The rule of the God of this World, Satan is coming to an end. As we see the prophesied lawlessness abound in a world that has turned its back on God we know we are in the time Jesus spoke of as a sign of His second coming to earth first to rescue His Saints and then to pour out His wrath on the unrepentant.
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”2 Thessalonians 2:9
“”And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12
“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him… Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3-4
Are you prepared for the coming tribulation that will precede Jesus second coming? Even more important are you doing what God has called you to do in these last days? The Holy Spirit will guide your steps if you ask Him. Be like Micah, do as God directs you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8
A perfect storm of several problems is decimating the world food supply. It’s been called the biggest food crisis since World War Two. The World Food Program estimates that 285 million people face starvation. The head of the World Food Program, former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, says the world food supply already faced a catastrophe before the war in Ukraine. “We’re so short of funds already, and now with Ukraine, we’ve got 50% rations for people in Yemen. I’ve just cut 50% rations for eight million people. Niger, 50% rations, Chad 50% rations. And 50% don’t have anything, those who are in extreme need.”
Famine threatens 1.4 million children U.N. warns
The war in Ukraine is only the latest of many problems to hit the world food supply. Food costs were already high from soaring inflation and fuel costs. Fertilizer prices were 40 percent higher than before the invasion of Ukraine, which, along with high fuel prices, makes it too expensive for some farmers to plant crops this year. Beasley said.
In the U.S., Americans have seen food costs rise 10 percent over last year, the steepest increase in 40 years, which experts say will lead to an increase in malnutrition among America’s poor. In the developing world, however, it’s become a matter of life and death. War in Ukraine Takes One-Third of the World’s Wheat Off the Table. Russia and Ukraine together produce almost one-third of the world’s wheat. But Ukrainian farmers have been sidelined and Russian exports have been sanctioned. Beasley says.
Rev. Eugene Cho, president, and CEO of Bread For the World says the U.S. needs to do more to fight global hunger, asking Congress to approve $3.8 billion in supplemental emergency funding. Cho said, “Let’s just talk about Afghanistan, 98% of the population does not have enough food to eat. One million children under the age of five could die from malnutrition by the end of this year. In Yemen, eight million people are in dire need of food.”
Even Africa’s wealthiest nation faces a food crisis, according to Nigerian Agri-investor Imal Silva, who told us a majority of Nigerians are facing malnutrition. “Those that are most affected are the majority in the lower and middle class of society. Those that were living below a particular level of income would feel the pinch and that’s quite a large majority,” Silva said. Beasley warns that the world’s food crisis could spiral into a political crisis. “You’ve got catastrophe coming to catastrophe,” Beasley said. “So don’t be surprised if you don’t see destabilization in several nations over the next six to nine months.”
When the disciples asked Jesus when He would return to earth to put things right, He gave them many signs and warnings. Famines and pestilences (Covid and its many variants) were among these signs.
“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3
“Then He said to them, Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences.“Luke 21:10-11
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8
According to Gallup polls, the so-called American church is in decline. However, -Roger Olson, a scholar with a Ph.D. in religious studies who has studied American religious life (especially Christianity in all its expressions) for many years says that what is really happening is that new expressions of Christianity are popping up that are flying “under the radar” of critics who claim “the American churches” are losing members. People are flocking from many of the old, so-called “mainline” churches and many are attending new collective expressions of Christianity that may or may not be called “churches.” Throughout the South and Midwest thousands of “cowboy churches” are popping up. Most of them do not belong to any denomination or are only very loosely affiliated with, for example, a local Baptist association of churches. There are literally thousands of immigrant churches that are hardly noticed by the bean-counters. For example, the Redeemed Christian Church of God of Nigeria has at least seven hundred congregations in the U.S. I am told that many of these congregations are large and growing not only through immigration but also through evangelism and people leaving other churches to attend these.
Churches that are truly born again, Bible-believing churches are not in decline because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit and are doing what God has called them to do. They have a Biblical worldview and therefore know Jesus is returning to this planet in the not too distant future first to remove His Saints and then to pour out His wrath on an unrepentant lawless world and they are acting accordingly.
