These are notes on the sermon, Prophetic Hope For The Future, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 28 February 2021, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Pastor Prince shares that the Lord gave him a prophetic message for this sermon regarding the times we are in (the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic).
“and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
— 1 Thessalonians 1:10 NKJV
As Christians, our posture should not be to anticipate death but to look forward to the coming of the Lord.
We are living in the end times.
In 1948, we saw the fulfillment of two great world wars that Jesus spoke about (Luke 21:10), as well as Israel coming back as a nation. These events were prophesied in the Scriptures—Jesus said that Jerusalem would be under the foot of Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled (Luke 21:24b KJV). Jerusalem was indeed under the Gentiles, including the Babylonians and the Romans, until the Six Day War in 1967.
We are in the season where the times of the Gentiles are about to be fulfilled (Luke 21:24b KJV). The Scriptures tell us that before Jesus returns, there will be great earthquakes and plagues or pandemics (Luke 21:11 NLT). We are seeing great earthquakes on an unprecedented scale and frequency in the world as well as numerous pandemics. All these are the “beginning of sorrows” or the birth pangs pointing to the coming of the Lord (Matt 24:8).
Friend, know that God is not behind the world wars, earthquakes, and pandemics. Rather, God is telling us that these occurrences are the earth groaning because of man's sin, and groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God. They are the signs that point to the nearness of the coming of the Lord.
“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen . . . ”
— Matthew 24:36 NLT
The information about the exact date and time of Jesus’ return that we can find on the internet is all speculation as no one knows the day or the hour that He will return. However, we can see the signs of the end times happening now, indicating that we are the final generation. That is why our Christian position is to wait for Jesus to return from heaven instead of expect to grow old and pass away.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:51–53 NKJV
“mystery” — This doesn’t refer to something unknown like a mystery novel. The word “mystery” in the New Testament refers to something that was once hidden but is now revealed. It is our privilege to know this mystery that is now revealed, which is the rapture.
“all” — The rapture is for ALL so if you are truly born again, you will be raptured regardless of your spiritual growth.
“we shall be changed” — As believers, we will be changed and our bodies will “put on incorruption,” becoming like the new body that Jesus had when He rose from the dead. His body was tangible yet could transcend matter, space, and time (Phil. 3:21a KJV).
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:54–56 NKJV
“Death is swallowed up in victory” — This phrase is quoted from the prophecy in Isaiah 25. Death is total and cannot be escaped, yet this is not so for believers as there is a generation of us who will not see death.
When Jesus comes again, He will transform our imperfect bodies into incorruptible bodies, and we will never fall sick again nor ever die. Our bodies will not be subject to sickness, boredom, or fatigue. What a wonderful future you can look forward to (Luke 21:28)!
“Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.”
— Isaiah 66:8 NKJV
“Zion” — Refers to Israel. In this verse, the Bible prophesied Israel would come back as a nation in one day. After being driven from their homeland by the Romans and after wandering all over the world for 2,000 years, the prophecy was fulfilled when Israel became a nation in one day on May 15, 1948.
We can look forward to the Bible prophecy of Jesus’ return coming to pass in the days to come!
“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
— Hebrews 10:25 NKJV
We can tell that the season of Jesus’ return is very close. Pastor Prince shares that he misses the church very much and looks forward to the end of the pandemic, when we can once again assemble together.
“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” — As believers, we are not designed to be physically separated from one another. Since God’s Word tells us we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, Pastor Prince asked God to do something about this pandemic because it is not His will that we remain separate and isolated. There is strength, power, and blessing when we come together (Ps. 133:1).
“so much the more as you see the Day approaching” — As we sense the day of Jesus’ return drawing near, we are not to neglect assembling together and we should continue to exhort and encourage one another (Heb 3:13).
Lately, the church has been facing a lot of criticism and discouragement from the world, whether due to the fault of the church or the world misinterpreting what the church believes in.
Nowadays, we can exhort one another daily using our smartphones and technology. As the Lord puts compassion for someone on your heart during the day, would you reach out and encourage them? It is not by chance that God brings them to your mind as this is how the Holy Spirit leads us to care for others (2 Cor. 8:16).
“And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are —northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.”
— Genesis 13:14–15 NKJV
“for all the land which you see I give to you” — In last week’s sermon, we established that Abraham did not walk through the land physically but did so prophetically in the spirit (he saw the land with the eyes of his heart). The eyes of his heart were opened and the Lord gave him a hazon vision of the land.
