One Nation, Under Who?

A promise:

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:17 (emphasis added)

And a warning:

"But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them-- that is why he brought all this disaster on them.'" 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 (emphasis added)

In the chapters preceding these verses, we see Solomon build the temple and then dedicate it to God. The entirety of chapter six is Solomon's prayer to God, a plea and an oath, both seeking God's protection and provision, but also stating rather matter-of-factly the inevitable judgment that will befall them should Israel turn away from God.

Solomon is unmistakably aware of the fact that ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM THE LORD!

He knows that nothing they possess or could ever hope to accomplish would even be remotely attainable were it not for the direct willful blessing of the God who created them and promised to protect them. And he also knows that every one of these blessings can be just as easily stripped away in an instant if God so chooses.

He knows this. He acknowledges this, both before God and before men. And he accepts the consequences, be they ever so severe, should Israel ever turn away from God again.

And God does not take such promises lightly. If you make a commitment to God, you had best intend to keep it.

We know from studying history that they do indeed turn away from God yet again, and they do indeed reap the painful consequences.

The standards that God held for the Israelites were different from those he held for the rest of the world. They were his children, his own special possession. God disciplines those he loves. A parent doesn't discipline a child that doesn't belong to them; you discipline your own children, for their own good.

But the Israelites are not the only group of people who God has called his own. When Jesus Christ came to this earth to pay the penalty for all sin, anyone who would believe was immediately adopted into this Jewish family. We are now sons and daughters of God. We are his special possession as well, and because He loves us, our God will discipline us. He now holds us to the same standard that he has always held Israel. Those same promises and warnings now apply to us: Our God has promised to protect us, to provide for us and to heal our land when we repent and turn back to him. And likewise, should we turn away from him, we should not be surprised when two things happen: 1) His provision and blessing cease; and 2) His hand of protection is lifted, and we are allowed to endure pain and suffering.

And while the bride of Christ, the Christian church, is spread throughout the world, there is one nation in particular which is by definition, a Christian nation: The United States of America. While you might be hard pressed to find any evidence of that long-forgotten fact, this country was indeed founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was established as a place where individuals would be free to worship God in spirit and in truth, uninhibited by the religious demands and persecution they were facing at home. Its laws were founded on the principles of God's laws. And, most importantly, it was dedicated to God, just as Israel once was.

In 1789, for the first time ever, our nation had a functioning government, and upon being inaugurated as our first president, George Washington gave the first inaugural address. In it, he gave this prophetic warning:

"...it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect... No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency...; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained..." (emphasis added) (George Washington's inaugural address can be read in its entirety here.)

And were it not enough that our government was birthed with these words, George Washington, along with a group of our very first political leaders, marched from their present location to a little chapel called St. Paul's Chapel to pray and to dedicate this nation to God. Just as Solomon made vows to God, so our founding fathers did no less.

And all of this took place not in Washington, where our government functions today; at the founding of our nation, the capitol was not Washington D.C.-- it was in New York. George Washington was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City. And the chapel that these men walked to after the ceremony, the very site where this nation was ceremonially dedicated to God was at the corner of Ground Zero. And when the attack happened on 9/11, the only thing left standing was this little chapel.

The Lord gave us this land. He has blessed us exceedingly. We committed it to Him. We dedicated it to Him. And we have since turned our backs on Him in ways that aren't even numerable. And on September 11th, 2001, God lifted his hand of protection.

"For this is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. I will shake all the nations..." Haggai 2:6

Our world is shaking, and it's only going to shake harder until the day Christ returns. But this nation has a hope and a promise! God has not forgotten the foundations that we were once built on...

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

This promise is as much ours as it is Israel's. It's time to wake up, pay attention to the shakings, and get serious about surrendering our lives to Christ. I'm not talking to unbelievers here! Absolutely, I pray that those who are lost would be found, but this verse is not written to the unbelieving people and nations of this world. It says my people, who are called by my name. WE have gone astray. WE have tossed God aside to worship worthless idols. WE are the ones who need to throw our precious lifestyles out the window and GET ON OUR KNEES!

More on how we can tangibly do that in the next post...

*This fascinating bit of information about the founding of our nation is just one tiny piece of wisdom and insight that Rabbi Jonathan Cahn shares in his book The Harbinger. It is written in the form of a fictional story, but within it are FACTUAL details, outlining the message that he believes God is sending us. I posted a video interview that he did a while back, here. I highly recommend that you watch the video and get a copy of the book. It will boggle your mind to discover all the detailed ways in which the events of 9/11 literally parallel the warning signs God sent to Israel.

