News Wisdom

Debased Minds

2011-04-12T20:50:00.003-05:00

As our country gets further from God, we will suffer the consequences of being ruled over by leaders with debased minds. Romans 1:28 says, "even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (NKJ). This passage came to mind as I read about the insane rules of engagement our military has in Afghanistan. I couldn't believe that we have a catch-and-release program going on for Taliban over there. It really makes you wonder why we are there. This would be a tough time to be in the military. And it is a tough time to be a citizen in this country. Ungodly decisions are causing the United States to lose our power in the world, and with it our freedoms. Whether it is by incompetence or evil design, decisions our government has made is destroying our economy by keeping the unemployment rate up, destroying the value of our savings, and driving up inflation. The American Dream is evaporating before our eyes. God gives us the government we deserve. If our voters do not have sufficient spiritual discernment to elect the most godly leaders, we deserve the consequences of those we put into power. I wonder how people who don't know Jesus Christ as Savior can deal with all the negative trends we are seeing in this country today. I suspect they do whatever they can to put these things out of their minds. But this only exacerbates the proliferation of debased minds. So we may already be past the point of no return for turning things around in this country. I'd like to think there will be a collective awakening and certainly this is a worthy thing to pray for but it is beginning to look like the lateness of the hour will dictate the course of events. It is a blessing to know the prophetic Scriptures. I know that the eventual demise of the United States as the last superpower on earth has to happen to make way for the global government that is coming. The fact that our fall is happening so quickly shows we have to be close to the Tribulation and we know the Rapture will be even closer... Come soon Lord Jesus, this world sorely needs You.

Islamic Antichrist

2011-03-18T21:54:00.003-05:00

I am convinced that the Antichrist will be a Muslim. I have taken at least one bet about this... payable in push-ups at the winner's discretion in the New Jerusalem. I recently came across an argument from Ray Gano that reinforces my position on a Lamb & Lion Ministry TV program; see the Part 2 video.

You can also see text for the Ray Gano argument addressing the “people of the prince to come” of Daniel 9:26 here; scroll down to the heading for Ray Gano. The key point he makes is that the Tenth Legion of Rome under Titus was made up of mercenaries from surrounding countries that historically were enemies of Israel.

The other prophecy experts on the Lamb & Lion TV show that argued against the Antichrist being a Muslim generally dismiss the idea because no Muslim will worship a person who would declare himself to be god. But since Muslims don’t really believe truth to begin with, they are susceptible to being swayed be a charismatic leader that is one of their own. Indeed, all who don’t know the truth are able to be “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). Islam is essentially a huge cult and given the right leader, they will accept what he teaches hook, line, and sinker. That is the nature of cults; look at their history.

Also the idea that Muslims will be removed from the world scene since they will lose the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 wars does not hold water in my mind either. The history of the Muslims has been one of losing wars over and over… but they don’t give up; they just reorganize and try again with new tactics at a later time. This has been the strategy of liberals who have sought to impose socialism in this country; they have never given up despite their set backs and you can see where that has gotten us today. Come to think of it, losing over and over has been Satan’s record as well. Fortunately the Lord will put an end to these cycles.

The Book of Revelation makes it clear that a strong religion is used by the Antichrist to unite the world. I just don’t see some new age paganism, apostate Christianity or the secular humanism of Europe being that strong of a galvanizing force. If they were, why hasn’t Satan used them more effectively on this side of the Tribulation? After the true Christians are removed in the Rapture, Islam will be the dominate religion on the planet by a huge margin. And we already know its capacity to enlist followers; its growth trend this side of the Tribulation foreshadows its growth during the Tribulation.

I do have to admit that Dave Regan gives an excellent argument that the Antichrist will not be a Muslim but I’m still convinced he will be. There are just too many of the puzzle pieces that fit together nicely with that perspective. Ultimately however, we will have to see. Indications are we will not have too long to wait.

Consider yourself invited to my push-up party in the New Jerusalem. Whether I have won or lost the bet, God will be glorified and it will be a great celebration.

Meanwhile in the Mideast

2011-03-17T19:27:00.004-05:00

It seems like everyone is distracted by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. This is an event certainly worthy of distraction; we are right to be shaken-up by it. One of the messages we should see in this disaster is that our fallen world sorely needs Jesus Christ to come back and the increasing frequency of earthquakes is a sign that we don't have long to wait.

But another news story caught my attention that should shake us up even more... Iran claims to have put a spacecraft into orbit. If this is true, it means that they can build an intercontinental ballistic missile that could certainly hit Israel and even the United States with a nuclear weapon when they get one. And we all know they are working very hard to acquire nuclear weapons. This coupled with the hate of their leaders for both Israel and the United States along with their belief that instigating world conflict is necessary for the Islamic messiah, al Mahdi, to rise to power makes this a very threatening development.

I was pretty young at the time but understand that when the Soviets put Sputnik into orbit we went into such a panic that the U.S. space program finally got off the ground in a serious way. The amazing thing is that I have not even heard this Iranian claim reported in the mainstream press. Maybe it is just too amazing to be believed. It certainly is not politically correct in this day and age to consider that there is a nation out there doing their level best to bring an end to our way of life. It looks like we need to continue to read the Isreali press to stay up on the most important developments in the world.

Iran is ancient Persia and they play a key role in events during the Tribulation when they conspire with other Islamic nations in an attack against Israel. God delivers Israel which many believe is what gets Israel to collectively turn back to the true God of the Bible, Jesus Christ; see Ezekiel 38-39 for details. We can see the stage being set for this with all the posturing going on in the Mideast.

In light of all these developments, the best thing I can recommend is to keep listening for that Trumpet. Jesus is coming back and all indications are that we don't have long to wait.

Bad Luck

2011-03-14T19:02:00.001-05:00

Well it was inevitable. Scientists are being called on to reassure the public that the obvious increase in earthquakes is not a sign of the Apocalypse. Dr. Daniel McNamara, a research seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey said, “We’ve just had bad luck, they’ve occurred in places near to centers of population and then it becomes news.”

I’m sure that it will come as a surprise to Dr. McNamara that there is no such thing as luck, bad or otherwise. Trusting in luck is a sure sign of a materialistic worldview. Even claiming to believe in the Creator-God but having a deistic view of Him thinking He doesn’t intervene in the affairs of mankind reveals a lack of knowledge about the God of the Bible.

When the Bible uses the term Almighty, this means that God is in absolute control. Nothing happens outside His permissive will, “for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” (Revelation 19:6, NKJ). God is in such control that even the atoms that make up all matter are being held together by Him; “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). God is actively sustaining His creation, “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3).

God is allowing record-setting earthquakes to shake up mankind for a purpose. (Pardon the pun but I couldn’t resist especially since God Himself uses this word-picture, see Haggai 2:6-1.) Everything God does is intended to draw people to Him before time runs out. Sure there will be hardcore materialists who refuse to believe the evidence of the signs that Jesus told us to watch for. But there will be some with a mustard seed of faith who will respond to these events and turn to Jesus for salvation.

Indeed God used a shake-up in world politics to bring me to Him to make sense of what was happening. It made no sense to me that the Cold war superpower stand-off between the U.S. and Soviet Union could be resolved over night. But this made perfect sense in light of Bible prophecy to move the world closer to a one-world government (see my testimony).

The message in the increase in frequency and intensity of these devastating earthquakes is clear… get ready for Jesus is coming soon. If it were just the earthquakes, it might be easier to dismiss this sign but the developments in geopolitics are even clearer that we are getting close to the 70th week of Daniel. Just look at Israel and the nations that are most threatening to Israel. The emergence of Islam as the chief protagonist to Israel is amazing; the Tribulation stage is now effectively set.

Given the many worldwide trends indicating that the Tribulation has to be near, I can confidently predict that the “bad luck” with earthquakes will continue and even get worse. Of course the devout materialists will continue to dismiss these even more urgent signs. The time will come when it will be too late to make a decision for Christ. If you have not yet taken that step of faith, I pray that you’d give Jesus a try before it is too late…

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8).

The Last Trump

2011-03-13T16:35:00.004-05:00

All who love the prophetic Scriptures are familiar with the Rapture passage in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (NKJ).

I was reading an article in the March issue of Midnight Call magazine which pointed out that people in Paul’s day would have recognized the implications of the term “last trumpet” from observing the Roman army. When the Roman army broke camp to move on, a trumpet would sound three times. The first trumpet blast signaled a command to take their tents down and prepare to depart. The second trumpet was a command to assemble into their regiments in preparation to leave. The third trumpet was the signal to move out.

This historical context intrigued me as I considered how it might apply to the Rapture of the Church. It occurred to me that perhaps the Rapture will not be the event that by itself launches the world into chaos. Indeed, “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33, NIV). So instead of the Rapture causing a bunch of accidents with suddenly driverless cars crashing into things, perhaps our departure will be more orderly.

On another occasion Paul addressed the Rapture, he said, “but you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief” (1Thessalonians 5:4, NKJ). I had always taken this passage to mean that we can know the season of the Lord’s return for us by the signs indicating the Tribulation is near. But a literal interpretation of this would be that the Lord will tell us when we need to prepare to leave earth. God certainly revealed to His followers that He would be taking Elijah to heaven, see 2 Kings 2:1-11. God taking Elijah to heaven has often been seen as one of the Old Testament types of the Rapture.

Given that God will announce to His followers that they need to get ready to be taken to heaven, I doubt we’ll be given much warning. There will not be time to complete any unfinished business that God has called us to. How long did it take for a Roman soldier to pack up their gear? I experienced a similar thing in the U.S. Army Field Artillery when a battery got the command to “march order.” Things generally happened pretty fast because the better soldiers anticipated that command and were ready which we certainly should be ourselves as good soldiers of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3-4).

If the three trumpets associated with the Roman army breaking camp apply to the Rapture, then the first one might be an audible command from Jesus to His followers that we should immediately stop what we are doing and go to a place He specifies. This, for example could keep a Christian pilot from taking a planned flight so that there would be no pilot-less aircraft falling from the sky. Jesus might call His followers to assemble at various places like a particular home, some church campus or to meet other West Texas Christian travelers at a near-by rest stop (since I'm on the road a lot).

The second trump might be a call for the various assemblies of Christians to pray in preparation to leave the planet. This would be a good last opportunity for followers of Jesus to ask forgiveness for anything that has hindered our fellowship with the Lord before we meet Him face-to-face. It is actually a good practice to stay “prayed-up” in this regard because having a last opportunity to ask for forgiveness is still speculation on my part. And there will certainly be other things on our minds that deserve prayer the last minutes before we know we are about to leave earth. Like for loved ones we fear are about to be left behind. God is sovereign and He answers prayer; no telling how many people might be saved by God’s grace just prior to the Rapture.

I imagine the third (last) trump to be like what the Apostle John experienced: “after these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here’” (Revelation 4:1). This passage is widely accepted by Bible scholars to be a type of the Rapture so I fully expect to hear God’s voice clear as a trumpet calling me to join Him in heaven.

The Church Age began with an assembly of believers in Jerusalem at Pentecost; I wouldn’t be surprised if it is concluded similarly but with many multitudes of assemblies everywhere on earth… “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). At Pentecost, Peter explained the supernatural events by quoting prophecy in Joel 2:28, “it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). It will not surprise me if all true followers of Christ receive some sort of direct revelation such as where to assemble just prior to the conclusion of the Church Age.

How the Lord will conduct the Rapture is what I consider “somewhat educated” speculation on my part. I’m sure I’ll be surprised by how it actually takes place. But this analysis makes sense given the historical context and I believe God is revealing more things about end times events than any generation has ever experienced… “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4).

If God does call us to immediately cease our activities in preparation for the Rapture, I’d expect only true followers of Jesus to hear that command. As God called Paul on the Damascus road, those with him knew that something supernatural was occurring, but only Paul heard what Jesus said (Acts 9:3-7). Only those prepared to meet Jesus will be invited to “come up here.” Those who love their life in this world will miss the Rapture; “remember Lot's wife” (Luke 17:32). And as Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Given everything going on in this world today, it behooves us to be ready to leave here by making sure we are in a healthy relationship with Jesus. “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” (Luke 21:36). “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

As I heard a man who loved the prophetic Scriptures once say, “there are so many signs of the Lord’s soon return that I’m no longer watching so much as I’m listening.” In this day, all followers of Jesus need to stay ready to say, “speak, LORD, for Your servant hears!” (1 Samuel 3:9).

Earthquakes and Anarchy

2011-03-11T18:41:00.002-06:00

Japan has just had the largest earthquake in their history. If we are indeed in the last days before Jesus comes for His Church, Matthew 24:7 tells us we can expect more such record-breaking earthquakes. Most people will dismiss this trend as coincidence, but Christians know that God is in control and He allows such developments to serve a purpose. To those who know and love the prophetic Scriptures, the message is clear: “Surely I am coming quickly” (Revelation 22:20, NKJ).

There is much more than earthquakes speaking this message today. One story caught my eye that reinforces an end-times trend that was the subject of my last blog post, increasing persecution of those who follow Jesus…

More than 50 churches, nearly 30 houses, a school and an orphanage along with other Christian-owned buildings have been destroyed by rampaging Muslims in Ethiopia.

This is pretty amazing because Ethiopia is considered a majority-Christian nation. The rampaging Muslims must feel empowered by the anarchy sweeping through North Africa and the Mideast. It is not hard to extrapolate where such anarchy will lead; a strong-man leader who appeases the people by imposing Shariah Law will need to be installed. Such Islamic theocracies formalize the persecution of Christians because “infidels” are not tolerated in societies under Shariah.

What is interesting is that Mideast Muslims appear to be on fire to see Islamic governments installed and the end of all other power structures. I see a parallel between the popular demonstrations in the Mideast and the union thug-perpetrated demonstrations in Wisconsin. Anarchists hate due process and the rule of law making death threats to those they oppose.

It is interesting to note that anarchists are almost always on the left of the political spectrum. They hate authority and see their power in the chaos they can perpetrate. Do you see the parallel with the radical Islamists who seek the turmoil they believe is necessary for their world leader al Mahdi to emerge?

The Leftists and Islamists have many things in common and they are becoming emboldened in our day. Those with Leftist worldviews open themselves up to being influenced by demons. The fallen angels inspiring anarchy are organized and seek to install their proxies on earth. This current growing rejection of the “old order” is a foreshadowing of when Satan and his minions are kicked out of the spiritual realm during the Tribulation… "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time" (Revelation 12:12).

God is removing His restraint on evil in this world and evidence of this along with the record-breaking earthquakes tell us that time is short. Be ready; we don’t have long to suffer in this increasingly fallen world!

Islamic Freedom Lovers

2011-03-08T17:40:00.004-06:00

If there is any doubt about what the change in Egypt means, this article about a mob of nearly four thousand Muslims attacking Coptic Christian homes and Churches should be revealing. Don't expect to hear this story in the mainstream media because it doesn't fit with the pervasive worldview that radical Islam has nothing to do with the unrest in the Mideast. No one in the media wants to admit that there is a spiritual component to what is going on there.

I've observed a pattern, when people get a little taste of political power, their true nature becomes manifest. That is why the Muslims in Egypt feel free to now attack Christians. Most people just don't want to face the fact that Islam is the doctrine of demons Satan will use to subjugate the world under his representative. One thing I look forward to when the Lord returns is an end of political correctness; only the truth will be tolerated.

The Egyptian mobs seeking to rid themselves of Christians is a mild foreshadowing of what it will be like for followers of Jesus during the Tribulation. Jesus said His followers can expect persecution... "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20, NKJ). Christians have always experienced some degree of persecution but it will be hell on earth when Satan and his minions are given free-reign during the time following the rapture of the Church.

I wouldn't want to put off following Jesus until the rapture occurred which some think they need to prove that the Bible is true. Besides the severe persecution, there will be a "strong delusion" that will cause people to believe the rapture to be something other than what it really is (2 Thessalonians 2:11). It will be a lot harder to be a follower of Jesus after the rapture than it is now.

The spirit of Antichrist is rapidly growing in the world; now is not the time to equivocate about Jesus Christ.

End Times Islamic Trend

2011-03-01T20:12:00.002-06:00

One of the most significant trends that indicates we are in the end times before Jesus returns is the growth of Islam. I believe the Antichrist will be Islamic and news developments certainly reinforce this idea. As our government wrings its hands over what to do about Libya, it doesn't much matter; the Islamic leaders will blame the U.S. and Israel no matter what we do. For example, the Yemeni president believes the U.S. and Israel is behind the unrest among Arabs.

The Islamic world hates Israel because they hate the God of the Bible and Israel is the Apple of God's Eye (Deuteronomy 32:10). They hate the U.S. because we support Israel and the reason we support Israel is because of the strong Christian influence that still exists in this country despite the best efforts of the Secular Humanists.

It is fascinating to me that Islam wasn't even on the radar screen in this country until 9/11/2001 and it has sure been very active since then. Despite all that, I don't believe our country's leaders really understand the nature of the threat. Israel National News recently reported that the Obama administration has granted a visa to Professor Tariq Ramadan, a leading member of Europe's Muslim Brotherhood. It is not clear to me whether our government really doesn't know what the Muslim Brotherhood is all about or they are willfully trying to appease those in geopolitical ascendancy. Either way, the trend to boost the influence of Islam is undeniable.

Every day the news cries out for the Lord to return; and one day very soon He will. I look forward to that Day.

Global Warming Cult Alert

2011-02-28T19:32:00.002-06:00

I was wondering how long it would take the Global Warming Faithful to consider nuclear winter as a solution the greenhouse effect. I just saw a report that NASA researchers have determined that the cooling effect of atmospheric dust and smoke from even a regional nuclear war could make a big impact on global warming.

Of course the NASA rocket scientists go on to say the negative effects of nuclear war out-weigh the benefits from a global warming perspective. It is chilling that they are even considering the pros and cons of there being a nuclear war. What was not mentioned in the article is another "benefit" of nuclear war from a global warming perspective; the culling of the human population and slowing or even reversing economic development. The most radical of the Global Warming Faithful consider mankind to be a blight on Mother Earth. Despite their hypocritical overtures, materialists who think that people are just evolved from animals really don't have much compassion for their fellow man when they think that we got to where we are by a survival of the fittest process.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, "as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (NKJ). Genesis 6:11 said that violence characterized the days of Noah. It is just a matter of time before this world sees wholesale slaughter due to weapons of mass destruction. There will be some who justify their use by thinking they are ultimately doing mankind a favor.

I have often thought what better time would there be for the rapture to take place then during the utter confusion and shock resulting from a nuclear exchange. Who would miss a few million born again believers when other millions have perished as a result of a nuclear war. Indeed, those who have no place for Jesus in their life will consider it serendipitous that the ones they consider to have been holding society back are gone.

I don't look forward to what is coming on the earth, but I do look forward to the Blessed Hope that will be in conjunction with it. Come soon Lord Jesus; this world sorely needs You.

