Hearts Are Growing Cold

            We are to some degree sheltered in North America when it comes to being persecuted for faith in Jesus Christ. I will agree that many do get the cold shoulder from those who want nothing to do with God’s free gift of salvation, those who consider the believer to be like an odour of death, some believers are even shunned by their own family members, but as far as receiving physical persecution at the hands of evil men like ISIS, who are terrorizing the believers in the Middle East, this kind of persecution does not exist here. There have been those who have been accosted, even receiving the odd fist or two because they are followers of Christ, but to suffer at the hands of evil men like other believers is typically unknown here. Just this past week in Iraq four young children, all under the age of fifteen, fell at the hands of the Islamic State henchmen because they would not renounce Jesus Christ as Lord and convert to Islam; according to an article in The Times Of Israel (A). I do not recall anyone in the USA or Canada suffering in this manner because of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, although there may have been, but how long will this sense of security last.

            Just like the name of the above news organization, The Times Of Israel, the times in North America are changing, and changing at a very high rate of speed—is anyone surprised because I am not. The bible predicts that change is coming, and this change has everything to do with the new world order that some say is already here. The government that will rule the new world order just has to have its leader put into his position of authority, then the one world government will rule the West with totalitarian authority. Below is an article I have written that helps to interpret Matthew chapter twenty four, verses twelve to thirteen. It helps to reveal why the people of the world, even here in North America, are so self-serving and have lost the respect that we use to have for one another. 

Matthew 24:12-13

“Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.”*

           If you think we live in a depraved society now, pray that you escape the one that is about to come. With all the horror people will face in the seven year tribulation period many will continue to live in depravity being sexually immoral, killing one another and practicing devil worship (Rev.9:20-21). Many people will be consumed with this lifestyle and will just refuse to give up this wicked living. While teaching his disciples Jesus warns those who would read the Scriptures to pay attention to the signs and know when the end of the church age is near followed by seven years of tribulation, so that you can escape this horrible time: “Therefore be watchful all the time, asking that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man”* (Lk.21:36). The only way one can escape the horror of the tribulation period is to abide in Christ Jesus, so that when he comes for his church you will be caught up to meet him in the air, this is a promise he makes to those who persist in him: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Rev.3:10, KJV).

            The tribulation saints will be delivered up to the one world government by those who worship the beast and also by those who stumble from the faith during this seven year period, because those who stumble from the faith their love for one another will grow cold (Read the commentary on Matt.24:9-11). Those who worship the beast will have no love for one another because their hearts are already seared and they are not able to love, therefore it will be easy for them to turn in the tribulation saints to the authorities—like those who turned the Jews over to the Nazi Party in Europe. The reason why they will turn to worship the beast in the first place is because they have no love for anyone but for themselves, this is why they will be deceived into worshipping the beast. Those who stumble from the faith in the tribulation period will show no remorse for their Judas like attitude toward those whom they will betray to the beast and his government, because any love they once will have shared for their brother will disappear: “The love of many will grow cold.” The temptation to turn on a brother will be great in this time period if this means your life will be spared from the sword of the second beast, the one who causes the inhabitants of the earth to worship the first beast and his image (Rev.13:11-17).

            Jesus continues to prophesy issuing a warning to the tribulation saints to not give up: “But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.” When someone turns to God he must also continue to abide in him right to the very end. The end referred to in this passage is the end of the tribulation period or the end of ones life during this period, as in being killed for the sake of Christ, like those recorded in Revelation chapter six, verses nine to eleven, and chapter seven verse fourteen. A believer in Christ must not give up but finish the race: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Tim.4:7, NLT). Every believer this side of the tribulation period must continue in the faith until he dies or is caught up with all those who are in Christ, whichever occurrence comes first: “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22, KJV; See also: Col.1:21-23; Heb.3:6, 12-14; 4:11). Likewise, the tribulation saints must also continue in the Lord until the end of their physical life or the end of the tribulation period.

            As we see in this passage, and the passage in the previous commentary, the Lord reveals the near future to us—the end of the church age with the commencement of the seven year tribulation period which is the seventieth week of Israel—and unfortunately we see in this revelation that many will stumble and their love will grow cold so that they will betray and hate their brothers. Although, there is hope for the tribulation saints, if they endure to the end they will be among those whom the Apostle John saw wearing white robes holding palm branches before the throne of the Lamb (See Rev.7:9-14).

* Hebrew Names Version (HNV)

The HNV is based off the World English Bible and is an update of the American Standard Version of 1901. Public Domain.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 (A) http://www.timesofisrael.com/is-beheaded-4-christian-children-says-vicar-of-baghdad/

Not At All Stingy

            Christmas day is almost upon us once again, less than three weeks away, where has the year gone. The streets are full of shoppers, traffic jams at every mall entrance, and the police department is doing their very best to keep the traffic flowing on the street outside of these consumer wonderlands. Inside the busiest malls it is sheer mayhem, people scurrying from boutique to boutique trying to buy the perfect gift for every person on their shopping list. It is like a carnival in there, bumper car city, as person after person bumps into every shopping cart they pass, I cannot see an apologetic soul anywhere. Nonetheless, when the shopping is all said and done, it makes people happy to be able to present the fruits of their battle, in the endless line-ups, to the little faces that look like these are the very first gifts they have ever received. Most people like to give gifts, it brings joy to their heart to give, this is why people go through the frustration of the crowds every year at this time, endorphins are released throughout the brain giving the shopper a shopping euphoria with every gift tossed into the cart, knowing that each gift will bring joy to the person it is intended for.  

            God likes to give gifts too; he is not the stingy and angry old man that many people associate him with. On the contrary, this picture of him could not be farther from the truth, he is the embodiment of pure love, full of mercy and kindness, and extremely generous. The age factor that many pin to him can be called pure ignorance, where do the intellectuals come up with this idea that picture him as an old man, some grandfather like figure; he is not old in the least. No age can be ascribed to Gods person because there is no duration of time in his world, his world is in the spiritual dimension, it is called eternity. Eternity is not governed by the duration of time, because time is structured only for this physical realm, time is in its own dimension just as the spiritual world has its own dimension. Since there is no duration of time in eternity this means that God never ages, he is neither young nor old; this is not hard to understand.  

            I am quite fond and drawn to the letter written to the Ephesians, transcribed by the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as Paul followed the lead of the Spirit, as he plunged—albeit carefully—through the course set before him. The apostle recorded some important issues that pertain to the Body of Christ that were embedded into his heart by the Spirit; he even recorded some of them as prayer. His prayers coincide with the heart of God, revealing the many virtues of Gods character, and one virtue is abundantly noticeable revealing that God is extremely generous to those who belong to him, those who are faithful in Christ.