They also know what Jesus said about the time before His return. It will be a time of great tribulation for Christians as God deals with the rebellion both in the heavenly and earthly realms. Satan and His demons are finally cast out of heaven and Satan enters the Antichrist and increases persecution first Jews and then of the Saints.
“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.” Ezekiel 28:15-16
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” Revelation 12:7-10
“Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short!”Revelation 12:12
“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.” Revelation 12:13-14
“Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Revelation 12:17
God’s reasons for the Millennial Kingdom (www.millennialkingdom.net)
The purpose of the thousand-year reign is to allow for the fulfillment of the promises God made with Jesus, Israel, the Saints, and Creation to vindicate His Holy name. These Scriptures make it abundantly evident that God has unfinished business with Israel and this world, His creation.
“Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.“Ezekiel 36:22-24
“So, when they (disciples) had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Acts 1:6–7
This verse clearly indicates that Jesus is yet to come to restore the Kingdom to Israel. The Millennium is the prophetic climax of God’s overarching redemptive agenda. His completed promises to Israel, found in the unconditional covenants, will be on full display before a world of believers and unbelievers alike.
Soon after the birth of the Body of Christ at Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter spoke these words to his fellow Jews from Solomon’s Portico
“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you,Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:10-21
“But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:23-25
The Messiah must reign over his kingdom until he has defeated all of his enemies. Once this is accomplished, Jesus will hand over the kingdom to the Father. When the Kingdom of God is handed over to the Father, it will be free of sin and death, identifying it as the Eternal State (Revelation 21:4, 8).
Promises to King Jesus
The Millennium is all about Jesus. He will reign supreme. “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
In Psalm 110, David records the promises that God (The Father) made to Jesus. God the Father invites Jesus to sit at His right hand until He makes Jesus’ enemies a footstool. Jesus will rule over, judge, and shatter His enemies while His people worship Him freely. This combination of judging enemies and being worshiped by the faithful cannot happen in the eternal heaven, because in heaven there will be no sin or rebellion to judge.
In Daniel 7:11-14, Jesus is given dominion over all the people, nations, and languages before His enemies are permanently destroyed.
JESUS FIRST COMING TO EARTH
JESUS SECOND COMING TO EARTH
Promises to Israel
God’s covenant with Abraham was unilateral (one-sided) it was unconditional and it remains unfulfilled as does the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant: Numbers 34:1-12 outlines the exact borders Israel is to possess; the nation of Israel has yet to encompass these specific boundaries.
“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” Genesis 15:18-20
“Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5-6
The legitimacy and authenticity of Judaism come from the fact that the entire nation was a part of the revelation. God spoke to the entire nation at Mt. Sinai. And these words that He spoke are yet to be fulfilled
Even before they went into the Promised Land Moses told them their entire checkered history, including their being cast out of the land and dispersed throughout the nations but also the end of the story when God would regather them and their Messiah will rule the nations and they will be a people, “holy to the Lord your God”.
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy 28:1
“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,” Deuteronomy 28:13
“And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as He has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that He will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that He has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He promised.” Deuteronomy 26:18-19
“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.” Deuteronomy 30:1-3
“And the Lord yourGod will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:5-6
The Davidic Covenant: 2 Samuel 7 is the promise that God made to David that David’s heir would sit on the throne of Israel. Jesus is that heir, but He has yet to take His physical, political birthright.
The New Covenant: It outlines the promise that Israel as a nation will return to God and worship their Messiah. These covenants will be fulfilled during the 1000-year reign.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke… For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33
“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”Isaiah 59:21
The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation
Moses was told on Mt Sinai to speak these words to the people of Israel just before God spoke directly to the entire nation. Israel has yet to be that nation but it will fulfill this prophecy in the Millennium.
Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Genesis 19:5-6
Paul confirms all of these O.T. prophecies with these two Scriptures.
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”Romans 11:25-27
“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:19-21
MAP OF ISRAEL TODAY
MAP OF ISRAEL IN MILLENNIUM
Promises to the Saints
Daniel 7:11-14 says that Jesus will be given dominion over all the nations. The whole world will know God.