Syrian WMD Threat

2011-02-25T19:42:00.002-06:00

It has just been made public that Syria has a nuclear facility very close to Damascus. Knowing Syria's desire for Israel to cease from being a nation makes this development a huge threat to Israel. The fact that this nuclear facility is close to Damascus is significant because of the prophecy that "Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap" (Isaiah 17:1, NKJ). Israel's need to decisively take out Syria's nuclear capacity may be the reason Damascus will cease to be the "oldest continuously inhabited city in the world."

This revelation adds weight to the idea that Psalm 83 may describe the next war over Israel. Syria is listed among the nations immediately surrounding Israel that seeks to "cut them off from being a nation" (Psalm 83:4). An under-reported motivation behind many of the Arab people protesting their governments appears to be dissatisfaction that their leaders are not doing enough to oppose Israel. For example, protesters of their government in Tunisia are also now calling for 'Death to the Jews.' Such irrational antisemitism is satanic and shows that God is removing His restraint of evil in this world.

Jesus is coming soon. I would not want to be among those left behind. Now is the time to join with the King of kings and Lord of lords. God has revealed these things to us so that we may warn our family, friends and associates in the hope that they may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before it is too late. As God said prior to the last time He poured out His wrath on earth,
"My Spirit shall not strive with man forever" (Genesis 6:3).

Arab Revolution

2011-02-21T18:21:00.002-06:00

After a bit of a hiatus, I feel compelled to again start commenting on the news...

First Egypt... if there is any doubt how all this will work out, all one needs do is give a good read to Psalm 83. Egypt is mentioned there as the Hagrites who will conspire with the other Arab nations immediately surrounding Israel to "cut off Israel from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more" (Psalm 83:4). The most likely way for this to happen is if the Muslim Brotherhood or a confederation of various Islamic factions take control of Egypt. If we are close to the time that Jesus returns, such a political development has to take place. I wonder if there is anyone giving odds on this in Las Vegas?

Another Arab revolt that bears watching is in Libya. Ezekiel 38:5 names Libya as one of the nations that join with Gog to attack Israel. I believe that this war occurs during the Tribulation since the only other reference to Gog in the Bible is in Revelation 20:8 where it refers to a world leader that opposes Christ; thus Gog is another term for the Antichrist. The Ezekiel 38 war also makes it clear that Israel is at peace as a "land of unwalled villages" (Ezekiel 38:11). This has to be after the Antichrist confirms a peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27) because Israel certainly is not enjoying peace now; they know a war could break out at any time and they have a serious network of walls for security. I think it likely that the Psalm 83 war happens prior to the Tribulation and indeed sets the stage for the false peace that is necessary for the Ezekiel 38 war to happen.

But back to Libya... God used this Powerline post about Libya to inspire me to resume my blog. Everyone seems to be stymied about what all this chaos in the Arab world means, even the stalwart conservative commentators. This is where a biblical worldview helps. The trend will be for Arab countries to throw-off their monarchies that are interested in maintaining the status quo and demand democracy. We tend to think that would be a good thing but democracy in the Arab world brings an Islamic government everywhere it is tried. I am reminded of an excellent book by Arno Froese, "How Democracy will Elect the Antichrist."

The Arab peoples seem willing to give an Islamic government a try because they will think it has to be better than what they have had. The Islamic governments that come into power have to give their people something to focus their discontentment and anger upon to distract them from their own failings ...and that would be Israel, the Apple of God's Eye (Zechariah 2:8).

The Powerline commentator, John Hinderaker wonders if the resulting government of Libya that is opposed to Giddafi will be friendly to the U.S. because we have never supported his regime. This would be in contrast to the situation in Egypt where the U.S. has supported the Mubarak regime and the people who overthrew him are now opposed to the U.S. Commentators without a sound understanding of Bible prophecy just don't get it. It is really very simple and comes down to where a person or a nation stands in regard to God's people. It doesn't matter whether the U.S. supports Giddafi or not, it is whether we support Israel or not. The Islamists who replace Giddafi in Libya will be opposed to the U.S. because we are allied with Israel.

Unfortunately, I think the day will come when the U.S. throws Israel under the bus in order to be loved by the Islamists that are growing in power in the world. That is what you would expect from unprincipled pragmatists and indeed our current president has been lauded for being a pragmatist. The Bible in fact says all nations will be opposed to Israel because the time will come when "all the world marveled and followed the beast" (Revelation 13:3); and the beast, or Antichrist, will seek to destroy Israel. The Antichrist also seeks to kill followers of Jesus (Daniel 7:25, Revelation 6:9) so the time will come when the U.S. will throw Bible-believing Christians under the bus as well in order to appease the Islamic power-base from which the Antichrist will emerge. We can hope and pray that this doesn't happen until the Tribulation but it certainly could happen earlier if America falls far enough from God.

These are interesting times to be alive... and a great time to discuss what the net result of various current events will be. Such discussions might just inspire someone to seriously consider the biblical perspective.

Political Predictions

2010-09-03T09:17:00.002-05:00

I have not been regular about submitting blog articles which is a direct result of my getting caught-up in the busyness of life in these last days. But I had a conversation with a lady on a flight from Dallas that has prompted me to break my blog-drought. Things are still very busy for me but we should not let the things of this world distract us from why God put us here.

The lady I sat next to engaged me in conversation by commenting on how impressed she was with the battery life of my PC. But some how she bridged into politics and it quickly became clear that she was an Obama supporter. She was upset with Republicans because they were not working with the President and the majority party in Congress so things were not getting done. I did manage to point out that some things Congress wants to do shouldn’t get done. But for the most part I just asked polite questions and let her talk. I avoided a debate because I have found the liberal mind-set to be quite irrational and I didn’t want the discussion to escalate into something that gets reported on CNN (who just loves stories about air travel incidents).

I do regret not taking advantage of the opportunity to bridge to a more spiritual discussion. I need to be more prepared to do that which is the main reason I’m taking the time to make this blog post. There will be increasing opportunities to engage in politics-related conversations as we head into this election season. So the next time politics comes up in a conversation; I resolve to make a prediction…

The Republicans will sweep the elections this November giving a clear mandate from the public to reverse our trend toward socialism. But Obama will still be President and he will veto any initiatives the Republicans put forward to fix our problems. Thus nothing will reverse the path we are on and conservatives will be so disappointed in the Republicans that there will be a third party formed by the 2012 elections. This new party, maybe the Tea Party party, will divide the Republican vote so that Democrats will again be at the helm of government.

An increasing majority of people in this country believes that bigger government is the answer to our problems. They believe that despite all the evidence to the contrary. This just reinforces the trend of the world which is accelerating toward a global totalitarian government. The secular humanists who give God no credit for His provision will have a period of time to try things their way. This will result in what Jesus calls the Great Tribulation. Such a prediction is supported by a literal interpretation of the Bible which those who don’t know God despise. They will be shocked to learn that the Bible really is true and for many of them it will be too late for the God of the Bible to save them.

Now while bridging to spiritual matters from politics has the potential to escalate into an incident that gets reported on CNN, it is vastly more likely that it will just bring the conversation to a close. I’ve observed that when I’m talking to a liberal about politics, they are usually done talking to me when I bring up the spiritual implications of their view. But the Great Commission demands that we plant seeds of truth everywhere we go. It is worth it because some of these seeds will take root and grow.

Another reason we should take advantage of every opportunity God gives us to speak the truth about Him is that time is short. The Church may not even be around by the time of the 2012 elections. Knowing God’s grace, I wouldn’t be surprised if He delays His coming but don’t be deceived; the time is short… “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4, NKJ).

The 120th Jubilee

2010-08-12T09:02:00.001-05:00

I recently watched a very interesting video by Dewey Bruton discussing Daniel’s timeline for the return of the Messiah. There were several problems with it since it sets dates for events associated with the Tribulation implying we are already in the 70th week of Daniel. This is certainly not the case because the Antichrist has not been revealed by confirming a 7-year covenant with Israel (Daniel 9:27). But the Bruton presentation was very instructive about feasts of Israel and it did include some details that deserve closer study…

Bruton pointed out in his video that we are coming up on the 120th Year of Jubilee. Isaiah 46:10 says that God has declared, “the end from the beginning” (NKJ) and so we should expect to find clues about the end of the age in Genesis. The Hebrew sages expect there to be 6,000 years of mankind’s struggle followed by 1,000 years of rest with the Messiah. This is reflected in their calendar which starts at when they believe was the beginning of creation. The current Hebrew year is 5770 so even by the Jewish calendar, we are coming up on 6,000 years of history. Of course God did not make it possible for us to determine the exact year of creation so there is sure to be some years missing in the Hebrew estimate of when creation happened.

It is reasonable to expect there to be 7,000 years of history based on the pattern God established in the Creation… “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11). This is especially significant when you consider that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

Genesis 6:3 provides the timing of God pouring out His wrath in judgment of the earth, “the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’” While this is understood to refer to the flood, it may also establish a pattern that has meaning for God’s next judgment of the earth. Bruton applies this 120-year period to the cycle of Jubilees that God established. The Year of Jubilee occurred every 50 years and involved the land of Israel being returned to the original owners that God established. If we are coming up on 6,000 years of history, it is interesting to note that we are also coming up on the 120th Jubilee (120 x 50 = 6,000 years).

Bruton believes that the 120th Jubilee will occur in 2017. He bases that on a pattern of the key events that established Israel. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 ended the centuries-long rule of the Ottoman Empire over the land of Israel and laid the foundation for establishing “a national home for the Jewish people” which became the state of Israel. Fifty years later in 1967, Israel took over control of Jerusalem as a result of the Six-Day War. The fact that this war was concluded in six days attests to God being involved since it is tied to God’s work of creation.

So if 1917 and 1967 were the 118th and 119th Jubilees, then the 120th is coming up soon in 2017. This is amazingly close to the 2018 year I had come up with from two other completely different approaches to estimating the end of the age; see my blog on Date Setting Coincidences.

Unlike Burton who doesn’t appear to have a pre-Tribulation view of the Rapture, I’m excited about the seven-year Tribulation ending in 2017 or 2018. This means that the Tribulation could begin this year or next and thus we are on the very threshold of the Rapture. Let’s see, Rosh HaShanah in 2010 will start on Thursday, the 9th of September… be ready, we are in the zone!

Maturing Wheat

2010-08-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

One benefit of the culture war is clarity as to where a person stands on their view of God as the Bible reveals Him. A good example of this is in Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle who is going up against incumbent and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Angle sees her campaign as a battle to stop Democrats in Washington who want to expand entitlement programs and "make government our God."

Reading public statement Angle has made makes it pretty clear she has a biblical world view and applies it in her life. This probably means that she doesn’t stand a chance against Reid because it is not politically correct to be a true Bible-believing Christian. However, people in Nevada are hurting worse than most from this recession and Reid has advocated policies that has made the recession worse than it needed to be. So this may be a good year for a Bible-believing Christian to run for public office after all. But enough editorializing…

Jesus told a parable about allowing the wheat and tares to growing up together in Matthew 13:24-30. The workers were told not to weed out the tares until the wheat was mature. The wheat represents the followers of Jesus and the tares are the imposters. I can’t help but think of mature wheat when I read about Sharron Angle so boldly proclaiming her faith. As the wheat and tares are maturing, it is getting easier to tell them apart.

The day is coming when the tares of the world will be uprooted and burned. Now is not a good time to be siding with the tares of the world.

Racism

2010-08-04T09:53:00.007-05:00

The Connecticut beer truck driver who went on a shooting rampage at his place of work claimed racism as his motivation for murder. Apparently the racism in his workplace made him feel justified in stealing beer from his employer and ultimately murdering those who he hated. Those who accuse others of being racist should take note because this could lead to robbery and murder.

It seems to me that there is an increasing trend of people accusing others of racism. Those who usually do this are trying to make others fell guilty enough to agree with them that we need to make some special accommodation for a particular race or set of races. Often this accommodation is to simply look the other way when a person of a privileged race commits a crime. But what they don't realize is that this contributes to lawlessness and actually causes race-based resentment to build up. If this trend continues, anarchy will be the result. When the law is not just, people will eventually take the law into their own hands.

Racial tensions will eventually yield racial wars; where there is smoke, there is fire. And we can expect ethnic tensions to increase because Jesus said this would be one of the signs of His soon return: “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:7, NKJ). The original Greek word translated into English as “nation” is pronounced “ethnos” which obviously refers to races. We can expect ethnic tensions to increase in frequency and intensity like birth pangs as the Tribulation approaches.

I have often mentioned my observation that when people only use human means to address a problem, they usually bring about the very consequence they are seeking to avoid. It has been my experience that most of those accusing others of racism have a materialistic world view so they are trying to solve the racism problem with a humanistic approach and the net result of this is that racism will actually grow.

Racism is a spiritual problem that comes from an incorrect view of who God is and who people are. Many who have an evolutionary view of origins expect certain races to be superior, or more "evolved," than others. But if you have a biblical world-view, you know that we are all descended from the same parents, Adam and Eve. The races came about as a result of God causing people to disperse and form groups due to the different languages God gave them as punishment for rebellion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). As people stayed in their common-language groups, different racial characteristics emerged due to dominate genes being segregated from the complete gene pool. So we are all related despite our different appearances.

The more I see racism growing in our day, the more this reinforces how sorely this world needs Jesus Christ to return. The growing racism is just one more indicator that we do not have long to wait.

Lawlessness

2010-08-03T08:35:00.003-05:00

One of the problems with big government is that is generates a great preponderance of laws and onerous regulations. What we are seeing here is a materialistic world view that denies God as the ultimate Lawgiver and replaces Him with government. This is today’s version of idol worship and it should be noted that God hates idolatry (Exodus 20:4-5).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a crackdown on farm dust, so senators have signed a letter addressing their concerns on the possible regulations. This new regulation makes you wonder how the EPA intends to enforce it… will they have roving dust police in agricultural areas out writing tickets? Maybe they can staff up using the small farmers that are forced out of the business due to regulatory conformance expenses.

We have more laws than can be enforced now yet our bloated government churns out an increasing flow of laws and regulations. They pass two-thousand-page laws that no one has even read. There are enough laws on the books that everyone could be found guilty of something. All the laws can not really be enforced so government officials have to be selective. This is what is going on with illegal immigration. The Federal government refuses to enforce the law so the state of Arizona is trying to do it for them.

The problem with the government playing fast and loose with the rule of law is that people no longer respect the law. When the government no longer enforces the law uniformly, people start taking the law into their own hands and anarchy is the result. Seeing laws produced that are increasingly being enforced at the whims of government bureaucrats is like seeing a bulb that burns brightest just before it burns out. Producing more laws doesn’t result in more law keeping; it actually has the opposite effect as we will no doubt see soon.

Jesus warned of lawlessness in the time leading up to His return… “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12, NKJ). I get the sense that if the next serious crisis is coupled with an inept governmental response, people will take the law into their own hands in this country. I’m praying that God will protect us from such a melt-down which gives me more peace than hoping the government will deliver us.

Another promise that gives me peace about the growing lawlessness in the world is in 2 Thessalonians 2:7… “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.” The Holy Spirit who indwells true Christians is restraining lawlessness in the world. This restraining ministry of the Spirit will end when He is taken out of the world with followers of Jesus that are removed at the Rapture. It helps to remember that God is restraining lawlessness while I’m in the world.

Infanticide

2010-08-02T09:32:00.004-05:00

There is a report about the growing cases of French women killing their babies. And there are indications that this in not purely a French problem.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, “as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (NKJ). Going back to Genesis 6:11, we find that the days of Noah were like this: “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” So we can expect to see growing incidences of violence in the time-frame leading up to the Tribulation.

When we think of violence, we usually think of wars and murderous criminal behavior. Infanticide is not what we usually think of so seeing it become a problem should certainly be recognized as a sign of the times. And this is a particularly egregious sin in God’s eyes; shedding innocent blood is called out as one of six sins that God particularly hates in Proverbs 6:16-17.

Infanticide is a bigger problem than most people realize because the attitude of not valuing human life that causes it is the same that accommodates abortion. Modern medical technology makes it clear that life begins at conception so taking a life prior to birth really is no different than after a baby is born. And there are currently about 1.3 million abortions per year in the United States alone. As 2 Timothy 3:1 says, “in the last days perilous times will come.”

The Prophet Malachi also identified the erosion of parental love as an indicator of living in the time prior to the return of the Messiah…
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).
We know that parents not loving their children become a problem because hearts have to be changed prior to the Messiah’s return.

Followers of Jesus should be aware of these trends in society and make sure we don’t get swept up in them ourselves...
“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you’” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Crisis Mode

2010-07-30T10:43:00.002-05:00

Maybe we are just so used to earth shaking crises that we are quick to accept the media hype on the next big disaster. Or maybe we are all more susceptible to liberal agendas than we realize. Case in point: the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf. I certainly thought it was a major catastrophe. Indications are now that the Gulf oil spill was not as big an issue as we all thought.

It looks like the warmer temperatures and natural presence of oil-eating microbes in the warm gulf waters has made this spill less of a disaster than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. It is certainly good to know that this is not the beginning of an ecological Armageddon. It does foreshadow a disaster to come but it is hopefully many years away.

The bigger issue is why we were all so ready to see this spill as a major disaster. The trends in this world tell us we are headed for disaster so we are becoming conditioned to expect it. And this is not helped by the liberal government and media being quick to hype a crisis to in order to convince the public to accept the changes they want to foist on us. The liberal ruling class will get the public to accept fewer freedoms until they have total control because there are plenty of crises and rumors of crises for them to make use of in this time leading up to the Tribulation… As Jesus said in Matthew 24:8, “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (NKJ).

Liberals fear having Christians in power because they think we will make decisions that fulfill the end time prophecies. In reality, it is their decisions that are fulfilling prophecy. It is an amazing thing but I have observed the pattern that when people try to solve problems apart from God, they bring on the very consequences they are seeking to avoid.

The Gulf spill incident is a reminder to me that while the world is in crisis mode, there is no reason for followers of Christ to be caught up in it. It is comforting to remember Jesus’ promise, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:33) which serves to reinforce this blessed promise: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). And there is also this…

“He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’ Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12:26-27)

It helps to remember that my born again spirit is my assurance that I’m among those who will not be shaken.

Itching Ears

2010-07-29T07:39:00.003-05:00

Columnist James Lambert had a hard time finding a pastor willing to speak out on California Proposition 19 which puts the legalization of marijuana to a vote. This reveals the apostasy of the church when church leaders are afraid to take a stand on a moral issue. And using marijuana is a moral issue because its use is generally an intoxicating escape from reality.

Pastors avoiding moral issues is not just an issue in California. For example, it is rare to hear a sermon on hell. There seems to be a concern among church leaders that it is not polite to make people uncomfortable. But that was not the attitude of Jesus when He was here. Jesus when out of His way to make people uncomfortable with their sinful condition...
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:34-37, NKJ)

The Bible tells us there will be a falling away from faith in Christ among those professing to believe in Him. This will get so bad that Jesus asked, "when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8 NKJ). The church reveals a lack of faith in Christ when it compromises with the world. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

While Christendom is in a sorry state from a biblical perspective, God is still working through the church since followers of Jesus have the only solution for a doomed world. What the preponderance of pastors scratching the ears of their constituents reveals is that we are getting ever closer to the return of Christ.

