of this. That the lamb that the Israelites slay, slayed 3,500 years ago that brought them their deliverance, that lamb is a symbol and a shadow of King Jesus. How do we know that? As soon as he walked out of the Jordan River, John the Baptist pointed to him and said, behold the Lamb of God, identifying Jesus with the ancient Passover that the children of Israel experienced out of Egypt. Twenty-nine times in the Book of Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb. First Corinthians, 5:7, says that Christ has become our Passover. So the Gospel of Jesus is, is, is put in the context of Passover so we can understand end times by also studying the Passover.

So in the Passover story, the lamb is the foreshadowing of Jesus the Messiah who's the Lamb of God. Pharaoh in the Passover is a shadow, get it now, of Satan, of the anti-Messiah. Even as Pharaoh was a cruel task master, beating the children of Israel down and oppressing them in darkness seeking to bring torment and hardship into their life, so today Satan is the true, he's the true Pharaoh. Satan is the one that was controlling Pharaoh. Satan was the one that was moving in Pharaoh's heart of ancient Egypt, just as Satan moved in Judas's heart when Judas betrayed Jesus. So once again, the lamb is a shadow of Jesus and Pharaoh is a shadow of Satan.

Now Israel, of course, was in Egypt. They were the ones that Pharaoh was persecuting. They were the ones that were being oppressed. And even as Israel was being oppressed in Egypt, the Church, beloved one, is being oppressed in this world today because Jesus said to the Church, I know where you live, in the Book of Revelation. Jesus said to the Church, you live where Satan's throne is. We are in a world of darkness, and even though we're protected in the darkness, we still feel the effects of the darkness and we still feel the effect of sin in the world, and we still have to warfare through this life.

So Israel is in the world today of darkness even as Egypt, even as Israel, beloved ones, was in Egypt. And even as Moses became the deliverer that God raised up to bring Israel out of Egypt, so too, Jesus is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy, 18:15, and has become the deliverer that brings the Church, beloved, to the very presence of God. Jesus said, I go and prepare a place for you. And I'm gonna bring you to myself, that where I am you can also be. You see, Passover is the celebration of freedom, and Jesus came to deliver us from darkness, to bring us into his marvelous light and to bring us, hallelujah, into freedom so that Jesus becomes the fulfillment of Moses who is a shadow of Jesus.

Now as we continue to delve into this, understanding that Passover becomes the blueprint for understanding the end times, I want you to consider this; that in the ancient Passover 3,500 years ago, Moses and Aaron called down plagues on Egypt, right? Moses and Aaron called down the plagues. At God's command they turned the Nile River to blood. They caused flies and lice to cover the land. They caused giant hail stones to fall. And on, and on, and on, Moses and Aaron called down the plagues in Egypt.

Did you know we read in the Book of Revelation that during the very end times that God has two witnesses that will call forth plagues from heaven down upon the earth just as Moses and Aaron called down plagues upon ancient Egypt? God has two plagues. Let me read it for you in the Book of Revelation. I'm going now to Revelation, chapter number 11, verses number 3 and 6. The Lord says: I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. And then continuing in verse number 6: These have the power to shut up the sky, and that the rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, just like Moses and Aaron turned the Nile to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

And so we see again the same themes that were operating in ancient Egypt 3,500 years ago during the Passover experience will be happening on the earth during the end times as Jesus is leading his people out into total deliverance. And not only that, but did you know that almost identically the plagues that fell upon Egypt locally, locally meaning that they fell only on Egypt. They didn't fall on all the nations. They only fell on Egypt. That the plagues that fell upon Egypt locally during the Lord's deliverance from, during the Lord's deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, those same plagues almost identically will fall upon the world globally during the Great Tribulation.

And so think about it. God caused giant hailstones to fall upon Egypt. We see giant hailstones fall upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. God caused the land of Egypt to be covered by frogs. We read in the Book of Revelation that during the Great Tribulation, the earth's gonna be covered with frogs. We find that in the Book of Exodus, that God during the deliverance of Israel caused darkness to fall over the land of Egypt. We read in the Book of Revelation that during the tribulation, God's gonna call darkness to fall upon the earth. And then finally the great plague, the plague of death, fell upon ancient Egypt even as death is gonna smite the earth during, beloved ones, the great, during the Great Tribulation.