“for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:9
In addition to Jesus’ rule over the nations, His resurrected Saints will be given positions of authority to rule with Him.
“You were slain, and by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10
“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know thatthe saints will judge the world?” 1 Corinthians 6:1-2
Promises to Creation
Jesus’ sovereignty will extend beyond human political systems and into all of creation. The curse will be partially lifted. Animals will live in peace again in Israel.
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.” Isaiah 11:6-9
“And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.” Isaiah 33:24
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;” Isaiah 35:5-7
This article by Megan Agnew appeared in The Weekend Australian 09/07/2022. My comments are in italics.
Billie Eilish: ‘I craved judgment… or criticism’ As a child she suffered ‘crippling separation anxiety. Now the most famous 20-year-old on the planet, Billie Eilish is finally getting comfortable in her own skin.
She has 11 billion views on YouTube, 47 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 44 million followers on TikTok and 103 million on Instagram.
Eilish is who she is largely because of the internet. At 13 she recorded Ocean Eyes, a song written by her older brother Finneas, which they posted to the online music platform SoundCloud. It went viral, landing a management deal and recording contract. Four years later Eilish hit the mainstream with the song Bad Guy, which they recorded in Finneas’s bedroom. It went to No.1 in more than 15 countries and became the planet’s best-performing single that year. She was 17.
Her music defies genre; a mixture of pop, rock, electronica, hip-hop and Peggy Lee jazz, with lyrics about Xanax, climate change, Invisalign braces, self-destruction, Uber ratings, and burying her friends. It is music for the generation who grew up on the internet, where irony is king and sincerity is lame. It is not ponytail-swinging pop about being a “hotgirlboss” but melancholic and twisted, tender and honest, music about the darkness of life – and her legions of teenage fans love it.
The lyrics of Ocean Eyes (video below) reveal a lot of the craziness of the world we are now living in. “I’ve been walking through a world gone blind”, “burning cities, napalm skies”, “I’m scared”. Also, what do these words even mean, “Can’t stop thinking of your diamond mind”, “Careful creature made friends with time”?
As with most young people God does not feature in her life at all.He is not given a thought. She has no concept of a Heavenly Father that loves her and seeks to be in a relationship with her.
Megan Agnew spoke about one of Billie Eilish’s concerts: “On stage she does not look very little at all, marching around with the jumped-up bravado of a boy, an electrifying sort of drag, dementedly crawling on her knees among projections of tarantulas, kicking the air in her trademark trainers while the screens behind her play footage of forest fires and droughts. “Stop,” goes one lyric, the crowd of mostly girls yelling in time, “what the hell are you talking about! Ha! / Get my pretty name out of your mouth!”
Eilish is known for her baggy clothes and upside-down version of beauty, dyeing the grown-out roots of her hair neon green. She started out like this because she didn’t want people to judge her body, which she has “hated” since she was a child. She self-harmed “because of my body”, she told Vanity Fair, and her body was a reason for her first depression at about 12. Today her insecurity is compounded by the scrutiny of the internet. On TikTok people speculate whether she is pregnant. When she was photographed in LA going to the shops in a vest top, she went viral for being “brave”.
How is her relationship with her body now? “Gurl!” she says, throwing her head back. “Nowhere good. My relationship with my body has been a truly horrible, terrible thing since I was 11.” This was the age she was diagnosed with Tourette’s, which can be “very exhausting”, she says, brought on in times of stress, manifesting in eye rolls, moving her ears and twitching her head back. “I love that my body is mine and that it’s with me everywhere I go,” she continues. “I kind of think of my body as my friend. My ugly friend! It’s complicated. But what are you gonna do?”
Eilish is cycling through all the insecurities of youth – in front of millions. She didn’t really know who she was “until, like, probably the end of 2019. Then Covid made me go right back down into the spiral of, who am I?” Her tour was postponed and she went home to LA. “I remember thinking, ‘I need to figure out who I am right now’. Then halfway through Covid I felt as if I was starting to have an identity again – Let’s do different things, let’s have different experiences. And then it happened again.” Another identity crisis.