WikiLeaks Treason

2010-07-27T07:32:00.003-05:00

Among the signs that we are in the perilous times leading up to the return of Christ is that traitors will be more common. This comes to mind from the news that the recent release of sensitive information on the Afghanistan war by online "whistleblower" WikiLeaks could undermine the U.S. mission there and bring harm to U.S. troops.

One of the factors causing there to be more traitors is the growth of the worldview that we need to be citizens of the world and thus distinctions between nations is holding us back. This motivates world citizens to undermine the United States so that this nation would have less power in the world and need to be more of a team player in the world's community of nations. Indeed this is the same mindset of the ten kings who will yield their sovereignty to the Antichrist... "These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast" (Revelation 17:13, NKJ).

Every day there are little reminders like this for the discerning that all things will not "continue as they were from the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4).

The Nuclear Season

2010-07-26T09:11:00.002-05:00

Given that we are in the time-frame leading up to the Tribulation, the next world-shaking event is due to happen some time soon. A good candidate for this is some nation using a nuclear weapon. This may be Israel against Iran and/or Syria but it is beginning to look like North Korea may be the first to release the nuclear genie. The North Koreans have threatened using a nuclear weapon as part of a “retaliatory sacred war” in response to the joint U.S. – South Korean war games.

There is a real sense that it is just a matter of time before nuclear weapons are used. Certainly there seems to be a rush amongst Islamic nations to have nuclear weapons. Besides Pakistan and Iran, we now know Turkey has been secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have also expressed interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. Where there is smoke, there is fire and just a matter of time before some country uses a nuke preemptively before their enemies can get their own WMDs.

The use of a nuclear weapon by any nation will make it more likely that other nuclear weapons will be used. The results of such an action would be economic turmoil which would enable governments to enact the population control measures that are necessary for the coming world-wide totalitarian regime. We know that our government certainly will not let a good crisis go to waste.

Whether a North Korean nuclear attack on a U.S. Naval fleet or some other world shaking event happens, there is a real sense that we are on the cusp of some dramatic changes in the world. It is easy to dismiss projections of what could happen as being too fantastic to comprehend but the trends we are seeing coupled with what the Bible says is going to happen tells us that pretty incredible events have to happen eventually, if not this year than probably in 2012. Indeed, God said in Habakkuk 1:5, “Look among the nations and watch-- be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” (NKJ).

I really believe that a great time for the Rapture of the Church to be during a time of world turmoil. The removal of the Church is necessary for the Antichrist to come on the scene at the beginning of the Tribulation (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). It is wise to be ready, especially in this nuclear season.

Pot versus Alcohol

2010-07-23T11:14:00.004-05:00

It occurred to me that I should have elaborated more on the distinctions between alcohol and marijuana in yesterday’s blog post titled “Escaping Reality.” Another notable difference between alcohol and pot is that it is possible for the vast majority of people to drink in moderation. That is not the case with marijuana where a person may become functionally impaired from just one lungful of pot smoke.

It is possible to have one or two drinks without any degradation of performance as recognized by legal limits for blood alcohol content when driving. Certainly, alcohol is abused all the time and it can be every much an escape from reality as pot. People with a propensity for alcoholism shouldn’t even allow themselves one drink because this can tempt them to drink enough where they become impaired.

Many Christians are convicted that they should not drink any alcohol. I agree that should certainly be the case for alcoholics and when Christians are with an alcoholic. Romans 14:21 says, “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak” (NKJ). That is why it is correct for churches not to advocate alcohol drinking in their social gatherings; we might have an alcoholic brother or sister in our midst and not be aware of it.

However, outside of church, I think that a drink or two socially can serve to break down barriers between people to advance the cause of Christ. The risk Christians have in abstinence is that this can be perceived as being a demonstration of “holier than thou” which does not help build relationships with others. Christian Legalism harms the Body of Christ because it leads people to think salvation requires one to earn favor with God. That is not the gospel of Christ; our good works do not save us, see Ephesians 2:8-9. And as Paul said…
“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)

Jesus certainly did not condemn drinking in moderation. Indeed He facilitated its use in social gatherings by turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-10). And He chose wine to represent His blood as one of the two key elements of the Lord’s Supper. The key here is moderation; Christians have freedom to use alcohol but when use becomes abuse, it is a sin. In contrast, no where in the Bible is the use of mind altering drugs advocated; indeed intoxication is condemned as sin.

It bears repeating that using anything to escape the reality of this mortal world is dangerous. And this danger increases as we get closer to the return of Jesus because the day will come when it will be too late to get on-board with God (see Proverbs 29:1). It is much better to look forward to the ultimate escape from this world… the Rapture will be a glorious beginning to our eternity with the Lord!

Escaping Reality

2010-07-22T15:30:00.004-05:00

California keeps pushing the limits of the law to legalize marijuana. The latest development is the Oakland city council licensing pot factories. Before we dismiss this as “left coast lunacy,” it is hard to ignore that much of our popular culture originates in California because of the influence of Hollywood. And the economy in California is huge; it has been said that as California goes, so goes the nation.

Proponents of marijuana legalization point to the failures of alcohol Prohibition as justification. But there are differences because legalization of marijuana will vastly expand the base of new users. Prohibition attempted to alter the behavior of an already large base of alcohol users; a significantly different situation than with marijuana today.

If you step back from this and ask yourself why there is demand for legalizing marijuana, it comes down to seeking another means of escape from the realities of this world. This is dangerous to the soul when you understand that the realities of this world are intended to drive us to Jesus Christ as deliverer. Those who pin their hopes on a worldly deliverance from the distresses of their mortal lives are less inclined to seek Jesus. Thus using reality-escaping medication keeps us from fulfilling our purpose and potentially has serious eternal consequences. Indeed, the Bible warns us about the dangers of using mind altering substances… 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (NKJ).

As we get closer to the Tribulation there will be more and more reasons people will seek to escape reality. And the Bible tells us that the “war on drugs” will be lost. “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Nation against Nation

2010-07-21T10:19:00.003-05:00

I’m getting real tired of hearing liberals label conservatives as racists trying to squelch opposition like the tea party movement. Liberals are classic hypocrites often being guilty of the very thing they accuse others of. Their kind of vicious rhetoric actually stirs up racism when it would otherwise remain dormant. As my Daddy once told me, shit doesn’t stink unless you stir it.

It does however look like I need to buck up and accept that racial wars and rumors of racial wars are coming… they are a characteristic of the pre-tribulation age we are in. Jesus told us that preceding His return, “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:7, NKJ). The original Greek word translated into English as “nation” is pronounced “ethnos.” It is pretty obvious that nations rising up against each other refer to races opposing each other. And we can expect to see these instances increasing in frequency and intensity like birth pangs as the Tribulation approaches.

The liberals in this country seem to be intent on stirring up racial animosities. I have been amazed at the pattern of secular humanists “inadvertently” bringing about the very consequences they are trying to avoid simply by trying to solve spiritual problems through human means. This is particularly concerning when you consider that these liberal race-baiters are in power in our government…

Case in point; there is a report that the President has approved a list of suspected terrorists for assassination abroad. This hit list includes "dozens of Americans" who "pose a threat" to the United States. American citizens are targeted for killings based exclusively on unchecked accusations and without due process of law. Now I think we should be tough on terrorism but not making a special distinction for American citizens is dangerous and will be abused. If tea partiers are effective in opposing Obama’s policies, it is just a matter of time before they too are considered by the government to be a threat to the United States.

One of the fruits of postmodernism is totalitarianism. We are already seeing the beginning of this. When words are subject to interpretation, the Constitution isn’t worth the paper it is written on. When we have massive bills passed into law that no one in Congress has read, the executive branch is free to interpret and enforce whatever they chose to. Congress is pretty much irrelevant. We are just one major crisis away from being governed by a dictatorship.

Please pray for our governmental leaders that God would help them with their spiritual needs. The only salvation for this country is in people turning to Jesus Christ. The best thing each of us can do as individuals is to be faithful in representing our Lord as the spiritual darkness grows in this world. Indications are that we will not have long to persevere; the Rapture will precede the dark days of the Tribulation… “for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:9).

Pre Trib Rapture Apologetics

2010-07-20T10:46:00.004-05:00

Following my 7/9/10 post on the Pre Trib Rapture, I was asked to comment on various articles arguing that the pre-trib rapture view is a relatively recent populist idea. These arguments are disputed by others who do more than just a superficial investigation; see this article by Thomas Ice.

The Apostle Paul certainly believed that the Rapture was imminent (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). But even if it wasn’t clear that the early church expected the rapture to be pre-trib, that would not be reason to dismiss it… Daniel 12:4 says, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (NKJ). So I expect our understanding about end-times events will increase as we get closer to their fulfillment.

My reaction to the articles arguing against the Pre-Trib Rapture I looked at is that we are better served to consider what Scripture actually says rather than just accepting what eloquent commentators have to say on a subject. That is the problem people get into when they think Scripture is not to be taken literally… they are dependent on commentators who take things out of context and spin interpretations to support their case. I include myself in this as a commentator… if something I write does not ring true; check it out in Scripture and point it out to me. I like finding apparent contradictions in Scripture; there are always things to learn from such discrepancies.

Since God used Bible prophecy to lead me to Christ, I have always had a special interest in the doctrine of the Rapture. So I checked out for myself the Scripture commentators used to support the various views on the timing of the Rapture. I became convinced that the pre-trib rapture doctrine is correct because I have found it to be derived from the most literal interpretation of Scripture. Jesus fulfilled prophecies about His first coming literally so we should expect His return to be fulfilled literally as well.

One verse that some Pre-Trib Rapture advocates often use to support their positions is Revelation 3:10: “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.” A good example of an article that disputes that interpretation is here. I agree that Revelation 3:10 does not make the case for the Pre-Trib Rapture. No doctrine should be formed or rejected on the basis of one Scripture passage; instead doctrines should be established on the broader context of Scripture as a whole which means there should be multiple supporting passages. There is ample support for the Pre-Trib Rapture outside of Revelation 3:10.

I have found the pre-trib rapture doctrine to be a great blessing… “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12-13). If the Rapture does not precede the Tribulation, we are not looking for the Lord to return until the Antichrist emerges first. Being ready for the Lord to return at any moment gives us a sense of urgency to get on with what He has called us to do. And life in this world is much better looking for Jesus Christ rather than the Antichrist.

Materialism

2010-07-19T12:21:00.006-05:00

As I consider what is keeping people from responding to Christ these days, it seems to me that materialism is the biggest issue. Most materialists will deny that they even have this problem because they often associate this term with a love of money which they may not have... and it is easy to think you do not love something if you don't have much of it. But materialism is the belief that this material universe has always existed; as Carl Sagan articulated, "The cosmos is all there is, or was, or ever will be."

Even when materialists acknowledge the possibility that God directed evolution to bring about living things, they have a deistic view of God; that He just set things in motion and doesn't much care about what people think of Him. They deny that God created us for a reason and that failure to recognize our purpose to prepare for eternity comes with severe consequences. They justify their rationale with the retort, "why would a loving God send anyone to hell." But God does not send people to hell, people chose eternal separation from Him when they refuse to accept Jesus Christ as His provision for salvation; see John 3:18. The root problem of course is sin... loving yourself so much that you refuse to acknowledge any authority in your life other than yourself.

Materialists reject the simple logic of "Pascal's Wager" which challenges us to weigh the potential upside against the downside of believing the Bible assuming it really does turn out to be from God. Betting against the Bible being true has the severest of consequences while wagering that the Bible is true leads to eternal blessings. It is simply illogical not to take a chance on believing the Bible. Materialists insist on entertaining a myriad of potential explanations for the universe instead of recognizing the truth of God's Word for what it is: the Creator reaching out to His creation so that we may know Him.

Materialists see the negative trends of this world and are hopeful that things will work out OK anyway... they always have in the past; indeed, "all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation" (2 Peter 3:4, NKJ). But God poured out His wrath on the earth in the worldwide flood of Noah's day and has warned us about the time He will judge the nations during the Tribulation. Materialists do not recognize the evidence for the worldwide flood and instead hold to their belief that "the fossil record" was built up over great periods of time instead of the result of a single cataclysmic event. So materialists are headed for a rude awakening some day and indications are that this day is rapidly approaching.

The good news for materialists is that if they are still alive, it is not too late to "come out from among them and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17). We don't have to suffer the fate of the broad majority of this world (Matthew 7:13-14). Our mortal lives is a test to see who will turn away from our predisposition of putting ourselves ahead of God. The decision of where we spend eternity is ours to make... "unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).

As a former materialist for most of my life myself, I can testify that knowing Jesus Christ does indeed lead to an abundant life (John 10:10); even in the here and now. Those who don't know Him don't know what they are missing. It behooves everyone to, “taste and see that the Lord is good” as Psalm 34:8 invites us to do.

The “Resurrected” Antichrist

2010-07-16T07:23:00.002-05:00

A popular expectation for the Antichrist is that he will be resurrected from the dead. People get that from Revelation 13:12 which says the Antichrist’s “deadly wound was healed.” It is likely that rather than referring to the person of the Antichrist, this healed wound pertains to the kingdom of the Antichrist since it is in context with Revelation 13:1-3 which clearly refers to an empire that has been revived.

However, it would not surprise me if there were not some sort of deception associated with the Antichrist that he would be some person from long-past history. Jesus proved that He was the Son of God by His resurrection. Satan will be compelled to pull off some stunt for his man that could be seen as equally remarkable. Satan is not God so he does not have power to give life but he likes to masquerade as being from God; “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NKJ).

Another reason I would not be surprised if some sort of resurrection or reincarnation might be among the Antichrist’s credentials is that this is consistent with what Muslims expect for their messiah. The more I consider the idea that the Antichrist will be a Muslim, the more I find this helps explain the geopolitical trends of our times. Muslims disagree on many details of their religion but they are all looking for a deliverer to come who will unite the world under Islam.

Most Muslims expect their messiah to be someone born of the Prophet Muhammad’s family. But “Twelfther” Shiites like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have a more specific expectation that their messiah to be the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi who was born in 869 A.D. Tradition has it that the Twelfth Imam did not die but was hidden by God so Twelfthers expect he will reemerge in the midst of a great Jihad. That is why Ahmadinejad wants to incite an existential war with Israel.

Jesus warned that there would be great deception during the Tribulation… “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). If there will be false christs during that time, another potential scenario is that there could be a false Muhammad. What better candidate for the Muslim messiah than a “resurrected” Muhammad. I think it is highly likely that during the Tribulation someone claiming to be Jesus Christ will come on the scene saying he is only a prophet and not the Son of God but people should worship the “resurrected” Muhammad who is. Muslims certainly expect Jesus to put in an appearance in conjunction with the last Jihad.

Certainly some of this is speculation but it is consistent with what the Bible tells us about the Antichrist and False Prophet as well as what Muslims have been taught to believe. And this scenario is reinforced by the geopolitical trends we are seeing today. There is no question that the world is in for some serious changes in the not-too-distant future.

Will the Antichrist be a Jew?

2010-07-15T06:18:00.000-05:00

It is easy to dismiss as irrelevant questions about the Antichrist’s various characteristics because the Church will not be around when the Antichrist comes to power anyway. However, these are useful questions to consider because we will be around for the birth pangs of the Tribulation…

It helps us to better understand our times when we see the world’s geopolitical environment becoming aligned with what the Bible tells us about the Tribulation. And this helps the representatives of God to know what we should be doing as, “the children of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32, NKJ).

Many have thought that the Antichrist would be a Jew because Jesus said, “I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him” (John 5:43). It is hard to imagine the Jews accepting anyone but Jews as their Messiah. But Scripture does not say the Jews will think the Antichrist to be the Messiah. They will put their trust in him as a great political leader until he reveals who he is to them by desecrating the yet-to-be-built Jewish Temple (Daniel 9:27).

The Bible in fact represents the Antichrist as a Gentile. Revelation 13:1 illustrates him as a “beast coming up out of the sea.” The sea is a consistent symbol of the Gentile nations in the prophetic Scriptures; some good examples are Daniel 7:3, Luke 21:25, and Revelation 17:1.

However, Scripture does describe the Antichrist's chief promoter, the False Prophet, as a Jew. Revelation 13:11 says the Apostle John saw, “another beast coming up out of the earth.” The earth is the land which is associated with Israel. I actually expect the False Prophet to claim to be a specific Jew: Jesus Christ. Jesus warned that, “many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5).

The idea that the Antichrist would be a Jew also conflicts with other indications in Scripture that he would be a Muslim. It is interesting to note that this line of thinking is consistent with the Muslim belief that Jesus would return to convince “Christians” to worship the Islamic messiah, al-Mahdi. The False Prophet will claim to be Jesus Christ and thus will have to be a Jew to support that claim.

Among the major Tribulation stage setting developments we see taking shape today are the world community of nations ostracizing Israel and moving closer to a global government. These trends are consistent with what the Bible says we can expect in the lineage of the Antichrist. Details matter and the more we see the peaces fit together, the closer we know we are to Jesus returning for us because “knowledge shall increase” at “the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4).

Multiple Judgments

2010-07-14T06:11:00.002-05:00

People don’t like to give much thought to the return of Christ because they know it is associated with God’s judgment. A lot of the fear and loathing for God’s judgment comes from the misconception that this is a single event. But Scripture tells us there are different judgments associated with multiple resurrections.

Those who look forward to Jesus returning know that they will not be judged for their sins. That judgment already happened when Jesus died on the cross on behalf of all who trust in Him. Hebrews 9:28 says, “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (NKJ).

While believers will not be judged for our sins, we will be judged, “for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). All of us will have an ultimate performance review; Romans 14:12 says, “each of us shall give account of himself to God.” God will judge believers for what we have done to advance His kingdom. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 describes this judgment:

“No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

The purpose for God judging His followers will be to determine our reward. That is why sin-forgiven believers don’t do just any wild thing that enters their mind because we know we will be judged for what we do and we don’t want to lose any of the reward God has in mind for us. Not only will God judge the quantity and quality of our works; He will also consider our motivations. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.” Many good works will merit no eternal reward because their motivation was to be “seen by men” and thus their reward was already received (Matthew 6:5).

The Bible says our rewards will include crowns (2 Timothy 4:8) and apparel (Revelation 19:8) which reveal how much we have contributed to God’s Kingdom. But as the parables of the talents and minas reveal, we will also be rewarded with a greater capacity to participate in what the Lord will be doing in eternity (Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27). Just being in heaven will be great but our experience will be enhanced by having more authority there which only comes as a reward for our good works in the here and now.

Our rewards in heaven will become apparent at “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Our rewards ceremony takes place at the marriage supper of the Lamb… “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

The judgment you don’t want to be a defendant in is the Great White Throne judgment…

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

As there will be degrees of rewards for the good works of Jesus-followers, there will also be degrees of punishment for unbelievers. Luke 12:47-48 says, “that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.” Jesus also said in Luke 20:46-47 that those who make a great show of their piety, “will receive greater condemnation.”