Putting An End To Satan, Once And For All

When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison... Revelation 20:7

For the past 1,000 years, the earth will have been enjoying near perfect paradise. Jesus will have been living and ruling here on earth from Jerusalem, with the church at his side. We will have been experiencing an earth that is like the garden of Eden from top to bottom, with not a single trace of unpleasant weather or uninhabitable terrain as far as the eye can see. There will have been no hunger, no fear, and almost no death at all, much less premature death. However, I say "near" perfect, because the propensity for sin will still exist, not in those who have already come to know the Lord either before or during the tribulation, but in the generations who will be born during the Millennial Kingdom to the Jews and Gentiles who accepted Christ during the tribulation. And it is this propensity for sin that will sadly give Satan one last foothold before he is done away with for good...

He will go out to deceive the nations--called Gog and Magog--in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for a battle--a mighty army, as numberless as the sand along the seashore. Rev. 20:8

There are two separate battles which are referred to as the war of Gog and Magog. One is the attack that will come against Israel, as described in Ezekiel 38-39, which we discussed in a previous post. The other is this battle at the end of the 1,000 years. Though we see that, much like the quickly thwarted attack of Ezekiel 38-39, there isn't much of a "battle" to speak of here either...

And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God's people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Rev. 20:9

And what of Satan?

Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Rev. 20:10

Forever and ever! Those words are SO important! It is of course a great comfort and joy to know that Satan will no longer be a threat to anyone ever again and that his fate is sealed; he will spend eternity in hell. BUT, it is so important to understand that this place of very real, excruciating, unending torment, which was created NOT for people, but solely for Satan and his demons, will also be the final destination for anyone who chooses, either by outright opposition or passive indifference, to reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books... And all were judged according to their deeds... And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:11-15

To be judged according to your deeds is not a balancing game of weighing the "good" against the "bad" and hoping you measure up enough to get into heaven. Without Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you can do no good. Heaven cannot be bought or earned. It can only be accepted as a free gift from Jesus Christ. To not take this seriously, or to reject it entirely, is foolish beyond explanation. Don't wait a moment longer to make this decision for yourself OR to share your faith with the world around you, starting with your closest family and friends. We just never know how much time any of us have left on this earth.

As we near the end of this series, I encourage you to take a look back through any of the posts that you may have missed under the label prophecy. I also encourage you to share this series, or maybe just one post, with anyone in your life who is feeling the weight of the times in which we are living and is wondering what it all means. 


If you have doubts or questions about whether or not hell is real and what the Bible has to say about it, I encourage you to check out the book Erasing Hell by Francis Chan.

The weight of hell and the reality that many of our loved ones may face can be overwhelming. "But take heart!" Jesus tells us. "I have overcome the world!" John 16:33. Next week, we see the new Jerusalem and the beginning of eternity in heaven with Jesus!

The Harbinger by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn's book, The Harbinger, comes out January 2012. Listen to this INCREDIBLE 2-part message about the nine specific harbingers (or warnings) that God gave Israel thousands of years ago, and has recently given to America in stunning parallel. We can't afford to miss it when God speaks to us.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matthew 11:15 NKJV

No More Suffering Servant

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.  Revelation 19:11

The time has finally come! The church has been "raptured", or "harpazo"(ed) as we see in the Greek; for seven years, the bride of Christ, or the church, has been fellowshipping with Jesus at the marriage feast of the lamb and has been awarded many crowns for their service to the King during their time on earth; during the same seven years, the rest of the world has been experiencing the most horrendous time of tribulation on earth from the terrifying reign of the Antichrist as well as the outpouring of the full and final wrath of God on an unrepentant world. Now, we are going to see the end of Satan's reign on earth and the return of Jesus with us, his bride...

When Jesus came the first time, he came as a small child, humbled by the human experience, being fully God, yet fully human. He suffered, he served, he was mocked, he was spit upon, he was beaten, he bled, he died so that we wouldn't have to, and then he rose from the dead. And this time, he is not coming back as the suffering servant; this time, he is coming back as the conquering king!

Revelation 19 continues to describe him for us... "His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God." (v.12-13)

And we, his bride, are not far behind...

