At the first coming of Christ God's people were under great expectation to see the Messiah. At the same time not one of the religious leaders recognized the forerunner and his ministry. With the Word of God in their hands and with the temple worship, they later rejected the Messiah. Incomprehensible but true: He came to His own, and His own received Him not (Jn. 1). Someone might say, "Shame on all the spiritual leaders of that day who were smitten with blindness!" They had their own interpretations but not the revelation of the Scriptures.

Could it be that history is repeating itself? Could it be, that our church services and evangelistic campaigns have become a routine, a spiritual entertainment? It certainly is possible to preach about the Messiah and what He will do, at the same time ignoring completely what He is doing now. The religious teachers of that day referred to Abraham and Moses, but did not realize that things which they spoke about had become reality in their midst. Our Lord had to say, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me" (Jn. 5:46).

It is certainly possible to refer to Peter and Paul, and to the men of our choice within church history and still not realize what God is doing now. Once again we may ask ourselves, "How could it be that those holy men – who studied the Scriptures day and night – did not see that all the prophecies were fulfilled?" When Jesus opened the Bible in the city of Nazareth, He read from Is. 61 and then made the notable statement, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Lk. 4:21).

Without question we are now living at the end of the end time. Any Bible reader expects eschatological events to happen without delay. In fact, the signs of the time, the condition of the church, the gathering of Israel and the political developments show very clearly that the coming of the Lord is imminent. Could it be that God has sent a ministry which was misunderstood and rejected, even by those who greatly benefitted from it?

It is not difficult to judge the past, discern what was done wrong and nourish hopes for the future, while at the same time being unaware of what the Lord is presently doing. We must first comprehend the key-statement found in Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." We are now most certainly living in the greatest prophetic age of all times. There were and are two special generations carrying great responsibility: the generation at the first coming of Christ, and this one now – our own generation – before the second coming of Christ. The New Testament began with the actual fulfilment of Bible prophecy, and it will end in the same way.

We don't need a man to prophesy his own imaginations of the great things God has in store. These imagined ideas have not and will never come to pass. We certainly need a clear understanding of the promised Word for this day. Because this is a prophetic age, the ministry of a major prophet would fit into God's plan and programme. Before special events have taken place, in the past the Lord has usually sent such a man with an outstanding commission. Before the flood He had Noah, the prophet, of whom we read in Gen. 6:22, "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord visited his prophet Abraham (Gen. 18). In verse 17 we read, "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" In Lk. 17:26-30 the Lord referred to those times and said, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." God cannot change. He says, "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mai. 3:6). His decisions are perfect for ever. He works according to the same pattern all the time. When he was ready to fulfill the promise given to Abraham (Gen. 15:13), He appeared to Moses, the prophet, in the burning bush. He had an Elijah and Ehsha, He had Jeremiah and Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel and so on.

At the first coming of Christ God's people were under great expectation to see the Messiah. At the same time not one of the religious leaders recognized the forerunner and his ministry. With the Word of God in their hands and with the temple worship, they later rejected the Messiah. Incomprehensible but true: He came to His own, and His own received Him not (Jn. 1). Someone might say, "Shame on all the spiritual leaders of that day who were smitten with blindness!" They had their own interpretations but not the revelation of the Scriptures.

Could it be that history is repeating itself? Could it be, that our church services and evangelistic campaigns have become a routine, a spiritual entertainment? It certainly is possible to preach about the Messiah and what He will do, at the same time ignoring completely what He is doing now. The religious teachers of that day referred to Abraham and Moses, but did not realize that things which they spoke about had become reality in their midst. Our Lord had to say, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me" (Jn. 5:46).

It is certainly possible to refer to Peter and Paul, and to the men of our choice within church history and still not realize what God is doing now. Once again we may ask ourselves, "How could it be that those holy men – who studied the Scriptures day and night – did not see that all the prophecies were fulfilled?" When Jesus opened the Bible in the city of Nazareth, He read from Is. 61 and then made the notable statement, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Lk. 4:21).

Without question we are now living at the end of the end time. Any Bible reader expects eschatological events to happen without delay. In fact, the signs of the time, the condition of the church, the gathering of Israel and the political developments show very clearly that the coming of the Lord is imminent. Could it be that God has sent a ministry which was misunderstood and rejected, even by those who greatly benefitted from it?

It is not difficult to judge the past, discern what was done wrong and nourish hopes for the future, while at the same time being unaware of what the Lord is presently doing. We must first comprehend the key-statement found in Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." We are now most certainly living in the greatest prophetic age of all times. There were and are two special generations carrying great responsibility: the generation at the first coming of Christ, and this one now – our own generation – before the second coming of Christ. The New Testament began with the actual fulfilment of Bible prophecy, and it will end in the same way.

We don't need a man to prophesy his own imaginations of the great things God has in store. These imagined ideas have not and will never come to pass. We certainly need a clear understanding of the promised Word for this day. Because this is a prophetic age, the ministry of a major prophet would fit into God's plan and programme. Before special events have taken place, in the past the Lord has usually sent such a man with an outstanding commission. Before the flood He had Noah, the prophet, of whom we read in Gen. 6:22, "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord visited his prophet Abraham (Gen. 18). In verse 17 we read, "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" In Lk. 17:26-30 the Lord referred to those times and said, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." God cannot change. He says, "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mai. 3:6). His decisions are perfect for ever. He works according to the same pattern all the time. When he was ready to fulfill the promise given to Abraham (Gen. 15:13), He appeared to Moses, the prophet, in the burning bush. He had an Elijah and Ehsha, He had Jeremiah and Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel and so on.