Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
One of the spiritual principles that we, as a church, strive to do is govern our lives and belief system by the Word of God. If we stay true to this principle, then we cannot overlook certain parts of the scripture and embrace others.
In particular, I want to address those of you who find yourself confused about what you believe. You’re not sure if you want to believe everything you have been taught about God, the bible and the church. The best solution to your dilemma seems to be to take some of this and some of that and come up with an answer that seems right for you, something that more or less fits with your mindset and opinions. Some things you have been taught seem too harsh, too dogmatic, or even inconsistent with other things that you accept as true.
The problem with taking some of this and some of that is that you don’t really know what “that” is all about. I can tell you that if “that” doesn’t agree with “this” (the Bible) then you’re in trouble. Once you by into the “that” of this world, you cannot bite it off whenever and wherever you choose. You will end up taking a lot more of “that” than you wanted to take? Why? Because it is connected to an entire belief system. You cannot take a little humanism, a little secularism, a little skepticism. When you take a little, you accept the premise of the world. Once you accept the premise, you have no resistance to taking it all—hook, line and sinker.
It is time to look at what it’s going to mean to be a Christian as time goes on. It is not going to be a free ride. Some things will happen to divide the sheep from the goats, the real saints from the sunshine patriots, the truth from the falsehood. We have been living in a bubble! In this cozy, comfortable bubble, our convictions have gone unchallenged, our doctrines have been left alone for the most part, and our lifestyles have evoked only the slightest murmur of disapproval from the world around us.
I think we need to get ready for this all to change. We are not going to be ignored much longer. Enemies of the cross—rabid, vicious, diabolical—are moving into the power and control rooms of our society. I believe that radical changes are on the horizon for Bible-believing Christians and churches. This should not surprise us. Anyone who knows about Bible prophecy, knows that we are on a narrowing pathway to the end time and the fulfillment of all things. The big question is not where we are headed, but where are we now and how soon are we going to get to the end?
There are some Prophetic keys to look at in considering where we are going. This is a very interesting Gap of time between 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy Dan. 9:24-2724 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finishd the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be builte again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenantf with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
THE SEVENTY WEEKS PROPHECY. The first 69 weeks terminated with the First Coming of Messiah.
And the 70th week will terminate with the Second Coming of Messiah.
This will come at the climax of this age.
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. [1]
Parables of Christ which foretell an end of the age Matthew 13:36-43 (KJV)
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 † The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one ; 39 † The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things c that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The Event of the Rapture 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (KJV)
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Daniel 7:8 (KJV)
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Daniel 7:21-27 (KJV)
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Rev. 12. (Person, program, power) II Thess. 1:1-12As we march toward the fulfillment of these events, we are given signs and indications along the way. Just as a house is not built without excavation and a foundation, these last days will not come upon us without a period of preparation. We cannot expect for things to go on as usual. The balance of power is shifting in the world and in our American society.
In the world: China and India are moving toward positions of much greater influence than we have imagined. The price of gasoline will keep going up, mainly because we are competing with these nations for barrels of crude oil. There is a steady acquiescence in the world to the encroaching influence of radical Islam.
In this nation, we are witnessing an equally steady erosion of our freedoms. In fact, freedom itself is being redefined as a concept. This is scary. You think you know what freedom is? Think again. In the works now are whole genre’s of legislation to strip you of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the right to bear arms. This is all happening in the name of diversity, tolerance and minority rights.
We are not immune to the clear teaching of history. History is full of examples of tyrannical governments persecuting Christians. We seem to think that if we just do our own thing while our country falls into the depths of anti-Christ paganism, they will leave us alone. We are so blind as we go about our daily lives, so concerned with temporal things, that we refuse to see the spiritual battle at hand.
The power of the mind to pretend that all is well is really quite amazing. All around us we see the increase in anti-Christian behavior.
The only group of people that it is found acceptable to speak against are Christians. The spirit of anti-Christ is growing in America while at the same time there is a call for “understanding” when it comes to every other religion imaginable.