The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. (v.14)

Jesus has finally drawn the line in the sand. He has waited ever so patiently for as many people as possible to let down their pride and come lay at his feet. And finally, he has said, "enough is enough."

From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords. (v.15-16)

Of course, Satan will not give up without a fight...

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. (v.19)

...though it will not be much of a "fight" to speak of...

And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet... Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. (v.20-21)

It's a gruesome scene to be sure, and one that our gracious God would desire no one to experience. He calls us NOW to repentance. He calls us to stop, recognize the sin in our lives, beg for forgiveness, and come running back in the opposite direction, straight into his open arms. But we have to make the choice now.

And what of Satan?...

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon-- that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan-- and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Revelation 20:1-3

Finally, Satan has been put where he belongs and will stay there for 1,000 years. In the next post, we'll take a look at what those glorious 1,000 years hold for us...

A Wake-Up Call

This event happened live on 9/11/11 and served as a wake-up call for Israel and the church. It was hosted by Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, and Joel Rosenberg, author and founder of the Joshua Fund. The link will be live for about 3 months, so jump over there and make sure to watch it. If you miss it, the video will be available for purchase on DVD or audio CD.

Check it out here:

http://mediasuite.316networks.com/player.php?p=i0yi846u

Know God, Part Five: Setting the Stage cont.

Here are the links to Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four in case you're just jumping into the conversation now.

In the last post, I talked about the comparison that is made in Scripture to the happenings of the world leading up to the return of Jesus Christ as being like the contractions of a woman in labor. They grow closer and closer together and become more and more intense. Finally, there comes a point where she is in full-blown labor and there is nothing she can do to stop her baby from being born. Likewise, once the world has reached a certain point, and we have seen a culmination of certain prophecies and predictions occurring all within ONE GENERATION, God is not going to just reach down, dial down the intensity and wait another hundred years or so to get things going again (Matt. 24:32). I ended the previous post by saying that I, personally, believe, along with many others, that that moment of no return, so to speak, was sparked in 1948, with the rebirth of the nation of Israel. So, now we'll take a look at this and other specific prophecies, as well as the predictions of the Bible that describe what the world will look like in the very last days before Christ returns.

"Jesus replied, 'Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so the signs indicate that the end is near.'" Luke 18:37

So, what are the signs?

"...for many will come in my name, claiming 'I am the Messiah.' They will deceive many." Matt. 24:5 Wikipedia.com chronicles 5 people who claimed to be Christ in the 19th Century. That number jumped to 25 in the 20th Century, and the number is growing. These people may not be in the worldwide spotlight, but they are deceiving countless people nonetheless, and they are fulfilling this prophecy in unprecedented measures.

"And you will hear of wars and threats of wars..." Matt. 24:6 The fighting that has been occurring in the Middle East is only intensifying, and the growing threat to Israel is on the cusp of fulfilling the prophecies of the War of Gog and Magog, detailed in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, something we'll get into later as well. The threat that Iran poses to the entire world is growing to unprecedented levels, particularly as long as the U.S. government continues to be blind to Iran's true intentions, refusing to acknowledge that the leaders within Iran truly view this as a jihad, a holy war, and they believe it is their calling from God to destroy Israel and the West so that their messiah may return.

"There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world." Matt. 24:7 Throughout the Bible, we are told of earthquakes and other natural disasters that will shake the world unlike anything ever seen before. In recent years, we began hearing of such disasters that were breaking records that were hundreds of years old. But it didn't stop with those first record breaking floods and earthquakes. The next year, we hear of another one that breaks the record of the one before that. And then another one that breaks the record of the one before that. So, not only has it been centuries since we've seen these kind of disasters, but it's not stopping with one. It is ratcheting up and up and up, and they are happening closer and closer together in unprecedented intensity and frequency. We had record-breaking hurricane Katrina; we had record-breaking earthquakes in Haiti; we had a record-breaking earthquake in Japan, which led to a record-breaking tsunami, which led to a record-breaking nuclear meltdown; we have seen record-breaking floods and record-breaking tornadoes ravishing the land right here in the U.S. THE LORD IS TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING! HE IS TRYING TO TELL US TO WAKE UP!! The time is near. He is coming back soon.