Now stay with me. At the conclusion of the plagues, after the last plague, the plague of death, Pharaoh said to Israel, okay, go. I don't want any more judgments coming upon me. So Israel ventures out of Egypt. They come to the Red Sea. But what happened? Pharaoh changed his mind. That's the way Satan is. The only thing he understands is power and as soon as you take the pressure off him, as soon as you take authority off him, he rises up again, because inside he is rebellion, and that's exactly the power that Pharaoh was operating under.

So Pharaoh changes his mind. He begins to pursue Israel. Israel's at the edge of the sea now, the Sea of Reeds, or the Red Sea. They can't go forward because the sea's in front of them. They can't go backward because Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt are behind them. So what happens? Get this now, God supernaturally, get this now, God supernaturally, beloved one, parts the sea and Israel passes safely through the sea to the other side. Now they're moving into the Promised Land. Of course, they have some wilderness they need to get through but now they're out of Egypt. The sky had parted, the sea had parted and they're on the other side now. What happens? Egypt tries to pursue them. God drowns them all in the sea.

Here's what I want you to get. The parting of the sea which was Israel's supernatural redemption, is a symbol, get it now, of the rapture. Even as the sea was parted and Israel supernaturally was translated out of the land of Egypt to the other side, so the sky is gonna part for us, beloved, and we're gonna be translated out of this world into the presence of God himself and in to our Promised Land. But I want you to consider this with me for a second. At what point did the sea part? In other words, did the sea part for Israel right when the plagues began to fall? No, the sea parted for Israel, God parted the Red Sea at the end of the plagues, right after the tenth plague, the plague of death.

And in the same way, I believe, the Church will be in the world for many of the plagues that will fall upon the world during the tribulation. Let me say it again. Even as Israel was in Egypt as the plagues were falling, I believe the Church will be in the world during the time of the tribulation when the plagues are falling. Now we'll be protected here but we're still gonna be feeling the effect of some of the plagues. In other words, when the rivers turn to blood, everybody that's living on earth experiences what that brings. But yet there's gonna be a supernatural protection and a supernatural provision.

Now listen, the Church will not be in the world for what the Bible calls in the Book of Revelation the seven bowls of wrath. See the seven bowls of wrath are the equivalence of God drowning Egypt in the sea. Again, remember Israel was in Egypt for the first ten plagues, but then the final plague, you could say, that fell upon Egypt is when God drown them all in the sea. And so in the same way the Church will be in the world for the first part of the tribulation. But then when we move into the Great Tribulation, when the plagues escalate and escalate, right before that, it's called the seven bowls of wrath, in the Book of Revelation. Before the plagues really intensify, which is at the point in Revelation called the seven bowls of wrath, God will deliver the Church out of the world. We won't be here for that even as Israel was delivered out of the sea before the sea came down and drown all the Egyptians.

Now this is kind of a challenge because what it tells us is that we can't expect that as soon as things get hard in the world, God is just gonna take the Church out. No, we have to be prepared, beloved ones, to go through hard times. Again, we're gonna be delivered before the final bowls of God's judgment fall upon the world, but we're gonna be in the world for much of the end times events which is gonna bring hardship on the world.

Now this shouldn't make you afraid because God's gonna be with us. God's gonna strengthen us. God's gonna be protecting us. In fact, I believe these days will be the Church's greatest days because the more need we have for grace, the more grace there's gonna be. The darker the world is, the greater God's light is gonna shine. So this is nothing to be afraid of. This is actually gonna bring the Church together. This is actually gonna bring the Church into unity with each other, and we're gonna see more miracles and a greater demonstration of God's glory and light than ever before.

So this is something to look forward to because the Bible says, Jesus isn't gonna return until the tribulation comes. John says, let no one deceived you. The end's not gonna come until this tribulation comes. And so this is in many respects something to celebrate because it means that we're getting closer to meeting Jesus face to face, and because it also means that a greater dimension of God's glory is gonna be revealed to his saints during this time. But the application is, is that we need to be serious about living for Jesus today. We have to be ready to go through hard times.

