The Last Supper

John's account of the last supper, in John 13-17, is by far the most full. Describing the long conversation Jesus had with His disciples that last night, telling them of the cross He was about to bear, the soon release of the Holy Spirit, who would equip them to do all He had instructed them to do, and about His return. This passage also contains one of the longest prayers Jesus prayed with His disciples, God talking to God, revealing His heart of burning love for us. That night He said this:


John 16:19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’?


John 16:19-21 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.


Jesus described in a very concise way, one of the most dramatic realities surrounding His return. He was not only describing the events that would unfold over the next few days in Jerusalem, but also the dynamic tension that unfolds globally before His return to take possession of all that is His: Just when it looks like the enemy has won, sorrow will be turned to joy. Invisible Jesus is GOING to demonstrate that faith in Him is wisdom, and that trusting in the tangible and visible plan of man is foolishness.


The Bible describes the time we are entering right now as the "valley of decision":


Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.


Everyone must pass through this valley. As the intensity of world events increases, everyone is going to have a choice to make: trust in the invisible Jesus who is awesome in power and love, yet unseen, OR trust in the antichrist, the seemingly perfect and kind man who has many plans to fix the world. The Bible, in great detail, says that this man will make peace between Israel and her neighbors, based on a 7-year protection agreement. He will have a plan to fix the world economy, and he will be a champion of the uniting of diverse faiths into on globally harmonious religion, welcoming Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, and Buddhist...everyone...to lay down their claims of exclusivity to God and instead acknowledging that we "all really serve the same God." For 3.5 years, the majority of the world's population will say "peace and safety. There is a new world order that is really working."


There will only be one group of people that are not celebrating this man-based plan: Christians loyal to Jesus as the only way to God:


John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.


There is a perfect storm of world events forming right now that matches exactly what the Bible describes the entrance to the valley of decision looking like: world conflict flaring up and quickly burning out all over the globe, natural disasters increasing in intensity, global currency crisis demanding a unified currency, and an intense push toward middle east peace as the necessary answer for world peace.


Contraction after contraction, surging in intensity and swiftness, Jesus described this time like a baby being born. The surging and fading of crisis after crisis building in intensity and then fading away, like labor pains, lulling those not watching into feeling like nothing will ever change...nothing ever comes of it...until the time of delivery.


Peace will be made. If you look closely at the news headlines, you can actually see the conditions for peace in Israel are riper right now than they have been since Israel took control of Jerusalem in 1967. When peace is made, this is what the Bible describes happening:


I Thessalonians 5:3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.


This is the time of delivery, the time when the valley of decision narrows. Jesus, in His mercy allows a steady increase in intensity in the valley of decision to demonstrate to the whole world that He really is the way, the truth, and the life. The seals on the scroll of Revelation are released, showing the world the evil in the man-with-the plan's heart, then come the trumpets, revealing in a greater way, the evil in the enemy's heart, and then the bowls, a final demonstration of what life apart from the Author of Life really looks like. All this in Jesus’ mercy, desiring to use the least intense means necessary, to reach the greatest number of people, at the deepest heart level, without ever violating free will.


This is what the valley of decision is all about. Everyone is given what they want in the end. Those who choose Jesus will experience the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit on mankind the earth has ever seen. The Bride will be a united, faithful, and loving witness in the midst of the storm. In her greatest hour of victory, Jesus' eternal companion lovingly tells the world that Jesus is the only true exit from the valley of decision. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL be saved. All the while, those who refuse to live lives connected to the Author of Life will be given a taste of the fruit of their decision before it is permanent and binding. This is the love of a Savior who desires no one choose death.


Knowing the plan that Jesus has written in 150 chapters of the Bible is essential to have clear vision of the valley ahead. This is the Bride's greatest hour, where the great harvest is brought in by a Bride awash in the pure and spotless Glory of the Lord:


Joel 2:28-32 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.