Perhaps some of my readers are ready for a different title, and I will get to it soon, but for now I have a bit more to say from Acts 15:14-18 “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets: as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the Lord, Who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.”
So, we have seen that God is presently visiting the Gentiles, or nations, for the purpose of taking out of them a people for His name. May I say that any work that is actually God’s work will be done for the sake of God, so that the name of God may be glorified. If this is not the case, then the work is not actually what God intended it to be. Works that are done for the sake of a human’s name are not legitimate works of God! I hope all who read these lines will see and understand this, for I have a deep fear that much is being done in men’s names and for the glory of men in our day! The prophets of God have spoken, as did Simon Peter, saying that Jesus will return after He has done His work among the nations, or Gentiles. But there is more, for our verses say that Jesus will build again the tabernacle of David, which is now fallen down. I think that most people miss this point, especially those who mistakenly, and perhaps selfishly, declare the church to be the “new Israel”. There is only one problem with this, and that is that it is not a fact!! Nowhere in the Bible does God refer to the church as “new Israel”, so why do some build entire works on that idea? The church is the church, and Israel is Israel! Certainly some Israelites have been saved and become a part of the church, but that does not mean that the church is to be called a “New Israel”, for that is unbiblical!
The prophets have said that Jesus would take out of the Gentiles a people for His name, so the church is basically a “Gentile Bride of Christ”. It is after Jesus has finished His work in the church that He will return, namely at the other end of the tribulation, and after the rapture that will have taken place seven years earlier, and build again the tabernacle of David. How clear does it have to be made? Jesus will return and rebuild Israel, so they have a future, but only after the return of Christ to the earth at the other end of the tribulation. It is then that Jesus will rebuild the tabernacle of David, and I dare anyone to seek to prove that the church is the tabernacle of David that is to be rebuilt. Actually the church will be coming with Jesus when He returns to earth to build again the tabernacle of David. Moreover, to build again means that David’s tabernacle has been torn down and needs to be built again, so the church age cannot be the tabernacle of David that is to be rebuilt!!! The propose of the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David is that the residue, or rest who are to be saved, will seek the Lord, even from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles. Notice also that it is the Lord Who does all this. Also notice that This work has been on God’s agenda from the beginning, so it will not be a “Second thought” to God!!! God knew before He started exactly how all of His work would wind up!!!
By J. Briggs King, Rainsville, AL (678) 451-0921