            God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, loves us; in case you have some misplaced notion and think otherwise (2:4). When we were dirty rotten scoundrels, plotting out a course that was headed for destruction, deviating from the truth, the Father then gave us life and joined us together with Christ (2:5). Do you or I deserve this pardon and subsequent gift of loving kindness from him, I am sure we do not, but he gave it to us anyways. The Lord has blessed us, not that he is going to bless us, but he has already, and what greater blessing can you receive than blessings from God. He has given to us blessings that are conceived in the spiritual dimension, the heavenly realm, not just a partial blessing but every spiritual blessing that originates in Christ, his only begotten son (1:3). Even before he created Adam, the first man, before he formed heaven and earth by the power of his word, he predestined every person who would believe in him and adopted them as sons, through his son, Jesus the Christ (1:4-5). What a gift! To choose us to have life in him, to be holy and blameless, just like his only begotten son. Is this gift not far greater than the latest electronic gadget that so many are hoping they will get under the Christmas tree this year, how can anyone compare the two? Sometimes people are so spiritually dull!

            God has chosen us, adopted us as his sons, because this is what he desires, this is what gives him pleasure (1:5b). This act of loving kindness brings praise to the greatness of his grace; he has made it possible for us to be accepted into a righteous relationship with his beloved son (1:6). Our sins are forgiven; we have been redeemed from the evil one by the power of the resurrected Christ, by his atoning sacrifice, because of the immense richness of Gods grace, his loving kindness (1:7). Does this sound like the actions of an angry and stingy old man?  

They Still Wait

            In April, I wrote an article pertaining to the peace talks between the nation of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which is being brokered by the United States of America. Back then the talks were suspended by Israel’s Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli Security Cabinet, because of the merger between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, a terrorist organization. This weekend the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated his comments in Cairo to a group of foreign ministers from the Arab League that the Palestinians will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and further accused them of establishing an apartheid government (1); he has also threatened Israel that he will terminate all security cooperation unless Israel gets back to the table and resumes with the peace talks.

            More than half a year has passed since Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, moved away from the table, therefore there has been no solid movement forward in solving this problem in the Middle East, but as I wrote in April there will come the day when there will be peace, it will be a forced peace contract but nonetheless there will be a signed agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. How long it will be before this contract will take place is unknown to people like you and me, but the day is coming, and coming very quickly, when the one world leader (Rev.6:2) will force an agreement between the two parties (Dan.9:27). President Abbas says that he cannot wait any longer for the peace talks to resume, and for progress to be made he demands that Israel’s so-called occupation end in the West Bank—of course the progress will be in his favour, who is he trying to kid anyways.

            I have my own opinion when the peace agreement will be signed, and you may too, but I cannot see it finalized until a major chaotic event takes place first. It will be called a chaotic event by the world but to many it is an event that has been anticipated ever since Israel became a state once again in May of 1948. This event is the rapture of every person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ (1Thess.4:16-17), and has anticipated this event with every inch of their heart (Phil.3:20-21). When this event occurs there will be millions of people who will be caught up from the earth to meet the Lord in the heavens by his divine power, leaving the rest of the world in utter chaos because of the sudden disappearance of so many all around the globe. The one world leader, who is also revealed as the first beast in the book of Revelations, will announce to the world that he will lead them into a new world order free from those dissident individuals—as he will put it— who have suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth, and one of the first acts that he will accomplish is a peace covenant between the Jews and the Palestinians. It may seem that this peace deal will never materialize, but take note of the word of God it will; as the world still waits.

 

(1) http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-palestinians-will-never-recognize-israel-as-jewish-state/

Their Hearts Turned

            With every passing day the predictions prophesied in the bible are increasingly observable. Recently you may have read about a certain minister who preached the words of Christ for many decades has now come out saying he no longer believes in God (1). This mans change of heart is not an anomaly, he is not the only person who was once a believer in Christ, who preached to their congregations week after week about Jesus Christ being the Lord, having been raised from the dead, and now has some new revelation that Jesus is not God; in fact this man and some other former ministers claim that there is no God and that he is just mans creation.

            There is article after article written about ministers who claim that their eyes were opened because they had a so-called epiphanic encounter and realized that they have been living a lie, they prepare sermons every week to preach to their people about the God of heaven, but in their heart they do not even believe he exists; their faith in Jesus Christ has died. Do these epiphanies happen overnight; no they happen over a period of time, likely because their expectations of God did not meet up with their experiences. I do not intend to make excuses for these ministers who have forsaken their first love, the Lord Jesus Christ, but I am trying to make some sense of it in my own mind.

            Why do I bother to write about such a topic as this and post it on my blog anyways? Is there not something more positive that I could write about, why post an article that seems so negative? These ministers who abandon the faith are not just a statistic, and they are not just people whom you should show no concern for, they were once given the opportunity to receive eternal life but by the power of deception they gave up believing. I do not want to hear you say that these ministers were never believers in Christ to begin with, or they would have never abandoned Christ, or that they never experienced him in their heart, for they had only head knowledge of salvation. How do you know you who say and think this way, are you God? Can you see into their inner being and know what they have believed all their life? Oh, I know, you quote the words of John the apostle when he wrote about those who say that Jesus is not the Christ, and they leave the body of believers, proving they never did belong to the body of Christ (1Jn.2). I would agree with you on this if you knew what John was truly saying, he never said that these individuals never did believe, but that what they believed did not remain in them ( 1Jn.2:24-27), this is what is happening to a great number of the ministers in the churches today. John said that this is how the church will know that we are in the final hours of the church age, when many antichrists begin to multiply denying Jesus is the Christ (1Jn.2:18, 22-23).

            Do a Google search on the internet and see how many men and women who were once ordained to preach the gospel are now confessing that they are now atheists; the number seems to be increasing especially over the last few decades. There are numerous articles and books written about these individuals, like the man in the website link below. Why have they changed their minds, how can they now deny the Christ whom they once followed? The Lord is not caught off guard by this shifting of belief because he saw it before it even began, and he knows why it has begun. It is because of the doctrines of demons, these ministers are turning away from the truth because they are listening to seducing spirits who deceive them (1Tim.4:1, 4), rather than listening to the Holy Spirit who will lead them into all truth (Jn.16:13).

            The believer must continue to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ once they have received him, they must stay in the faith and not let anyone cheat them through deception (Col.2:6-8). Whether you are a minister or a parishioner you must not follow after the traditions of this world but rather follow Christ, do not listen to the spirits of deceit. There are so many things to deceive a believer in these final days and that is Satan’s plan, to get you away from Christ through your mind. This is why the Apostle Paul exhorts the believer to renew his mind and not be conformed to the pattern of this world (Rms.12:2), do not follow after the traditions of men but follow after Christ.

            I wonder if someone is bold enough to do a survey among those who once believed in Christ and see what their hearts were set on before they had the epiphany that they are really atheists. Were they spending their energy on saving planet earth, were they fighting for the rights of every man to behave anyway they see fit? These causes seem to consume a lot of the energy of many of the clergy these days, even though the bible condemns these activities (Rms.1:18-32). Were these ministers involved in the movement that scoff at those who believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ, that the Lord is coming at any hour to rapture his church out of this earth (1Thess.4:16-17), if they were it is only because they desire something other than the coming of the Lord, they long for pleasures that are forbidden to the minister of the gospel (2Pt.3:3-4). My heart aches for men like this, for God has a word for those who deny him: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us” (2Tim.2:12, KJV).       