"You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold." Matt. 24:9-12 How popular are we with the world right now? Do they love us? Or do they hate us? Never before in history has Christianity been abhorred to the extent that it is right now. Around the world, Christians are being persecuted and killed in frighteningly unprecedented numbers. And right here, in our own country, in a nation that was founded on the gospel and the word of God, we are seeing a complete rejection of everything that has anything to do with Jesus Christ and the church. False religions and the idea that there are many ways to God and many ways to heaven is being praised around the world with an unprecedented intensity.

"And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come." Matt. 24:14 With the help of modern technology and the ease of travel that had not been possible until this post-WWII era, missionaries have been able to reach parts of this world that were untouchable in the past. And not only are people all over the world hearing the gospel from people who are coming to share with them, but there have been reports from pastors and churches around the world who are showing up at places that have been completely untouched by outside civilizations and finding that God has been appearing to these people in their dreams in vivid ways, revealing himself to them even before he sent people to actually share the gospel, and they have been prepared ahead of time with hearts ready to receive Christ. The Lord isn't waiting for us anymore. He's showing up all by himself and turning hearts to Himself in unprecedented numbers. Reports state that there have been more muslims coming to Christ in the last 30 years than in the last 2000 combined. CONSERVATIVE reports estimate about 1,000,000 believers in Iran, where other estimates go as high as 3,000,000. Not so long ago, you would have been hard pressed to find one. Reports like this are only the beginning. The Lord is moving swiftly throughout the land. He is preparing the world for his return. And just in case there is anyone who has not heard before the rapture of the church and the beginning of the tribulation, we are told in Revelation 14:6-13 that three angels will fly through the air proclaiming the truth for all to hear. Yet, sadly, many will still reject God's free gift of salvation.

Now, let me just take a moment to distinguish between the rapture of the church and the return of Christ. These are not the same thing. There is nothing else that needs to occur in order for the church to be "raptured" or caught up with the Lord, as Scripture describes it. This could happen at any moment, which would then trigger the beginning of a literal 7-year period of tribulation. We'll get into all of that later. The return of Christ is what is spoken of in Revelation 19:11-16 as well as throughout Scripture as the "day of the Lord." It is the moment, at the end of the tribulation, in which Jesus Christ physically returns to earth and his feet touch down on the Mount of Olives. Don't get too caught up in the details of all of that yet. We'll get into it later. For now, the reason I am bringing this up is because it is important to understand that there have been many prophecies and predictions about specific things that will occur during the tribulation which could not have happened without the technology we have today, without the world governments we have today, and perhaps most importantly, without Israel in the social, economic, and physical position that it is in today. The stage has already been set. There is nothing else that needs to be established before the world will be ready to enter into the tribulation and easily fulfill every single on of the prophecies concerning that time.

So, let's take a look at some of them together*:

"But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my people --for they will be coming home again soon! See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted. I will greatly increase the population of the people, but also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I will cause my people to walk on you once again, and you will be their territory." Ezekiel 36:8-12


All of chapters 36 and 37 speak of this return to the land, the prosperity that will follow, and eventually the spiritual renewal that will happen during the tribulation as the Jews finally recognize Christ as their messiah. These prophecies, with the exception of the spiritual redemption, have already been fulfilled. In 1948, after 2,000 years of being scattered throughout the earth, the six-day war was fought, and Israel regained her land. And since then, she has been rapidly fulfilling every last one of these prophecies which were written in Ezekiel in about 571 BC as well as throughout Scripture. Israel is now a mass exporter of all kinds of fruit, of flowers, of textiles and countless other goods. If you do a little research and compare their current prosperity with the absolute devastation of the historical land, it can hardly be attributed to anything less than a miracle.


"Therefore behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them. Then they will live on their own soil." Jeremiah 23:7-8 The "north land" here refers to Russia. One site* notes that "In the 1970's and 1980's there was a mass exodus of Russian Jews out of Communist Russia. In 1999 the Associated Press reported a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, bringing the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel since the early 1990's."


"For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." Zephaniah 3:9 "Prior to the restoration of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was a dead language. Now Hebrew is spoken throughout Israel."*


"This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed..." Numbers 19:2 When the temple is rebuilt, a red heifer will be required again for the process of purification. "In May 1997, the first red heifer was born in 2000 years. Another red heifer was born in Israel in March of 2002."*


Ezekiel 40-48 speaks in GREAT detail about the new temple that will be rebuilt in Israel. Many people believe that this is a distant concept given the current situation in Israel, but most would probably be surprised to know that the Israelis are already prepared. "There are many groups already working on preparations for the new temple. The blueprints are already done, the temple garments have been made, and there have already been attempts to lay the cornerstone of the temple. The only thing standing in the way of the construction of the new temple is Islam's third holiest site, the Dome of the Rock and government support for such an undertaking."* These obstacles may seem impassable, but given the war of Gog and Magog that is coming, and the miraculous intervention that God is going to make (Ezekiel 38, 39), this will become a reality much faster than many believe possible.


