Table of Contents Dead, Revived, Rejected Time is Running Out Will You Escape? What Are You Building? What Am I to Hold Fast? The 18 Restored Truthes

The Stones of the Temple Do you understand the reasons why God's Church is scattered today? Do you know where we are in the timing of prophecy? Are you aware of all the prophecies that have already been fulfilled in recent years and that are currently being fulfilled? Are you filled with a stronger confidence because you "know" what God expects of you at this time? This publication is focused on helping you answer these questions and concerns. Some things you read may shock you, and indeed they should. We have been living through some of the most shocking and deeply sobering times in our nearly 2,000 year history. You need to understand recent events in precisely that kind of setting. "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.' Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'" (Matthew 24:1-3, NKJV. Notice what else is added to this account: "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?" (Mark 13:4). We tend to read scripture from a physical vantage point as we consider physical explanations. Many prophecies have both a physical type and spiritual type. Again, we generally focus on the physical first. The physical type of the destruction of the temple can be likened to the kind of destruction that took place in 70 AD. Some have even thought this may be about the destruction of a reconstructed temple at the end of this age. The importance of this prophecy is not about a physical temple, but a spiritual one. Jesus Christ is going to return to a spiritual temple, not a physical one. Neither the Jews nor the Disciples understood Jesus when he said "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." They thought his words were about the physical temple. We in the Church are not much different concerning our first response to scripture. The timing of the words of Jesus should not be difficult to understand. The stones of the temple, being thrown down, are related to the sign of His coming at the end of this age. We have always understood that the age He is referring to is the end of the 6,000 years of man. Is it difficult to discern this account of Matthew and Mark? We need to understand that the fulfilling of the time of the stones of the temple to be cast down is at the end of this age. So we should also understand that the stones of the temple, being cast down, are directly related to the sign of His coming! We are living in some of the most momentous times of prophetic history, but few grasp the true depth of this reality. The very events that Jesus Christ spoke of in Matthew 24 are first and foremost about the Church at the end of this age. When Jesus said that we should take heed that no one would deceive us, He was not speaking to the world, but to the Church. The world is already deceived. Only those who know the truth can become deceived. We have tended to focus on Matthew 24:5 as primarily being about false preachers in this world. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many." Certainly the false teachers in this world, who speak a great deal about Jesus Christ, play a big role in helping to keep the world deceived. But those same false teachers hardly play any role at all in deceiving anyone in the Church. It can happen, but as a means of initial deception, it is indeed rare. In the mid 1980s, we would not have conceived of the possibility that this warning about false teachers was principally speaking about false ministers in the Church who would deceive brethren in our time. But since that time, we have seen most of the ministry turn to deceiving brethren from the truths God first revealed to us. Remember, the only ones who can become deceived are those who are not already deceived. The story in Matthew 24 continues by saying, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (verse 12, KJV). We began experiencing this during the 1970s, and it continues to increase until it mushroomed in the early to mid 1990s. Because of sinful lives, brethren were being cut off from the flow of God's spirit in their lives. Being cut off from God's spirit, as a result of sin, means that the flow of God's love (Greek word 'agape') ceased to work in their lives. God is the source of this kind of love spoken of in verse 12. Man cannot work up this love, nor can he fake such love. Experiencing and living by this kind of love requires a continual flow of God's spirit into one's life. Again, these verses are talking about the Church and not the world. [These verses in Matthew 24 are more thoroughly covered in a sermon series titled "A Time to Judge." You may request your free copies.] The story flow continues, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (verse 14). Foolishly, there are many in God's Church who have lost sight of the meaning of this verse. But again, this is something that was to be accomplished at the end of this age. The fulfillment of this event marked the beginning for end-time events to commence; events that would finally climax in the very return of Jesus Christ. [The importance of these verses are discussed more fully in the article "Dead, Revived, Rejected."] The next verse brings us to the event, that Christ mentioned at the beginning, about how there would not be one stone left upon another in the temple. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" (verse 15). Now we come to an event that was to take place within the temple itself. Is that temple a physical one or a spiritual one? "Now therefore ye are no more strangers or foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22, KJV) "To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5, KJV) Do we not know who we are? We are the stones in the Temple of God. What is this abomination that works to make the temple of God desolate? [This subject is covered more fully in the article "Time is Running Out!"] This prophetic event, which occurs at the end of the age, has been in the process of being fulfilled, within the Church, ever since it began to be made manifest in late 1994. We have been living through some of the most momentous events prophesied in the Bible. Almost 2,000 years ago the disciples quizzed Jesus about this very event. Do we not grasp the magnitude of living at such a time as this? It should send chills up your spine. The verses that follow the account of the abomination of desolation describe a time of fleeing and tribulation upon the Church. We have been living, and we are still living, in a time of great tribulation upon the Church. Not much remains as a result of all the destruction. During on period of time, toward the end of this age, the Church was blessed to be organized in one large, worldwide fellowship known as the Worldwide Church of God. That is no longer the case. That fellowship has been so shaken that nothing remaining in it can even be considered to be part of the Temple of God. At this time the only possible way anyone can again be brought back into the Temple of God is through fleeing and repentance. Indeed, not one stone would remain up on the other without being cast down. All have been cast down! All have been spued out of God's mouth. To be a remnant of God's chosen people at the end of this age, everyone must flee the idolatry and the abomination that works to destroy the Temple of God. This requires repentance on every person's part and a renewed zeal for God and His work! We have been shaken, shattered, and scattered from our original condition. Yes it is true, we have lived through the time when one stone was not left upon another, but Jesus Christ will return to this Temple! Do you see what has been happening to us? That which has already been scattered continues to be shaken and scattered even more. We need to understand why these things are continuing to happen. We also need to understand that the apostasy, which started many years ago, is ongoing. The Church is being sifted and refined, and only a very small remnant will remain. If you desire to be part of that remnant, you need to know what God expects of you, because there is work underway to rebuild on the Temple of God before Jesus Christ returns! [For more on this subject, you may request the sermon series "Rebuilding on the Temple."]