 

(1) http://www.lfpress.com/2014/09/26/ripley-how-my-mind-has-changed

Taken Seriously

            I know a man whose heart is to share the words of God to anyone who will listen. This man is just an ordinary man except the Spirit of God dwells within him, teaching him, revealing to him what the words of God mean, especially what they mean in these final days of the church age—this certain individual does not have the arrogance or pretension that he has all knowledge and insight but he does know what God is revealing to him, and he is quite determined to share it with any person that God instructs him to.

            One day as this man was sitting among a group of people there were those who began to talk about the events that were making headline news all over the world. He added his part into the conversation, as he found room to add his thoughts, and exclaimed that what is occurring has been predicted in the bible. The heart of one of the group began to speak very loudly and be contentious, in an attempt to frustrate the man from revealing the information that he was beginning to unfold, but that did not stop the man from going forward with the revelation he was revealing. The authority of God that this man possessed was able to bring a peaceful end to the disruptive agenda that the loud and disruptive heart was trying to accomplish, making it possible for him to continue with the revelation of things to come.

            The group was intent on hearing what this man had to say, and to what the bible had to say, about the times that we are living in, and what things are about to come; their faces revealed an intense interest. The man was bombarded with question after question from most of this curious group, as he continued to line up current events with the prophetic words of God, their hearts seemed to be soaking  in everything he had to say, not contradicting even one word that came from his mouth.

            One of the group was under the impression that there is nothing that anyone can do with what is making news headlines, and what the world is heading for, with the emergence a one world leader who will come to power and force a peace covenant with Israel—this forced peace treaty will begin a seven year period of horrible tribulation for the inhabitants of the earth—he was under the impression that all men will have to endure this terrible time and just submit to this one world government. With all the prophecy that this man was revealing he made sure that this group was not left in the lurch, as he went on to explain that God has promised a way of escape from the most terrible time that this world will ever experience. He explained how faith in Christ is the only way of escape, and that all those who have continuous faith in Christ will be caught away out of the earth before world events get to the point of a one world leader and a one world government, whose agenda is to oppress the world causing them to submit to his every command.

            I am left with the question, whether this group will take what this man said seriously and put their faith in Christ, will they continue to believe the prophecy about what is coming upon this earth, or will they be like seed that falls on stony ground, quickly forgetting what they heard? The man encountered one individual who quickly forgot everything that was discussed just a short time after the discussion, this person even began to be critical of him who shared such valuable information. It is like what Jesus described about anyone who hears the words of God and the revelation of them; they cannot understand what was said because Satan robs them of what was sown into their heart. The man at the center of the discussion did notice that one of the individuals sat back and just listened as the discussion carried on; the one who sat back did not add even one comment as the rest of the group shared back and forth their thoughts. I wonder if he was just soaking all the revelation of God into his heart and is like the one who has good soil, who then goes on to produce a harvest of fruit that leads to eternal life. I suppose I will have to wait and see, some prayer will help also.

Certain Types of Food at Particular Times

            Are you getting the right kind of food in the church services you attend? Many pastors cringe when they are challenged as to the content of their sermons, but they sometimes forget that they have a responsibility to the church to make sure they are feeding not only spiritual food but also the right kind of spiritual food. They not only have a responsibility to the church to make sure they are built up in the word of God sufficiently, but they will also have to give an account to their master on how well they are feeding his people, and what kind of food that they are distributing to the house of God (1Cor.4:1-2; Heb.13:17).

            When Jesus was teaching his disciples one day, just days before he was betrayed by Judas, he brought forth the following question, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season” (Matt.24:45, HNV)? Preceding this question he was describing the catching away of the church to them, using symbolic language from verse thirty six through to this question, his attention was on the church in general, but now, with this provocative question, he directs his attention to those who are the shepherds over Gods house; those who feed the church the word of God. In the preceding verses he was instructing the church to keep watch because the church does not know the exact day the trumpet will sound (Matt.24:42), in addition, he gives further warning, church be ready, for the trumpet will sound at an hour when you do not think it will sound, therefore there is the potential for you to be caught unaware (Matt.24:44).

            The Christ carefully illustrates how the catching away of the church will occur, using two examples from the Old Testament, the destruction of the flood and the destruction of the city of Sodom. He describes that when the flood came every person was swept away to their death, except for Noah and his family, every individual was caught unaware because they had no knowledge of how great the surging waters would fill the earth (Matt.24:37-39). He added that when Lot was taken out of the city of Sodom, by the two angels manifesting in the image of men, fire and brimstone fell upon the city destroying it without warning to any of its inhabitants (Gen.19:16-25; Lk.17:28-30). In the same way, when the Lord raptures the church (1Thess.4:16-17), it will be similar in nature to these two events; the earth’s population will be caught off guard. Jesus is exhortative in his teaching of how quickly he will come to catch the church away, by using the preceding examples, but now, after strongly urging the church to watch and be ready for his appearance, he then turns his attention to the faithful and wise servant, who is a kingdom officer (Eph.4:11), an overseer of the church.

            Verse forty five reveals that the overseers have a great responsibility to feed the church certain types of food at particular times; “their food in due season.” It is up to the overseer to know what season the church is in, and they must know what kind of food to feed them in the various seasons. The food that must be administered to the church is distinctly the word of God, it is not fables, it is not stories, but rather it is what God has said and what has been recorded in the Scriptures. It is every book and every letter written, it is every chapter and every passage recorded, broken down and interpreted properly, so the church can know without any doubt what God is saying. The word of God feeds the spirit and soul, it nourishes them like we nourish our body so that the body can live and be healthy—when the word of God is not provided to the church, with a healthy provision, provided constantly and interpreted correctly, the spirit man gets anemic, begins to get weak, and when it gets weak there is the possibility of death.

            God expects the overseer to feed the church certain types of food, meaning certain doctrines, in the various stages and seasons of the church, he expects the church to grow so they must begin on the milk of the word and then advance to the meat of the word (Heb.5:12-14; 1Pt.2:2). The overseer must know what season the church is in, is the church in the early beginnings or is it in the final days of the church age, there is milk and meat for both seasons and the overseer must know what to feed the church in whatever time period the church is in. The apostles recorded both milk and meat for the churches nourishment needs, both for the early beginnings of the church age and for the final days of the church age; and of course in between these periods as well. When the kingdom officer feeds the church in this generation, the final days of the church age, they can feed the church milk and meat that pertain to the early beginnings of the church age but they must also inform the church that this is the type of food they are receiving, therefore, since we are living in the final days of the church age the overseer must primarily feed the church milk and meat that is suitable for this particular time.

