Shalom John & Doves.I would like to comment on Phil Rogers post regarding the recent re-institution of the Sanhedrin.....and the fact that no one else has written about the importance of it with regard to prophecy....plus the fact that no one has even responded to the insight Phil provided concerning its' importance.
Phil's post is filled with scriptural evidence and proof of this SIGN, yet it seems people are not seeing, or caring about, the prophetic significance of it. I can only conclude that is because people are looking for the Rapture instead of the signs of the Second Coming. The Rapture, as the great blessed escape, seems to be more important to the average Believer than anything else, even the coming redemption and restoration of Israel and His Kingdom.
I'm not trying to "preach at anyone" - but the sad part of the whole thing is I think we (and I've been as guilty as anybody) have been so consumed with watching for the rapture, and debating all KINDS of raptures that would take all, take some, leave some behind, etc. etc.....that we have overlooked the real theme of the Bible, which is The King and a Kingdom - NOT the Rapture.....yet people seem to be more concerned with just getting out of here before the soup hits the fan.
I suppose that is our human nature. For quite awhile the rapture was, for me, the most important thing to watch for, but since the year 2,000 I have been making an effort to understand why things didn't and haven't happened the way we supposed they would. This isn't to say I have ceased being a "watcher".....quite the contrary. I have surrendered to the Lord "my" ideas and expectations to the scenario I would prefer, and accepted, as Phil made clear, "the "signs" and prophetic types that have been fulfilled, and that are in the process of fulfillment, ALL ARE POINTING TO THE 2ND COMING OF CHRIST JESUS and NOT TO THE "RAPTURE"."
So, back to the "sign of the Sanhedrin"......What Phil brought to light in his post is simply this: FOUR days before Jesus went to the cross (Matt. 21:8-9), the PEOPLE of Israel accepted Him (at the Triumphal Entry - Palm Sunday) as the son of David, the King or Messiah. Then TWO days before He went to the cross (Matt. 23:39) Jesus was ripping into the LEADERS who had rejected Him. These leaders were the majority of the Sanhedrin. He said to them, "Ye shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."........the PEOPLE had ALREADY declared it.......but it was the leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees of the Sanhedrin, who had rejected Him & condemned Him, that Jesus was speaking to.
The grammatical context shows without a doubt that Jesus was speaking to these leaders - NOT simply to the "city of Jerusalem in general." There is often a dual application in Scripture and it is easy to overlook the part that we think doesn't apply to us and embrace the part that we more easily "prefer to see." But here in this instance of Jesus speaking to the Jewish leaders of the Sanhedrin who had rejected Him and He quite literally, prophetically indicates by His statement that the Sanhedrin WILL be in existence when He returns......and the birth of that prophecy has just been fulfilled.
The re-institution of the Sanhedrin is just as prophetic and important a sign of the Second Coming as were the signs of the birth of Israel in 1948 and the reclaiming of Jerusalem in 1967!
Just as the nation of Israel had to be back in the land, and just as Jerusalem had to be reclaimed before the last days began to be fulfilled, THE SANHEDRIN MUST BE IN PLACE IN ORDER TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY THAT THE SANHEDRIN WILL DECLARE, AT HIS SECOND COMING, THAT JESUS IS LORD AND KING AND BLESSED IS HE! Yes, of course the Remnant of Israel will also declare it at His coming, BUT - at His first coming it was the Sanhedrin that rejected Him and so Jesus stated they will acknowledge Him when He comes the second time. They will be there at His CORONATION to officially declare Him Lord of Lords and King of Kings, to which purpose He is coming to the WORLD. But the purpose of the Sanhedrin will be to annoint Him KING of the NATION of ISRAEL!
If the Sanhedrin is about to be reconvened, how close do you think we ARE to the Second Coming?
And finally, I will just reiterate what Phil Rogers stated for there is much wisdom in it:
"The Lord is SOON coming! And it is His 2nd Coming that we are to be watching for because even the "rapture" is dependent upon the 2nd Coming of Christ and not the other way around!"
Shalom, Sherry Vance