So everyone will be judged for their good works and will receive rewards (or lesser punishment) as a result. The most important question is whether you will experience these results in the Lord’s presence or separated from Him for eternity. As Jesus said, “behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12). We are here to prepare for eternity, making sure we spend eternity with the Savior by believing that He paid the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross is the most important thing we can do.

Multiple Resurrections

2010-07-13T04:05:00.002-05:00

One reason why so many Christians have a wrong view of the timing of the Rapture is that they assume there will only be one resurrection event “at the end of time.” This comes from either a superficial regard for Scripture or a failure to take literally what Scripture says. Either way, such error is a symptom of unbelief.

The passage that most clear reveals there will be multiple resurrections is 1 Corinthians 15:20-24:

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.” (NKJ)

The harvest imagery is used here to help us better understand the sequence. Jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection. In the Law God gave Israel, the firstfruits of the harvest were always offered as a sacrifice to God and this was certainly the case with Jesus going to the cross. The main harvest resurrection is the Rapture we look forward to in the Church Age. And in the Hebrew Law there were to be gleanings that followed the main harvest; see Leviticus 19:9.

Among the resurrection gleanings to be harvested will be those who come to Christ during the Tribulation and are killed for their faith. Revelation 20:4 says, “Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Thus this group is resurrected either during the course of the Tribulation or at the end of the Tribulation prior to the Millennial reign of Christ on earth.

Another resurrection gleaning will be the Old Testament saints. Daniel 12:1-2 says:

“At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The “time of trouble” is the Tribulation. While two-thirds of the world’s Jews are killed during the Tribulation (Zechariah 13:8-9), God preserves a third of Israel to enter His Millennial Kingdom. The Old Testament saints will be resurrected to join in the Millennial Kingdom. This passage seems to indicate that those who lived in Old Testament times that did not have faith in the Lord are resurrected at that time as well but Revelation 20:13 indicates that the unredeemed are all resurrected together at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.

Many are surprised that the Church Age saints are resurrected ahead of the Old Testament saints but this is clearly taught in Scripture. Jesus did say, “the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).

There will not be a resurrection of believers who survive the Tribulation or are born during the Millennial Kingdom because they will not die. In context Isaiah 65:22 has to be referring to the Millennial Kingdom and it says, “for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people.” There are many trees that live over a thousand years old. I take it that these believers will be translated into their eternal bodies when God ushers in the eternal state: “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up… according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10-13).

Scripture teaches us that there are two types of resurrections, the just and the unjust: “there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust” (Acts 24:15). Jesus put it this way in John 5:28-29, “the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth-- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” While the resurrection of life occurs in multiple phases, the resurrection of condemnation occurs at one time…

The resurrection of condemnation is further described in Revelation 20:12-13:

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.”

The resurrection of condemnation is the last resurrection and based on the context in the book of Revelation, it occurs at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ and the beginning of the eternal state.

You don’t want to be in the last resurrection because all who are judged for salvation on the basis of their works will spend eternity separated from God in the lake of fire. If you have not previously trusted that the work of Jesus on the cross has paid the penalty for your sins, now would be a good time to do that… “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31).

Pre-Trib Rapture Benefits

2010-07-12T04:02:00.001-05:00

Having a correct understanding of the order of key End Times events is essential to be able to “discern the signs of the times” as Jesus expects us to be able to do per Matthew 16:3. The Rapture of the Church that concludes the current Age of Grace is the next major event in Bible prophecy. The term “Rapture” is derived from the Latin word for “caught up” used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. At the Rapture, true Christians will be instantly changed into resurrected bodies when Jesus comes for us (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

Alternative views about the timing of the Rapture have it occurring during the Great Tribulation, after it, or at the end of the millennial reign of Christ. But all these views put the Church in the dubious position of looking for the Antichrist rather than our Lord (see Matthew 25:1-13). Both the Great Tribulation and the millennial reign of Christ have very clear periods of time tied to certain key events. If the return of the Lord for His Church was directly associated with the Tribulation, it would not be imminent and it would be possible to have a pretty good idea when it will happen.

Living with an expectation that Jesus could return for us at any moment is strong medicine against procrastination about what God is calling us to do (or rationalizing about what we should not do). One of the paradoxes of the Christian faith is that we must live as if the Lord is returning today and also be executing a plan that recognizes He may not come back during our life time.

Thinking that the Church will have to go through some or all of the Great Tribulation has turned some people into survivalists stock-piling weapons and food in anticipation. Now having a ready reserve is wise because there will be birth pangs foreshadowing the Tribulation but hoarding enough to make it through that time-period rises to the level of sin. This is a dangerous doctrine because it teaches people to depend on their own resources for deliverance rather than the power of God.

Another dangerous doctrine is thinking that the Church has replaced Israel in the promises of God. This is one of the roots of anti-Semitism which is devil-inspired and it keeps people from discerning prophetic truth. Anti-Semitism is a key sign of the End Times… “it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:3).

It isn't necessary to agree with a particular timing of the Rapture to be saved. What is important is putting your trust in Jesus Christ, "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). If you haven't already yielded to this call, don't put it off. The Bible is clear that there will come a time when it will be too late (Matthew 24:36-44).

Pre-Tribulation Rapture

2010-07-09T05:58:00.000-05:00

It occurred to me that no where has the News Wisdom blog made the case for the Rapture of the Church occurring prior to the Tribulation. This post should remedy that…

There are no prophetic events which must occur before the Rapture. This is the doctrine of imminence which says the Lord could return for His Bride, the Church, at any moment. As Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42, NKJ).

The Apostle Paul certainly believed the Rapture to be imminent. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Paul expected to be included among those who would not face death and be taken in the Rapture when he said, “we who are still alive and left…”

Among the reasons the Rapture must happen before the 70th week of Daniel is that it is a comfort to the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:18) as our blessed hope (Titus 2:13). It wouldn't be much of a comfort knowing that we might have to suffer through the Great Tribulation first. We are comforted knowing that "God did not appoint us to wrath" (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

The first century Christians expected Jesus to return at any moment even then. The Apostle Paul wrote the second epistle to the Thessalonians to put their minds at ease that their persecution was not the Great Tribulation which would have meant they missed the Rapture as described in his first epistle. A key verse reinforcing the pre-Trib Rapture is 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 which tells us the Holy Spirit Who indwells the Church restrains the lawlessness in the world. Once the Lord removes the Church from the planet, the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will be removed with us and the Lawless One who is the Antichrist will be permitted to come to power.

Jesus is coming back in two phases, first for His Church and next to establish His Kingdom on earth. The significant differences between these two phases can only be explained as two separate events; it is impossible to reconcile them as the same event. At the Rapture, only believers will see Jesus (Hebrews 9:28); at His Second Coming all people will see Him (Revelation 1:7). At the Rapture, we’ll meet Jesus in the air (1Thessalonians 4:17); at His 2nd coming, Jesus will set foot on earth (Zechariah 14:4). At the Rapture, all believers are resurrected (Colossians 3:4); at the 2nd coming, no one is resurrected (1Thessalonians 3:13). At the Rapture, the works of believers are judged 1 Peter 1:7); at the 2nd coming, the nations are judged (Matthew 25:31-32). As I already mentioned in the doctrine of imminence, the Rapture is not predictable (1 Thessalonians 5:2); the 2nd coming is associated with key events that have time-frames given for them (Daniel 12:11-13). There are many passages referring to timing of the Rapture as being before the Tribulation such as Revelation 3:10 while the 2nd coming of Jesus is shown to be afterwards like Revelation 19:11.

In addition to these distinctions, there are prophetic types in Scripture that reinforce the idea of a pre-Tribulation Rapture. For example, embedded within the genealogies of Genesis, we see that, “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch did not die; God took him to heaven prior to pouring out His wrath on earth in the world-wide flood. God protected Noah’s family as he will protect Israel during the Tribulation but Enoch represented the Church who will not see God’s wrath on the earth.

Another type was seen in the vision God gave the Apostle John… “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this’” (Revelation 4:1). This occurs after the letters to the seven churches which were chosen by God to describe the history of the church. We know that the book of Revelation is in chronological order because God told John to “write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this” (Revelation 1:19). The idea that John being called up to heaven is a type of the Rapture is reinforced in the fact that the Church is not referred to except as being in heaven between the Revelation 4:1 Rapture passage and Christ’s return to earth in Revelation 19.

Knowing that there are no prophetic events that must precede the Rapture makes it a great blessing. As bad as things get in this world, we are just a heartbeat away from a wonderful future with Jesus… “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Deception Channels

2010-07-08T07:47:00.006-05:00

While the viewer ratings of mainstream media outlets have been dropping for years, a huge portion of the population continue to trust these traditional news sources. Most people do not appreciate how much the liberal bias of the mainstream media taints their reporting. Case in point: people who get their news from the mainstream media will have no idea that President Obama wants NASA to spend its efforts reaching out to Muslims to make them feel good about their lack of technological achievements. This revelation should have ignited a firestorm of reporting but has been met with silence from the mainstream media... because it just doesn't fit the politically correct image that the media has made for our president.

This is why most people will be surprised by the developments related to the return of Christ. Any time you don't have an accurate view of the world, events that don't fit your world view will not be expected. In order to avoid being deceived, it is necessary to have a good working knowledge of the prophetic Shriptures... "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief" (1Thessalonians 5:4, NKJ).

Today's deceptions of the mainstream media foreshadow the even greater deceptions of the Antichrist during the Tribulation. "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). The Tribulation news media will certainly represent the Antichrist for something other than what he really is. The practice they are getting with our president is setting the stage for that dark service during the Tribulation.

"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" (Luke 21:36)>

The Coming Tyranny

2010-07-07T16:46:00.001-05:00

One characteristic of totalitarian control by tyrannical dictators is that they can not tolerate dissent. So it is a bit disconcerting to hear that one U.S. government agency, the TSA, is taking steps to prevent their computers from accessing web sites that express a “controversial opinion.” It is not clear how they will determine what constitutes a “controversial opinion” but this is clearly a step that nibbles away at the free speech we have enjoyed in this country.

Many will dismiss the TSA blocking controversial opinions from their employees as only a small loss of free speech that doesn’t affect them. But it reveals an attitude by our government that they will not tolerate dissenting opinions. All it will take is an appropriate crisis and such control will be fanned out to the public at large. Indeed, a new U.S. Senate bill would grant the president far-reaching emergency powers to seize control of or even shut down portions of the Internet. All they need is a good crisis that they can’t let go to waste. And with the increasing birth pangs of the Tribulation, it will not be long before they will have to wait for an appropriate crisis.

The government of the Antichrist will certainly be tyrannical… Daniel 7:7 describes it as, “a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet” (NKJ). The erosion of the freedoms we have enjoyed in this country foreshadows the Tribulation to come which will be significantly worse. It is a good thing for today's followers of Jesus that Scripture tells us the Rapture will occur ahead of the Tribulation.

NASA’s New Mission

2010-07-06T13:12:00.006-05:00

The United States going to the moon was a great achievement that rallied us around a national goal and enabled technologies that have benefited mankind. But since then, I’ve had a sense that NASA has been “workfare” for rocket scientists. NASA no longer has a critical mission that serves mankind and thus is struggling to find a reason to exist. The demise of NASA is symptomatic of the problems with big government that can not reduce is bloated budget.

Proof that NASA no longer has a critical mission that serves mankind is seen in recent comments by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. Bolden went on to explain that President Obama assigned this mission to him when he took the job in overseeing NASA.

We live in amazing times. This incident is just one more thing that shows the extent to which Islam has increased in significance in this country since September 11, 2001. Such developments reinforce my understanding from Scripture that Islam has a critical role to play in the coming Tribulation. The growth of Islam and its progress toward getting others to reach out to them is nothing short of amazing. This success is supernatural and the sort of thing that will so astonish people during the Tribulation that they will say, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4, NKJ).

It is hard to imagine seeing all that is going on in this world today and not being a follower of Jesus. In order to keep from being depressed, one would have to pretty much live in denial that our governmental officials really are as inept as they appear to be. I guess this is how a postmodern perspective helps; you don’t have to believe that what a person says really reflects the actions they will take.

For me, the down side to all the silliness going on in the world today is that it is getting increasingly hard for me to plan for the future since there is so much change on the horizon. The upside is that any planning very far out is very likely to be mute anyway; the day followers of Jesus will be with Him is fast approaching… Come soon Lord Jesus; this world sorely needs You!

The Coming Persecution

2010-07-02T09:33:00.005-05:00

It is well known that converts to Christianity are not tolerated in Islamic nations. These are among the darkest places on earth with the Bible being banned and missionaries being barred from preaching God’s Word under threat of death. Yet despite this, people even in these countries are turning to Jesus for salvation even by direct revelation because God is sovereign and, as Jesus said, “all that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37, NKJ).

Jesus warned us to expect persecution as a result of following Him; He said, “a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). This persecution will reach a climax during the last half of the Tribulation. Speaking of the Antichrist, Daniel 7:25 says, “he shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” Persecuting Christians is a symptom of the spirit of Antichrist.

The United States has been a beacon of religious freedom in the world. That is the reason we were founded and why people want to come here more than anywhere else in the world. But as we get closer to the end of the Age of Grace, there is growing discrimination against Christians in this country. This is how persecution begins, by excluding a group of people on the basis of some characteristic, in this case a belief. The conviction that a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to heaven can not be tolerated in this postmodern era where all opinions must have equal value.

Every day there is more evidence that Christians are being excluded from the religious freedom upon which this nation was founded. A Florida school has banned the free distribution of donated Bibles during off-hours on Religious Freedom Day claiming they have no educational value. I can’t imagine them doing the same thing regarding the Koran. In an even more consequential case, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by a lower court that the Hastings College of the Law (part of the University of California) may deny recognition of the Christian Legal Society student group because it required accepting a statement of faith to be a member. CLS has been the only group ever denied recognition by the school.

A lot of people will dismiss these developments as minor but they are significant for the discerning with a biblical worldview. Christians are under increasing assault in the country that has been the primary impetus for religious freedom on earth. I thank God for the freedoms we still have in this country and incidents such as these only encourage me to step up my efforts to help people to know Jesus while I can. As Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

Discerning the Times

2010-07-01T10:23:00.004-05:00

When religious authorities asked Jesus for proof that He was the Messiah, He rebuked them for not being able to discern the signs of the times…

“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.” (Matthew 16:1-4, NKJ)

Jesus effectively told the sign seekers that if the miracle of His resurrection did not convince them, nothing would. Unfortunately miracles do not convert people as Abraham told the certain rich man who wanted Lazarus to warn his brothers about eternal consequences: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

In order to discern the signs if the times, it is necessary to know God’s Word and believe it. The only way to believe God’s Word is to know Him. Only those who know God through Jesus Christ have a correct understanding of who He is (John 14:6). And this is necessary to appreciate that God is Almighty enough to declare “the end from the beginning” in His Word (Isaiah 46:10).

As even religious people missed recognizing Jesus as the Messiah because of their inability to discern the times when He was here the first time; so too will there be people who think they are Christians left behind at the Rapture. I’d expect the Rapture to shake many of them up enough that they would become believers but there will be a convincing enough explanation that most will embrace (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

We live in "perilous times" (2 Timothy 3:1). Don’t think you can skate by having only a superficial relationship with Jesus. There are great deceptions coming… “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). The only way to prepare for such times is to have a good working understanding of God’s Word. It is an exciting time to be alive for those truly alive through Jesus Christ.

Growing Deception

2010-06-30T07:58:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time it mattered what a person said or didn't say. But apparently this is no longer the case in our postmodern era where the perception is that words don't always mean what they say and are thus subject to interpretation. Politicians have learned to take advantage of the postmodern perspective by saying things that the public wants to hear while secretely intending to remain faithful to their ideology as revealed in their past actions and associations. The public just accepts such cognitive dissonance and embraces the politically correct false image portrayed by the mainstream media. This is why the Big Lie has worked so well and will grow in use as a tool of governmental leaders to force their will on people.

We saw this process in the election of President Obama and also now in the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The Senate hearings haven't been able to get Kagan to describe her judicial philosophy since she has been deflecting questions using one rationale or another. Public officials with Leftist ideologies need to portray themselves as being more conservative than they are or they will not be accepted by their constituents.

The incidence of governmental leaders deceiving the public is growing worse in our day and this reveals the spirit of Antichrist. It is one more trend that contributes to the birth pangs of the Tribulation where such deception will be rampant. Jesus said, "for false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24, NKJ). Governmental officials have not used "signs and wonders" yet but that day is coming. The Antichrist will also use deception to "come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue" (Daniel 11:21). Once in power, the Antichrist will certainly not rule conservatively since he "shall intend to change times and law" (Daniel 7:25).

The growing deception in our day is just one more thing that shows how sorely this world needs Jesus Christ to return. "It is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).

Inflation or Deflation?

2010-06-29T16:19:00.002-05:00

Pundits are expecting a second-dip recession for the world economy but they are divided as to what will cause it. European leaders are anticipating the risk to be inflation and U.S. leaders think it will be deflation. Thus Europe is cutting back on governmental spending and taxes while the U.S. leaders want to do just the opposite.

The economic crash that happens during the Tribulation will certainly start out being an inflationary problem… “a quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius” (Revelation 6:6, NKJ). A denarius was a day’s wage in biblical times. Thus at the beginning of the Tribulation demand for what people need like food will exceed supply. But there is also Revelation 18:11, “the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore.” This certainly sounds like a deflationary problem where supply outstrips demand.

The Bible does tell us that the Roman Empire will revive in the time leading up to the Tribulation so this would tend to indicate that the European response to cut spending is the more correct one. If we are close to the Tribulation then their inflationary expectation is the correct view of the world economy. The fact that the U.S. must wane as an economic superpower is reinforced by our government having exactly the wrong view of how to deal with the coming second-dip recession.

The Bible also tells us that God will reward those who make the effort to avoid inflation over those who think indebtedness is the solution to looming deflation. Proverbs 22:7 says, “the rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

Collectively this tells me that the Europeans have a more correct read on the world economy and the U.S. is wrong. Europe's star is rising while America's is fading making way for the Revived Roman Empire and the coming global government. Also, what the pundits are pretty much agreed on is that the world economy is headed for a second-dip recession and the best we can do is avoid making it worse.

The only consolation to suffering through these birth pangs is that followers of Jesus will be with the Lord during the Tribulation. I can’t help but look forward to that Day.

The Hidden Agenda

2010-06-28T15:41:00.002-05:00

It is well known that those who neglect the lessons of history are destined to repeat it. It seems the United States is determined to duplicate the high unemployment and stagnant economy of Europe. At the recent G-20 meeting in Toronto, President Obama was the lone voice advocating more government spending.

It seems that most of Europe has already figured out that government indebtedness is no path to prosperity and is trying to reverse their big-government spending practices. Of course once big-government social practices are in place, it is next to impossible to reverse them. Since history has shown what happens when big-government social policies are embraced, our governmental leaders must be seeking these same low-employment, stagnant economic outcomes for the United States despite their rhetoric.

President Obama’s not-so-hidden agenda is that he wants to make the United States more of a team player with the rest of the world. This was in fact one of his campaign promises. People wouldn’t have supported him so enthusiastically if they knew how he intended to accomplish his vision of a level playing field between nations.