            What do I mean by feeding the church food that is suitable for this particular time? What I mean is that the overseer must realize that we are living in the final days of the church age, which means we are living in the days when the catching away of the church can happen at any hour (Jms.5:8), so the food to be administered in this season, and on a constant basis, is food pertaining to the coming of the Lord, the rapture of the church, the signs of the times, the tribulation period, the second coming, etc.—the overseer must stop being men pleasers, stop tickling the ears of their parishioners, and preach the word of God. It is up to the kingdom officers to know Gods word and to know how to divide it properly, how to administer it for the season (2Tim.2:15), so they can nourish the church, so the church does not grow weak and fall away from the faith (2Thess.2:3; 1Tim.4:1; 2Tim.4:3-4), and most important, so the church can watch and be ready for the coming of the Lord (Matt.24:42, 44; 25:13). 

            Jesus asked something specific in the verse above “Who then is the faithful and wise servant?” He is questioning his hearers, specifically questioning those whom he has appointed to be kingdom officers; do they know that they have been given the responsibility to feed the church, to feed them certain types of food at particular times? Do they know that this is what God has chosen them for? In the following verse, verse forty six, Jesus encourages the faithful and wise servant saying that he is blessed if he feeds the church the right kind of food when he comes to take his church into the heavenly realm. After this he then proceeds to say what the rewards and consequences of their obedience will be.

On The Horizon

            The United Sates of America, and the United Kingdom, are faced with a huge dilemma. What do they do to save face over the beheadings of their citizens, the two American journalists and the British aid worker? These three men were citizens of their respective nations, doing what their consciences directed them to do, far from the comfort of their own homes and family, having their lives extinguished by men and an organization who want to set up their own rule of law and rule the world. So what does America and the United Kingdom do? What a quandary they face.

            What we have been seeing through news reports these past couple of weeks, what has been witnessed on the videos that ISIS is releasing to the world, is not unlike the atrocious acts that will occur during the tribulation period, when the inhabitants of the earth will witness the beheadings of hundreds of thousands, even millions of people, which will even be televised as a deterrent, because of their refusal to not bow down and worship the soon to be announced one world leader, and follow his political and religious system, in which he will demand compliance.

            With all that we are witnessing in the world today one cannot truly deny that something is on the horizon, a one world leader is what people can see, and with the coming of a one world leader comes the final seven years of Israel’s decreed, four hundred, ninety year period (Dan.9:24-27), which is the seven year tribulation period (Rev.7:14). This seven year tribulation period will be like what the world is witnessing today, in Iraq and Syria, with ISIS, but on a much larger scale, it will be like no other period in the history of civilization (Mk.13:19), it will be seven years of hell on earth. The bible refers to it as the hour of πειρασμός (peirasmos), which is a period of testing or proving, the hearts of men will be tested to prove what really lies deep within their very being (Rev.3:10).

            The testing during this period does not look good for many of earths inhabitants, for their hearts will prove to despise God and his Son, Jesus Christ, rather they will choose to worship a one world leader (Rev.6:2), who is on the horizon of world power, whom the bible refers to as the beast (Rev.13:1-8)—this one world leader will make ISIS look pretty tame compared to what he will demand. Those who resist the one world leader will be the focus of his attention, for he is given power to conquer these individuals (Rev.13:7), his accomplice, another beast (Rev.13:11-12), will force earths inhabitants to worship an image that he erects of the first beast (Rev.13:14), and force everyone to receive a mark that will acknowledge their allegiance to the first beast and his system (Rev.13:16-17).

            Many will refuse to worship the image of the first beast that will result in their demise (Rev.13:15), the death they will suffer will be the same kind of death that the two American journalists and the British aid worker suffered; they will viciously have their heads removed. They will have their heads removed because they refuse to bow down and worship the one world leader, the first beast, and his image, they will rather choose to worship Jesus Christ and his word (Rev.20:4). The Scripture reveals that those who will be killed by the one world leader and his government will ask the Lord to avenge them for their gruesome departure (Rev.6:9-10), the Lord says he will avenge them but they will have to wait until an appointed time (Rev.6:11), this time will be when the Lord comes to redeem Israel at the end of the final seven years of their decreed period of time; the seven year tribulation period (Rev.19:11-14). The Lord will avenge those who will be beheaded indeed, the kings of the earth, and their mighty men, will be destroyed (Rev.19:17-18, 21), the first and second beast will be captured and cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev.19:20-21).

            It would be remiss of me to not include some good news, in that you do not have to experience the coming of this one world leader, followed by the seven year tribulation period. Jesus Christ says: “Therefore be watchful all the time, asking that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk.21:36, HNV). If you abide in Christ you will escape this coming horror, because God has promised to remove his followers just before the events described above occur (Rev.3:10), through the catching away of his followers (1Thess.4:16-17).      

Do Not Insult Gods Messengers

            Sometimes the need arises when you just have to set the record straight, you cannot let an insult pervert the mind of the susceptible, those who are unaware that their thoughts are being taken advantage of, they are vulnerable and easily open to deception; they are easy prey for the deceiver and will believe whatever he communicates to them. What am I saying? Whose mind is being perverted with deception, is the truth being distorted?

            There is an unspecified group of people out there who are distorting the image of certain individuals whom God created, not referring to those who were created in his image for that is another subject for another time, the certain individuals that I am referring to are not human but angelic. These particular angelic beings that are being taken aim at, who are the recipients of an affront on their personal existence, were created to perform the will of God, just as all angelic creatures were created, each one being given important tasks that they wilfully carry out without either grievance or regret, they are grateful to have been created and they exist to serve their Creator throughout all eternity. So you understand, in no uncertain terms, is this article meant to exalt these heavenly creatures or is it written to worship them, nonetheless, we should all give them our respect because of the service they perform for God.

            The identifying heavenly creatures being insulted are both the angels Gabriel and Michael, whose images are being smeared by the propagation of a particular form of medium, whose product of imagination insults the character and existence of these two high ranking servants of Almighty God. Does Gabriel and Michael need defending, surely not, but they belong to God and are undoubtedly important creatures to him; so I give them a relative small defence to counteract the offensive production being propagated.   

            Gabriel is mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments; in both places he is mentioned with the task of being a messenger to those who were selected for an important assignment in the plan of God. What we first know about him is that he came with the power of revelation to make Daniel the prophet understand the vision that was given to him concerning the time of the end (Dan.8:15-17). The vision was specific referring to the time of wrath which is the seventieth week of Israel (Dan.8:19; 9:24-27), the time of wrath is commonly referred to as the seven year tribulation period (Rev.7:14) and the hour of testing (Rev.3:10). Gabriel revealed some antichrist types who dominated the eras in which they lived (Dan.8:20-21), then proceeds to give Daniel understanding to the greatest of all antichrists who is the one world leader that will arrive on a peace platform (Rev.6:2: Dan.9:27a), but is later revealed as the first beast whom the world will worship (Rev.13:1-8). It is revealed to Daniel that this beast has a stern look about him, is clandestine in his affairs, he is powerful through darkness, comes against those who believe God, is completely deceptive and will even come against the Lord (Dan.8:23-26). Gabriel came to Daniel a second time, while Daniel was in prayer (Dan.9:20-21), to give him even more understanding and insight into the plan of God (Dan.9:22), concerning Israel’s seventy week period and the final week of this period —the seventy week period is prophetic language for the four hundred ninety years decreed upon Israel to finish her transgression, be rid of sin, and so on; but the most important part of this time period is that at the final day of this length of time the nation of Israel will anoint Jesus as their Messiah and King (Dan.9:24-27).

