The Glory Has Departed

         “…For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.” [Mark 13:22-23]

         It must be noted that even though the Lord Jesus told everyone in advance exactly what was going to happen as a result of their rejection of Him, it did no good for the rebellious majority—The nation of Israel was destroyed. Jerusalem was destroyed. The great temple was destroyed.

JESUS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

         Of course, Herod’s temple at the time of our Lord was essentially a hollow edifice. Within the Holy of Holies there was nothing. There was no Ark of the Covenant. There was nothing within the most holy place that gave any spiritual reason for the high priest to enter it. It was empty.

         This past Wednesday marked Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It was on that day in which the high priest of ancient Judaism would enter the Holy of Holies once per year to make atonement for the sins of the people. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies. And he could only do it once per year.

         But during our Lord’s time the entire ceremony was an empty exercise in illusion. Again, the Ark was not there. It had not been heard of since 586BC. It was lost to history six centuries before the Lord’s time. No one knows where it is to this day or if it even still exists.

         Therefore, from the time of the rebuilt temple in 515BC until the destruction of Herod’s temple in 70AD there was no Ark of the Covenant in the temple. This made the entire sacrificial system an empty exercise in pure religion. Without the Ark it was all meaningless.

         And today, without the Ark or the temple, the Judaism of that time has become largely meaningless with respect to what it once was.

ALL GET FOOLED AGAIN

         But enough about what has happened since Herod’s temple was destroyed. The point of this post is to illustrate the illusion of religion that existed with an empty temple and its spiritual parallels of today.

         The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. The worst that could ever happen in ancient Israel was for the presence of God to leave, to vacate the premises, and to leave the nation to the darkness of their own man-made religious devices.

         And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

         She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.” [1Samuel 4:21-22]

         In America this past Wednesday, in a national sense, Yom Kippur was completely desecrated. Christians will argue, of course, that the Jewish Day of Atonement has nothing to do with Christianity. But of course, the Autumn Feast Days have yet to be fulfilled. Unlike the Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, which have been fulfilled, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot remain in an unfulfilled state and are brimming with expectant prophecy. The fulfillment of these feasts will be capped off with the glorious return of the Lord Jesus.

IDOLATRY ON PARADE

         So to see the way the United States government and the Vatican colluded to desecrate the Day of Atonement in this country reveals just how far the deception has matured and how incredibly powerful the illusion has become:

         Pope Francis arrived in Washington at 4pm on the eve of Yom Kippur, which began at sunset. The President of the United States actually met him at the airport. Think about that for a while. The next day, on Yom Kippur, the Pope met with the President with whom he shares many political ideologies. He was then treated to a parade.

         The next day he became the first Pope to address a joint session of Congress. This man, who possesses the title “Vicar of Christ” (substitute), then proceeded to make his speech.

         But during his speech, he never once invoked the Name of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was never mentioned. So not only was Yom Kippur desecrated, the Pope, accepting all the glory thrown his way while the Lord received none, absolutely dissed the Lord Jesus and pretty much no one there noticed or cared. He proved his title.

         Ichabod.

         Real Christians, however, those with eyes to see who respect the Lord Jesus and serve Him, certainly noticed. But Real Christians have been noticing such illusion and deception for centuries. Has there ever been a time in America when the illusion and the disrespect for God has been so bold and pronounced?

         There are millions of real believers in this country who, if given the opportunity, could have addressed Congress properly, and strongly, and eloquently, and with complete honor and respect for the Lord Jesus who deserves all honor, praise, and glory. You can bet they would have mentioned the Lord’s Name many times.

         But such an address will never happen. And that is because real Christians are servants of the very King, the real and only King, this world has rejected. And the reality is that anyone, and I mean anyone, such as a foreign Pope or a foreign Prime Minister (who never mentioned the Lord’s Name either) will be allowed to address Congress all day long and all year long, but the Lord Jesus, if possible, would NEVER be allowed to address Congress in a million years.

         And there you have it. He has been shut out. The ruling elite hate Him. And the vast majority not only have no clue about this but do not care whatsoever. They like their little fake world.

         The temple is empty.

         Most churches are empty.

         There is no Ark.

         The Glory Has Departed.

         The majority has been blinded to spiritual reality by their own lack of faith and idolatry. They have swallowed whole a false representation of spiritual truth. They have been hoodwinked by the massive illusion and pageantry. Their growing acceptance of anti-Christian ideologies and personages is preparing their eventual acceptance of you know who.

EYES TO SEE

         For the few who can see, however, there is the following which explains everything:

         And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

         Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

         “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

         “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

         “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.” [Matthew 13:10-16] [1]

         © 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.

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[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.