President Obama reinforced his vision for a level playing field between nations at the G-20 meeting indicating that he sought to end the “undue advantage” some countries have over others in the global marketplace. Of course the context of this statement was that he wanted to create jobs and boost U.S. exports. I am not convinced that he really means it. If he did, he would stop pursuing a government tax and spend strategy which has never worked to grow jobs anywhere it has been tried.

Actions speak louder than words. Our President has been perpetrating the Big Lie that he wants to grow jobs, but what he does has actually had the opposite effect. These actions reinforce our President’s priority is to make the U.S. more of a team player in the world community of nations. To do that, he must shrink our economy. Adding taxes and regulations to businesses, growing our debt which causes inflation, and pursuing strategies designed to increase the price of oil all have a chilling effect on the economy.

The prophetic implication of President Obama’s strategy to shrink the economy of the United States is that this action helps set the stage for the worldwide government of the Antichrist. There can be no worldwide government if there is an economic superpower around to force its will on others. A level playing field of nations is necessary to make it easier for the coming G-10 to be, “of one mind, and… give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:13, NKJ).

If we are as close to the Rapture as the collective Tribulation stage-setting developments tend to indicate; I think it highly likely that there will be a second-dip recession. This will be necessary in the interests of not letting a good crisis go to waste for the government to take radical actions to crash our economy beyond repair. Of course, ultimately God is in control of our economy so when the U.S. suffers economic Armageddon, it’s purpose will be to shake us up from our materialistic ways. And it will also indicate the likelihood that the Tribulation preceded by the Rapture is coming soon. In fact, the Rapture would itself contribute to the severity of a serious economic crash.

The best way to be prepared for what is coming is to have an eternal perspective of what is going on in this world… “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Afghanistan Failure

2010-06-25T16:10:00.002-05:00

The situation in Afghanistan is under increasing scrutiny these days since the commanding general of U.S. forces there resigned due to a scandal over revealing too much about what his staff really thought of their mission. If anyone can put things back on a better course, the new commander, General Petraeus can.

But then you hear news about how an Afghani government minister has made a recent call to execute Christians living there because of their beliefs. It makes you wonder what we are doing in that country. It doesn’t look like they are making any progress toward becoming a place of freedom which I thought was our goal in that national building exercise. Of course we will not hear stories about Christian persecution in the mainstream media because failing there is not politically correct. And besides, Christians are used to being persecuted, why should the media make a big deal about it?

One thing our being in Afghanistan does do is tie up our ability to project military power in other places. And that makes it more likely for a war to break out in any of the various hotspots where tensions are building.

The report on Christian persecution in Afghanistan also makes it look like there is nothing we could do to reverse the growth of radical Islam. This is more evidence that Islam will be the religion of the Antichrist. Certainly the form of execution Muslims prefer is the same that will be used by the Antichrist and his minions during the Tribulation… “Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image” (Revelation 20:4, NKJ).

I regularly pray for my brothers and sisters in Islamic countries; they are already experiencing Tribulation conditions. The growing assembly of martyrs in heaven is already crying out to God, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10)

The accelerating pace of Tribulational birth pangs indicates that it will not be long before the Rapture of the Church. Stay ready!

The Looming War

2010-06-24T06:01:00.001-05:00

Every day there are more reports indicating that war in the Mideast is imminent. Herbert London wrote a good article summarizing all the factors that are combining to build the tensions between Israel and her Islamic enemies.

There is also an unsubstantiated report that Israel is prepositioning supplies in Saudi Arabia to support an air attack on Iran.

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6, NKJ). However, this particular wars is very likely to bring dramatic geopolitical changes that will fulfill prophecies the Bible tells us will happen in the time-frame of the Tribulation… and the Rapture has to happen before that because there are no prophecies that must be fulfilled preceding it!

People will scoff at this thinking Israel has had wars before and nothing much has changed. But with the accelerating pace of other prophetic developments, it is hard to shake the sense that this time things will be different.

So it behooves us to be ready… “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is” (Mark 13:33).

Class Wars

2010-06-23T17:57:00.002-05:00

We are used to seeing good win out over evil but indications are that we are on the cusp of an era where evil will have its day. A prime example of this is seen in emergence of the Orwellian term “social justice.” This term sounds righteous but it is code for transferring wealth and privilege from the producing class to those who are non-productive. Social justice rewards mediocrity and punishes the successful.

I have often thought that it would be fairer if only active tax-paying citizens were allowed to vote. Now that almost half of all U.S. citizens pay no taxes, we are rapidly reaching a tipping point where entitlement seekers will outweigh benefit providers.

Gregory R. Copley, Editor, Global Information System has published an interesting analysis of the impact of the growing class warfare that threatens the integrity of all Western nations:

“By deifying "democracy" above justice, the enfranchised non-producers could always outvote the producers. We are at this point. The result can only be collapse, or restructuring around a Caesar or a Bonaparte until, eventually, a productive hierarchy reappears, usually after considerable pain.”

The “justice” Copley refers to is true justice, not the convoluted “social justice” which is the result of a debased mind.

The impact of our current class warfare is that it sets the stage for western nations to embrace a strong central ruler with a plan to fix all our problems. Speaking of the Antichrist, Daniel 11:21 says, “he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue” (NKJ). The Antichrist will certainly not let a good crisis go to waste.

Copley believes the two years of anti-business economic policies of our Leftist government has done so much damage to the U.S. economy that it will take more than a decade to recover. With the United States being so focused on our domestic problems, we will be hand’s off in throttling evil as it grows in the world. This too sets the stage for the major geopolitical changes that are looming on the horizon.

The only consolation to all this I see is that with the rapid pace of change on so many fronts, it can’t be long before the Lord concludes this Age of Grace in the Rapture of the Church. Thus, we should double our efforts to, “live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12-13).

Blasphemies

2010-06-22T16:37:00.001-05:00

It is hard to not have noticed the increasing rate of secularization of our nation. The United States was founded on biblical principles but our leaders and the media are doing their best to deny what is obvious to anyone who considers more than a superficial look at our history.

The secularization of America is following the path of Europe which has a lot of classic church buildings but few active Christian congregations who recognize the authority of God’s Word. This trend is a sign of the times and evidence of the growing spirit of Antichrist. As we get closer to the person of the Antichrist coming to power, we can expect to see more of his spirit being embraced in preparation.

Among the characteristics of the Antichrist is that he will blaspheme God and things of God. Revelation 13:5 says, “he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies” (NKJ). And Daniel 7:25 says, “he shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law.”

Today we are seeing a purging of all references to God and His Word in the public discourse due to the vision to separate Church and State. We have convoluted the vision of our nation’s founders who did not want the government to endorse any denomination to mean that we should not even acknowledge God. Politicians often invoke “god-talk” to entice religious people to vote for them because it helps them stand out and appears as though they will be different from the worthless shepherds we’ve been getting. But true Christians can tell the difference; actions do speak louder than words.

We are seeing more and more instances where there is a battle to recognize the Ten Commandments as the basis for our laws. This is not just a front in the culture war; it is a symptom of the growing spirit of Antichrist and people resisting it. The day is rapidly approaching when the Secular Humanists will have their way and the world will experience the consequences of their collective blasphemy.

The media usually depicts Bible-believing Christians as ignorant undesirables holding society back. This aspect of the spirit of Antichrist sets the stage for the Tribulation when people who become followers of Jesus will not be hunted down and killed. People who scoff at this only need to look at Islamic countries like Somalia and Sudan where that is happening today. And you have to ask yourself why linking Islam with terrorism is not politically correct.

Attacking traditional Christian values as antiquated and oppressive is a symptom of blasphemy. As the Antichrist “shall intend to change times and law,” we are seeing the biblical concepts of marriage being distorted in our day. Children are suffering as a result and this manifests itself in increasing crime rates and further degeneration of society.

Exclusively promoting a materialistic world view of our origins in the public schools is also blasphemy against God. The result of this is God giving people over to irrational thinking… “and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind” (Romans 1:28). Our public schools are churning out indoctrinated children that have not been taught critical thinking and so are easily deceived by the media. All this sets the stage for the Tribulation when “false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24).

It is a great blessing knowing that Jesus is coming for His followers before His turns the world over completely to depraved minds. That Day is rapidly approaching.

No Discernment

2010-06-21T16:29:00.002-05:00

A news item that caught my eye today was regarding Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Christian and the disowned son of a Hamas co-founder who is facing a deportation hearing in San Diego on June 30. Yousef’s recently released book, “Son of Hamas” should make it perfectly clear that he is now an asset of the United States, not a threat.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security only knows about Yousef because he told them who he was in 2007, seven months after he had been admitted to the U.S. on a tourist visa. He told them to expose gaps in their security. Instead, it looks like Homeland Security cannot tell the difference between a terrorist and a man who spent his life fighting terrorism. This certainly does not make me feel very secure.

Of course ultimately it is the Lord who provides our security… Psalm 127:1 says, “unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (NKJ). The gaps that we see in our security are symptoms of a bigger problem and a warning of things to come. I am not convinced that the top officials in the U.S. government really know who the threat is in the “war on terrorism.” They certainly go to great pains to avoid people making a connection between Islam and terrorism.

It also seems like Homeland Security is hyper-focused on dealing with the “home-grown” terrorist threat and don’t seem to care so much about people with real terrorist connections. The exception to this is in their dealing with Yousef who converted to Christianity and proved his anti-terrorist credentials by working for antiterrorism forces in Israel. There will be consequences for confusing our friends and enemies. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

The reason we are seeing so many instances of bad decisions from our governmental authorities is that God is allowing more people to think irrationally. Romans 1:28 says, “even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” As we see this thought process proliferating, we know that the Tribulation can not be far away.

I am praying that Judge Rico J. Bartolomei of the Homeland Security Immigration Court makes a wise decision regarding Mosab Yousef. Our country is better off with Yousef than without him. The sooner our governmental officials start recognizing the difference between the friends and enemies of this country, the better off we will be.

This world will not be a pleasant place to be during the rapidly approaching Tribulation as this issue shows. Whatever happens to Mosab Yousef, I look forward to meeting him in heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb during the Tribulation (Revelation 19:9).

Perils of Moderation

2010-06-18T07:28:00.003-05:00

A great bastion of political correctness is that we do not have to fear the Islamic threat to our way of life because the vast majority of Muslims are moderate. But silent consent really puts the moderate in bed with the extremist whether they admit it or not.

Being moderate is a virtue when it refers to self control. But for the purposes of this blog post, I’m using the term "moderate" to refer to the degree to which a person applies their religion. And all people have a religion because all people have some sort of belief system that governs their world view.

The world’s culture war is dominated by the struggle between Secular Humanism, Islam, and Christianity. We are seeing this culture war become more intense as we approach the end of the age. It will be increasingly hard for people to stay independent and embrace the "moderate" label. The day will come when all moderates realize they are really aligned with one side of the culture war or the other. While there are three major contenders, there really are only two sides that count for eternity; with God or against Him. Unfortunately, most are against Him per Matthew 7:13-14.

Being moderate is generally seen as better than the alternative of being extreme. That is certainly the case when the choice is between being moderately wrong versus extremely wrong; then being moderate is the lesser of the evils. But how much error is OK? A lackadaisical moderate approach to politics is what has brought us our current extreme Left Secular Humanist government. We can hope that the consequences from this turn of events will wake up the moderate Christians to vote into office leaders who will embrace the godly values that made this country great. But this is unlikely because Christendom today is in the Laodicean phase of the Church Age…

Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are letters Jesus gave the Apostle John to seven churches of his day. These particular churches were chosen to be a prophetic representation of the Church Age. Anyone familiar with Church history can see the parallels between the various general characteristics of the Christian Church since Pentecost and the letters to the seven churches of Revelation, particularly their order. Jesus has a real issue with the apathetic moderate attitude of those professing to follow Him in the current Laodicean era… “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16, NKJ).

Moderate Christianity is dangerous because it appears to the entire world that following Christ is no different than any other religion in the world. And there is a huge difference between true biblical Christianity and every other religion mankind has ever conceived. All the world’s religions are similar in saying that salvation must be earned; Christianity is unique in saying what needs to be done for salvation has already been done by Jesus. Biblical Christianity is so far removed from the salvation-by-works religions; it should not even be considered a religion. Instead, it is more of a relationship with our Creator-God than a religion. All who think they are going to heaven on the basis of being a good person and participating in Church are destined for a rude awakening; see Matthew 7:21-23.

The world embraces moderates because all religious extremism has proven to be evil. The conventional wisdom is that Secular Humanism is by nature moderate. But it is no benign religion. Indeed the Secular Humanism of Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany, and Pol Pot of Cambodia are classic examples. Everyone knows the true nature of Islam; it is demonstrated every day in the terrorism that plagues the world. The ugliness of professing Christendom has also been revealed in history that proponents of Islam and Secular Humanism are always quick to point out: the Inquisition and Crusades. Jesus warned us about wolves in sheep’s clothing in Matthew 7:15.

The Bible tells us how the world culture war will play out. I expect the Secular Humanists of the Revived Roman Empire to unite with the Muslims of the Revived Ottoman Empire under the Antichrist. The other world religions including the “moderate” professing Christians will be integrated into both empires. Those who become true Christians during this time will be pretty much on the lam until Jesus returns to bring an end to the Tribulation; see Daniel 7:25.

Everyone can benefit from considering the implications of the culture war and where it is headed. It is still not too late to break ranks with the vast majority on the broad road to perdition. And forget the way of the moderate; there is no fence sitting with God. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “he who is not with Me is against Me.” It is to our great benefit to heed His command to the Laodiceans: “Therefore be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

An Hour You Do Not Expect

2010-06-17T07:18:00.000-05:00

The Stratfor analyses are generally very insightful. But a recent one discussing the potential for war in the Mideast in the aftermath of the Gaza Flotilla Fracas could have been much improved with a biblical world view. A good understanding of Bible prophecy helps us make more accurate projections of what is likely to happen.

Stratfor does not think that all the caustic rhetoric directed against Israel makes it any more likely that war is imminent. They see Israel as a regional superpower that will maintain the status quo. They do recognize the potential for Iranian nuclear weapons to disrupt that balance but do not believe this is an immediate threat to Israel. They also said, “the threat posed by intifada, suicide bombers, rockets from Lebanon and Gaza, and Hezbollah fighters is real, but it does not threaten the survival of Israel.”

Stratfor reinforces their theory of an ongoing Mideast power balance on the basis that Israel’s enemies are so divided amongst themselves that they are incapable of forming even a partial coalition against Israel. This appearance is actually a fulfillment of the prophecy that the descendants of Ishmael, “shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him” (Genesis 16:12, NKJ).

While Israel’s neighbors are divided on many things, they are united in their hatred of Israel. An old Arab proverb says, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” And the Bible makes it clear that Israel’s neighbors will indeed mount enough of a coalition that Israel needs to deal with them… “They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You” (Psalm 83:4-5).

A couple factors I was surprised that Stratfor did not even bring up was Syria’s improved ballistic missile technology from North Korea coupled with their own chemical weapons. The fact that Stratfor does not address Syria’s weapons of mass destruction reveals their wishful thinking that the status quo will be maintained in the Mideast. Effectively Stratfor is saying, “where is the promise of His coming? …all things continue as they were from the beginning” (2 Peter 3:4).

The Stratfor article seemed to be an apologetic that war was not inevitable in the Mideast. While everyone likes an optimist, it is pretty obvious to even the casual observer that it wouldn’t take much to spark a major conflagration there. Egypt and Syria certainly think war is imminent. It struck me as I read the Stratfor article that the author had no sense that the events associated with the Lord’s return are to be expected. This in itself is a sign that His return is near since He told us in Luke 12:40, “be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

The Apostle Paul tells us that at the time of the Rapture many will be lured into complacency by a false peace… 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says, “for when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” The good news for followers of Jesus during this age is in the verses that follow…

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6)

The Big Lie

2010-06-16T10:24:00.002-05:00

Adolf Hitler discussed his favorite propaganda technique called “The Big Lie” when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf. The expression refers to a lie by authorities so colossal that no one would believe that their leaders “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” We saw this technique in practice last night during President Obama’s speech about the BP Horizon disaster.

There were no solutions offered but a promise to hold British Petroleum to account. What also stood out was the unabashed sales pitch for legislation guaranteed to increase the price of fuel for every American. The justification of this policy is to curb global warming which is The Big Lie. The hidden agenda of the global warming Big Lie is to transfer wealth from successful nations with strong economies to emerging nations. The vision is to bring about more of a level playing field so that countries like the United States would yield sovereignty to the world community of nations.

Most people in this country don’t want us to yield sovereignty to world authorities. But our leaders are ideologues who ignore popular opinion. The fact that the last superpower on earth can’t avoid the set-up for yielding sovereignty to the world shows how close we are to the Tribulation. Alas, this is inevitable… “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:13, NKJ).

The problem with the government’s Cap and Trade legislation is that it establishes an infrastructure for a new hidden tax. It is hidden because the consumer will not know how much they are actually paying… they will blame the greedy oil companies for the high prices rather than their benevolent government. This legislation is being sold on the idea that it will only impact the average American by less than a dollar a day. It is the classic nose of the camel in the tent problem because once this mechanism for extracting more taxes from working people is established; the government is free to raise the tax rate at any time.

I have commented on how the looming 2011 tax increases, European debt crisis, and oil supply disruptions from a Mideast war all threaten to plunge the world into a second dip recession. The Obama administration’s pledge to raise our oil prices will make worse the impact of the recession in the United States. We saw that dynamic at the end of 2008 when we entered the last recession. The lack of faith in the government response to grow our debt through wasteful stimulus spending and take over of companies “too big to fail” caused more people to be laid off than was necessary.

Some conservative commentators have said that Obama’s bad decisions are a result of his inexperience. I’d like to think this was the case because that means he could learn and change. We saw that with President Clinton who was the consummate politician. Bill Clinton was very aware of which way the political winds were blowing and made popular mid-course corrections. Barrack Obama is no Bill Clinton. It remains to be seen if this country will be able to recover from the damage already done by our Leftist government. It is the potential scope of the changes our Leftist government envisions for us coupled with the timing of other developments in Europe and the Mideast that tells me the Tribulation is close.

As we get closer to the Lord’s return we can expect to see more Big Lies… “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). This is a dangerous time not to be well grounded in God’s Word.

Treasures of the Deep

2010-06-15T14:22:00.005-05:00

The BP Horizon disaster continues to get worse. It seems no one knows how to contain an oil well blow-out in 5,000 feet of water where the extreme pressures severely limit what can be done. I am beginning to wonder if this will not continue to be a seeping environmental wound until the Lord returns.

Many have said that we know more about space than deep ocean depths. This idea was reinforced in a 60 Minutes segment on Bob Ballard, the deep-sea explorer who found the Titanic. The story included video of a great tube worm garden Ballard found 8,000 feet deep living in total darkness, thriving off the energy of the Earth. The discovery flies in the face of the idea that “all life on the planet owed its existence to the sun, that it was sun that was the driving energy of life.” Ballard went on to say, “this is showing us that life can exist at far greater extremes than we ever expected, which again increases the probability of finding it elsewhere not only in the universe but elsewhere within our own solar system.”