            Angel Gabriel was also sent to a priest named Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, the husband of Elizabeth, to convey to him that his wife would have a son and he was to name him John. His son will turn many Israeli children to God as he walks in the spirit and power of Elijah—you can read the rest of the record (Lk.1:5-23, 57-80). At the same time Gabriel was sent to Mary, the betrothed of Joseph, who was a virgin, and conveyed to her that she would be the mother of the Messiah even though she had never slept with a man, she believed him and then he disappeared from her sight (Lk.1:26-38).

            The angel Michael is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments just like Gabriel, he is a guardian angel with the task of protecting the people of Israel (Dan.10:21; 12:1), he indeed is one of the primary angels that does battle against the demons in the spiritual realm (Dan.10:13), he is the archangel who contended with the devil over the body of Moses (Jd.1:9). In the seven year tribulation period war will break out in the heavenly realms where Michael, and the angels under his command, will do battle against the dragon, who is Satan, and his angels, who are the fallen angels. The result of this battle will be that Satan and the fallen angels will be cast out of the spiritual realm into the physical realm meaning the earth (Rev.12:7-10, 12-13), Jesus prophesied the result of this battle during one of his discussions with his disciples (Lk.10:18)—Satan and his angels were cast out of the presence of the Father long before this battle will take place, his banishment could have been before God created Adam although it may have even been just a brief time after God formed man from the dust of the earth, nevertheless Satan and his angels were relegated to the lower heavens, a place out of the reach of the higher heavens where God the Father resides. The battle between Michael and Satan takes place in the lower regions of the heavenly realms because that is where the battle ground is (Eph.6:12), it is impossible for any kind of battle to take place in the higher heavens where God resides because his immediate vicinity is controlled by a Spirit of peace. A description of the banishment is registered in Ezekiel’s writings recorded in metaphoric language (Ez.28:13-17), Satan still has access to the Father after his banishment as recorded in the book of Job, chapters one and two, but his access is only limited meaning he can only come so far and no further. Once Satan is defeated by Michael in the tribulation period he will no longer be able to access the spiritual realm anymore, his domain will be only the earth and its atmosphere until he is dealt with after the seven year tribulation is completed (Rev.20:1-3). Michael may very well be the chief angel who accompanies the Lord when he comes to catch away his church from the earth, before the final week of Israel’s seventieth week period begins, this archangel will make a verbal expression that will clear the lower regions of the heavenly realms making an unhindered pathway for both the Lord and his church during this glorious event (1Thess.4:16-17).

            To those who have distorted the character of these mighty creatures by comparing them to the fallen angels, who left their original dwelling place (Jd.1:6), who sinned against their Creator (2Pt.2:4), whether you dispense your ideology purposely or out of ignorance, you have insulted these holy creations who were created to do mighty and powerful things for their God. What comes to my mind because of your arrogant action is what Jesus said will happen at the end of the tribulation period: “So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous”* (Matt.13:49). Don’t insult the messengers of God, the consequences have eternal ramifications.

What is Brotherly Love?

            In a restaurant the other day I sat near a table of men who were talking like they were men of the Christian faith, they discussed several topics during the course of their meal concerning different doctrines in the holy bible; this is why I formed the opinion that they were men of faith. One of the gentlemen brought up the fact that he and his wife were celebrating their anniversary, he said they had been married a certain number of years, which indeed happened to be a great number of years—something that does not happen too much anymore in our society today. The other men at this table commented on this abnormally long stretch of years for a marriage to last and gave their congratulations to the happy man who has lived a lifetime of marital bliss, then another man at the table was asked how many years he had been married and he too announced that he has been married for a great number of years just like the other man.

            Sitting there was another guy who added his part to the conversation saying that his marriage only lasted a few years, then he was separated and divorce from the woman he had married, his face revealed kind of a shameful confession, and regret was evident in the tone of his voice. Another man at this breakfast gathering made what sounded like a sarcastic remark as to why this guys marriage did not last so the divorcé explained that his wife left him because of his devotion to Christ, it seemed like he was suffering a brief moment of sadness as he went on to explain further another fact about his marriage breakdown. As I looked I began to notice that the other men at the table  started to turn their attention away from this man who was opening up about the sadness he still felt over this unfortunate incident in his life, the look on their faces revealed that they wanted to get as far away from this conversation as they possibly could, they started to get fidgety, one looking down into his lap, one gave his attention to a woman who entered the restaurant, while another stared at the wall in the opposite direction of the man who dared share his experience of martial breakdown.

            The atmosphere at this Christian fellowship table started to get quite eerie. I was not the only one who noticed the change in the atmosphere because the man who was reminiscing a time of sadness noticed it too, he noticed that his breakfast buddies were not in the least interested about the unfortunate experience he once endured, he noticed that they were acting as if they were down right uncomfortable, so he quickly began to hold back the thoughts he was sharing and changed the subject.

            I thought, how sad it is that these men who are of the Christian faith were not at all interested in the way this man was feeling at this moment, did they not even have enough respect for him to give him a brief moment of their undivided attention as he was expressing a hurtful time in his past. Is the Christian faith not to be an expression of love one to another, even if a brother happens to share something that may be a little bit uncomfortable to his hearers? It was blatantly obvious to my on looking eyes, and I am sure to the eyes looking down from above, that these men were not at all interested in the sad moment that their brother was reminiscent about. All I could think about after this was whether or not this group truly cared for this guy, whether or not they had any love for him.

            God is different from the scene that I witnessed at that table on that day, for there is no love lacking in his character or in his actions. He revealed his love for man, even every guy who was seated at that table, by sending his Son into this world to give his life as a sacrifice for all the sins of men (Jn.3:16), Jesus even taught that love is paramount for anyone who would follow him (Matt.5:43-46); his rule is that you cannot only love the Lord God but you must also love anyone who is your neighbour, the same way that you love yourself (Matt.22:37-40). Before he left his disciples to go to the cross Jesus gave them this important edict to follow: “A new mitzvah I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another” (Jn.13:34, HNV). He then followed up with the fact that if anyone who claims to be his follower than love would be the determining factor in the judgement of men to whether you truly do belong to him (Jn.13:35).

