Part two on my review of Robert Breaker's message, Can you see in 2020?

In my last post I indicated that I had recently become aware of Pastor Robert Breaker and a YouTube video he made on the rapture of the church. You can find this video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccbzG8At9ak&t=783s

The YouTube site for Robert Breaker explains the video and title – to some degree.

“Missionary Evangelist Robert Breaker asks if you can see in the year 2020, and how what is happening now in the world appears to be pointing to the soon coming rapture of the church and the rise of the antichrist mark of the beast system.”

Robert, as I told you in the previous post, emphasizes the usage of the King James Version only. I debunked that premise and told you that you need to compare translations as God can miraculously feed us from multiple versions; we, as students of scripture, have to give due diligence and not be misled by false teachings that are interlaced through our Bibles, so keep that in mind as we progress.

A common but misleading theme within the church is the statement – NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR. This portion of scripture, which is taken out of context, is used as a big, Pharisaical stick against those who excitedly speak about the potential that the Lord could come back at any moment. Robert takes a calm approach to teaching and acknowledges that he is not trying to set a date as he directs us to scriptures that he uses to establish his point.

Robert repeatedly states, I will not give you my opinion without backing it up with scripture. The first verse we were taken to is Hosea 6:1-2.

Hosea 6:1-2 AMP, COME AND let us return to the Lord, for He has torn so that He may heal us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up. (2) After two days He will revive us (quicken us, give us life); on the third day, He will raise us up that we may live before Him. [Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:1-10.]

While there is no denying that the assertion “on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him,” grabs my attention, but does it apply to me, us in general, or the church? To answer this we need to understand the context and subject of Hosea.

So what is the context of Hosea?

Hosea 1:1 tells us

“THE WORD of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel.”

Most of us who have been raised in the church understand that God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. Unless you are watching the movie “A Pretty Woman” marrying a harlot is generally thought to be a bad idea – the reasons are rather obvious.

Because Hosea 1:1 immediately gives us an overview we can historically understand the time frame [Hosea’s ministry spanned several decades, beginning near the end of the reigns of Uzziah of Judah (ca. 790-739 b.c.) and Jeroboam II of Israel (ca. 793-753 b.c.) and concluding in the early years of Hezekiah’s reign.], and which kingdom(s) God is directing His message toward - Hezekiah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and Judah, the Southern Kingdom, which will, in the course of time, also go into Babylonian captivity.

End, page one.

Does knowing that God is directing His message toward the divided kingdoms of “God's” people, exclude those of Israel who were to come; and, the Gentiles that will also come into the kingdom? No.

2 Timothy 3:16 NASB All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

One of the biggest issues that Hosea is directed to speak against, is played out by his marriage to Gomer who returns to being a harlot.

J. Vernon McGee tells us, “Israel like Gomer was unfaithful and went back to practicing prostitution. God is applying Gomer's sin to the nation.” This prostitution, which is directed at God's people, really comes into view in verse 4 of 2 Kings 18.

Being made aware of Hezekiah we learn from 2 Kings 18:3-6 NASB that:

• He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

• (Verse 4) He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. (Asherah was the name of a sensual Canaanitish goddess Astarte, the feminine of the Assyrian Ishtar. Easton's Bible Dictionary. Me: Let's be blunt, a sex god.). He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it, and it was called Nehushtan (the copper serpent). [Ask yourself a question, what did God remove His people from when He extracted them out of Egypt?]

• He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.

• For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.

An alternate translation lays out verse four in this manner.

2 Kings 18:4 GNB He destroyed the pagan places of worship, broke the stone pillars, and cut down the images of the goddess Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made, which was called Nehushtan. Up to that time, the people of Israel had burned incense in its honor.

Here, in the Good News Bible, we gain a better understanding of what these “high places” are. At this point, Hezekiah seems like a good guy on God's scale of morality. The problem is that 2Kings 18 and 20 continues to fill in details about Hezekiah, and we see him losing his faith in God and giving all the glory and wealth of the temple to the king of Assyria.

He said, "What have they seen in your house?" So Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them." Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD. 'Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the LORD. 'Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Is it not so if there will be peace and truth in my days?" (2 Kings 20:15-19 NASB)

End, page two.

So, do we have a relational association with at least two scriptural witnesses that validate the idea that after two days He will raise us up?

Yes, and one of those associations speak of Christ's death and resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:4 NASB (4) and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Although it is not word for word, the implications are that the time frame has taken place, and on the third day He raises us up by the catching away of the church, just as Jesus did. If you can handle it, Jonah is another example that validates being raised on the third day. In the case of Jonah the great fish spewed out on the shore and God raised him up. You see, you have to accept the fact that Jesus used Jonah as a sign when He responded to the Pharisee's demand that He give them a sign. If Jesus can use Jonah, then the logical assumption must be that Jonah was dead, without Jonah's death the reference does not work and makes Jesus a liar, which He is NOT.

The other assertion that Hosea 6:1,2 makes, is that we may live before Him.

Job, a man who suffered great loss and pain from affliction cried out -

Job 19:25-26 NASB "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. (26) "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God;

Another version, the TNIV, tells us that even, “...after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God;” Where did Job get this kind of confidence?

If you are honest, most of us have heard little from the Old Testament that speaks of a future time of peace with the Father. Well, Job speaks with confidence about his future destination in which he will see God. Jesus, Himself, stated that we would see Him because we are in the Father.

John 14:18-20 NASB "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (19) "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. (20) "In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

The other scriptures, the Robert Breaker referenced, make a bit more sense.

2Thessalonians 2:1-3 is a popular one, as it references the apostasia, which is the gathering of the church. Sadly, most translations used the term falling away, which is incorrect. Having covered this, in-depth, in the previous post, I will let you pursue the problems with translation and why on your own.

Another verse is:

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 TNIV (51) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- (52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

And lastly Matthew 24:34.

Matthew 24:33-34 TNIV Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. (34) Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

End, page three.

Jesus said these words to a Jewish audience and referred to things. What things?

• Israel becoming a nation.

  That happened in 1948. Since Jesus said, this generation will not pass away, it behooves us to figure out the length of a generation.

  The average age of mothers at the birth of their first child was 20 and at the last birth 31, giving a mean of 25.5 years per female generation — considerably above the 20 years often attributed to primitive cultures. Husbands were six to 13 years older, giving a male generational interval of 31 to 38 years. https://isogg.org/wiki/How_long_is_a_generation%3F_Science_provides_an_answer

  So we are looking at 38 years if we take the extreme. 2020 minus 1948 gives us 72 years and we have practically doubled that time; this tells me that we are living on borrowed time.

• Wars.

  This seems to be a constant, as anywhere on the globe you can find warfare.

• Famines.

  The WHO is predicting horrific famines, these are, of course, over and above what we see daily.

• Earthquakes.

  These are happening daily, especially on the rim of fire that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.

• Deception will be out of control.

  When Jesus said it, He referenced those who will come presenting themselves, either as Jesus, or the savior of the world. Islam is also looking for someone to do this.

These things, for the church, means that He is coming to gather us home. Yeah, I know, you don't believe that, but it is going to happen. I know this because Jesus also told us that He would be killed and rise again on the third day. That event happened, so when He tells us that will come back and gather us home, it will happen. But not to worry, He will not bother those who do not want to be bothered.

Our life in Christ comes through faith in Him and the price He paid to bring you home to the Father – that's all.