“after Lot had separated from him” — Notice that it is after Lot had separated from Abraham that Abraham saw the hazon vision from the Lord.
There are two words in the Hebrew language which refer to a “veil” or “covering”:
It is only when the veil (“Lot”) had departed from Abraham that Abraham could see all around the land that God was giving to him. God said to Abraham, “Lift your eyes,” referring to Abraham’s spiritual eyes.
My friend, just as God opened the eyes of Abraham’s heart, let us similarly ask the Lord each day to give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, so that the eyes of our understanding (our heart) can be opened (Eph. 1:17–18).
Whenever the Bible shares a prophetic truth, there are two sides to that wisdom (Job 11:6a KJV, NASB)—there is both a natural interpretation and a spiritual interpretation.
One example is the word “Zion” in Isaiah 66:8:
“And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.”
— Isaiah 25:6–7 KJV
“the covering cast over all people” — In Hebrew, the word “covering” this is the word “lot” and refers to the covering over ALL people in the world, not just people in Israel.
“vail”— In Hebrew, this is the word “massēḵâ,” which refers to a covering, and which the English word “mask” is derived from.
God is saying, “At Mount Zion, I'm going to destroy the face of the mask/veil covering all the people.” This can be interpreted in the natural and the spiritual:
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 NKJV
“veiled” — Satan has blinded the minds of those who are perishing that they would not be able to see the gospel. The devil is using this spiritual veil over people’s minds and hearts to cause them to stay away from God and the warmth of His love.
“whose minds the god of this age has blinded . . . lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . should shine on them” — The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is so bright that the devil has to blind people from seeing it by using a veil over their hearts and minds.
“Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:”
— Luke 14:16 KJV
Pastor Prince shares the parable of a man in Luke 14 who threw a great feast and bade all come to attend it. The man represents our heavenly Father. He instructs his servant, a picture of the Holy Spirit, to bring in the guests of the feast. The supper or feast speaks of Jesus' death on the cross and all the goodness and riches of God that He prepares and invites us to enjoy.
However, one by one, all of the invited guests gave excuses as to why they could not attend the feast (Luke 14:18–20).
“Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.”
— Luke 14:21b–22 KJV
“streets and lanes” — Upon hearing these excuses, the man told his servant to go to the smaller streets of the country and bring in the poor, lost, lame, and blind to attend the feast.
“And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
— Luke 14:23 KJV
The “streets and lanes” and “highways and hedges” refer to different parts of the prophetic timeline of the spread of the gospel. 2,000 years ago, the gospel was first spread to the “streets and lanes” (see Luke 14:21). However, in our day and age, God is telling the Holy Spirit to go out to the “highways and hedges” (Luke 14:23) to spread the gospel.
“highways” — Speak of large cities as cities are connected by highways.
“hedges” — Speak of places “hedged in” or closed up with a wall or fence. This is the characteristic that marks our generation because many people are hedged in and unable to travel outside of our countries because of the pandemic. This verse tells us that reaching out to people who are hedged in is the last assignment of the Holy Spirit.
“And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.”
— Isaiah 25:6–9 KJV
“a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined” — This tells us that on Mount Zion, God has prepared all kinds of good things for us to enjoy and that there is a great celebration of joy!
In the natural, we want to see our enemies defeated before we sit down and rest. However, God’s way is always for us to first sit down, rest, and partake of all the good things that He has for us, and then He will destroy our enemies. Not the other way around.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . . . ”
— Psalm 23:5 NKJV
“in the presence of my enemies” — In Hebrew, “in the presence of” is translated as “against.” This shows us that the table God prepares for us works against our enemies. God is saying, “Sit down and eat before your enemies are defeated.”
Whatever enemy you are facing today is—whether an unfavorable diagnosis from the doctor, a rebellious child, or a marriage on the verge of a breakdown—the Bible says to rest first, and God will defeat your enemies.
“The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.””
— Psalm 110:1 NKJV
Just as Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand, we are seated in Him and allowing God to make our enemies our footstool.
“a feast of wines on the lees” — The “lees” refer to the dregs of the wine or the remnants of the grape juice left from the fermentation process. To make good wine, dregs are needed. The longer the grape juice mixes with the dregs, the greater the strength, taste, and color of the wine.