            The Apostle Paul was a great man of God who was used to spread the message of God to the Gentile world, he made sure that he preached loved to his converts because love is essential to the Christian faith, if you do not love you cannot be a follower of this Jesus, whom he preached: “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another; in honor preferring one another” (Rom.12:9-10, HNV). The apostle also preached that you could be the most spiritually gifted person in the church, but if you come up short in love than your gifts are of no value (1Cor.13:1-2). Surely the same, you may be the biggest giver in your congregation, you can even sacrifice your body to the enemies of the cross, but if love is not an expression of your actions than all you do does not gain you one ounce of reward; Paul taught that all you do must be done in a spirit of love (1Cor.16:14).

            The Apostle John was a very straight forward person, he did not care to tickle the ears of men, even when writing on the subject of Christian love, writing that we can determine who the children of God are and who the children of the evil one are, the determining factor between the two families are that the one who is a child of God will undoubtedly love his brother, while the child of the evil one will not (1Jn.3:10); this is the message that has been preached from the beginning of the church that the family of God should love one another (1Jn.3:11). If you have ever had doubts whether you are a child of God or not, whether you have received eternal life or not, for some struggle with this issue, then survey your attitude toward those who are called the brothers, do your actions express love to the brethren, even the lowliest of the brethren, because if you do not love your brother in Christ than you still abide in darkness (1Jn.3:14). Do you want to love your brother, then lay your life down for him, Christ gave you the example (1Jn.3:16); don’t ignore your brother when he is pouring his heart out to you.

            My thought returns to Paul again, he analyzed what love truly is and preached it to his converts, writing it down for you and me in these final days of the church age, saying that love is always patient and kind, it is never envious of another human individual, neither does it show itself off or puff itself up. Love is not rude or selfish, it is not easily provoked or made uncomfortable at someone else’s expression of sadness (1Cor.13:4-5c). Love is even more than all these things but you can further your study on love and look the rest up for yourself (1Cor.13:5d-13), if you truly want to be a person that is a walking expression of love.

            As each day goes by in this fast paced world the time is flying by like a train speeding down the track to make its next destination on time, the time is short, the trumpet is about to sound, the church is going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that God would make their love for each other increase, even that it would overflow, not just for one another but even for those outside of their own congregation (1Thess.3:12). He also prayed that God would strengthen their hearts, which implies make them strong in love, so that they would be free from fault, be pure in heart, in the presence of the Father when the Lord comes to rapture his church (1Thess.3:13). Does this mean we Christians should be more tolerant, patient, and kind, when a brother expresses a moment of grief? I think maybe it does if we want to express brotherly love.  

Earthquakes, From One End to The Other

            In the early hours this morning at approximately 3:20 am, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake rattled Northern California near Napa Valley. A couple of hours after this 6.0 rocker an aftershock occurred at approximately 5:47 am, measuring a magnitude 3.6 on the Richter scale. Yesterday, Saturday, August 23^rd, a seismic disturbance was recorded in Valparaiso, Chile, as a 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked that part of the world, followed by at least three heavy aftershocks. In Iceland, a series of earthquakes have been recorded since Friday, while in Iran the United States Geological Survey reports an earthquake occurred today, along with the California earthquake, near the city of Dezful, recording a 5.2 magnitude. Iran already experienced a quake almost a week ago with a powerful 6.3 magnitude measured on the Richter scale. According to the Seismic Monitor's “Last Thirty Days Earthquakes” there have been approximately four hundred fifty five earthquakes of at least a 4.0 magnitude, from July 25^th through August 22cd (1).

            Why are we seeing so many earthquakes across the earth and does it have anything to do with the coming of the Lord? Many columnists, bloggers and the types, say that according to their research that the earth is not experiencing more earthquakes today compared to years ago, but that we are just getting more media coverage on seismic activity than we were back then. According to the United States Geological Survey there are several million earthquakes that occur over the breadth of the earth every year (2). Many researchers believe that the number and frequency of earthquakes have not increased but only their ability to record them, this because of the number of seismograph stations that have been built over the last few decades.                                                           

            When Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives with the apostles and taught them concerning the signs that would precede the catching away of the church (Matt.24:4-8, 36-51; 25:1-13; 1Thess.4:16-17), and the signs that would precede his coming back to the earth to redeem the nation of Israel (Matt.24:4-31, 32-34; Rev.19:11-21; Dan.9:24-27), he said that prior to these two glorious events that there would be “earthquakes in various places” (Matt.24:7d, HNV), which agrees with the seismologist reports that earthquakes are occurring all over this planet.                                                                                             

            When Jesus revealed the accuracy of this sign to the apostles was there earthquakes occurring in various places then, were they experiencing seismic activity from one end of the globe to the other? There is no way of knowing the number and frequency of earthquakes in the apostles time because we had no way of measuring seismic activity back then, the technology did not exist, that was almost two thousand years ago, and if there were earthquakes occurring in various places when Jesus gave this prediction why then did he feel the need to mention, via the prophetic word, that there would be earthquakes in various places in these final days of the church age? May I suggest that the reason why the Christ prophesied that there would be earthquakes all over the face of the earth in this particular generation, as one of the signs that the rapture of the church is ready to occur, and to follow after that is his coming back to the earth to rescue the nation of Israel from her enemies, is because he foreknew that the technology would exist that is recording the millions of tremors all over the earth today, to give man the opportunity to believe that he can predict the future, because he is the only one who can see the beginning from the end: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isa.46:9-10, KJV).

            It does not make any difference how many earthquakes the people of AD 32 were experiencing, because Jesus was not concerned of how many earthquakes they were experiencing but how many earthquakes this generation would be experiencing, which is, they are occurring in various places, from one end of the earth to the other.

 

(1) http://www.iris.edu/seismon/eventlist/index.phtml

(2) http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php

The Fallen Angels Are An Evil Bunch

(Contents of this article were originally written for the Maranatha Faith Believers Website)

             As I carefully studied the contents of Matthew Chapter twenty four, verse thirty six, and the passage surrounding it, I concluded that its text  is referring to the catching away of the church of Jesus Christ (1Thess.4:16-17), rather than the second coming of Christ (Matt.24:29-31; Rev.19:11-21), which takes place at the end of Israel’s seventieth week period (Dan.9:24-27), or more commonly known as the seven year tribulation period (Matt.24:9, 21, 29; Mk.13:19, 24; Rev.7:14). The church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air prior to the commencement of Israel’s seventieth week period because Scripture reveals that the man who enforces a seven year peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, which begins the seventieth week (Dan.9:27a), will not come to power until the church is taken out of the way (2Thess.2:1-8), or rather they are taken off the earth. Revelation, chapter four through chapter six, verse two, reveals partial events once the church is taken out of the earth into the presence of God (heaven), then the man of sin (1Thess.2:3) comes to power as the one riding on a white horse holding only a bow (Rev.6:2), holding only the bow represents that he initiates peace, and he is given a crown thereafter becomes a conqueror, which has the connotation that he becomes a prominent world leader; a one world leader (Dan.7:8, 20-21, 24-25; 9:26b-27; 11:36-45; Rev.13:1-8).

