Clarity in Warning
1 Corinthians 14:8-9 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.
We live in the hour that world is supposed to be hearing a warning. Over and over the Bible speaks of the events of our day…literally hundreds of chapters describe what is happening around us…and literally few are sounding a CLEAR warning. The Church in this hour is making a VERY uncertain sound. Who is preparing for battle? If you want to be ready, you must decide for yourself what is happening and what to DO ABOUT IT.
This last generation is promised to be the most intense. It will be very great for those that are ready, and very terrible for those who are not.
Joel 2:1-2 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
Joel 2:11-12 The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? 12 "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning."
Right now, as the intense events of our hour build, those who know the plans of the Lord are supposed to be clearly sounding the alarm. But many who claim to be ready themselves are not actively getting others ready for the battle coming. This is a clear sign that those who claim to be ready are actually quite unprepared. If they were actually ready, they would know that even the prepared bridesmaids will slumber in the most intense hour…No one is ever going to be done getting ready for the return of Jesus. Those truly ready know how UNREADY they are!!...these are the ones humbly accelerating the preparations all the way until the groom arrives:
Matthew 25:1-13 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
They ALL slumbered and slept except for the watchmen, who were letting out the cry!
The wise prepare with the fear of the Lord, knowing that slumber is VERY dangerous in the hours of waiting for the groom to appear. Slumbering is completely related to FALSE CONFIDENCE. Watching and praying are the guaranteed recipe for staying awake. This is what Peter was told by Jesus on the night tribulation began.
Like many in the church right now, Peter was over-confident in his readiness…arrogant, really. Jesus warned Peter, but Peter assumed WAY too much. Peter assumed he knew more than Jesus! MANY in the Church right now are assuming they know more than Jesus, because Jesus warned over and over to WATCH (connect the news of the day to the Word), PRAY (in specific agreement with the end time plans), and BE READY (to ENDURE the tribulation)…and many who claim readiness do none of these things. They are imagining a false future. When Jesus warned Peter, Peter blew him off because Peter assumed a false future. Peter assumed in one exciting noble stand he would die with Jesus…nope…wrong future:
Matthew 26:31-41 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK WILL BE SCATTERED.' 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." 33 Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." 34 Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples. 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Peter denied the Lord FULLY. Three times means total denial. Peter was completely UNREADY to endure tribulation. Jesus warned him, but didn’t force him to get ready. The same warning is for this hour.
Luke 21:34-36 … cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Peter could have avoided falling away and denying Jesus by watching and praying when Jesus told him too. But, Peter wouldn’t obey. Praying would have strengthened Peter’s flesh to stand. In arrogance Peter missed his moment to get ready.
Peter WAS ready to die, but dying wasn’t what Jesus had in mind. Peter wouldn’t humble himself and watch with Jesus and pray, because he had NO VISION for what was coming. You must understand the simple plans of the tribulation laid out in the Bible. That revelation of what the Bible says will sober you and help you put on restraint:
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.
The main and plain statement of the Bible is that the saints must endure the tribulation. That means enduring some very specific things in a VERY specific order: Hatred, Offense, Betrayal, False Teaching, and Lawlessness.
1. Hatred - the hatred of Christians by all nations. Nations implies national governments. FUNDAMENTAL Christianity is going to be outlawed as too extreme. This is already taking shape as the Church divides over the truth of the Bible. The inerrancy and RELEVANCE of the Bible is the line in the sand the Church will divide on. This is clearly stated in John 17:
John 17:14-15 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
2. Offense - This hatred will produce offense as many in the Church are unprepared to stand with Jesus the criminal. They don’t mind Jesus the “imaginary friend” so much…they are willing to look weird for that, but that isn’t what is coming. Hatred of Jesus is unfolding. Already, many in the Church don’t like standing with Jesus the “homophobe”, or Jesus the “irrelevant”, or Jesus who does justice in His own time and way…Offense happens when you have the wrong expectations. Many are expecting to take a noble stand for Jesus. The next few years will be very disappointing if this is your expectation. Many IN THE CHURCH will call those loyal to Jesus “evil”. You need to adjust your expectations accordingly:
Matthew 10:22-25 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
3. Betrayal - Those unready for the offense will COMPROMISE with the governments who want to tone down ALL religion. The reason ISIS is being secretly fed and empowered is because the Bible is clear that the antichrist uses a violent religion to justify his dream of NO religion (but the worship of himself, which comes at the end). This is all in Daniel 11:36-40. The people making global decisions right now are not singling out radical ISLAM…they are singling out FUNDAMENTAL RELIGION as the enemy. That means you and me if you think Jesus is the only way and that He is coming to judge sin.