These are only a few of the many prophecies concerning Israel in the end times. I encourage you to study on your own to see just how faithful God has been in fulfilling his promises to his people. Here are just a couple other prophecies related to the end times in general:


Revelation 9:16 says, "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number from them." One website* notes that "an army of that size had never existed until China's army reached that number in the 1960's.


"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name." Until the last few decades, the kind of technology that would be necessary for something like this was non-existent. Now, the idea of perhaps a biochip of some sort that can be inserted under the skin and scanned like a credit card is entirely possible and would be easily administered.


What about the concept of a one world government, something we know will exist during the tribulation under the leadership of the antichrist? Many might think that we're a ways off from something like that, but are we really? "The United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO's, and other agencies are preliminary steps to the formation of a one world government. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globablization media necessary to usher in the one world government headed by the antichrist."* And how quickly do you think the world will join together if millions of people suddenly disappear from the earth (the rapture), causing catastrophic car crashes, plane crashes, and other disasters, leaving parents mourning their missing children, and worst of all, the removal of the Holy Spirit who lives within each of us from the face of the earth? How desperate do you think the world will be for someone to step up and make sense of the madness? How quickly do you think they will fall at the feet of the antichrist, one who will appear to be their savior and even God himself, and eagerly join together to form one world government?


"But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come." Matthew 24:8


As awful as things seem now, the devastation of the floods and tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis that have ravished the earth, the horrors of the Holocaust and other devastating acts of violence, the financial troubles of the world, the hunger and sickness of the nations, all of it will seem like a Sunday stroll through the park compared to the absolute horrors that are coming during the tribulation. No one HAS to live through this nightmare! It is a CHOICE that we make when we reject Jesus Christ and the free gift of salvation that he has offered us. We need to make sure that we are making the world aware of what is coming. This is something that absolutely should be feared and avoided at all costs.


BUT, if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, then you have nothing to fear. You will be spared the horrors of the tribulation. In the next post, we will look at the reasons that we can be assured of that hope and we will at least begin to look at what the Bible has to say about the 7-year tribulation leading up to his return.


In the mean time...


"When these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!" Luke 21:28 WAKE UP AND PAY ATTENTION! DO NOT BE CAUGHT SLEEPING!


AND


"'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,' Amen." Matthew 28:19-20 GO OUT AND TELL SOMEONE! LEAVE NO ONE IN YOUR LIFE UNINFORMED OF THE GOSPEL.


*These can be found at contenderministries.org/prophecy/endtimes.php.

Know God, Part Four: Setting the Stage

Quick recap: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3:16. God's word is meant to be read in its entirety, taken literally, applied relevantly to our lives, and taught faithfully, no exceptions. "God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near." Revelation 1:3. Prophecy comprises nearly 1/3 of the Bible, making it not only worth studying, but invaluable to our growth and effectiveness as slaves of Christ. "You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don't know how to interpret the present times." Luke 12:56 Though we cannot know the day or hour, we absolutely can and MUST learn to recognize the generation in which we are living and be able to determine when and if we have entered the generation which will see Christ's return.


Matthew 24:3 - "Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, "Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the age?"


[First, let me comment on the word used at the end of that verse. Some translations state it as "the end of the world," but it is important to understand that the world is not going to end, as many Hollywood blockbusters like to depict. This world is not going to be destroyed. Jesus likens the signs of the times to birth pains. And what do birth pains signal? A birth! The world is going to go through unimaginable birth pains, but it isn't going to end in destruction; it is going to end in a renewal, a rebuilding, and a NEW age of peace and righteousness. When Christ returns, he is not going to destroy this earth and start from scratch. He is going to breath new life into it and rule here for 1,000 years. We'll get into details later.]