            Scripture reveals the order of events, which is the church is taken off the earth first, then the man of sin comes to power as a one world leader and enforces a peace covenant upon the Israelis, Israel’s seventieth week period then begins and concludes with Israel witnessing the second coming of Christ that ends the four hundred ninety year period decreed upon her and to finish her transgression (Dan.9:24-27). Therefore, from verses thirty six through fifty one, of Matthew chapter twenty four, Jesus is solely referring to the church in these verses and not the people of Israel, even though at this point in his discourse the apostles had no idea there would even be an entity known as the church, and that they would be the foundation of this entity (Eph.2:19-20)—the church is an entity because it is not Israel, God created the church to have its own distinct existence from anything else either on earth or in heaven, although it does not stand on its own because Christ is the head of the church. He revealed the distresses that the people of Israel (Rev.11:3-12; 12:6, 13-17) and the tribulation saints (Rev.6:9-11; 7:9-17; 12:17; 13:7, 9-10; 14:9-13; 15:2-4; 16:15) would face during Israel’s seventieth week period, in verses nine through twenty nine.

            The expression in this phrase, “the coming of the Son of man” (Matt.24:37b, Webster's Bible), has reference to when “the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout” (1Thess.4:16a, HNV). It also has reference to the day when Jesus promised the apostles—and those built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—that he would come back to receive them unto himself: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also” (Jn.14:3, KJV). The coming of the son of man will be like “as the days of Noah [were]” (Matt.24:37a, Webster's Bible); they will be similar. Jesus explains what things will be similar in verses thirty eight to thirty nine with a brief description of what Noah’s contemporaries were doing as he was building the ark, but he gives only a brief description of what the people were doing and not who they were, for the people whom Noah had to contend with were a very evil bunch. Sexual immorality and violence were common to them, this is how they conducted themselves continually (Gen.6:5, 11-13), so much so, that God was grieved that he even made man (Gen.6:6).

            The Scripture says that “the sons of God*(אֱלֹהִים) {'elohiym}” had sexual relationships with the daughters of men (Gen.6:2), and the result of these sexual relationships produced giants or nephilim, (נָפִיל) {nĕphiyl} (Gen.6:4), which angered the Lord to where he decided to limit the lifespan of man to one hundred twenty years—this was a judgment he passed onto man because of his wickedness (Gen.6:3), prior to this men lived to be hundreds and hundreds of years old (Gen.5). Why was God so angry at man for having sexual relationships with the sons of אֱלֹהִים {'elohiym}, to the point where he then limited mans lifespan and even decided to destroy all living creatures on the earth (Gen.6:7)? Why did the daughters of men produce giants, the nephilim, after having sexual relationships with these sons of God? Who were these sons of God?

            Some scholars would have you believe that the sons of God referenced in Genesis chapter six are the sons of Seth, the son of Adam (Gen.5:3-8), because they believe that Seth was a righteous man, and because he was a righteous man these sons of God referenced by Moses, the writer of Genesis, could be none other than Seth’s descendants. If these sons of God were Seth’s descendants than why did they produce giants instead of normal human beings? Why then was God so angry with the population if these so-called descendants of Seth were in fact real human beings themselves. The answer is that these sons of God were not descendants of Seth but were fallen angels (Jude 1:6; Matt.25:41; 2Pt.2:4; Rev.12:7, 9).

            These sons of God, though they were fallen angels, were created by God just like the chief angel, Satan, was created. The Lord did not create them to be fallen angels, but they chose to rebel against God and consequently became fallen (Isa.14:12-15; Ezek.28:13-17; Lk.10:18; Rev.12:7, 9). Can these fallen angels have sexual relationships with human beings? Some people say no because they say they see nowhere in the bible that affirms this, and to put their argument forward they even put words in Jesus’ mouth when he said that there is no marriage in heaven, just like the angels (Matt.22:30; Mk.12:25), therefore they say that this statement proves angels cannot have sexual relationships with humans. To refute these peoples argument the Christ was not saying that angels cannot have sexual relationships with human beings in these verses but that the angels in heaven are not married; there are no sexual relationships in heaven. There are no Scriptures in the bible that say angels cannot engage is sexual conduct, and Genesis chapter six seems to indicate that fallen angels can  have sexual intimacy with the daughters of men, and even produce offspring with them when they manifest themselves in the physical realm. 

            An argument can be made that angels have the capability to have sexual relations while in the physical realm is seen in Genesis chapter nineteen, where God sent two angels to the city of Sodom and changed their appearances to look like men, with the assignment to rescue Lot and his family. The men from Sodom wanted to have sexual relations with these two angels who looked like men, but the two angels resisted their evil behavior (Gen.19:5). Lot had to intervene with the evil men of Sodom to not entertain the idea of raping these two angels who looked like men, because the possibility for them to be raped existed (Gen.19:6-8). The sons of God in chapter six, the fallen angels, would have also changed their appearances to look like men, who then proceeded to seduce the daughters of men, who did not resist their evil behavior, thereby had sexual relationships with these fallen angels and produced the nephilim. When these fallen angels had sexual relationships with the daughters of men they produced a hybrid species, called the nephilim, because the flesh of angels is different than the flesh of man (1Cor.15:39-40).

            Is this generation as corrupt as when the daughters of men in Noah’s day were producing nephilim with the fallen angels? If you have not noticed this generation is as wicked as in the days of Noah. This generation is producing hybrid humans and animals with genetic hybrid engineering in laboratories all in the advancement of science*. Are there fallen angels who have the appearance of men in our world today as in the days of Noah**? Can they change their appearance and look like aliens from another world that people have been witnessing? This generation is “as the days of Noah [were].”

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcnTdO47p0Q

** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zz8_MxcnzY

 

 

 

 

They Will Not Win

 

            And so the war between Israel and Hamas wages on, the seventy two hour cease-fire did not solve a thing as Hamas began to fire their rockets at Israeli cities again on Friday. At the exact time the seventy two hour cease fire was officially over the rockets began to fly through the air with dozens more following. This action by Hamas does not surprise me, they hate the Jewish people and their desire is to eradicate every Jew and take the land of Israel and claim it as their own; this is what they live and breathe to do. Just this past Friday an official from the Palestinian Authority posted on Facebook a call for the Arabs to drive Israel into the sea (1). Why should this rhetoric by the Palestinian leaders surprise anyone, especially those who hold pro-Hamas rallies in Europe, the US, and Canada? Do these people even know the history behind this land; I assume that most of them do not because of their placards that call for Israel to free Palestine. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and many others who border the land of Israel and are in fact their neighbours, want to eradicate the Jew and confiscate their land. What kind of neighbours are they anyway? They have an agenda and they mean to carry it out; no cease-fire is going to stop their plans.