What is unfolding all around us on the world stage is CLEARLY the antichrist plan to get rid of FUNDAMENTAL religion. The harlot religion, which is a watered down and inclusive religion, is ENCOURAGED by the antichrist according to the Bible. The antichrist system wants you to be a watered down Christian…with no real power…This, again, is CLEARLY in the Bible:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
In the context of this letter to Timothy, it is clear that Paul was talking about people IN THE CHURCH. This will produce a great “falling away”…a betrayal in the Church of “progressive” and “relevant” believers vs. fundamental believers. This is happening all around you right now. I see it in MANY places. Most that are contributing to this schism THINK THEY ARE SERVING GOD. They think they are the TRUE Church!! You need to be able to recognize the difference. This has always been the case, and is promised to be the case in the end times:
John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
4. False Teaching – because of the confusion, many who agree with the antichrist plans to make the Church “more relevant” will teach doctrine to justify their theology. Their theology actually separates you from the voice of God!!
False grace, according to Revelation 2 and 3 (the letters to the end time Church), will be the main mode of desensitizing the Bride to the voice of Jesus. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? (Psalm 24)… those with clean hands and pure hearts. By encouraging false grace, the enemy actually separates the sheep from the shepherd so they won’t listen to His warnings and get ready. This compounds the problem!
False teachers teach out of fear, bitterness, greed, and hatred. They are afraid of the cost of standing in loyalty to the true Gospel, so they look for ways to make it more appealing. They are bitter towards people who resist them, and they call those standing for the true gospel stupid and intolerant. They take small passages out of context and turn them into doctrine. They are greedy for money and teach people to be greedy like them…to desire the approval of men…they plant a false dream of being “relevant to people” in your heart, rather than dying to the world and living in front of an invisible God. False teachers want you to want what they do, rather than want self-denial and the smile of God DESPITE the resistance of people. They appeal to logical reasoning rather than the illogical faith often required to stay loyal to God. They draw on their relationships with other leaders to get credibility, rather than rely on the witness of the Spirit and the Word. They hate they intense plan of the Lord to judge the earth to make it ready to receive Him. They are embarrassed of what the Bible clearly says, so they make it symbolic and write it off so you will believe their dreams and lies.
Look around. There are MANY false teachers writing a whole new Gospel right now. They are drawing together in an unprecedented way.
5. Lawlessness – The antichrist is the lawless one. The falling away and the rising up of lawlessness are two facets of the SAME reality. Lawlessness created by casting off restraint in the Church is what will pave the way for the antichrist to take over nations. By watering down truth, the Church divides along the truth of the Word, and a significant portion casts off the restraint of the Gospel. This removes the power from a huge portion of the Church, and the antichrist walks right through the gap into more SPIRITUAL power. This has always been the plan. It is happening right now. The antichrist is dividing the Bride along the lines of race, gender, sexuality, and end time doctrine…he is using this to break down local authority so he can impose a stronger federal and then global authority. The arguments the antichrist uses sound like he is defending these areas, but the truth is, he is undermining them. He is inciting a reaction. Satan incites people to wrong action, then accuses them to move them further from God. It ALWAYS works this way…from Genesis to Revelation:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is the clear plan of the end time tribulation. This is GREAT if you love Jesus and GET READY. It is THROUGH these events that Jesus will get a pure and spotless Bride. This is the intensity…the fire…that will purify her. It is SIMPLE to endure, but you must get ready. You get ready by WATCHING and PRAYING. But, to do either, you have to know what to watch and pray for. Right now, everyone who loves Jesus should be all in on studying the end time plans.