The “dregs” of the old man also speak of our flesh that remains in us even after we are saved—the part of us that wants to sin. We often wish we no longer have it but it remains in us, mixed with the supernatural zoe life that Jesus has given us.
Because of our flesh, the joy-filled life we experience has a greater taste and strength. We become more humble because we realize we cannot boast in ourselves since there is no good thing in our flesh (Rom. 7:18a KJV). Because of the flesh (the dregs), we experience true and real humility, as well as beauty and strength that comes from the joy-filled life of Christ.
“wines on the lees well refined” — This refers to the clear wine that is extracted after the fermentation process that now carries a beautiful fragrance and strength as it has been lying on the dregs.
“And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
— Luke 14:23 KJV
“compel them to come in” — In Luke 14:21, the man asked his servant to “bring in” or “lead in” the people in the streets and lanes to the feast. This is in contrast to Luke 14:23 where the servant is instructed to “compel” the people to come in to the feast. In these last days, the devil has blinded the minds of many people and caused their hearts to be so hardened that God has to compel them to come in to enjoy the good things He has prepared for them. If the people of the world could have eyes to see the hazon vision of the Lord and all that God has for them, they would abandon their current lifestyle for a blessed life in Christ.
My friend, it is so important to build your house on Christ and bring your children to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!
In these last days, Pastor Prince believes that this pandemic is compelling people to come into a kingdom that they otherwise would not have come into. God is compelling churches to go online and now more and more people are tuning in to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ being preached. People are getting saved like never before. This is the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit going out to the hedges to compel people to come in to receive from Jesus.
God has said that on Mount Zion, He will destroy the face responsible for the mask or covering. Pastor Prince shares the two interpretations of this:
“unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 3:13–14 NKJV
The Bible says when the people read the Old Testament, there is still a veil over their hearts and their minds.
“the veil is taken away in Christ” — The veil is removed when people are able to see Jesus in the Scriptures above all else.
Let’s look at the famous story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.
“Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land
of Moriah, and offer him… now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.””
— Genesis 22:2,12 NKJV
The first interpretation brings out the law (demanding from us), but the second interpretation, which is through the Spirit, brings out Jesus and His finished work. The law brings death as Christ is not seen in it, but the Spirit, which unveils Jesus, brings life (2 Cor. 3:6)!
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
— Isaiah 25:8–9 KJV
“He will swallow up death in victory” — This verse is quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:54. It shows the sequence of events to come:
Pastor Prince cautions us from looking to the Internet, YouTube, and other sources to seek prophecies that fall outside of the Bible. While he has nothing against these prophecies, he encourages us to stick to Bible prophecy. Many times, prophecy which is not found in the Bible can breed fear and trepidation of the future in people's hearts. On the other hand, if our revelation of Bible truth is accurate, it will always impart faith, joy, and blessed hope.
The benefit of Bible prophecy is that it gives you a hope which purifies you (the rapture—1 John 3:3) and a positive expectation of good in your future!
It’s time to tell your relatives, colleagues, and friends about the good news of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, lift the veil off their eyes and let the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine into their hearts and minds. You don't have to convince them, you only have to share the gospel.
We need to make sure that we don't confuse people by having one foot in the law and demand, and one foot in grace and supply (one foot on Mount Sinai, one foot on Mount Zion). Instead, make sure you are conscious of the Father’s love. Jesus came to reveal God as Father to the world (John 17:5–6 NASB, 16:26). Calling God “Abba, Father!” is the spirit of the new covenant.
Pastor Prince prays for these conditions:
This coming week, the Lord bless you and the Lord keep you. The Lord bless you and your families with the blessings of Deuteronomy 28, with the blessing of father Abraham. The Lord keep you and your loved ones from the COVID-19 virus, from every infection, from every disease, from every danger, and from all the power of the evil one through the blood of His Son.
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be favorable to you. The Lord has crowned you with His compassion and lovingkindness. A circle of favor surrounds you. You are crowned with His greatest favors and you are going somewhere to happen this week. Hallelujah. The Lord lift up His countenance on everyone under the sound of my voice and grant to you and yours His wonderful shalom peace. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. God bless you all.”
The Day is coming that Jesus is coming back for us! This is the blessed hope we can look forward to even as the world gets darker in these last days.
As we look forward to the rapture, let’s play our part as the church to:
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2021
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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