            The bible mentions the Palestinian people in the book of Psalms, and it mentions how their main goal is to destroy the Jewish people and confiscate their land; yes it is Israel’s land. God gave the Jewish people the geographical territory they now possess this present day and even more of the extended geographical territory surrounding their borders. God made a covenant with Abram before he changed his name to Abraham—father of many nations—and promised that he would give to him and his descendants the land from, “the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen.15:18, KJV). He then proceeds to add to this territory by giving to Abram and his descendants the geographical areas in verses nineteen through twenty one, these areas along with the area of the river of Egypt, which is the Nile River, to the great river Euphrates, encompass every inch of the land that Israel possess today, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, along with portions of Egypt, Iraq, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and also included is all of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

            God said to Abraham—after he changed his name from Abram—that he would give to him and his descendants the whole land of Canaan (2) as an everlasting possession (Gen.17:8). The Lord later confirmed to Isaac that he will give these same lands to him and his descendants just as he promised his father (Gen.26:2-4), then he appeared to Jacob—whom the Lord later named Israel—and passed on this same promise to him and his children (Gen.28:10-14; 35:9-13). The Lord reassures Joshua that he has given this land to the descendants of Jacob—Israel—and that he must go now and possess it (Jos.1:1-4). The people who now claim that Israel is occupying their land, the Palestinians, led by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, were never promised and given this land by God, but only the descendants of Israel through Jacob, through Isaac, through Abraham. Ishmael and his descendants, the son of Abram by the Egyptian maidservant Hagar, and Esau and his descendants, the twin brother of Jacob, were never partakers of this promise.

            The men in charge of Hamas, and the people who lead the Palestinian Authority, cannot seem to find it in their hearts and minds to end their conflict with Israel. They will not stop until they have reached their goal of wiping Israel off the face of the map, they will not even recognize Israel as a sovereign nation. The want the land and they despise the Jew so much that they will not stop until every last Jew is wiped out. The Psalmist, Asaph, saw this conflict nearly three thousand years ago and writes down what he saw as he was led along by the Spirit of God in Psalms, chapter eighty three. He saw how these enemies of Israel are very cunning as they conspire against the people living in Israel (Ps.83:3), he maybe saw the sophisticated tunnels that Hamas engineered under the earth to attack Israel. They say they want to completely destroy Israel so that even the name of Israel will be forgotten (Ps.83:4).

            Asaph saw in his vision more nations and people groups, than just the people who drive Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, who are dedicated to completely destroying Israel, but nonetheless Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are included in this list and are mentioned in verse seven being listed as the descendants of Philistia. All the descendants listed in these verses want to destroy Israel and confiscate their land, but right now the ones who are making the headlines are the people who reside in the Gaza Strip, the descendants of Philistia, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and all their Arab supporters.

            Asaph prays and writes that God will not let them away with this violence against his people, he says to make them, “like tumbleweed; Like chaff before the wind” (Ps.83:13, HNV). He asks the Lord to make them ashamed of what they desire to do to Israel so that men will seek the Lord (Ps.83:16), and that they “be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish” (Ps.83:17, HNV). I can see from these predictions that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are putting themselves in jeopardy if they continue in their attempts to eradicate the Jews—this goes for any of the other groups who choose to destroy the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.   

 

(1) http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183854#.U-ZDIJt0yM9

(2) http://www.bible-history.com/map-israel-joshua/

 

 

The Third Temple Defiled

 

            In an online article in the news magazine called, Israel Today (a news agency based in Jerusalem), Ryan Jones writes a very interesting article on how peace in the Middle East will be achieved, and the way peace is to be achieved is to rebuild the Third Temple (1). He writes that this idea comes from an Israeli organization that is committed in rebuilding the Third Temple called the Temple Institute (2). This organization believes that long lasting peace will come to the Middle East, and presumably Israel in particular, if people will rally and donate to the Temples construction, thereby making history (3).

            The people at the Temple Institute have prophetic notions in their quest to rebuild the Third Temple because Scripture does attest that it will be rebuilt (Rev.11:1-2), and the Temple will be a focal point in the final seven years of the four hundred ninety years decreed upon Israel (Dan.9:24, 27), but the focal point on the Third Temple will not be what the members of the Temple Institute have in mind. They have in mind that the Third Temple will be a place where people will find tranquility and peace, and where people will come from all over the world as a pilgrimage (3), but the bible writes a different story.

            The bible has predicted that the Third Temple will be rebuilt (Rev.11:1-2) and that time is very soon, as it will be rebuilt in time for the man of sin to go into it and desecrate it just as Antiochus Epiphanes went into the Second Temple and defiled it, circa 168 BC, by erecting a pagan alter and sacrificing a sow pig on it. Antiochus took the blood of the sow pig and sprinkled it throughout the Temple sanctuary thereby making the sanctuary unclean. This act of desecration was prophesied to the Prophet Daniel by the one who looked like a man dressed in linen as he was standing on the bank of the Tigris River; at this time the daily sacrifice ended for a period of time (Dan.10:4, 18; 11:31).

            There will be another desecration to the Temple, this being the Third Temple, which will also bring an end to the daily sacrifice just as it did when the Second Temple was desecrated. This desecration cannot happen of course until the Third Temple is rebuilt which will be rebuilt I assume by the Temple Institute in Israel. This second desecration was also revealed to the Prophet Daniel (Dan.8:13; 9:27; 12:11) and was also mentioned in the gospels by Jesus (Matt.24:15; Mk.13:14). This desecration is prophesied to happen in the middle of Israel’s seventieth week period (Dan.9:24-27) which is better known to most Christians as the seven year tribulation period (Matt.24:9, 21, 29; Mk.13:19, 24; Rev.7:14), and the hour of trial (Rev.3:10), it is even referred to as the wrath to come (1Thess.1:9b-10; 5:9-10). During this time period God will reveal his anger toward the unbelieving inhabitants of the earth prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ from heaven (Matt.24:27, 30; Rev.19:11-14).

            As said above the Second Temple was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes as prophesied (Dan.11:31), but the Third Temple will be desecrated by a man know as the “the man of sin” (2Thess.2:3, HNV). This man of sin is the man whom the world will announce as the leader of the one world government and he is the individual who is prophesied riding on a white horse who goes forth to conquer the world (Rev.6:2), he is also referred to in Scripture as the first beast (Rev.13:1-8)—this man is commonly referred to as the Antichrist (1Jn.2:18; 4:3). This man of sin will desecrate the Third Temple in the middle of the seven year tribulation period (Dan.9:27; 11:36), and this act is where we get the phrase “the abomination of desolation” (Matt.24:15, HNV) mentioned by Jesus in his Mount of Olives discourse. This beast will go into the rebuilt Third Temple and will exalt himself even above the Lord God Almighty (2Thess.2:4) and by this act will defile the Temple.

 

(1) http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24821/Default.aspx

(2) https://www.templeinstitute.org/

(3) https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/build-the-third-temple--3