You don’t really need to be ready to die…you will have no say in that matter. You don’t need to be ready to get raptured. That will require no help on your part.
You need to be ready to endure being counted a criminal with Jesus.
Peter was NOT ready for the day in, day out, endurance of being considered a divider, a corrupter, a dissenter, and un-religious. He wasn’t ready for jail time, or beatings…he wasn’t ready for the long terms threats, loss of status, loss of reputation, and loss of wealth. He was ready for an imaginary NOBLE stand for Jesus…not to be called a hater, or a child molester or tax evader and put on false trial along with Jesus.
End time martyrdom will not be noble. It will be under false accusations and lies that many who are ready will stand in complete confidence that they are obeying the Lord. The church is about to turn on ITSELF. You have to realize that even in this hour, an apostate church is rising up that will call those truly loyal to the hard truths of the Gospel EVIL. Many friends in churches will point fingers at one another and call the other side a divider. This is happening in the Church BEFORE it will happen in the world:
Matthew 24:9-13 "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. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
1 Peter 4:14-17 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Jesus is going to “sanctify” His Bride. That means she will be separated from the apostate…or false…harlot…Church. He came to bring “unity by division.” This is a VERY hard truth, but it is THE truth. Many who agree and talk about this are being called, and will be called, divisive. That is true, but Jesus came to bring truth that would actually divide, this will INCREASE in the time of the harvest. You are supposed to know the signs and GET READY:
Luke 12:51-57 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." 54 Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?
Right now, when someone sounds an alarm like this, others will say “no one knows for sure.” They will say “it has always been like this.” This is scoffing and mocking the intense plan of the Lord. Ironically, this scoffing and mocking is what creates a lot of division! You are SUPPOSED to know for sure. If you don’t, then you are not ready:
2 Peter 3:3-5 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
Jude 1:17-19 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
If you want to agree with Jesus, you need to be sounding the alarm for others. Those confident of the truth and sounding the alarm are the wise servants. They give the other servants (people in the Church) food (the Word of God) in the proper time:
Matthew 24:43-51 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 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.
We live in the hour that world is supposed to be hearing a warning. Over and over the Bible speaks of the events of our day…literally hundreds of chapters describe what is happening around us…and literally few are sounding a CLEAR warning. The Church in this hour is making a VERY uncertain sound. Who is preparing for battle? If you want to be ready, you must decide for yourself what is happening and what to DO ABOUT IT.
This last generation is promised to be the most intense. It will be very great for those that are ready, and very terrible for those who are not.
Joel 2:1-2 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
Joel 2:11-12 The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? 12 "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning."
Right now, as the intense events of our hour build, those who know the plans of the Lord are supposed to be clearly sounding the alarm. But many who claim to be ready themselves are not actively getting others ready for the battle coming. This is a clear sign that those who claim to be ready are actually quite unprepared. If they were actually ready, they would know that even the prepared bridesmaids will slumber in the most intense hour…No one is ever going to be done getting ready for the return of Jesus. Those truly ready know how UNREADY they are!!...these are the ones humbly accelerating the preparations all the way until the groom arrives:
Matthew 25:1-13 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
They ALL slumbered and slept except for the watchmen, who were letting out the cry!
The wise prepare with the fear of the Lord, knowing that slumber is VERY dangerous in the hours of waiting for the groom to appear. Slumbering is completely related to FALSE CONFIDENCE. Watching and praying are the guaranteed recipe for staying awake. This is what Peter was told by Jesus on the night tribulation began.
Like many in the church right now, Peter was over-confident in his readiness…arrogant, really. Jesus warned Peter, but Peter assumed WAY too much. Peter assumed he knew more than Jesus! MANY in the Church right now are assuming they know more than Jesus, because Jesus warned over and over to WATCH (connect the news of the day to the Word), PRAY (in specific agreement with the end time plans), and BE READY (to ENDURE the tribulation)…and many who claim readiness do none of these things. They are imagining a false future. When Jesus warned Peter, Peter blew him off because Peter assumed a false future. Peter assumed in one exciting noble stand he would die with Jesus…nope…wrong future:
Matthew 26:31-41 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK WILL BE SCATTERED.' 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." 33 Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." 34 Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples. 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Peter denied the Lord FULLY. Three times means total denial. Peter was completely UNREADY to endure tribulation. Jesus warned him, but didn’t force him to get ready. The same warning is for this hour.