Thank goodness Jesus is coming back soon to restore sanity to a world gone mad.
Alan Kurschner teaches the PreWrath timing of The Rapture of the church which I also hold. The predominant church position particularly in Charismatic churches is the Pretribulation position. This is a problem because it teaches that the church will not experience the “end times” tribulation that Jesus speaks of in the Olivet Discourse. The church will not experience the wrath of God which is poured out on an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements once the seven seals around the Scroll are opened. But God allows the tribulation, which Satan administers, to purify His church. The wrath of God is poured out by God in judgement.
1260 Days, 42 Months, Time, Times, and a Half Time – Book of Revelation, Session 5 of 6
This is part 5 delivered by Alan Kurschner of 6 sessions from the Minnesota Bible prophecy conference on the Abomination of Desolation, Oct 1–2, 2021, at Conquering King Fellowship in Inver Grove Heights The speakers were Alan Kurschner and Ryan Habbena. I will post session 6 at a later date
(LifeSiteNews)—When the de-banking of the Canadian truck drivers began, citizens of many nations observed with horror as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presided over the freezing, even seizing, of private bank accounts. Ostensibly private companies even joined in, with the reigning silicon oligarchs joining the conspiracy to de-platform, de-bank, de-monetize, and de-moralize the so-called “terrorists” whose honking for human rights caused January 6th-style PTSD amongst Trudeau loyalists.
What we’re witnessing is the normalization of financial attacks on ordinary citizens, and it seems like it’s happening more and more.
Thousands in Sweden have microchips implanted in their hand
In China, for example, a social credit score determines one’s ability to fly, travel, or even stream the internet. In the ever-increasingly digital financial world, isn’t the true goal of social credit programs to exert total control over the individual? And what better way to do that than by pursuing the digitalization of ALL transactions? Cashlessness is already the norm. As central banks around the world mull the issue, the idea that government will soon issue a cryptocurrency should be viewed with the highest degree of skepticism we can muster. Many have worried that vaccine passports would usher in social credit systems, but perhaps the cabal doesn’t even need them as a pretext.
Is what we are seeing leading to the Biblical prophesied: “Mark of the Beast”? In Sweden, thousands are getting chips implanted in their hands paid for by their companies. Of course, the company can monitor all activities of their employees. It is only a matter of time and governments will want to do the same.
“Also, it (false prophet) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast (Antichrist) or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:16-17
This article has been extracted from an insightful article by Sarah Yardley entitled HOW TO COPE WITH THE FAILURE OF CHRISTIAN LEADERS. She is a Californian based in Cornwall, UK. She studied Theology at St. Mellitus College. Sadly she ignores the Holy Spirit’s role as our teacher, comforter, and counsellor. Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell our spirit and enable us to live the Christian life. For many of the leaders that have failed, one has to question: were they ever born again by the Holy Spirit? If they were they have certainly grieved Him and quenched His work in their lives.
Recently, it seems like we have seen an acceleration of sins exposed, hearts laid bare, and the broken places in the lives of our leaders revealed. What do we do when we find our heroes have fallen from their pedestals? I have found the following areas essential as I navigate moral failure.
Look to Jesus
Beyond the current headlines, I think of key leaders in scriptural and Christian history: Noah, Moses, Naomi, David, Martin Luther, Karl Barth, Bill Hybels, Bob Coy, Ravi Zacharias, myself… At some point, all will fall and all will fail. The only one in whom I have certain hope, trust, and expectation of faithfulness is Jesus. When my leaders fail, I fix my eyes on Him.
Seek truth and accountability
When I first experienced a period of watching leaders close to me fall into moral failure, I struggled with panic attacks, doubts, and anxiety. If they could fall, surely I would too. (I do, often). These questions can push us into pain and bitterness, or they can cause us to say: “But for the grace of God, there go I.” Choose friends in your life who will speak truthfully and honestly to places of failure, and ask for grace and help in growth.