So, what are the signs? What should we be looking for? There are both general signs of the times as well as very specific prophecies which must be fulfilled before Christ can return. We have to remember that time to us is so different than how God views time. When Jesus spoke of the last days, he wasn't just talking about the literal last bit of time before he would return. The "last days", as described in Scripture, began at Pentecost. We have been in the "last days" for the last 2,000 years. This concept can be frustrating for believers who are anxious for their savior's return. "If Jesus said he was coming back 'soon' and it's already been 2,000 years, how do we know that he's not going to wait another 2,000 years?" But I believe, as do many trustworthy Bible scholars*, that not only are we now in the "last days" but we are in the last microscopic nanoseconds so to speak. Jesus is coming back VERY soon, and I'm going to do my best to summarize some of the reasons for that belief.


Throughout time, people have looked at the list given in Matthew, as well as the other gospels, and concluded that surely their generation would be the one to see Christ return. A war comes, and people quote the verses that speak of "wars and rumors of wars." Children grow increasingly disobedient and rebellious, and their frustrated grandparents point to verses that speak of such behavior in the last days. There has been slow movement away from God and in the direction of countless false gods and religions. There have been natural disasters throughout history that have seemed "apocalyptic" in nature. We have been seeing the "birth pains" growing throughout history, but each of these signs alone are not enough to signal the end of the age. Rather, Christ says in verse 34 of Matthew 23:

"Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away until ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE." (emphasis added)

First, let's define "this generation." Obviously, Jesus was not speaking of the disciples' generation. I do not believe that Jesus was saying to them, "your generation will not pass away..." I believe he was saying, "The generation that sees all of these things happen, this is the generation that will not pass away..." 

So, if this is the case, we need to be on the lookout for one generation in which ALL of the signs of the times are occurring, and not simply occurring, but occurring in unprecedented intensity and unprecedented frequency. The generation that sees these things happening in a way unlike anything the world has ever seen, THAT is the generation that will not pass away, but will live to see the return of Christ.

Again, just to clarify the difference between the events that have been happening for centuries and those that are happening now, let's go back to the metaphor of the woman in labor. I don't know if this image is entirely biblical, but let's just stick with the theme: Even before a woman goes into labor, she often experiences something called Braxton Hicks contractions. They are basically "practice" contractions. It is her body's way of preparing for the real thing. Now, for first-time moms who maybe haven't studied what to expect during a pregnancy, sometimes these "false" contractions can feel extremely real, especially as she nears the end of her pregnancy. They might even cause her to think she is actually going into labor, causing her to rush to the hospital, only to be reassured that she has a good long while before that baby actually makes its debut. Over time, she gets more used to them and learns to even ignore them for the most part. She may even, after a few false alarms, begin to doubt her ability to even recognize real labor, dismissing even real contractions at first when they do finally begin. One day, she gets one that feels a little different. It makes her stop and take notice. But she doesn't feel anything else for a while, so she goes on with her day, assuming it's another false alarm. All of a sudden there's another one. This can go on for quite a while, and she might even start to think, "This isn't so bad." But slowly, they start coming closer and closer together, and they get stronger and stronger in intensity, and finally, she reaches a point where she KNOWS, "I'm really in labor." There is no turning back at this point. She's going to have a baby.

The signs of the times are exactly like this, and the Bible repeatedly compares the last days to this contracting woman. I believe that throughout history, over the last 2,000 years, we have been seeing the "Braxton hicks contractions" so to speak, and for someone who doesn't have a full grasp on the ENTIRETY of prophecy, it can be easy to jump the gun and say, "This is it! Jesus is coming!" And this is exactly what has happened throughout church history. The sad thing is that because of these possibly well-intended, but over-zealous town criers, the church and the world as a whole has sort of painted everyone who speaks of end times with the same brush, dismissing all warnings that Jesus is coming back. Also, in response to these many false predictions, believers in Christ have misused the verses in the Bible that tell us we cannot know the day or the hour, and distorted that to mean that we cannot even know the generation. The church has been lulled to sleep by the world, investing their time and effort in their careers and their life savings and their dream homes and dream cars and stylish clothes and a great many host of other worldly treasures, thinking that we are going to be here for hundreds and thousands of more years, ignoring the signs that are flashing violently in front of their faces. 

The time has come, folks! Jesus said that a time would come when we would finally reach that point in the "labor pains" when there would be no turning back.

"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near." Matthew 24:32

To say, "Well, I know things look pretty bad, but you never know. God could slow things down again and we might still be here for another hundred years," is to contradict what Jesus demonstrated clearly here in Matthew. When these things start happening; when you see within one generation, all of these signs, with this kind of intensity, THIS is the generation that will see His return. 

