The Prerequisite to the Second Coming

On November 8th, we discussed five Scriptures that clearly speak of "the iniquity."

1. Leviticus 26:40-42 speaking of "the iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers," in verse 40.
2. Jeremiah 3:11-18 speaking of the blessings of the Messianic Kingdom coming with preconditions....a confession of an iniquity.
3. Zechariah 12:10 comes out plainly and identifies their iniquity.
4. Hosea 5:15 I'll let Arnold address this one:
   "The One who is speaking throughout this chapter is God Himself. There are certain presuppositions behind the understanding of this verse. Before anyone can go back to a place, he must first leave it. In this passage, God states that He is returning to His place. God’s place is Heaven. Before God can go back to Heaven, He must first leave it. The question is, “When did God ever leave Heaven?” God left Heaven at the Incarnation in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. Then, because of one specific offense committed against Him, He returned to Heaven at the Ascension from the Mount of Olives. This verse further states that He will not come back to the earth until the offense that caused Him to return to Heaven is acknowledged or confessed. What is that Jewish national offense committed against the Person of Yeshua? It is not, as many believe, the act of killing Him. The actual killing of the Messiah was done by Gentile, not Jewish, hands. He was condemned and sentenced by a Gentile judge. He was crucified by Gentile soldiers. But all this is ultimately irrelevant for, regardless of Jewish acceptance or Jewish rejection, Jesus would have to die anyway to become the sacrifice for sin. The national offense of Israel was in the rejection of His Messiahship. According to this verse, only when this offense is acknowledged or confessed will the Messiah return to the earth."
   Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (3:12-13). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.
5. And lastly, Matthew 23:37-39 which plainly states: "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord."

I closed by reading Arnold's summary:
"As was shown earlier, this chapter contains the Messiah’s denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish leadership of that day, for leading the nation to the rejection of His Messiahship. Still speaking to the Jewish leadership, Yeshua reiterates in verse 37 His original desire to gather them if they would only accept Him. Because of their rejection of His Messiahship, they will be scattered instead of being gathered. In verse 38, their house, the Jewish Temple, will be left desolate and will be destroyed, with nothing remaining. But then He declares that they will not see Him again until they say, “ Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” This is a messianic greeting, and it will signify their acceptance of His Messiahship.
So Yeshua will not return to the earth until the Jews and the Jewish leaders ask Him to come back. For just as the Jewish leaders once led the nation to the rejection of His Messiahship, they must some day lead the nation to the acceptance of His Messiahship.
It is this fact that explains Satan’s war against the Jews throughout history in general and during the Tribulation in particular. Satan knows that once the Messiah returns, his freedom ends. Satan also knows that Jesus will not come back until the Jewish leaders ask Him to come back. So if Satan can succeed in destroying the Jews once and for all before they come to national repentance, then Yeshua will not come back and Satan’s career is eternally safe. That is why once Satan is confined to his fourth abode and knows his time is short, he expends all of his satanic energies to try to destroy the Jews once and for all. Anti-Semitism in any form, active or passive, whether it is racial, ethnic, national, economic, political, religious, or theological, is all part of the satanic strategy to avoid the Second Coming.
This, then, is the twofold basis of the Second Coming of the Messiah: first, Israel must confess her national sin; secondly, Israel must then plead for Messiah to return, “to mourn for him as one mourns for an only son.”"
Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1983). The Messianic Bible Study Collection (3:13-14). Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries.

I hope you have a clearer picture of what is to take place yet future. Hopefully, we'll put more pieces of the puzzle together through the lens of Scripture.

Thanks and be blessed,

Your Chrbrotherist