Forgive
Forgiveness is a key distinctive of the Christian faith. It reminds us that the faults and failures that once defined us can be redeemed at the cross of Christ. Actively choosing to forgive can be challenging and raw, but it frees us from carrying a weight that will cripple us. As Ray Hinton, wrongly imprisoned for years for a crime he did not commit, wrote: “If you want to be free, you have to forgive, and I want to be free.”
Process the pain
Leaders fail. Allow that to bring grief. Let it break your heart, stretch your soul, and make you weep. Don’t rush past the emotion that it can – and should – bring us when one who proclaimed the words of truth with life and power, who made doctrine dance, also allowed honesty to dance away as well. Read the Psalms. Lament. These are the wounds we received in the house of our friends, and our saviour is still binding them up.
Live in the light
I don’t publish every sin I wrestle with. I don’t feel the need to post every place I have battled pride, lust, gossip, fear, or offense. But they are many. And my close friends, leaders and, above all, Jesus are walking with me in these places. If we walk in his light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Wherever possible, live in the light.
Pursue presence above platform (Seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance continually each day so that you will not grieve Him and quench His work in your life)
Everything in our lives is an invitation to intimacy with Christ. Every day, we choose to turn our hearts towards his love or towards our own pleasures. I see some of the moral failures in our Church today and wonder about the infinitesimally small, unseen choices that turned hearts towards pleasure and power. It’s easy to sit in the position of judgment towards others and forget how much our own souls long for immediate pleasure. In the presence of Jesus, we find a different, deeper, eternal joy. He continually invites me to choose his presence above any other platform.
The scourge of abortion is a form of idolatry. It has been considered a human right a woman has by virtue of choice. When humans decide to take life from the womb of a woman for the sake of convenience or personal right as a matter of liberty, they cross the divide between man and God and take to themselves the prerogative only God has—the authority to decide right and wrong. Man puts himself as God. That is idolatry, and for that, all nations, not only America, will suffer the judgment of God when it comes upon the Earth.
Moreover, God has told us beforehand exactly how and when His wrath will be poured out on an unbelieving world.
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:6-13
“And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” Matthew 24:22-25
During the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ on this earth in the not too distant future, abortion will be a mortal sin punished by death. Many in the world will object to God’s laws which is the reason why Jesus and the Saints need to rule with a rod of iron.
“From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron.” Revelation 19:15
“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” Revelation 2:26-27
Just as Satan and one-third of the angels rebelled against God in heaven, many humans will rebel against Jesus and the Saint’s reign on this earth. We are told that when Satan is released from the Abyss at the end of Jesus’ Millennial reign he is still able to raise an enormous army to come against Jesus and the Saints.
“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them.” Revelation 20:7-9
The Day of the Lordextends from Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) of the Sixth Year of the 70th Week until Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) at the end of Year Seven. That period is one year and ten days. It is the same amount of time God’s wrath was poured out on the earth at the first judgement – Noah spent 1 year and 10 days on the ark.
This is just one aspect of Jesus saying that the time of His return would be like the days of Noah (Matthew24:37-39). It encompasses the Trumpet and Bowl judgements when God pours out His wrath upon the earth.
The Rapture of the Saints and then the wrath of God is poured out immediately after Jesus meets the Saints in the clouds and takes them to heaven.
The time God pours out His wrath upon the earth is supported by the witness of Isaiah:
“For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion” Isaiah 34:8.
“For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come.” Isaiah 63:4
There are many Scriptures on the coming Day of the Lord and sadly the church does not tell the world of the coming judgement. If it did perhaps we would see more souls saved.
“For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, snd against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.” Isaiah 2:12-21
“Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness, there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. Fire devours before them and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them, a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses, they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. Like warriors they charge; like soldiers, they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?” Joel 2:1-11
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” Malachi 4:1-2
“For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been.” Obadiah 1:15-16
“The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on mankind so that they shall walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end, he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.” Zephaniah 1:14-18
And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Acts 2:19-21
“For you, yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 