And I believe, as do many others, that that generation began with the rebirth of Israel in 1948...

...to be continued in the next post...

*Again, please take the time to watch the videos presented at the Epicenter Conference. Also, take a look at Anne Graham Lotz (the daughter of Billy Graham) and Joel Rosenberg, and their ministries.

Know God, Part Three: The Future Is In His Hands

In part one, we talked about the importance of studying the whole counsel of God, giving every single verse the same weight, the same consideration, and the same relevance to our daily lives, acknowledging that there is not a single word of Scripture that is not utterly invaluable to our existence as human beings, and that to forsake even one syllable of this magnificent love letter is to delegitimize the whole.


In part two, we talked about the need to study prophecy, which was again alluded to in another post, gaining a rich knowledge of the history of our God, the history of his people, Israel, and the unmatchable power of a God who created all things, knows all things, and holds all things, past, present, and future, in his hands.


And now, beginning with this post, and continuing into at least the next two, we will finally take a look specifically at end times prophecy. We will address its significance and its validity, and we will explore some of the specific prophecies that have recently been and are currently being fulfilled, as well as those that are soon to come.


So for today, we'll answer the question of "Why?". Why should we study end times prophecy? What value does it hold for us as believers? What value does it hold for the world who has rejected Christ up to this point? And what should our response be?


First and foremost, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we need to study end times prophecy simply because it is in the Bible, and nothing that is in the Bible is meant to be ignored or neglected. And not only is it just in the Bible, prophecy comprises nearly 1/3 of the entire Bible, much of which relates to the end times, the "last days", the day of the Lord, and the millennial kingdom. (We'll break up and define each of those terms in the posts to come.) I think it is safe to assume that if God chose to overwhelm the scriptures with such massive amounts of information pertaining to the time leading up to his return, he expected us to become well acquainted with these prophecies.


"Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who CORRECTLY EXPLAINS THE WORD OF TRUTH." 2 Timothy 2:15 (emphasis added)


Second of all, the simple fact that we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, and ALL OF OUR MINDS (Matthew 22:37), should stir within us a desire, a hunger even, to keep going back and reading the passages of scripture that probably make our heads ache the first time through. So often, Christians simply give up on end times prophecy because it is confusing. And really, if you've ever attempted to read Daniel, or Ezekiel, really a pretty good chunk of the old testament, and of course, Revelation, you probably felt like your head was going to explode trying to figure out what on earth these people were talking about. There's crazy talk about beasts with multiple heads and a woman riding on a dragon and demonic locust-like creatures that swarm the earth, and that's just the beginning. It absolutely can be overwhelming at first, but that does not mean that we just throw it into the all too popular category of "stuff-the-'experts'-can't-agree-on-therefore-no-one-needs-to-try-to-figure-it-out". I firmly believe that this is a tactic of the devil's, meant to confuse the world and even the church, so that we will not believe the Lord's messages and warnings, that we might be caught off guard. There are small details in the Bible that the Lord HAS chosen to not make clear, and on which Bible scholars who are truly seeking the Lord WILL disagree, but our God is NOT a god of confusion, and in matters of such vital importance, he HAS revealed THE truth, not one of many truths, but THE truth, and if we ask him and truly seek him, he will reveal that truth to us. 


"Then [Jesus] added, 'Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given --and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them." Mark 4:24-25


The world's views on absolute truth, or lack thereof, have seeped so tragically into the church; and now, rather than working together to discover the Lord's absolute truth in areas such as this, we have simply accepted that because people disagree on the matter, that the truth must be unattainable, not wanting to discredit anyone but wanting, instead, to keep an open mind to all opinions and ideas. Sadly, we have allowed false teachers who have either strayed from the word of God or most likely were NEVER truly acquainted with it to infiltrate the body of Christ, and we are too politically correct to demand that these false teachings cease so that the truth may be raised up. The reality of it, however, is that with honest deductions and dependence upon the word of God and the holy spirit, we CAN discredit many of these false teachings which serve no purpose other than to confuse God's people. I'll get into some of these specifics in the next two posts. For now, let me just reiterate that God is a god of knowledge and clarity, and if you truly seek him, he will reveal the truth to you.


