PART 2
Knowing that many people are afraid right now, because of the liberal platform of the elected Democrats and the Virus, I apologize if this article makes that worse. I don’t want to be a “doomsday prophet.” We need to come against the Spirit of Fear and know that Christ has won the victory!
If you look at Scripture, especially in Matthew 24, you will see that we are getting really close to the end times. We may not know the time or the day, but Jesus tells us of the events surrounding it. I think we are looking at the entire chapter of Matthew 24 unfolding.
We have to go through all these things: persecution, wars, famines, earthquakes, being hated and hating each other, false prophets, being killed, deception, false messiahs, the desecration of the Holy Place in Jerusalem, before Christ returns.
For several years now, Christians in the United States have been going through persecution. Just look at prayer being taken out of schools, the Ten Commandments being removed from courthouses, and now, Christians are being targeted for hate crimes because so many things in the world go against God's Word. If you compare the U. S. to other countries, our persecution is negligible, but worsening. Matthew 24:9-10 says, 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” Verse 10 could relate to the Obama years and if Biden gets elected, we get even more of the extreme liberal agenda that kills babies up to their exit from the womb, open borders, getting rid of the police, leading to chaos and the end of Law and Order, more hate, more destruction of our Constitution, more lies, and who knows what else.
Wars and rumors of wars have really increased over the last few years. Just look at all of the civil wars (Viet Nam, Korea, Bosnia, Syria etc.) and the rumors of what the Muslims are doing and going to do. The Muslims have risen against the U. S. through the terrorists attacks and just numerically moving into our country bringing Sharia Law with them; U. S. has risen against Iraq & Afghanistan seeking the terrorists still. Most countries are rising up against Israel. Matthew 24:6-8, 6“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, crop failures, famines….like we have never seen, are on the increase and being blamed on climate change.) And now we have Coronavirus to contend with!
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. This is where I think we are…in the era of sorrows.
This verse warns us about the influx of false prophets or lying preachers (depending on which translation you are reading)…. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. I think we are witnessing this now. I believe if a prophet operating in the Office of Prophet is indeed a prophet of God, then, what comes out of his mouth better be right 100% of the time. Do you think Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel or Hosea spoke lies from their mouths? I do not. False prophets are here in great numbers and we will recognize them by what comes out of their mouths. AND IF, the Scripture is referring to lying preachers, just take a look at the “fallen” ones over the past few years! Matthew 7 says, 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Back to Matthew 24… verse 12 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” How many people do you personally know that have fallen away from God? How many have replaced the first love that they had in their early years, with an easier lifestyle; a lifestyle of greed, sexual sin, hate, etc.? I know I left for a while. It’s so easy to put Jesus on the back burner when we are satisfying our own lustful or prideful desires. Remember how almost everyone attended church when we were kids? It was a way of life. Now…..we can't even fill 1/3 of our building and our children are being “fought for” by each church in our community, it seems.
In verse 15, Jesus starts telling about the beginning of the Great Tribulation. If we witness or hear about the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, standing in the Holy Place,” we had better know our Bible. It will be our guide through those days…..IF we haven't already gone to heaven beforehand. (That’s a different article! Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation, Post-Tribulation rapture….That is a great debate.)
13-14 "Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.” (The Message)
So how do we endure? Stand on God’s Word…. Do Good…. Pray….. Obey…. Trust….. Have faith……. Spread the gospel….. Don’t worry…. Love God…. Love each other…. Love your enemies…..Believe in Jesus Christ....Trust in God to lead you.
Do not worry: Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Pray: Ezekiel 22:30, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” I think President has been led to fill that gap, at least for such a time as this.
Obey: Deuteronomy 6: 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (You know, I don't do most of this and I don't even know what frontlets are, but I should!!)
Stand on God’s Word: Matthew 25: 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Stand on His Word: Romans 8: 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Trust & Obey: Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Pray: 2 Chronicles 7:14 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 heal their land.
The list goes on and on and on….. Keep studying so you will know. Make your own lists Be prepared, for we know not the time.…maybe not tomorrow or even the next 20 years, but Satan is there, ready to attack you at the least little crack in the door. This election?….. just another way Satan can cause worry and grief.
God’s in control. He knows what He’s doing. I have heard so many stories as to why people just know that God has sent President Trump to rescue the United States, but if we don't do our part, Trump can only do so much. God can do miracles, but his people need to do their part, too.
We just need to always be doing what we are supposed to do. Listen for what God is telling you to do and do it. Study His Word. Even if things get really bad, it’s in there. How to fix it?….it’s in there. How to react?….It’s in there. Is it okay to fight for biblical principles? Yes, Read Matthew 21:12-13 –it’s in there.
