You said -- "As scripture does not say this it is imprudent to make such unfounded claims, especially when they're given as a way of a bye for us taking up what WE have been tasked with."
I did not say that the church should refrain from doing this. What I said was that it had failed in doing this. So, no..., the church should. BUT, here's the thing -- at a certain point in time, the church will be taken up in the Rapture and will no longer be here. And so, the church will *no longer* be *able* to witness on this earth (at that coming time). It's gone. The Jews are, then, the servants and witness to the coming Kingdom of the Messiah.
God will not be without a witness on this earth, since the church has been taken up and out of this world. These 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel (as name in Revelation, being 12,000 from each) -- will be that witness. They are called the servants of God, as as such, they will *definitely* be proclaiming the Gospel message and the coming Messiah and His Kingdom.
Revelation 7:2-8
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
3 saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
Revelation 14:1-5
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Regards,
Star Traveler
I understand you didn't say this specifically, and I apologized if my post implied I thought you had. However, I HAVE heard a growing number in the church discout what we SHOULD be doing by claiming, essentially, that it doesn't matter because God will take over.
There are a couple of problems with that. Firstly, it's unscriptural to state definitively that the 144,000 will fan out across the world as you have, and to claim they will evangelize the world...that is NOT stated in scripture...and I believe it is dangerous for us to even consider lifting our hands from that plow expecting that the field will be plowed without us.
What I said was that it had failed in doing this.
The Western church is in the process of dying...but we can't let that stop those of us who aren't willing to discard the gospel or our mandate.
BUT, here's the thing -- at a certain point in time, the church will be taken up in the Rapture and will no longer be here. And so, the church will *no longer* be *able* to witness on this earth (at that coming time)..
Again, I think it's dangerous to adopt the perspective that we aren't going to succeed because God is going to zip us out of the way before we fulfill what He has told us to do...but even if that were to happen it shouldn't be taking any place in our plans. It gives far to easy an excuse to not be active in missions and evangelism. That's probably why PDL churches are looking for worldly "hooks" to bring in people...if they preached repentance, the cross and missions and evangelism, which doesn't sit well with the world they fear they wouldn't be popular. Of course our call isn't to worry about being popular, it's to do the will of God.
God will not be without a witness on this earth, since the church has been taken up and out of this world.>P?The assumption here is that the rapture will take place prior to the completion of the Great Commission. Do you know for a fact that will be the case? I believe if you're honest you'll have to answer no, you don't know that will be the case.
These 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel (as name in Revelation, being 12,000 from each) -- will be that witness. They are called the servants of God, as as such, they will *definitely* be proclaiming the Gospel message and the coming Messiah and His Kingdom.
Again you make a "definitive" claim that is scripturally unsupported. They MAY proclaim the gospel, but scripture NEVER refers to the 144,000 as evangelists or missionaries...that is a man made fabrication. They are referred to as servants. As servants of the Most High God the 144,000 will be witnesses on this earth...but that does not make them missionaries or evangelists.
The Western church has adopted many unscriptural teachings beyond just the PDL sort. We need to make sure we let the Spirit guide our eyes in the scripture and not the teachings of men designed to tickle the ears.
Blessings.