Jesus said;
“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” - John 15:19
We have been drawn into a false sense of security because America has been the best, most free nation in the world. Most people believe in personal religious freedom.
The problem is that the cultural elite who control academia, the media, and political establishments are mostly anti-Christ. The liberal elite are wielding great influence in our culture as to affect a change over time in attitudes about Christians.
There was a day when Christians were seen as good people (though certainly imperfect humans) who cared about their neighbors and lifted up good moral values.
After a constant barrage of anti-Christian teaching in the public school system, academia, and media/entertainment establishments, Christians are now seen as narrow minded fools.
Those who fancy themselves to be “open-minded” are in fact the most closed minded people of all. They use vile language to attack Christians personally and dismiss every statistical fact of the breakdown of the family.
There is an increased call now for “hate speech” legislation. This legislation is a precursor to fully outlawed Christian speech. There is coming a day when we cannot speak against homosexuality. The day is coming when the law will not allow Christians to stand against sin publicly without a penalty.
According to David Berman, an author and convention speaker, there will be an increase of the following;
We will be called the worst vile names.
We will be marginalized and seen as holding back “progressive ideas.”
Persecuted physically for our stand.
The government will try to increase its authority over our children.
Parents who stand for their faith and inculcate it to their children will be accused of child abuse.
Increased employment discrimination.
Tax exempt status will be threatened based on a church preaching so called “hate speech” (as defined by the liberals).
Government Regulation of churches and Christian schools.
Confiscation of church property with bogus eminent domain claims.
Selective application of law without due process.
Even many in the “Evangelical churches” are more concerned with not offending someone then they are with true conversion and discipleship. We also see the movement of pluralism embracing all kinds of heretical theology in the name of “unity of the Spirit.”
People, organizations and groups in our culture now openly ridicule those who believe the Bible.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” - Matthew 5:11
How tolerant should we be? The problem with tolerance is that the very people who call for it are the most intolerant of all! There is a continued intolerance of Christian speech and even in “churches” people are offended by preachers who do not compromise biblical truth.
I wonder what names that the Apostle Paul would be called today? He would not be invited to speak in many churches in our land since he would definitely offend someone. Today the Church wants non offensive leaders who have a pluralistic mind-set who are unwilling to take a biblical stand. Christians now want leaders that use enticing words of Man’s wisdom rather than the plain biblical truth as preached by the Apostle Paul.
The day is coming when you and I who hold the Word of God dear will have to choose as to whom we serve publicly.
The day is coming when this culture will not tolerate true Christians at all.
The time will come when preachers will be arrested and imprisoned for preaching the Word of God. In that day it will take more than having a cute Christian bumper sticker on your car, and a T-shirt with a Christian slogan on it to be considered a witness for Christ.
In that day it may cost you friendships, money, jobs, property, and quite possibly your very life. Unless we as a nation have a revival through repentance, the day will come.
The following passages of scripture need to be remembered;
“Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” - Galatians 4:16
It used to be in America that preachers were considered friends because they spoke the Word of God. Now preachers are held in contempt and considered enemies by the liberal establishments. As a minister of the gospel, a preacher of the Word of God, have I and other bible preachers now become your enemy because we tell you the truth?
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” - 1 Timothy 4:1
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fable” - 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Wake up and smell the truth Church . Rise up and declare the name of your God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of the Apostles….Jesus Christ the Lord! God grant us grace and mercy that we may once again renew our relationship with you as the Church and nation. That our hearts be turned back to faith in your Holy Word, in Jesus’ name. AMEN
d finish: or, restrain
e be built…: Heb. return and be built
f the covenant: or, a covenant
[1] The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Lk 21:23). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
† A Greek word occurs that is not directly translated in the King James Version.
Greek Strongs: 1161
† A Greek word occurs that is not directly translated in the King James Version.
Greek Strongs: 1161
c things…: or, scandals