Signs of Judgment - Page 2

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Barley is an early ripening crop. It ripens about 50 days before wheat, and is therefore harvested earlier in the summer not having to undergo all the heat of the summer. This is a parable. The overcomers will come to maturity quicker than the rest of the body of Christ. Because they gave themselves eagerly to pursue God’s will for them of becoming like Christ, they will not have to experience the heat of the Lake of Fire, even as barley doesn’t have to go through the heat of summer.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="ab4588e0.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="398" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Field of Barley</div> <bR> <div> Barley differs from wheat in a very critical way. Barley contains little gluten, while wheat has an abundance of gluten. Gluten is the component of grain that reacts with yeast to make the bread rise. Because barley lacks gluten it is baked as an unleavened bread. This is a parable for bread represents man’s flesh and leaven represents sin. This speaks of a people whose flesh does not rise up at the presence of sin, for they have crucified the flesh with its affections and desires. These are the overcomers, and like Christ, they rule over the flesh and its desires.</div> <bR> <div> Wheat, however, contains an abundance of gluten and it is baked as a leavened bread. This is a picture of God’s people who have not removed the sin from their lives, and their flesh reacts strongly in the presence of sin. The action of the yeast in wheat bread continues to cause the bread to rise until the bread is placed in the oven and baked. The heat of the oven stops the reaction between the leaven and the gluten in the bread, and it ceases to rise. This is also a parable of this latter group of Christians who will only turn away from sin, and learn righteousness as they go through the heat of the Lake of Fire.</div> <bR> <div> God desires that all men come to a mature reflection of His character. Some will mature quicker than others. Some will be numbered among the barley harvest and attain to the first resurrection. Some will be a part of the wheat harvest and be resurrected after the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth.</div> <bR> <div> There is another symbol used in Scripture to portray the group of men and women who attain to the barley group. These overcomers are pictured as a man child being birthed by the church who is pictured as a woman in birth pangs. The Scriptures speak of the church giving birth to those who are a mature reflection of Christ.</div> <bR> <div> Revelation 12:1-5</div> <div> And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth...  And she gave birth to a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.</div> <bR> <div> This is another reference to the group of Christians that are synonymous with the barley harvest. They must come to maturity before the Millennial reign of Christ that they might rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Understanding that a mature male child must appear before the Millennium, that a birthing must occur of a group of saints that bear the image of Christ, is critical to a knowledge of what must transpire in these days.</div> <bR> <div> A birth is preceded by labor pains, and the earth must experience her pains as these sons come forth. As the day of the Lord’s return approaches the earth will undergo severe contractions, and these events will grow more severe and come closer together as the hour grows later.</div> <bR> <div> Matthew 24:3-8</div> <div> "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.</div> <bR> <div> There are many things prophesied for this period that precedes the appearance of mature sons of God and the return of the Lord to establish His reign upon the earth. It will be a time of great distress. This day is also referred to as “the day of the Lord.”</div> <div>                </div> <div> Amos 5:18-20</div> <div> Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, for what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion, and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?</div> <bR> <div> Joel 1:15</div> <div> Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.</div> <bR> <div> Prophetically, we live in the very time in which these things are to be fulfilled. I believe we are even now seeing the beginning of birth pangs, and the sorrowful events which have been occurring will increase in frequency and severity. The prophets said to those who said they were longing for this day, that they should realize that it will be a terrible day, but Christ has offered us this consolation.</div> <bR> <div> Luke 21:25-28</div> <div> "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."</div> <bR> <div> Christ will appear a second time, to those who eagerly await Him (Hebrews 9:28). He will bring redemption to a firstfruits group of overcomers. These ones will lay aside their mortal, sin-leavened bodies, and receive immortal bodies fashioned in righteousness. They will lay aside their corrupt bodies and receive incorruptible bodies. The whole creation awaits the revealing of these sons, and therefore the whole creation must go through the pains of child birth.</div> <bR> <div> Romans 8:19-23</div> <div> For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.</div> <bR> <div> The sons of God must be revealed. This first group of sons to be birthed will be the man child of Revelation 12. It will be the barley harvest of the book of Exodus. It will be the people “Passed Over” by death. It will be the first group to experience the redemption of their bodies. And all of this must be preceded by days of great judgment, and tribulation. The earth must experience birth pangs as these sons come forth.</div> <bR> <div> The Scriptures reveal that the children of God can know when this day is close at hand, and I am going to show you that the signs are already present, and the birth pangs have already begun. God wants us to know the day we live in. There is no excuse to not perceive that day. Only evil will come to those who are asleep and ignorant of what God is doing.</div> <bR> <div> I Thessalonians 5:2-6</div> <div> For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. </div> <bR> <div> God reveals His secret counsel to those who fear Him. He desires that we should be aware of what He is doing, and what is coming on the earth.</div> <bR> <div> John 15:15</div> <div> No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.</div> <bR> <div> Amos 3:7</div> <div> Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.</div> <bR> <div> Psalms 25:14</div> <div> The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him...</div> <bR> <div> Having established then that we live at the end of day six of creation, and it has been 6,000 years since Adam; having shown that day seven, the Millennial reign of Christ must be preceded by days of great distress, and that God would first provide many signs that the day might not come upon us as a thief, I want to go on to speak of some of the signs that have been occurring.</div> <bR> <div> Continue to <A HREF="id578.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Signs of Judgment Page 3"><U>Next Page</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>