The Night of Hardening

The Night of Hardening

In John 9:4 Jesus says that the night is coming when no one can work. This night is fast approaching. In Luke 21:24 He says that Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. When the Jews rejected Christ and the gospel, God turned to the Gentiles, who were given abundant time and opportunity for salvation while the dark night of hardening was over Israel. During this time, Jerusalem has been occupied by foreign powers, and the Jews have lived in exile. However, this will not always be the case, and the turning point will soon be at hand.

The Jews are fighting with all their might to regain Palestine as their national home; and as truly as the Lord lives, they will get their country back whenever He decides that it is the right time. It doesn’t matter if millions of Arabs and others conspire against them and think differently. According to Jesus’ words, the times of the Gentiles will be over on the day when Israel receives Jerusalem back and the foreign powers have departed. Then the dark night of hardening will descend on the Gentile nations just as it has been over the people of Israel since Jesus’ days. Then the great falling away will occur, and God will give all those who have not received a love for the truth so that they can be saved into Satan’s power; they will believe a lie and follow him in the ranks of the Antichrist. People will become so hardened that they will gnaw their tongues in pain and blaspheme God. Rev. 16:8-11. We read, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” We must be on guard against the least hardening of our heart against God’s Word; otherwise, we run the risk of being caught up in the great hardening that will come over most people in the last days. Jesus says that unrighteousness will abound and the love of many will grow cold. When this night of hardening descends on the earth, a cry will be heard: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!” However, if you haven’t obtained oil in your vessel and for your lamp during that time, it will be too late to be in the bride of Christ. Each day of grace that we have left is very precious and must be used well. As many people as possible must be saved before this hardening, which is a result of God withdrawing His grace, really grips people’s hearts.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.” Read Isaiah 60. When the darkness of hardening steals over the Gentiles, God’s light and glory will arise over Israel. Initially this will be an earthly glory. “Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.” Vs. 5-6. The Lord will shake all nations, and the precious treasures of the nations will flow to Israel. Read Haggai 2:7-9. The Jews already possess most of the world’s gold, and the riches will continue to flow to them.

During the last days, the earthly glory will flow to the earthly Israel while the earth is being shaken by wars and tribulations; but during all these tribulations and difficulties, the spiritual blessings and glory will flow to the spiritual Israel. These riches are far more valuable than the finest gold from Ophir, and they consist of God’s wisdom, love, faith, patience, humility, mercy, truth, righteousness, peace, joy, etc.

When the earthly glory has flowed to the earthly Israel and the spiritual blessings and glory have flowed to the spiritual Israel, the rest of the world will be poor, dark, and cold. Then the great falling away and the night of hardening will have come, and the Antichrist will have begun his reign. 2 Thess. 2. Driven by envy and the poverty of his darkness, he will first turn on the spiritual Israel to destroy their glory, as they stand arrayed in garments of righteousness (Rev. 19:8) with their lamps shining brightly. He will demand a total spiritual blackout, but they will resist him with all their strength, and their lamps will shine more brightly than ever before in this dark night. Poverty and tribulation will be great, and the little that can be bought and sold will be reserved for those who unreservedly worship the beast, and receive its mark on their foreheads or on their hand. Rev. 13:16-17. However, the bride is finished with buying and selling. With all their possessions they have bought precious oil with which they have filled their vessels, and they will gladly miss a few meals in expectation of the great feast together with their Bridegroom. But it will be worse for those starving people who blindly submit to the rule of the Antichrist in order to obtain food and clothing. Read in Revelation 14:9-11 how it will go with them, and how unrewarding it is to worship the beast. However, when the Antichrist attempts to destroy the saints in earnest, he will beat the air in vain trying to catch them since Jesus will have come to fetch them to His glory. Jesus will hide them in His glory while great tribulations go over the earth.

Then the Antichrist will turn against the earthly Israel. Ezek. 38. But then he and his entire army will be annihilated by Christ and the saints when they come to establish a blessed kingdom of righteousness that will last for a thousand years. “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36. The God-fearing have an exceedingly rich and glorious future, whereas the future of the ungodly is utter darkness.