Luke 21:34-36 … cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Peter could have avoided falling away and denying Jesus by watching and praying when Jesus told him too. But, Peter wouldn’t obey. Praying would have strengthened Peter’s flesh to stand. In arrogance Peter missed his moment to get ready.
Peter WAS ready to die, but dying wasn’t what Jesus had in mind. Peter wouldn’t humble himself and watch with Jesus and pray, because he had NO VISION for what was coming. You must understand the simple plans of the tribulation laid out in the Bible. That revelation of what the Bible says will sober you and help you put on restraint:
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.
The main and plain statement of the Bible is that the saints must endure the tribulation. That means enduring some very specific things in a VERY specific order: Hatred, Offense, Betrayal, False Teaching, and Lawlessness.
1. Hatred - the hatred of Christians by all nations. Nations implies national governments. FUNDAMENTAL Christianity is going to be outlawed as too extreme. This is already taking shape as the Church divides over the truth of the Bible. The inerrancy and RELEVANCE of the Bible is the line in the sand the Church will divide on. This is clearly stated in John 17:
John 17:14-15 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
2. Offense - This hatred will produce offense as many in the Church are unprepared to stand with Jesus the criminal. They don’t mind Jesus the “imaginary friend” so much…they are willing to look weird for that, but that isn’t what is coming. Hatred of Jesus is unfolding. Already, many in the Church don’t like standing with Jesus the “homophobe”, or Jesus the “irrelevant”, or Jesus who does justice in His own time and way…Offense happens when you have the wrong expectations. Many are expecting to take a noble stand for Jesus. The next few years will be very disappointing if this is your expectation. Many IN THE CHURCH will call those loyal to Jesus “evil”. You need to adjust your expectations accordingly:
Matthew 10:22-25 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
3. Betrayal - Those unready for the offense will COMPROMISE with the governments who want to tone down ALL religion. The reason ISIS is being secretly fed and empowered is because the Bible is clear that the antichrist uses a violent religion to justify his dream of NO religion (but the worship of himself, which comes at the end). This is all in Daniel 11:36-40. The people making global decisions right now are not singling out radical ISLAM…they are singling out FUNDAMENTAL RELIGION as the enemy. That means you and me if you think Jesus is the only way and that He is coming to judge sin.
What is unfolding all around us on the world stage is CLEARLY the antichrist plan to get rid of FUNDAMENTAL religion. The harlot religion, which is a watered down and inclusive religion, is ENCOURAGED by the antichrist according to the Bible. The antichrist system wants you to be a watered down Christian…with no real power…This, again, is CLEARLY in the Bible:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
In the context of this letter to Timothy, it is clear that Paul was talking about people IN THE CHURCH. This will produce a great “falling away”…a betrayal in the Church of “progressive” and “relevant” believers vs. fundamental believers. This is happening all around you right now. I see it in MANY places. Most that are contributing to this schism THINK THEY ARE SERVING GOD. They think they are the TRUE Church!! You need to be able to recognize the difference. This has always been the case, and is promised to be the case in the end times:
John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
4. False Teaching – because of the confusion, many who agree with the antichrist plans to make the Church “more relevant” will teach doctrine to justify their theology. Their theology actually separates you from the voice of God!!
False grace, according to Revelation 2 and 3 (the letters to the end time Church), will be the main mode of desensitizing the Bride to the voice of Jesus. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? (Psalm 24)… those with clean hands and pure hearts. By encouraging false grace, the enemy actually separates the sheep from the shepherd so they won’t listen to His warnings and get ready. This compounds the problem!