The 60 Minutes story did not address any origin of life conclusions that could be made from Ballard’s tube worm discovery but the conventional wisdom is that it reinforces evolution. Actually I think it does just the opposite. As unlikely that the right conditions could exist to cause a living cell to spontaneously spring to life; it is at least twice as unlikely for that process to happen simultaneously in such extreme conditions. It shows the depravity of mankind that people refuse to recognize the hand of God in the face of such evidence… “for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, NKJ).

I expect one of the amazing things mankind will eventually discover about God is that the universe is actually teeming with life. I believe he will enable those who love Him to learn more about Him by studying what He has created in even the far reaches of the universe. The “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Knowing that God has created such amazing things begs the question: Why would He allow so much of His creation to be destroyed by the BP Horizon environmental disaster? I believe it is a warning to us that an even greater environmental disaster is coming soon during the Tribulation. Revelation 16:3says, “the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.” The BP Horizon disaster foreshadows this unbelievably worse environmental disaster.

The good news is that Jesus returns to earth at the end of the 7-year Tribulation to restore His creation and establish His physical Kingdom. His spiritual Kingdom was established during His first advent. For those in His spiritual Kingdom today, we will not even be here on earth during the 7-year Tribulation. With the rapidly increasing incidence of birth pangs foreshadowing the Tribulation, we don’t have long to persevere in this fallen world.

Luke 21:28 says, “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” The Lord added the words “begin to happen” to reinforce the idea that His followers are out of here ahead of the Tribulation! These are exciting times for those of us who take the Bible literally.

Rising Authoritarianism

2010-06-14T14:30:00.003-05:00

Besides the U.S. tax increase that is coming in 2011, another factor that could plunge the world into a second-dip recession is the debt crisis in Europe. Significant austerity measures have been proposed to qualify the most indebted nations for bail-outs. People in Greece rioted over cut-backs to their entitlements but many believe that these austerity measures are necessary because democracy itself is at stake.

It is interesting to note that both those in favor of the EU bail-out austerity measures and those opposed to them think that Europe is on the path to 1930s style dictatorship. There are many who think that since government spending is such a big part of the economy, the austerity measures themselves will trigger a second-dip recession. It is generally recognized that the Great Depression of the 1930s significantly contributed to the rise of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco in Europe. A second dip recession could bring about the same economic environment that is conducive for military dictatorships to emerge.

Stratfor published an interesting analysis on how severe recessions can disrupt the balance of political, economic and military systems of countries. Stratfor believes that the economic problems in the United States will likely be managed by more political control of economic systems. The situation is different in Europe however where the legitimacy of the EU as a political entity is being questioned. They say that if the EU is de-legitimized, then we are really in uncharted territory. I don’t think it is uncharted at all; there is a pattern of military leaders stepping up in the face of economic and political turmoil.

The geopolitical changes that are developing in Europe are prophetically significant. Indeed, Europe is the Western leg of the Revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2). At the beginning of the Tribulation, about half of the world will follow the kings of the Revived Roman Empire which is emerging from the Western leg of the original Roman Empire. The other half of the world will follow the kings of the Revived Ottoman Empire which is emerging from the Eastern leg of the original Roman Empire.

During the 1930s many thought Hitler could have been the Antichrist. But the stage was not set then nearly as well as it is now with Israel being established in the land. Certainly Hitler foreshadowed the Antichrist. The pattern of severe economic distress causing a strong dictator to emerge is one that may well be among the dynamics that brings the Antichrist to power. If we are close to the end of the Age of Grace, it may come in conjunction with an economic depression.

There is no doubt that painful times are in the offing. But these birth pangs will not be nearly as bad as what will happen during the Tribulation. The storm is coming so now is not a good time to be without Christ in your life; as Jesus said…

“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25, NKJ)

Recession 2.0

2010-06-11T05:43:00.001-05:00

A second dip recession is coming in 2011 and it will likely be worse than the previous one in 2008-2009. That is Arthur Laffer’s conclusion in an excellent Wall Street Journal article analyzing the impact of the tax increases that will take effect January 1, 2011.

Laffer also says that the apparent economic strength we are seeing in 2010 is a result of business managers anticipating the 2011 tax hikes. Actions are being taken to pull as much revenue into 2010 as possible before cut backs are necessary in 2011. I have certainly seen this phenomenon at Texas Instruments where lead times for our products are longer than we would like because of exceptionally robust demand.

Laffer’s succinct summary of the dynamics that will bring about the 2011 economic collapse is compelling. It is interesting to note that few people are talking about this. It’s like the elephant in the room; investors are nervous about a second dip recession but people are afraid to talk about what will cause it as if such talk might become a self fulfilling prophecy.

You'd think Republicans would be beating the drum about the coming tax hikes since they will make a second-dip recession all but certain. It struck me that maybe they’re waiting until it is too late for Congress to address the issue before the November elections. Apparently politicians only dust off conservative principles when they can be used to get elected. Power does indeed corrupt… Satan controls all the governments of the world; see Luke 4:5-6 and Jesus calling him the “the ruler of this world” in John 12:31, 14:30 and 16:11.

Our increasingly excessive taxes are due to the social engineering that Barack Obama promised when he ran for president. Everyone likes to think they are on the receiving end of the hand-outs. But moving the wealth around involves taxing the productive component of society to be able to reward non productivity. It is well known that the top 50% of wage earners already pay over 96% of all income tax revenue. And incredibly over 47% of the people in this country pay no federal income taxes at all. This is non-sustainable and yet the vision of our liberal governmental officials is to spread even more of the wealth around.

The Bible tells us that the end of the age would be characterized by authorities robbing wealth from the wage earners… “Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord” (James 5:4, NKJ).

We have had a series of economic bubbles burst foreshadowing the Financial Armageddon that will occur during the Tribulation per Revelation 18. The 2011 recession will be the next one and, given the status of other geopolitical developments, it may be the last one prior to the Tribulation…

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7-8)

Immortal Jews

2010-06-10T08:58:00.005-05:00

Fulfilled prophecy is the greatest evidence we have that the Bible is God’s Word. Everyone can see first hand what God is doing in the world today through Israel. This tiny country has the world’s focus and will likely be the flashpoint of the next great war the world will see.

The uniqueness of Israel is even apparent to people who do not profess to have a relationship with the Lord. Mark Twain, an agnostic and self-acknowledged skeptic, penned this for Harper’s Magazine in 1899:

The Egyptian, Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away. The Greek and Roman followed, made a vast noise and they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up, and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out and they sit in twilight now or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal, but the Jew. All other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?

I don’t know if Mark Twain ever turned to Jesus but given his awareness of the uniqueness of the Jews, it is clear that the Holy Spirit was working on him. The amazing thing is that Mark Twain made this observation long before Israel came back together as a nation; the uniqueness of the Jew is even more apparent today.

The Bible has the answer to Mark Twain’s question… Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob” (NKJ). Despite the dispersion of the Jews throughout the nations, they have preserved their uniqueness. The Jews have not been assimilated into the cultures of the nations where they have lived. This is unprecedented in history.

If the immortality of the Jews is not obvious enough, scientists have analyzed genetic samples from communities across the world and compared them with non-Jewish populations. Their study, published in Nature, revealed that most Jewish populations were "genetically closer" to each other than to their non-Jewish neighbors.

God is Almighty and in control of the world He created; thus His promises can be trusted. And He ordained that the Jews would be a special people, unique in all the world; Deuteronomy 26:18 says, “the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He has promised you, that you should keep all His commandments.”

God promised Israel through Abraham that, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). That has certainly been the case. God used the Jews to bring us His Word and the Messiah came as a Jew. The fact that anti-Semitism cloaked in animosity toward Israel is growing in the world today should tell us a lot about the age we are living in. And it reveals how much of the world does not know God or His Word.

Spiritual warfare is affecting our physical world. It is quite disconcerting to see the irrational hatred of the Jews knowing it is really hatred of God. We live in the perilous times 2 Timothy 3:1 says would characterize the last days when the Lord returns. As God said before He poured out His wrath on earth in the flood of Noah’s day, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever” (Genesis 6:3).

The only reason Jesus delays His coming is out of mercy for those who haven’t yet turned to Him (2 Peter 3:9). So we should make good use of the time we have in being His representative… “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing” (Matthew 24:46).

World in Big Trouble

2010-06-09T15:55:00.002-05:00

The most striking thing demonstrating the growing Spirit of Antichrist in the world today is the growing opposition to Israel. No one is surprised by columnist Helen Thomas effectively stating publicly that we should, “cut [Israel] off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more” (Psalm 83:4, NKJ). Given the mainstream media bias against Israel, there are many who secretly agree with Ms. Thomas, she only spoke her mind because of the prerogatives of her advanced age.

One of my favorite conservative commentators, Dennis Prager, published an excellent article on what the world’s cultural elites think of Israel’s dealing with the recent attempt to break the naval blockade of Gaza. Dennis’ article titled, “If Israel Is Not Evil, the World Is in Big Trouble” is right on the mark. Here is his conclusion:

The reason mankind has to hope that the world, its leaders, its newspapers, its so-called human rights organizations and the United Nations are right about Israel is quite simple: If Israel is the decent party in its war with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas -- and nearly all the world's countries, nearly all the world's media and the United Nations are morally wrong -- what hope is there for humanity? If the world's moral compass is that broken, are we not sailing into a dark age?

The world’s moral compass is in fact broken and we are indeed sailing into a dark age the Bible calls the Tribulation. The world’s moral compass is broken because, “the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us” (Psalm 2:2-3).

The cultural elites of this world do not believe God’s Word. If they did, they would know about Zechariah 12:3-6…

It shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.' In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place-- Jerusalem. (NKJ)

We are on the cusp of this prophecy being fulfilled. All the nations of the world are gathering against Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. A dark time is coming that will be accompanied by big geopolitical changes. God said in Habakkuk 1:5, “Look among the nations and watch-- be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” That was true in the day God raised up the Chaldeans to discipline Israel, and it prophetically applies today as He prepares to restore the prominence of Israel.

Now is not a time to put off following Jesus… “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” (Luke 21:36).

Preparing for War

2010-06-08T13:32:00.007-05:00

The threatening rhetoric of Israel’s enemies is intensifying in the wake of the world’s condemnation of Israel enforcing the Naval blockade of Gaza. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said Israel must be me held to account for its action during a press conference with Syrian President Assad. Iranian President Ahmadinejad told an Istanbul crowd that the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla sounded “the death knell of the Zionist regime.”

These inflammatory statements are being made in an environment where the United States government is signaling weakness in standing with Israel as an ally. John Bolton’s assessment is that this will cause our allies to distance themselves from us resulting in the U.S. government being even more deliberative rather than taking decisive action. And this makes war more likely when rogue nations like North Korea and Iran realize that the United States is not going to stand by our allies when the going gets tough.

Israel knows how destabilizing it is for the U.S. to back away from supporting them and has been preparing for the inevitable war with their neighbors. The Israelis have been conducting readiness exercises and have requested from the U.S. more JDAM smart bombs along with a 50% increase in American army gear held in their emergency stores. It will be interesting to see if the U.S. complies with this request given the trend in our official support for Israel. Dragging our feet on this support request will do two things: (1) encourage Israel’s enemies to go to war with them before the U.S. policy changes and (2) make it more likely that Israel will have to use a nuclear weapon when there is a war.

Indications are that it is just a matter of time before war breaks out in the Mideast. Such a war could be initiated by Israel doing something preemptively against Iran’s nuclear weapon potential when it becomes clear that sanctions will not work. Our, even more likely, it could be initiated by Iran’s proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria when they decide they have enough missiles massed to destroy Israel. It is hard to imagine either side waiting until next year when delay could put them at a disadvantage.

Jesus said that prior to His return, “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6, NKJ). He went on explain that wars are a sign of His coming when it becomes apparent, “these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). The original Greek word translated “sorrows” in the New King James version of the Bible means “birth pangs.” So a sign the Tribulation is near is when wars are increasing in frequency and intensity.

Israel has been involved in six wars since their inception in 1948 for an average of about one war every 10 years. Their most recent wars have happened more frequently, the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and the Gaza War in 2008. Given this trend, it will not be long before Israel sees another war. And given the preparedness of both sides, this next war is likely to be more intense and thus more decisive.

I also see significance in Israel’s next war being the seventh. The number seven represents “completion” in the Bible. Jesus said in Luke 21:24 that “Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” I would expect the “times of the Gentiles” to culminate in the Rapture of the Church because after this God resumes working through Israel again during the 70th week of Daniel (Daniel 9:27).

The next war in Israel will likely involve nuclear weapons. I’ve often thought that a great time for the Rapture would be when nuclear weapons are being used. People will be so distracted by the major geopolitical developments; they will not give a lot of thought to a few million Christians disappearing (consider 2 Thessalonians 2:11). If ever there is a silver lining to a nuclear war, that would be it.

Signs in the Heavens

2010-06-07T11:03:00.001-05:00

It looks like among the missions NASA will have in the post-Shuttle era will be to provide solar weather reports. Authorities in Washington DC are conducting a meeting June 8th to discuss the vulnerabilities of our technological society to the anticipated solar storms that are expected to increase in intensity. NOAA and NASA's Heliophysics Division are the two federal agencies primarily involved.

Solar storm activity has be cyclical in nature but we are now particularly more dependant on satellite communications than in past solar storm peaks. What ever happens, this will certainly make for more awareness of how solar activity affects life here on earth. I’d like to think this will cause more people to reevaluate the idea that human-generated carbon dioxide is what is causing the earth to heat up but the global warming dogma is a strong religion.

The Bible tells us that global warming is in fact coming and it will be so bad that people will be forced to admit that it is not due to carbon emissions. In fact, the only explanation will be that God is allowing it to happen; not that this acknowledgement will cause them to obey Him… Revelation 16:9 says, “men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory” (NKJ). Men’s hearts will become hardened against God as what happened to Pharaoh during Moses’ day so that the full consequences of living apart from God would become known.

In other recent news from space, a huge fireball has been spotted on Jupiter in yet another collision from space caught on camera and video by amateur astronomers.

The increasing incidents of big objects being observed slamming into Jupiter are bound to make people concerned about that happening on earth. Granted, Jupiter is a bigger target with a stronger gravitational field than earth but it does demonstrate the potential for a similar such disaster here. Indeed the Bible tells us that something like this will happen during the Tribulation… “Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood” (Revelation 8:8).

The Tribulation will be a fearful time due in part to what people will observe going on in the heavens. “There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).

We are not yet in the Tribulation but Jesus told us that the signs of the Tribulation would be like birth pangs, increasing in frequency and intensity (Matthew 24:8). It is no coincidence that we are starting to become concerned about what is happening in space.

By themselves, individual indications like this that we are getting closer to the Tribulation could easily be dismissed. But taken together with other natural events on earth, signs associated with Israel, and the geopolitical stage setting, it is hard to deny that the current Age of Grace is about to conclude. And since the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation, we don’t have long to persevere in this world.

Islam and the Left

2010-06-04T12:26:00.004-05:00

The United States government embracing Leftist ideals sets the stage for the one-world government the Bible says will culminate in Armageddon. Not only will our government's Leftist policies force the U.S. to be more of a team player among the world community of nations, it represents a mindset that is compatible with the spirit of Antichrist.

It is striking how much Leftists agree with Islamists in the cultural struggle going on today. I just read an editorial by Diana West who interviewed Andrew C. McCarthy, the author of, "The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America." This quote from McCarthy is a good summary of what Leftists and Islamist agree on:

"For all their disagreements on matters like women's rights, gay rights and abortion, Islam and the Left are in harmony on big-picture matters: They are authoritarian, totalitarian in the sense of wanting to control all aspects of human existence, virulently anti-capitalist, and regard the individual as existing merely to serve the collective. Consequently, they have the same obstacle in common: our freedom culture - i.e., Western liberalism, U.S. constitutional republicanism, and their foundation, individual liberty. Historically, Islam and the Left ally when there is a common enemy. But I'd stress that what I am talking about here is an alliance, not a merger. I am not claiming, as someone ridiculously suggested to me the day the book came out, that Barack Obama wants to impose Sharia."

The shared values between Islam and the Left helps us see how world leaders with seemingly divergent ideologies will be able to come together to accommodate a world government that forms the power base of the Antichrist. "For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast" (Revelation 17:17, NKJ).

Given that Islam is the most likely candidate for the religion of the Antichrist, we can expect to see more collaboration between Leftists and Islamists. The European Union governments making up the Revived Roman Empire have embraced Leftist social policies for some time. Despite the shaky economy, I don't see this changing any time soon because it is very difficult to reverse socialist policies once people come to depend on the hand-outs. The idea that Islam and the Left are not that far apart helps us understand how the Revived Roman Empire will be able to agree well enough with the Revived Ottoman Empire to bring the world together under the Antichrist. Though iron and clay do not mix well, they will in fact work together.

I'd like to think that we can reverse the trend toward a Leftist government in this country. But with the increasing frequency and intensity of Tribulation birth pangs, there will be many opportunities for our Leftist government to take actions that secures and grows their power over the people. Even if we are able to vote out the current batch of Leftists and God blesses this country with godly leadership, it will take time to turn this ship around. Also, there is no guarantee that those who replace our current Leftists will be much better. We have seen over and over how power corrupts those we vote into office. And per Revelation 17:17, it is God who causes the world leaders to collaborate with each other to fulfil His purpose in the Tribulation.

The only consolation in the path we are on is that the rapid pace of prophetic developments shows we can't be far from the Rapture of the Church. Indeed, the Rapture of the Church will insure that the Leftists stay in power since the huge block of Christians that would vote against them will be gone. I can think of no more effective ideological mix for the Tribulation government; Islamists and Secular Humanist Leftists working together.

As we consider these trends, we shouldn't despair... it helps to remember that God really is in control and thus, "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

End of Free Speech

2010-06-03T07:44:00.003-05:00

Among the freedoms that totalitarian regimes can not tolerate is free speech. Thus we should expect to see an assault on free speech as the stage is set for the totalitarian world government the Bible says we'll have prior to the return of Jesus. Indeed there are rumblings of this very thing in the United States where free speech has been sacrosanct for so long...

The Federal Government has been talking about regulating Internet journalists and bloggers. President Obama’s man at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Cass Sunstein, has been advocating holding blogs and alternative Internet news media “responsible” for the information they publish. Sunstein's book titled “On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done” discusses plans for imposing online censorship.

It seems that the Federal Government prefers the big corporate news outlets that they can depend on to promote their agendas. The blogosphere limits the effectiveness of the mainstream news networks which is effectively a check on the power of government thus the government is compelled to regulate it. And the day will come when it will be. This will be the role of the Antichrist's right hand man called the False Prophet in the Bible. Revelation 13:15 says, "He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed" (NKJ).

The world-wide government that is coming will not tolerate disagreement with the Great Leader. Many will scoff at this thinking that day is far enough off that we have time to make the necessary mid-course corrections. But a crisis can cause governments to seize power very quickly and since we are already seeing the birth pangs of the Tribulation, we can expect a series of ever more serious crises that governmental authorities will not let "go to waste."

