Tragedy
The Bible has so much information in it about the specific events that will unfold leading up to the return of Jesus. The tragedy that shook our country yesterday is unspeakably horrendous. Many, in a genuine effort to try to address what we all see happening everywhere, (not just in CT), want to limit the weapons available to those who have lost all regard for life. I understand and respect the genuine love and concern behind this sentiment. The problem is that the question we are asking: "how can we stop this tragedy from happening again" is, in my opinion, a futile question. The better question is where are you standing right now, Jesus? Why are these things happening with increasing frequency at this time? What time do you say it is?
This event didn't catch God off-guard. His eyes are going back and forth across the earth, looking for those who will agree with Him about the time we live in, and then use their words to speak to Him, and about Him, in agreement with His plans. His plans aren't vague or malleable. He isn't offering us a "choose your own adventure" story. God's plans are specific, firm, and were written thousands of years ago. Jesus is executing His plans in stunning detail and accuracy...and the majority of the people who have really committed their lives to Him have no idea what He is about to do. Most of us have no idea that the actual military movements that will define our days...the CNN Headline News stories of the next decade, are written out and being executed as we speak.
This is what Jesus said about our generation:
Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Yesterday brought into focus once again that we are literally witnessing the rapid cooling of love occur all around us. Jesus' words, the incredible accuracy and poignancy of them, are assurance that He knows the time, wrote the plan, and has the answer. Jesus said this:
Matthew 24:45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I want to be the faithful servant Jesus described. I bet you do, too.
When talking about providing food at the proper time, Jesus wasn't talking about serving dinner. Jesus was talking about serving His Church by telling them what His Word (the Bible) says at the proper times. This is a message for the whole Church: know what time Jesus says it is, know what the Bible says about specifically what to do and when to do it, and then serve the other servants (the rest of the Church) by proclaiming the timely message in agreement with Jesus.
Most mornings when I write something, I ask God what He would have me write about. This am, He took me to Ezekiel 38 and 39. This passage is technical in detail, with nothing warm and comforting. It is very interesting to me and relevant, but hard to expound on. It is a passage which describes in stunning detail future military movements by the armies of the north (Russia, by most accounts) and east (China and/or Iran)...also known as the army of Gog. This is a "day of the Lord" battle (one that happens very close to Jesus' return) that will demonstrate the love of God for His people on a global level. God demonstrating His love in concert with allowing conflict arising from man's free will choices is a foreign concept to most of the western Church, but it is His plan and story.
The passage in Ezekiel coincides with events that Daniel describes in Daniel 11:40-45
Daniel 11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
This passage in Daniel describes in great detail another series of battles that will happen within four to five years of the return of Jesus to the earth. The same time as the Ezekiel passage. These battles are instigated by the "him" in this passage, the antichrist. He is the future world leader that makes peace in Israel and brings a solution to world conflict and economic problems prophesied to be extreme in the days leading up to Jesus' return.
The details of what happen here are the opposite of vague. They are instead very precise. The precision of the past fulfillment of Daniel's prophecies up to Chapter 11 verse 36 are mind boggling. They have already been fulfilled with great accuracy.
This Daniel passage (vs 40-45), when read in context says this:
This world ruler who makes a military agreement with Israel, basically creating temporary peace in the middle east, will hear that Israel is being attacked from the north (which is Syria) and south (which is Egypt). Under the guise of protecting Israel but with intention of controlling Israel, this leader, also known in the Bible as the antichrist, will send troops to destroy first the Syrian army, then the Egyptian army. Then news from the north and east (Gog's land) will indicate this ruler is being attacked from the north and east, and He will go out in fury to attack the third and fourth armies attacking Him. He will set up his strategic command center in Israel to manage this sudden war.
This is not the sort of stuff I would normally write about, but I believe God has an important message in these details: He has very specific plans that will be fulfilled soon. On the world stage right now we see extreme economic and political conflict. Right now we have sudden regime change in Egypt, and soon we will see a regime change in Syria, that will result in leaders that are very hostile toward Israel, and in agreement with each other (Muslim Brotherhood) coming into power. We have Russia, Iran, and China all aligned politically for the first time in history (watch any UN Security Council vote and you will see what I mean), and the alliances are all shifting to agree with what the Bible guarantees will happen in the years and months leading up to the return of Jesus. We are literally witnessing the stage being set for the most intense time in human history, and the details are all written out with great detail.
There is a temptation to want to find a human solution to a God-allowed problem. Instead, we should find out what these details are, and come into agreement with the one who holds all the cards, wrote the plan, is executing the plan. For the last 2000 years Jesus has issued a standing warning to watch and be ready!
This is an unpopular position, but this is the truth: now is the time to ask God why evil is increasing at an unprecedented level at the same time natural disasters are increasing, at the same time the world economy is melting down, at the same time political changes are lining up in very precise agreement with what the Bible says will happen. Jesus' plans actually require the involvement of His people in many very specific ways. This isn't a time to just watch...it is also a time to "be ready." Are we clear on what "be ready" means? Jesus didn't say watch and be ready so many times so we wouldn't miss a good show. He is actually counting on us to do some very specific things, one of which is building a global night and day worship movement. If that sounds crazy to you, I understand, but that is really what the Bible says. A couple of years ago that sounded crazy to me, too, but only because I had no idea what the Bible had to say, in great detail, about what was on Jesus' mind. Sadly, most of the Church has ignored God's encouragement to teach the events in Revelation, and the details supporting the book of Revelation found elsewhere in the Bible. These many passages describe with great detail the plans of our professed Savior. Events like yesterday should be a huge wake up call to find out what is on His mind.