So if you still have trouble coming to terms with things, talk to someone. God’s Word says to seek wise counsel…it’s in there!
If you look at Scripture, especially in Matthew 24, you will see that we are getting really close to the end times. We may not know the time or the day, but Jesus tells us of the events surrounding it. I think we are looking at the entire chapter of Matthew 24 unfolding.
We have to go through all these things: persecution, wars, famines, earthquakes, being hated and hating each other, false prophets, being killed, deception, false messiahs, the desecration of the Holy Place in Jerusalem, before Christ returns.
For several years now, Christians in the United States have been going through persecution. Just look at prayer being taken out of schools, the Ten Commandments being removed from courthouses, and now, Christians are being targeted for hate crimes because so many things in the world go against God's Word. If you compare the U. S. to other countries, our persecution is negligible, but worsening. Matthew 24:9-10 says, 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” Verse 10 could relate to the Obama years and if Biden gets elected, we get even more of the extreme liberal agenda that kills babies up to their exit from the womb, open borders, getting rid of the police, leading to chaos and the end of Law and Order, more hate, more destruction of our Constitution, more lies, and who knows what else.
Wars and rumors of wars have really increased over the last few years. Just look at all of the civil wars (Viet Nam, Korea, Bosnia, Syria etc.) and the rumors of what the Muslims are doing and going to do. The Muslims have risen against the U. S. through the terrorists attacks and just numerically moving into our country bringing Sharia Law with them; U. S. has risen against Iraq & Afghanistan seeking the terrorists still. Most countries are rising up against Israel. Matthew 24:6-8, 6“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. (Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, crop failures, famines….like we have never seen, are on the increase and being blamed on climate change.) And now we have Coronavirus to contend with!
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. This is where I think we are…in the era of sorrows.
This verse warns us about the influx of false prophets or lying preachers (depending on which translation you are reading)…. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. I think we are witnessing this now. I believe if a prophet operating in the Office of Prophet is indeed a prophet of God, then, what comes out of his mouth better be right 100% of the time. Do you think Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel or Hosea spoke lies from their mouths? I do not. False prophets are here in great numbers and we will recognize them by what comes out of their mouths. AND IF, the Scripture is referring to lying preachers, just take a look at the “fallen” ones over the past few years! Matthew 7 says, 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Back to Matthew 24… verse 12 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” How many people do you personally know that have fallen away from God? How many have replaced the first love that they had in their early years, with an easier lifestyle; a lifestyle of greed, sexual sin, hate, etc.? I know I left for a while. It’s so easy to put Jesus on the back burner when we are satisfying our own lustful or prideful desires. Remember how almost everyone attended church when we were kids? It was a way of life. Now…..we can't even fill 1/3 of our building and our children are being “fought for” by each church in our community, it seems.
In verse 15, Jesus starts telling about the beginning of the Great Tribulation. If we witness or hear about the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, standing in the Holy Place,” we had better know our Bible. It will be our guide through those days…..IF we haven't already gone to heaven beforehand. (That’s a different article! Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation, Post-Tribulation rapture….That is a great debate.)
13-14 "Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.” (The Message)
So how do we endure? Stand on God’s Word…. Do Good…. Pray….. Obey…. Trust….. Have faith……. Spread the gospel….. Don’t worry…. Love God…. Love each other…. Love your enemies…..Believe in Jesus Christ....Trust in God to lead you.
Do not worry: Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Pray: Ezekiel 22:30, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” I think President has been led to fill that gap, at least for such a time as this.
Obey: Deuteronomy 6: 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (You know, I don't do most of this and I don't even know what frontlets are, but I should!!)
Stand on God’s Word: Matthew 25: 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Stand on His Word: Romans 8: 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Trust & Obey: Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Pray: 2 Chronicles 7:14 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 heal their land.
The list goes on and on and on….. Keep studying so you will know. Make your own lists Be prepared, for we know not the time.…maybe not tomorrow or even the next 20 years, but Satan is there, ready to attack you at the least little crack in the door. This election?….. just another way Satan can cause worry and grief.
God’s in control. He knows what He’s doing. I have heard so many stories as to why people just know that God has sent President Trump to rescue the United States, but if we don't do our part, Trump can only do so much. God can do miracles, but his people need to do their part, too.
We just need to always be doing what we are supposed to do. Listen for what God is telling you to do and do it. Study His Word. Even if things get really bad, it’s in there. How to fix it?….it’s in there. How to react?….It’s in there. Is it okay to fight for biblical principles? Yes, Read Matthew 21:12-13 –it’s in there.
So if you still have trouble coming to terms with things, talk to someone. God’s Word says to seek wise counsel…it’s in there!
No comments:
Post a Comment