"And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth." Acts 17:11 (emphasis added)


Ok, so we know that we need to study end times prophecy because it's in the Bible and all of the Bible is meant to be studied. We know that even the most confusing parts of scripture can be made clear if we seek the Lord and his truth, and that we should never just give up on something in scripture just because it is difficult to understand. But what should we expect to gain from studying this? What's the point? Aside from obedience to God and his call on our lives to be devoted to the study of his word, and aside from the fact that we know he will help us to understand it, what exactly are we supposed to glean from all of this? And the answer to that one is simple:


Our future! Our immediate future, our distant future, and perhaps even more importantly, the future that the inhabitants of this world will face if they do not repent before the beginning of the tribulation period, and ultimately before Christ returns to rule on this earth.


Who doesn't want to know the future? People today are obsessed with trying to discern the future. They read their horoscopes, they study the stars, they go to tarot card readers and palm readers, they look to all sorts of doomsday theories like the ones related to the Mayan calendar. And if you're a follower of Christ, you know that all of that is absolutely worthless. You know that none of these spirits or stars or people can offer even the smallest bit of information to a world that is so desperately seeking answers. 


And they DO need answers! And we know the One who CAN answer these questions for them. And if we choose not to share it with them, either because we have never studied it and we don't even know for ourselves, or because we are too afraid of sounding nuttier than a fruit cake by talking about this stuff, then we are disobeying God and we are being unloving, even hateful, towards a world that so desperately needs to hear TRUTH for once in their lives.


There is this misconception in the church today, stemming most likely from a long church history of truly unloving approaches to evangelizing the nations, that in order to be "loving", we have to leave out the "fire and brimstone". Now, let me just say that I DO NOT believe that we need to go around shaking our fists at the world, yelling that they're all evil and they're all going to hell. This will not be the slightest bit effective.


HOWEVER...


IF WE DO NOT WARN THEM, HONESTLY AND IN LOVE OF THE HORRORS THAT WE KNOW ARE COMING, THEN WE HAVE FAILED THE MISSION THAT THIS GENERATION IN PARTICULAR HAS BEEN CALLED TO.


Heaven and hell go hand in hand. You will be in one or the other. The rejection of one is the acceptance of the other, and a refusal to make that decision IS a decision in itself, and it is a decision for hell, a decision to be eternally separated from God.


We absolutely need to tell people about the wonderful things God can do in our lives. We need to talk about how glorious heaven will be. We need to share the GOOD NEWS of what Jesus did for us on the cross. But if people never have a realistic understanding of what their alternative TRULY is, how can we expect them to understand the gravity of that choice and the imperativeness of making the right choice IMMEDIATELY. For no matter how long we have before Christ actually returns, no one is promised tomorrow. All of our days are numbered from the day we are born. We could step into eternity at any moment, and we all need to know exactly what is awaiting us on the other side.


And just as we need to talk about the realities of hell, we MUST be talking about the realities of what is coming during the tribulation, something we will get into in the posts to come. God explained to us throughout his word, and Jesus reminded us in the gospels, that THOUGH WE CANNOT KNOW THE DAY OR THE HOUR, WE ABSOLUTELY CAN KNOW THE GENERATION, THE SEASON, THE IMMEDIATE TIME BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD. We can know and we need to know. Jesus said to the pharisees in Luke 12:56, "You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don't know how to interpret the present times." 


Did you catch that? He called them fools because they were unable to discern the signs of the times in which they were living. This implies that it IS possible to discern the signs and to determine WHICH generation we are living in. And it is vital that we know which generation, as described in scripture, we are living in so that we can live accordingly. The pharisees were so blind that they were unable to discern that they were living in the generation that would see their messiah finally come to the earth for the FIRST time, and they MISSED OUT on the tremendous blessing that could have been theirs had their eyes and their hearts been open to the truth. 


AND JUST LIKE THEM, if we are unwilling to do the work of studying our bibles and praying for wisdom and discernment and honestly evaluating the world around us to determine WHICH generation WE are living in, WE, TOO, ARE GOING TO MISS OUT! We as believers are going to miss out on the blessing that we could receive by obediently participating in the work that God wants to do in this special generation, during this special time in history. And our unbelieving friends and family are going to miss out on their window of opportunity to accept Christ before it is too late.


Don't be blind as the pharisees were blind. Don't miss out on what God is doing. Don't keep silent, but LEARN for yourself about the world and the time that you are living in and then apply it to your life and finally SHARE it with those around you. You will be blessed for your faithfulness!


"God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near." Revelation 1:3