False teachers teach out of fear, bitterness, greed, and hatred. They are afraid of the cost of standing in loyalty to the true Gospel, so they look for ways to make it more appealing. They are bitter towards people who resist them, and they call those standing for the true gospel stupid and intolerant. They take small passages out of context and turn them into doctrine. They are greedy for money and teach people to be greedy like them…to desire the approval of men…they plant a false dream of being “relevant to people” in your heart, rather than dying to the world and living in front of an invisible God. False teachers want you to want what they do, rather than want self-denial and the smile of God DESPITE the resistance of people. They appeal to logical reasoning rather than the illogical faith often required to stay loyal to God. They draw on their relationships with other leaders to get credibility, rather than rely on the witness of the Spirit and the Word. They hate they intense plan of the Lord to judge the earth to make it ready to receive Him. They are embarrassed of what the Bible clearly says, so they make it symbolic and write it off so you will believe their dreams and lies.
Look around. There are MANY false teachers writing a whole new Gospel right now. They are drawing together in an unprecedented way.
5. Lawlessness – The antichrist is the lawless one. The falling away and the rising up of lawlessness are two facets of the SAME reality. Lawlessness created by casting off restraint in the Church is what will pave the way for the antichrist to take over nations. By watering down truth, the Church divides along the truth of the Word, and a significant portion casts off the restraint of the Gospel. This removes the power from a huge portion of the Church, and the antichrist walks right through the gap into more SPIRITUAL power. This has always been the plan. It is happening right now. The antichrist is dividing the Bride along the lines of race, gender, sexuality, and end time doctrine…he is using this to break down local authority so he can impose a stronger federal and then global authority. The arguments the antichrist uses sound like he is defending these areas, but the truth is, he is undermining them. He is inciting a reaction. Satan incites people to wrong action, then accuses them to move them further from God. It ALWAYS works this way…from Genesis to Revelation:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is the clear plan of the end time tribulation. This is GREAT if you love Jesus and GET READY. It is THROUGH these events that Jesus will get a pure and spotless Bride. This is the intensity…the fire…that will purify her. It is SIMPLE to endure, but you must get ready. You get ready by WATCHING and PRAYING. But, to do either, you have to know what to watch and pray for. Right now, everyone who loves Jesus should be all in on studying the end time plans.
You don’t really need to be ready to die…you will have no say in that matter. You don’t need to be ready to get raptured. That will require no help on your part.
You need to be ready to endure being counted a criminal with Jesus.
Peter was NOT ready for the day in, day out, endurance of being considered a divider, a corrupter, a dissenter, and un-religious. He wasn’t ready for jail time, or beatings…he wasn’t ready for the long terms threats, loss of status, loss of reputation, and loss of wealth. He was ready for an imaginary NOBLE stand for Jesus…not to be called a hater, or a child molester or tax evader and put on false trial along with Jesus.
End time martyrdom will not be noble. It will be under false accusations and lies that many who are ready will stand in complete confidence that they are obeying the Lord. The church is about to turn on ITSELF. You have to realize that even in this hour, an apostate church is rising up that will call those truly loyal to the hard truths of the Gospel EVIL. Many friends in churches will point fingers at one another and call the other side a divider. This is happening in the Church BEFORE it will happen in the world:
Matthew 24:9-13 "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. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
1 Peter 4:14-17 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Jesus is going to “sanctify” His Bride. That means she will be separated from the apostate…or false…harlot…Church. He came to bring “unity by division.” This is a VERY hard truth, but it is THE truth. Many who agree and talk about this are being called, and will be called, divisive. That is true, but Jesus came to bring truth that would actually divide, this will INCREASE in the time of the harvest. You are supposed to know the signs and GET READY:
Luke 12:51-57 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." 54 Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?
Right now, when someone sounds an alarm like this, others will say “no one knows for sure.” They will say “it has always been like this.” This is scoffing and mocking the intense plan of the Lord. Ironically, this scoffing and mocking is what creates a lot of division! You are SUPPOSED to know for sure. If you don’t, then you are not ready:
2 Peter 3:3-5 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
Jude 1:17-19 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
If you want to agree with Jesus, you need to be sounding the alarm for others. Those confident of the truth and sounding the alarm are the wise servants. They give the other servants (people in the Church) food (the Word of God) in the proper time:
Matthew 24:43-51 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 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.
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