Now listen, no one fully understands how the end times is gonna work out. But I think we have an idea of how it's gonna work out. And I personally believe that what I'm sharing with you, beloved ones, is the truth because it's based on the pattern of the Passover. And I think that we understand our faith from a Jewish perspective, we're coming up with the correct understanding. So let me simply say that I believe that what I'm telling you is the way it's gonna happen. But if I'm wrong, you lose nothing for taking this seriously because what I'm suggesting that you do is get serious about living for God today.

So that if you need to go through the tribulation on earth until the end of it, you'll be strong, you'll be ready, you won't be shocked. You won't be knocked off balance when hard things begin to happen if you're still here. But on the other hand, if I'm right and you don't take this word seriously and you don't get serious about living for God, you don't get ready to face hardship as a soldier as the Scriptures admonish us, then what's gonna happen if you're not ready and I am right, and the tribulation comes, and you're in the world, what happens if you're not strong enough to go through it because you never prepared yourself for it.

You see beloved, the point is, is that we need to be serious about living for God today. We need to be ready to go through hard times. Jesus never promised us that it was all gonna be easy. Think about what Jesus had to go through to complete his mission, right? He had to go through Jerusalem. You know, most of his ministry was spent in Galilee. He only went to Jerusalem when it was time for him to be killed. Think about the Apostle Paul, all that he had to endure. He had to be in prison for much of his ministry. He was shipwrecked. He was beaten.

See beloved, a lot of times Christians today don't understand that being a believer doesn't mean that you won't have to go through hard times. In fact the Bible says, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And what I've shown you today as we've looked at the Passover story as a blueprint for understanding the end times is this, that even as Pharaoh was putting Israel in bondage, so too, the devil is the oppressor of God's children today. Even as Israel was in this place of oppression called Egypt, so too, the Church is in a place of oppression in the spiritual climate of this world that's surrounded by darkness today.

Even as Israel was delivered by the blood of the lamb, so you and I, beloved ones, are delivered by the Blood of the Lamb today. And even as Israel was in Egypt for those first ten plagues, so I believe the Church is in the world through much of the tribulation. And we need to face it. We need to be ready for it. We can't hide from it. We can't pretend that it's not real. If you look at the pages of Scripture, you'll see that God's people have had to face hardship in their life, unlike much of the end times theology that's out there today that God's just gonna instantly bring all of his people out of the world before anything bad happens here.

I don't think that you can justify that from Scripture. And like I said, if I'm wrong you have lost nothing for preparing yourself. In other words, Church, if I'm wrong and God takes you out of the world before the tribulation ever happens, then I've done you no disservice by telling you to get ready. I believe you're gonna go through it. But if I'm right and you don't heed this word and you don't get ready, what's gonna happen when you have to face the tribulation and you're not ready to go through hardship because you've never disciplined yourself to be a soldier for God?

So I'm admonishing you right now, Church. I'm speaking to you, beloved one, right now, get ready. I believe you're gonna go through the tribulation. Don't be scared. God's gonna be with you. It's gonna be your greatest day. God's gonna become more real to you than you've ever known him in your life. His glory is gonna surround you in a way that you've never experienced before because when it's darkest, God's glory shines brighter. Church, it's gonna be your greatest day. We're gonna see more people healed. We're gonna see more people saved. We're gonna walk in greater power. We're gonna see the Church more unified than ever as the Church comes into unity during the end times.

You see, when the world becomes so difficult to live in, denominations aren't going to be arguing with each other about minor points of theology. All that stuff's gonna become meaningless. We're gonna have bigger fish to fry. We're gonna have to get unified as a Church to go through the tribulation together, holding up the banner of Jesus, unified as one in love.

And beloved, the Church is gonna be triumphant, for the Lord has said, neither death, nor life, nor things past, things present or things to come shall separate you from my love. Know you are more than a conqueror in all these things. God loves you and he's got a destiny for you, beloved, that's greater than you've ever imagined. Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and never has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for you that love him. I love you today, beloved. God bless you. Chag Sameach, Happy Passover to you. And in Yeshua's name, be ready. Shalom.