Praying for the families that were hurt so tragically yesterday is so pleasing to God. He is so tender hearted and loves it when we are like Him. Using this time to mourn the loss of our brothers and sisters, and the most precious of our country, is essential. But let's not forget in our prayer time with God to also ask Jesus what He is doing and what time He says it is...and then listen for an answer in our hearts.
This event didn't catch God off-guard. His eyes are going back and forth across the earth, looking for those who will agree with Him about the time we live in, and then use their words to speak to Him, and about Him, in agreement with His plans. His plans aren't vague or malleable. He isn't offering us a "choose your own adventure" story. God's plans are specific, firm, and were written thousands of years ago. Jesus is executing His plans in stunning detail and accuracy...and the majority of the people who have really committed their lives to Him have no idea what He is about to do. Most of us have no idea that the actual military movements that will define our days...the CNN Headline News stories of the next decade, are written out and being executed as we speak.
This is what Jesus said about our generation:
Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Yesterday brought into focus once again that we are literally witnessing the rapid cooling of love occur all around us. Jesus' words, the incredible accuracy and poignancy of them, are assurance that He knows the time, wrote the plan, and has the answer. Jesus said this:
Matthew 24:45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I want to be the faithful servant Jesus described. I bet you do, too.
When talking about providing food at the proper time, Jesus wasn't talking about serving dinner. Jesus was talking about serving His Church by telling them what His Word (the Bible) says at the proper times. This is a message for the whole Church: know what time Jesus says it is, know what the Bible says about specifically what to do and when to do it, and then serve the other servants (the rest of the Church) by proclaiming the timely message in agreement with Jesus.
Most mornings when I write something, I ask God what He would have me write about. This am, He took me to Ezekiel 38 and 39. This passage is technical in detail, with nothing warm and comforting. It is very interesting to me and relevant, but hard to expound on. It is a passage which describes in stunning detail future military movements by the armies of the north (Russia, by most accounts) and east (China and/or Iran)...also known as the army of Gog. This is a "day of the Lord" battle (one that happens very close to Jesus' return) that will demonstrate the love of God for His people on a global level. God demonstrating His love in concert with allowing conflict arising from man's free will choices is a foreign concept to most of the western Church, but it is His plan and story.
The passage in Ezekiel coincides with events that Daniel describes in Daniel 11:40-45
Daniel 11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
This passage in Daniel describes in great detail another series of battles that will happen within four to five years of the return of Jesus to the earth. The same time as the Ezekiel passage. These battles are instigated by the "him" in this passage, the antichrist. He is the future world leader that makes peace in Israel and brings a solution to world conflict and economic problems prophesied to be extreme in the days leading up to Jesus' return.
The details of what happen here are the opposite of vague. They are instead very precise. The precision of the past fulfillment of Daniel's prophecies up to Chapter 11 verse 36 are mind boggling. They have already been fulfilled with great accuracy.
This Daniel passage (vs 40-45), when read in context says this:
This world ruler who makes a military agreement with Israel, basically creating temporary peace in the middle east, will hear that Israel is being attacked from the north (which is Syria) and south (which is Egypt). Under the guise of protecting Israel but with intention of controlling Israel, this leader, also known in the Bible as the antichrist, will send troops to destroy first the Syrian army, then the Egyptian army. Then news from the north and east (Gog's land) will indicate this ruler is being attacked from the north and east, and He will go out in fury to attack the third and fourth armies attacking Him. He will set up his strategic command center in Israel to manage this sudden war.
This is not the sort of stuff I would normally write about, but I believe God has an important message in these details: He has very specific plans that will be fulfilled soon. On the world stage right now we see extreme economic and political conflict. Right now we have sudden regime change in Egypt, and soon we will see a regime change in Syria, that will result in leaders that are very hostile toward Israel, and in agreement with each other (Muslim Brotherhood) coming into power. We have Russia, Iran, and China all aligned politically for the first time in history (watch any UN Security Council vote and you will see what I mean), and the alliances are all shifting to agree with what the Bible guarantees will happen in the years and months leading up to the return of Jesus. We are literally witnessing the stage being set for the most intense time in human history, and the details are all written out with great detail.
There is a temptation to want to find a human solution to a God-allowed problem. Instead, we should find out what these details are, and come into agreement with the one who holds all the cards, wrote the plan, is executing the plan. For the last 2000 years Jesus has issued a standing warning to watch and be ready!
This is an unpopular position, but this is the truth: now is the time to ask God why evil is increasing at an unprecedented level at the same time natural disasters are increasing, at the same time the world economy is melting down, at the same time political changes are lining up in very precise agreement with what the Bible says will happen. Jesus' plans actually require the involvement of His people in many very specific ways. This isn't a time to just watch...it is also a time to "be ready." Are we clear on what "be ready" means? Jesus didn't say watch and be ready so many times so we wouldn't miss a good show. He is actually counting on us to do some very specific things, one of which is building a global night and day worship movement. If that sounds crazy to you, I understand, but that is really what the Bible says. A couple of years ago that sounded crazy to me, too, but only because I had no idea what the Bible had to say, in great detail, about what was on Jesus' mind. Sadly, most of the Church has ignored God's encouragement to teach the events in Revelation, and the details supporting the book of Revelation found elsewhere in the Bible. These many passages describe with great detail the plans of our professed Savior. Events like yesterday should be a huge wake up call to find out what is on His mind.
Praying for the families that were hurt so tragically yesterday is so pleasing to God. He is so tender hearted and loves it when we are like Him. Using this time to mourn the loss of our brothers and sisters, and the most precious of our country, is essential. But let's not forget in our prayer time with God to also ask Jesus what He is doing and what time He says it is...and then listen for an answer in our hearts.
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