Technology is a double-edged sword. While it can be used as a check on the government propaganda, governments can also use it to squelch dissidents. For example, Nokia-Siemens Networks just admitted accommodating Iran's brutal crack-down on anti-government demonstrators last year by selling mobile phone surveillance equipment to the authoritarian regime. Governments have access to technology that they can use to squelch free speech and they will not hesitate to use it when their power is threatened.

Free speech is a blessing from God. Jesus promised His followers that, "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). It is a wonderful freedom to be able to speak of the great truths God has revealed to us in His Word. There is no greater privilege than to be a purveyor of His truth. This is something we should all take full advantage of before the window of opportunity closes. As Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work" (John 9:4).

Truth has an amazing way of becoming manifest despite the best efforts of those who seek to suppress it. Even if the Antichrist totally controls the Internet during the Tribulation, God will make it possible for people to learn the truth about Him. But this will be a much harder time to be a follower of Christ because the government will hunt down believers and kill them, see Revelation 13:7.

If you have not yielded your life to Jesus, don't delay; all indications are that this present Age of Grace is rapidly coming to a close. Start following Jesus today and you will join us in the Rapture. The longer you delay, the greater your eternal soul is at risk.

Iran's Nuclear Material

2010-06-02T10:05:00.005-05:00

In the midst of all the concern about Israel's dealing with the Turkey-sponsored Gaza relief flotilla, the news that Iran now has enough fissionable material for two nuclear weapons has been lost in the fray. The timing of the flotilla fracas makes you wonder if part of the objective was to mask the news about Iran's progress toward nuclear arms.

Certainly the flotilla flap has served to give Turkey reason to change their position on sanctions against Iran. Without Turkey's cooperation, there will be no sanctions against Iran. These developments have made it clear to Israel that the world will do nothing to stop Iran from making good on their existential threat to Israel and so is planning to permanently station a submarine carrying nuclear cruise missiles in the Persian Gulf.

When is Israel likely to do something about Iran's nuclear weapon capabilities? They can not wait until they have one because it's use on Israel would mean the end of Israel. They could wait until the world is more sympathetic toward Israel but that will not make any difference since they will be condemned by the world when they take action against Iran anyway.

What is Israel going to do about Iran? It is questionable that conventional bunker-busters will do the job and their effective use will require the kind of multiple-sortie logistics that only the United States could muster. The Israelis know that the Obama Administration will not offer this up; they are on their own. So what ever Israel does, it will have to be quick and decisive. Thus using nuclear weapons is their only option. It is as if the world is pushing them to use them; daring them to draw first.

It seems like unseen forces are orchestrating events to destabilize the situation in the Middle East. It is easy to dismiss all this thinking that we have lived for 60+ years with nuclear weapons and they have not been used because this is too terrible to comprehend. But that was before such weapons have fallen in the hands of people who advocate suicide bombing and think that it is their religious duty to kill as many infidels as they can.

Of course any strike on Iran will cause Syria and Hezbollah to rain down missiles on Israel so dealing with that has to be part of the equation for Israel. With nuclear weapons being used in Iran, Israel couldn't be condemned any more if they used one on Damascus to cut off the head of the snake that is attacking them. Israel needs a "final" solution to their neighbors harassing them over their right to exist; using a nuke on one of the ring-leaders might just do that. The Bible tells us that this will happen, “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1, NKJ).

Developments are happening quickly... Now is not a time to be without Jesus Christ in your life.

Israel's Lose-Lose Situation

2010-06-01T12:41:00.003-05:00

Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and canceled joint military drills after Israeli commandos killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens aboard a Palestinian aid convoy unofficially sponsored by Turkey.

What ever Israel does to protect themselves from more missiles being delivered to Hamas in Gaza, they are condemned by the world community of nations as over reacting. This Palestinian aid convoy is public relations stunt by those who hate Israel. There are well established channels to get aid to the people of Gaza; this action was designed to provoke Israel. Israel is clearly loosing the public relations battle; if they did not board these ships, the next flotilla would have included weapons to be used against them. Of course a big part of the world thinks that arming Israel's enemies is acceptable. This is because the world really agrees with the Islamic Jihadists who seek to, "cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more" (Psalm 83:4, NKJ).

The fallout from this event must really be causing the people of Israel to be feeling isolated. The U.S. is still "officially" standing by Israel but how long can that last in the face of a public relations campaign that is so skewed against Israel? And especially when President Obama as the architect of our foreign relations policy has made it such a priority for the United States to be a "team player" in the world community of nations. This will make Israel more likely to take action that resolves their security problems once and for all. This of course will only be temporary but something has to happen so that they may have sufficient peace to build a Temple in Jerusalem.

Most people deny that the revival of the nation Israel fulfills Bible prophecy. This looked pretty impossible up until 1948. And that Israel should be preserved and flourish in the midst of so much opposition reinforces the idea that prophecy is being fulfilled. Today it looks pretty impossible today that Israel will be able to build a Temple in Jerusalem. But Scripture is clear that this will happen at the beginning of the Tribulation. Something has to happen to make that possible; indications are that we are on the cusp of some dramatic geopolitical developments.

God is in control and He is using these developments to show the world who He is. Some will get it and come to Christ. Israel as a nation will recognize Jesus as the Messiah during the Tribulation. Knowing the outcome of all these events is a blessing. The prophetic Scriptures have never been more relevant than they are today.

We should not be surprised when we encounter people who have bought into the anti-Israel media propaganda and they fail to listen to reason. This is a spiritual battle and they have made a decision to be aligned against God, His Church, and His people Israel despite what they claim. Pray for their spiritual needs, that they will open their heart to the Lord.

...And "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6); the Day is rapidly approaching when the people of Israel will have the peace they long for. Come soon, Lord Jesus!

Axis of Evil

2010-05-28T13:21:00.002-05:00

It amazes me when I see people with divergent ideologies ban together for some common purpose. It is especially striking when that purpose is to oppose God. North Korea is exporting their nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Iran and Syria. At a minimum this threatens the peace but it is a rather direct threat to Israel, the apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8).

None of these countries have any love for Israel and are collaborating to “cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more” (Psalm 83:4, NKJ). But it is not just Israel that is the focus of the rouge nations, there is evidence that Iran is collaborating with Venezuela. Hugo Chavez has no love for Israel either but he is more of a threat to his neighbors in the Americas.

The old proverb, “birds of a feather flock together” is very true. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (NKJ) As those who are of the light and love God should seek communion with fellow light bearers, we can expect those of the darkness to commune together.

Jesus told us that evil doers will indeed collaborate together… “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” (Luke 11:17-18). We can expect to see more of this as we get closer to the Lord’s return because, “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).

Most people are in denial about the root cause of what threatens the peace in the world. They don’t see the connection between the national leaders with evil intent and the idea that they are acting in opposition to God. Psalm 2:2-3 says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”

As long as people don’t even recognize what is behind the nations preparing for war, there is no way mankind can stop the path we are on in this world. The Bible tells us that more and more nations will drawn into the axis of evil to the point where all nations will be represented at the battle of Armageddon; Revelation 16:14-16.

Fortunately, “you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief” (1Thessalonians 5:4).

Sola Scriptura

2010-05-27T15:15:00.003-05:00

I’ve been discussing different biblical interpretations with an amillennialist friend who thinks the Church has replaced Israel in God’s economy. Those interactions have reinforced for me the importance of sola scriptura – regarding God’s Word as our only authority.

The idea that God is done with Israel for all time is called Replacement Theology. Those who believe the promises God made to Israel now apply to the Church have to go through all manner of liberal interpretive contortions to explain Romans 11. Replacement Theology is a doctrine of demons that is one of the roots of anti-Semitism. It was used by Nazis to justify persecution of the Jews.

It is frustrating trying to debate a biblical issue with someone who does not take the Bible literally. If you don’t take the Bible literally and in context, proof texts do not mean what they say; they can be interpreted to mean anything you want them to say. If everything in the Bible has some overriding spiritual meaning outside of what the clear text says, the only way you can ever know what it says is through some extra-biblical source (including one’s own feelings). And this is not sola scriptura.

The reason I take the Bible literally is that God used His prophetic Word to lead me to Jesus… since the prophecies of the first coming of Christ were literally fulfilled, we should expect the prophecies of His return to be literally fulfilled as well. For the person who does not take the Bible literally, the book of Revelation is not hard to understand, it is hard to believe.

It has been a blessing getting to know the Lord better through studying His prophetic Word as Revelation 1:3 promises. I investigated different methods of interpreting Bible prophecy and found the approach with the fewest unresolved conflicts is to just take Scripture literally… if the plain sense of a passage makes sense, seek no other sense or you’ll end up with nonsense. There is obvious symbolism in some apocalyptic passages but this is a common literary technique that improves our understanding and is usually even explained by the accompanying text.

We can trust God’s Word to accurately represent what God wants us to know. If God is almighty enough to have created this world, His omnipotence is sufficient to have accurately brought us His Word and preserved it through time even using His flawed subjects. The Bible is the main physical resource God gave us for getting to know Him personally during this age. Having to depend on some scholarly human intermediary to tell us what God really said is inconsistent with the reason God gave us His Word.

God has gone to great lengths to make it possible for us to have a personal relationship with Him. Genesis 1:26-27 says we are created in the image of God. The most profound aspect of this is that we have a free will to make choices with eternal ramifications. It is not possible to have a truly satisfying relationship unless both parties are free to accept or reject the other. God loved us so much that He was willing to risk our rejecting Him in order to bless us with the experience of a genuine personal relationship with Him. Not even angels can have the depth of personal relationship with our Creator-Savior that He made possible for humans, see 1 Peter 1:12.

The problem with our having a free will is that everyone has used it to pursue personal agendas rather than get on board with God’s plan. The Bible calls this lack of regard for God sin and it is a problem we all have… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJ). The problem with sin is that it separates us from God. We were created for a purpose and sin keeps us from realizing that purpose... “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Fortunately for us, God intervened and made it possible for our sins to be forgiven… “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins by giving His own life in our place. He is the only one who could do this because He is the only one who ever lived a sinless life. Jesus lived a sinless life because He wasn’t just a man, He was also God. I know that this is a difficult truth to embrace with our mortal minds, but God helps those who are truly open to Him to accept it. And He has promised us… “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

I pray that all who read this post will chose to accept Jesus into their lives if they haven’t already. And I pray that they will experience the blessings of having God speak directly to them from a literal reading of His Word.

One World Conspiracy

2010-05-26T11:23:00.003-05:00

A persistent conspiracy is that the secretive Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and Bilderbergs are working behind the scene to bring about a world government. This conspiracy has a ring of truth because many of our crises are fabricated by society’s elites to invoke a response that drives us closer to more centralized control.

WorldNetDaily reports that one of the proponents of the one world conspiracy is getting some official legitimacy. Author Daniel Estulin, of the book "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group", has been invited to speak about this secretive cabal before the European Parliament in Brussels June 1.

Estulin’s book explains how the web of people and organizations has become a “shadow government whose top priority is to erase the sovereignty of all nation-states and supplant them with global corporate control of their economies under the surveillance of 'an electronic global police state.’”

I’m sure Estulin will be successful selling a lot of books warning about one-world government conspirators because this trend is undeniable. Certainly it is consistent with what the Bible says will happen in the seven years leading up to the return of Christ. But believing that secretive cabals are behind the trend toward a one-world government denies what is really going on.

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (NKJ). It isn’t cabals of human conspirators plotting to install a one-world government, Satan and his fellow fallen angels are tempting key people to take actions that bring it about.

God is in control and He is allowing Satan and his minions to have more influence in our world in order to set the stage for the Tribulation. As God said before the last time He poured out His wrath on earth at the flood, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever” (Genesis 6:3). And as we reached the point when the timing was right for Jesus to come the first time, this will be the case when He returns… “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4).

People like to think in terms of human conspiracies because if people are behind it, people can change the path we’re on. While human decisions are certainly behind the trend toward a one-world government, unseen spiritual forces are spurring things along. But it wouldn’t mean we could fix the problem ourselves even if there were no spiritual conspirators working against us. Our human nature prevents us from consistently doing the right thing. As we needed God’s intervention to make a way for our sins to be forgiven, we need Him to help us with the mess we’re making of this world. Jesus came the first time to save us from our sins, He is returning to set things right on earth.

Every day I see more and more reasons why we sorely need Jesus to return. The stage being set for a one-world government is just one more thing showing we don’t have long to wait.

Perils of Socialism

2010-05-25T11:31:00.002-05:00

By now I hope most Americans have buyer’s remorse about the government they have voted into power and will send a strong message about this at the polls in November. The first 18 months of the Obama administration has done more to make the United States into a socialist country than any other government in our history.

The fruits of socialism are well known and predictable. All you have to do is look at the Soviet Union or Cuba for example. Yet today’s advocates of socialism think they can do better. We see this happening in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez is threatening to seize Polar, the country’s largest food producer because of food shortages resulting from government imposed price fixing. This is classic socialism; the government creates a crisis with onerous regulations, and then swoops in to fix the problem by taking control of the business.

Socialism destroys all that it touches. Vengas, a natural gas company was seized by the Venezuelan government and now gas is even scarcer. Because of this, many of the Venezuelan people are wise to the ways of Hugo Chavez and the employees of Polar are resisting the take over because they know their jobs are at stake.

The only way socialist governments can maintain power over their people is to become totalitarian. Don’t be deceived, that is the ultimate goal for the elites who strive for a bigger government. The advocates of socialism sell their vision to the public with the lie of getting something for nothing but what they really want is more power for themselves. Socialist elites are always opposed to the freedom and independent spirit that comes from having a relationship with God because this competes with the government as the savior of the people.

Unfortunately socialism is the direction the world is headed. The world’s socialist elites will make good use of the birth pangs of the Tribulation to convince people to yield more of their freedoms to the government. The theme of this is, “don’t let a good crisis go to waste.” And the Bible tells us that the government in place before Jesus returns will be a totalitarian one… “that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:17, NKJ).

Don’t think for a moment that our government leaders don’t know the impact of their moves toward socialism. They secretly long for not only totalitarianism here in the U.S.; they want to see it worldwide because only a world wide government can solve the great global problems of mankind. They are driven to achieve this with a religious fervor. And this means the economic and political power of the United States must be sacrificed…

President Obama recently declared that he would seek a new "international order." This is a clear indication that the Obama administration is willing to yield U.S. sovereignty in exchange for more global cooperation. Talk about your slippery slopes. This is exactly the mind-set of the ten kings that will yield their power to the Antichrist… “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:13).

Those who scoff at the idea that we are headed toward a world-wide government think “all things continue as they were from the beginning” (2 Peter 3:4). But God has told us that changes are coming. He said in Habakkuk 1:5, “look among the nations and watch-- be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” Geopolitical developments can happen very fast, “the end of it shall be with a flood” (Daniel 9:26).

It is a dangerous thing to scoff at God’s Word. The Almighty Creator-God will be vindicated. I pray that any scoffers reading this would open their hearts to Jesus so that they my exit the "broad way to destruction" (Matthew 7:13).

Synthetic Cell

2010-05-24T13:18:00.003-05:00

News reports last week heralded the achievement of injecting computer-generated DNA into a bacterium cell that was able to reproduce. If mankind can create life, the biblical account of creation is disproved and thus we are free from having the obey the unseen Triune Godhead, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us" (Psalm 2:3, NKJ).

It is interesting to note that the mainstream news report failed to mention that though some scientists are excited about the genome of the cell being synthetic, the developers explain that the recipient cell's cytoplasm is diluted with each division. So upon closer investigation, it doesn’t look like scientists were able to manufacture a synthetic cell after all. This reminds me of a humorous story about scientists thinking they do not need God to create life. God challenges a representative of the disbelieving scientists to a contest who proceeds to grab a handful of dirt to get started and God tells him he’ll have go get his own dirt.

It bothers me that so many people today assume that faith in Christ is in conflict with science. It seems like so much of science today is all about pursuing evidence to disprove the biblical view of the world. This has led to the conventional wisdom that science is the enemy of faith. But it wasn’t always this way. The scientific method was developed by Christians during the Renaissance period who sought to understand God more by studying His creation. God blessed Western Civilization in revealing things to us that have enabled great benefits to mankind. God will not bless science that seeks to pull people away from Him. Indeed, Romans 1:28 says, “even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind.”

A debased mind is a mind that is not rational. It is people who think they are being unemotional and logical but are in fact “children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14). And there are a lot of agendas in play today using science to promote their world view such as global warming.

As I consider the pervasiveness of science seeking to put God in His place, I can’t help but think the era of God blessing mankind through scientific discoveries is over. The Bible tells us that during the Tribulation living conditions will degenerate to the bare basics. So the closer we get to this time period will likely result in living conditions getting worse rather than better as birth pangs that foreshadow it.

Knowing that the Rapture of the Church precedes the Tribulation is a great comfort to me as I see developments that are sure to bring God’s wrath on the earth. My heart goes out to all who have not experienced the blessings from knowing the literal truth of God’s Word.

Dreaming Dreams

2010-05-21T16:19:00.004-05:00

I’ve had two dreams this week both involving train travel. Last night’s dream was especially vivid and more easily remembered than most. I normally don’t even recall that I have had a dream. I know dreams are my subconscious at work but can’t help but think that the Holy Spirit didn’t have some influence in this case.

When I have traveling dreams it is usually about air travel since that is the mass transit I have done the most by a wide margin. So train travel to me has something of a mystical quality to it. Dreams often involve symbolism and it seems likely that, at least for me, train travel represents the Rapture of the Church. Especially when I consider some of the details in last night’s dream.

In last night’s dream, I found myself in a large building without windows and was participating in some sort of non-descript tour. As I discussed with some of my fellow travelers the prospect of meeting the train for the next phase of our journey it became clear that no one knew when the train would arrive. One of my fellow non-descript travelers said we didn’t need to worry about catching the next train because there’d be others and we are coming back to our present location anyway.

Another traveler told me not to be concerned about catching the train and pointed to colorful markings on the floor saying the train would have to come in the building and we could catch it then. Well while the markings might have described a path for some vehicle, there was no train tracks associated with them. And even if the train did follow the path defined by the markings, there was nothing to indicate that it would stop for us in the building. So I decided I needed to leave the building to be in a position to watch for the train.

As soon as I stepped out on the porch of the building I heard the train whistle and realized that I just had time to make if to the train station. I had left something in the building but knew I’d miss the train if I went back for it so I decided it was of no consequence as I made my way to the train station. Then the alarm went off and I woke up.

Joel 2:28 says, “it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (NKJ). I’m certainly in the “old men” category and wouldn’t be surprised if my two train dreams this week was the Holy Spirit reinforcing the need to be ready… “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:13).

Revelation 4:1 says, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here…’” I think it likely that when the Rapture occurs, there may be a split second decision some or all of us will need to make. All who truly love the Lord and are ready for His coming for us will be taken in the Rapture. Remember Lot’s wife… “his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26).

Here are some other passages that reinforce the danger in looking back when Jesus comes for us…

“And Jesus said unto him, no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Philippians 3:13 ).

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

“Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38).

“But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Indications are that we do not have long to wait for the Rapture. So it would behoove us to, “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” (Luke 21:36). Now is not a time to neglect prayer.

My Labels

2010-05-20T08:48:00.004-05:00

I was asked to explain my position on various theological perspectives that affect a person’s interpretation of eschatology. Addressing the various labels used to describe how people view the End Times helped me to clarify why I take the positions I do on Bible prophecy…

I came to Christ as a result of becoming convinced that the Bible had to be from God because it includes prophecies that have been fulfilled exactly as given. And I have been blessed by getting to know the Lord better through studying His prophetic Word as Revelation 1:3 promises. In the process, I investigated the different methods of interpreting Bible prophecy and found the best to be an approach that takes the most literal view of Scripture… if the plain sense reading of a passage makes sense, seek no other sense or you’ll end up with nonsense. There is obvious symbolism in some apocalyptic passages but this is a common literary technique that helps us better understand it and is usually even explained by the accompanying text.

It is interesting to note that the many prophecies about the Messiah’s first coming were literally fulfilled, so we should expect the many more prophecies of His return to be literally fulfilled as well. Scripture reveals that God has gone to great lengths enabling us to experience a personal relationship with Him. The Bible is the main physical resource God gave us for getting to know Him personally during this age. Having to depend on some scholarly human intermediary to tell us what God really said is inconsistent with the purpose of the Bible.

I would describe myself as a futurist since I believe that prophecies in the Bible do help us predict what will happen in the future. Historicists must spiritualize the Bible to apply prophecy to what is happening today. I know it may sometimes appear that I’m doing that because what happens today certainly foreshadows and sets the stage for a future fulfillment of prophecy. But most prophecies associated with the Lord’s return pertain to the Tribulation period which we are not in yet.

I am certainly not a proponent of preterism which holds that most or all of the End Times biblical prophecies refer to events which have already happened in the first century after Christ's birth. It is pretty obvious that Jesus has not returned yet. Anyone reading passages about the Lord’s return thinking they were fulfilled during His First Advent would have to apply a pretty non-literal interpretation.

I am a dispensationalist. It does make sense to me that God has related to human beings in different ways throughout history. While “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), Scripture is clear that God has used diverse ways of revealing Himself to us during different periods of history. Replacement Theology is flat wrong. The Church has not replaced Israel as would have to be concluded from any honest reading of Romans 11.

I am a premillennialist. I believe there will be a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth prior to the eternal state as God has promised in Revelation 20:4. And I also believe that the Rapture of the Church will occur before the 7-year Tribulation. I’ve looked at the arguments for the different views on the order of End Time events and found premillennialism to be the one that takes the most literal view of the Bible and has the fewest unresolved conflicts.

I am a young-earth creationist. I take the Genesis creation account literally. If God truly is Almighty, why didn’t He bring about the Creation exactly like He told us He did? If we start having to apply some spiritual interpretation to the plain sense meaning of the Bible in Genesis, where does this stop? How can we believe anything the Bible says? This is a fundamental issue because, “if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). In other words, if you don’t believe the Genesis account of creation, you will not believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. There is a lot of scientific evidence supporting the idea that the earth is only thousands of years old that materialists can not explain.

I am also a Protestant. The main reason for that is sola scriptura along with the other “solas” representing the key theological beliefs of the Protestant Reformation which disagreed with the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. Wikipedia has a good description of these beliefs. I believe the five “solas” to be fundamental issues… Not having a right view of these fundamentals is a critical matter of salvation because it reveals a wrong view of God as revealed in His Word. As Jesus said in John 8:24, "if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." Most of my other labels are “disputable matters” that have no bearing on salvation (Romans 14:1). Where a person stands on the five “solas” does reveal the status of their relationship to God.

It is helpful to consider which labels we’d use to describe ourselves since we should, “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15, NKJ). I’d encourage you to make sure you understand what you believe and why you believe it. We can’t always predict when we’ll have an opportunity to defend the faith.

Greek Debt Crisis

2010-05-19T08:45:00.004-05:00

The Greek debt crisis has been threatening to plunge the world into another recession but has apparently been averted due to a bail-out from Germany. A Stratfor analysis of this situation has served to reinforce my minority view of the Tribulation geopolitical structure.

It is interesting to note that the bail out of Greece was not part of a European Union action. It was done as one nation-state helping out another because of their own self interests. Stratfor’s analysis is that this is evidence the EU is unlikely to ever operate as a unified country. We know the EU is essentially the Revived Roman Empire which will play a key role in the worldwide Tribulation government but their inability to act as a single unified country would tend to disqualify them for being the power structure from which the Antichrist will emerge.

Certainly a serious crisis could change the situation in Europe but a potential melt-down of the Euro was a pretty major event from at least a financial stand-point. And it has called into question the legitimacy of the European Union itself as a sovereign political entity. The alternative to the Revived Roman Empire being the power structure from which the Antichrist will come is the Revived Ottoman Empire. I believe it to be more likely that the Antichrist will emerge from the coalition of Islamic states that Turkey is in the process of organizing.

Revelation 13 tells us that religion is a key tool enabling the Antichrist to secure power over people. This means that Revived Ottoman Empire will serve better than the Revived Roman Empire as a power base to launch the Antichrist. The European states have no over ridding common purpose as the Islamic states do. The religion of the European states is only ostensibly Christian. Christianity was part of the European historical culture but today there is only a remnant of Bible believing Christians active there. The real religion of Europe is secular humanism. And the post-modern religion of secular humanism is inherently weaker than Islam as a unifying force.

All this reinforces my expectation that the Antichrist will emerge from the Revived Ottoman Empire, a coalition of Middle East Islamic states led by Turkey. It is exciting to live during a time when current events help us better appreciate God’s prophetic Word. It is certainly not a time to be dogmatic about traditional interpretations of apocalyptic Scripture because new information is helping us have a better feel for how God will fulfill ancient prophecies. As Daniel 12:4 says, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (NKJ).

Hastening the Coming

2010-05-18T11:42:00.003-05:00

The trends we see in the world today make it pretty clear to anyone who considers their implications that we are headed toward some sort of culmination of history. The Bible tells us these trends indicate that Jesus Christ is returning to fulfill the promises He made to us. The Bible also tells us how we should conduct ourselves in the interim: “what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:11-12, NKJ).

God expects His followers to not only look for Jesus to return but to actively work to bring His return sooner. Now those who think all religions are the same will lump this idea in with radical Islam that engages in Jihad seeking to cause sufficient turmoil between nations to summon their messiah, al Mahdi. Muslims believe that al Mahdi will return in the midst of a great conflagration between nations to lead the world in worshiping Allah.

The belief of radical Muslims that they can cause al Mahdi to come by waging war is what makes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad so dangerous. Those who think Bible-believing Christians want to do the same do not understand the distinctions between Islam and Christianity…

Islam is like all the other man-made religions of the world where people earn favor with God and their salvation through their own efforts. Christianity is unique since the Bible tells us that we can do nothing to earn salvation… “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Biblical Christianity is so different from the world’s religions that it should not even be called a religion; biblical Christianity is better described as a relationship with God.

Another distinction is that Islam is a religion of death whereas true biblical Christianity is a religion of life. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves; you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). The fruit of Islam is death. Where ever Islam goes there is war and death. They way Islam obtains converts is by threat of death, the Koran teaches that it is good to kill infidels, and the only way a Muslim can be sure they are going to heaven is to die in the process of killing infidels. True biblical Christianity values human life since all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).

Those who think biblical Christianity is just a different brand of religion like radical Islam fear giving Christians political power because they think we will seek to fulfill Bible prophecy by forcing Armageddon on the world. I discussed this fear in another blog. While that fear should be real with Islam, it is not the case with Christianity.

Don’t think the Church's enthusiasm for the Rapture means that we are working to bring on the Tribulation. The Tribulation will be a terrible time when at least half of the population on the earth will die. It also marks a time of great deception when it will be easier to believe lies than the truth (see 2 Thessalonians 2:11). We don’t want to go through that time ourselves nor do we want any of our associates to either.

God is in control of when things happen; there is nothing we can do to make the Tribulation come any sooner. God will not allow the Antichrist to emerge until the timing is within His permissive will… “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” (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

How then does the Christian speed up the return of Jesus if we can do nothing ourselves to cause Bible prophecy to be fulfilled? I believe that 2 Peter 3:11-12 tells us the work of the Church can bring the Rapture sooner rather than later. The next major event in the history of the Church is the Rapture. There is no prophetic event that has to happen prior to it and there is no reason why it couldn't happen even several years ahead of the Tribulation. However, I would expect the Rapture to be so disruptive it is hard to imagine there being much time between it and the Tribulation.

Besides 2 Peter 3:11-12, Romans 11:25 also indicates that God has in mind a set number of people for the Church: "blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." So given that, believers working to grow the Body of Christ can hasten the return of Jesus for the Church. When the set number of people God wants in His Church is reached, our work here is done; we’re out of here. So the quicker we can complete the Church, the sooner it will be that Jesus returns for us.

Of course it is really God that builds the Church. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). So in that sense, we can’t even work to bring on the Rapture sooner than God’s timing. But we can pray and God blesses His followers by working through us. We get to participate in what He is doing in the spiritual growth of those He brings into our lives. The more diligent we are to act in obedience with God, the more rewards we will experience.

So, all who look forward to seeing Jesus at the Rapture should pray for the Lord to deliver us and, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

The Purpose of Evil

2010-05-17T12:33:00.003-05:00

As I watched the 60 Minutes story on the Deep Sea Horizon disaster in the Gulf, I was struck by the potential scope of this event. There are unprecedented amounts of oil now drifting about in the ocean that could cause environmental damage all along the Gulf coast for years to come.

I expect it will be years before we start drilling off our shores again. This will serve to make us even more dependent on the oil from the Mideast and it will drive up the price of everything. With that in mind I was surprised to see the price of oil dropping this morning. Fears that recovery from the global recession is going to suffer a setback due to the European debt crisis have made commodity speculators bearish. It would seem that economic factors still trump environmental concerns at least in the near-term. But dropping oil prices is a short term trend that will be eclipsed by the Gulf environmental damage which will not go away any time soon.

While the official cause of the Deep Sea Horizon disaster has not been determined yet, the evidence that has been made public points pretty accusingly to British Petroleum. It looks like BP executives insisted that the rig operator, Transocean, overlook safety issues to reduce the cost of the drilling operation. So greed looks like the root cause. Of course we need to be careful in passing judgment based on a story from 60 Minutes which has a liberal bias in their reporting. The liberal bias is that since use of oil damages the environment due to global warming then all oil companies are bad, all off-shore oil drilling is doubly bad, and indeed capitalism itself is bad. But despite the bias, if the 60 Minutes story is accurate I’d say the days of BP being allowed to exist as a company are numbered.

It is tragedies like the Deep Sea Horizon disaster that will cause the public to accept more governmental regulation and more general intrusion into our lives. We are on a fast track to bigger government and every disaster that foreshadows the Tribulation accelerates that process. It seems that no one wants a good crisis to go to waste.

As we consider the increasing incidence of evil as we rush headlong to the Tribulation, it is helpful to keep the big picture in mind… God's will always triumphs over evil. It certainly looks like good and evil are struggling with evil making headway against good. But ultimately it is good, God's will, that will prevail. The Bible tells us the end of the story and thus it is inevitable that good triumphs over evil.

God allows evil to run its course to serve His purposes. His higher purpose in allowing us to be exposed to evil is to enable us to exercise free will. Our capacity to exercise free will is the most profound aspect of being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God gave us free will because He wanted us to experience the depth of personal relationship with Him that is only possible if we are free to accept or reject that relationship. So life in this fallen mortal world is a test to determine who will spend eternity in the presence of the Creator.

I pray that all who read this post already have or soon will believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. Coming to this point is infinitely better sooner rather than later. When Jesus returns, it will be “to execute judgment on all” (Jude 1:15, NKJ). We can not know the "day and hour" of His return (Matthew 24:36) so the wise thing is to be ready now. All indications are that we do not have long to wait.

Positive Signs

2010-05-13T15:32:00.004-05:00

A regular subscriber to this News Wisdom blog asked me a provocative question, “Must every 'sign' of prophecy unfolding be of evil advancing?” The short answer to this is obviously no, but the most striking evidence that we are accelerating toward what Jesus called the “Great Tribulation” in Matthew 24:21 is indeed the growth of evil. The signs Jesus gave us to watch for in His Olivet Discourse were all increasing consequences from evil. Matthew 24:7 says, “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (NKJ).

Scripture also tells us, “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). So the growth of evil is a trend we can expect in the world as we get closer to the return of Jesus. However, even with the growth of evil there are still some good developments to watch for as we get closer to the return of Christ…

Jesus indicated that there would be at least one positive trend associated with the end of the age in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares (Matthew 13:24-30). The wheat in this parable represents followers of Christ that “grow up” among the followers of Satan. So along with the growth of evil, we can expect to see growth in the Body of Christ. This is in fact happening today in some surprising ways. There is a revival of evangelical Christians in Latin America that is challenging the dominance of the traditional Catholic Church there. And the house church movement is fueling the growth of the Body of Christ in China despite (and maybe because of) the official government animosity toward religious freedom.

Contrary to perception that Christianity is strictly an American religion, there are Bible-believing Christians everywhere. This is true even in Muslim countries though believers keep quiet about their faith there due to persecution. I’ve heard some pretty incredible stories about Muslim conversions to Christ involving direct revelations of Jesus. If the Church is not permitted to operate, God will make a way to save those who He chooses to save (consider Luke 19:40).

I think the direct revelation conversions of people living in Islamic cultures is a sign that we are beginning to see the “latter rain” of the Holy Spirit spoken of by the prophet Joel. Peter referred to this at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first indwelt the Church (see Acts 2:16-18). Joel 2:28 says, “it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” I take it that the “former rain” of Joel 2:23 refers to the pouring out of God’s Spirit at Pentecost and the “latter rain” is when this happens similarly at the end of the age.

The fact that miraculous conversions are occurring in Islamic countries where Christian missionaries are forbidden tells us that we are close to the end of the Age of Grace. Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” It is the Lord’s plan to save at least a remnant of people from all nations. The Church will praise Jesus in heaven singing, “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). We are seeing Jesus build this diverse body of believers today despite the best efforts of Satan and his followers to squelch it.

Another set of positive signs are technological advancements that help us see how God can fulfill prophecy through natural means. I made some comments about this in my blog yesterday. Daniel 12:4 says, “but you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” The growth of travel has been striking. Throughout most of history the furthest anyone could go in a day was about 30 miles with the assistance of a horse. Now this is the average daily commute for Americans. And in the last few decades it has become pretty routine to travel to the other side of the earth within a day. In a general sense we are seeing knowledge increase today in the growth of the Internet. And more significantly, developments are giving us better insight into what the prophetic Scriptures tell us is going to happen. More and more of the puzzle pieces are fitting together in our day.

It is inevitable that evil will advance until Christ returns. But the good news to believers is that Christ is returning. And what appears to be bad news from a worldly perspective really can be good news from a biblical perspective. For example, Jesus was executed by a slow and painful method… pretty bad news from a purely human perspective. But God has a way of turning bad news by human standards into good news when you consider the spiritual implications. Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified in order to pay the penalty for our sins. Thus, God turned a human tragedy into the greatest event in all of history.

When I draw attention to the bad things indicating we are close to the Tribulation, Bible-believing Christians should be mindful that this time period is preceded by the Rapture where followers of Jesus will be given immortal bodies and ushered into God's presence. This point is certainly lost on those who do not follow Christ... it is pretty fantastic and can only be understood by those who have been blessed with the faith to believe. But anyone may join us; “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31, NKJ). This is an open offer to everyone because, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

I pray that all who read this have already chosen or will choose to spend eternity with Christ before their opportunity to do so expires.

Israel’s Next War

2010-05-12T11:27:00.003-05:00

It is easy to become complacent about yet another war in the Mideast. There have been many wars involving Israel that have not lead us to Armageddon so why shouldn’t this trend just continue? There are several very good reasons why Israel’s Next War will fundamentally change the geopolitical situation in the Mideast. Here are a few of these reasons that come immediately to mind…

God’s Promises to Israel
First of all, God is in control despite appearances in this materialistic world. God has given Israel a lot more land than they currently occupy; Genesis 15:18 says it is God’s will for Abraham’s descendents to occupy the land from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers. Those who think this promise includes the descendants of Ishmael ignores passages such as Deuteronomy 1:8 which make it clear that God intends for Israel to occupy this land. Preterists will say this promise was fulfilled in past history but passages like Ezekiel 37:25 makes it clear that God’s promise about the land of Israel is forever. Others will say this promise is to be fulfilled in the far future after Jesus returns. This is true but there is nothing that says it couldn’t be fulfilled prior to Jesus returning. And it is interesting to note that every serious conflict Israel has been drawn into has resulted in their controlling more land.

The Timing is Right
Another reason the next Israeli war will fulfill Bible prophecies is that there are so many indications we are in the season of the Lord’s return. Besides all the trends leading even observers without a biblical world view to conclude history has to be headed toward some sort of spectacular culmination, 2011 seems to be a good candidate for when the Tribulation could potentially begin.

Technological Advancements
Many of the prophecies about end-time events that people once had to think would have to be supernaturally fulfilled can now be done through natural means. And God virtually always works through natural means, “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJ). His true followers understand His omnipotence and generally recognize fulfillment of Bible prophecy as a miracle even when God uses natural means. A good example is how the two prophets of God during the Tribulation will be seen by the whole world (Revelation 11:3-12)… in an age of satellite TV, such exposure is not a mystery. I produced a PowerPoint Bible study titled, “Importance of Technology” addressing several of these prophetic technological advancements.

Israel Has Returned to the Land
It is interesting to note the detail in which Isaiah 43:5-6 has been fulfilled; “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth.” Israel has returned to the land in the same order as this Scripture passage describes! The Jews first returned to the land of Israel from the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Jordan 1930-1940), then Western Europe after WWII, then Russia starting in 1988, and finally Ethiopia (Operation Solomon, Summer, 1991). Israel has been in wars since 1991 that have not resulted in massive geopolitical changes but the next two conditions were not previously in play…

Israel’s Enemies will use WMDs
I think we’ll soon learn what happened to the Weapons of Mass Destruction (chemical warheads) that Saddam Hussein is known to have had in Iraq. President George W. Bush was maligned for attacking Iraq under false pretenses but the evidence that Saddam had chemical weapons was pretty conclusive… so what happened to them? Many analysts think they were transferred to their brothers in Syria. This might explain why Syria has been so bold in provoking Israel lately; they think they have the capacity to bring to fruition the vision of Iarael’s Islamic neighbors to, “cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more” (Psalm 83:4). Syria must figure they can get away with this due to their support from Iran, Turkey and Russia while the United States has become burned out on war in the Mideast, is accommodating toward Islam, and is no longer standing by Israel. Syria’s existential threat to Israel will force them to use a nuclear weapon to destroy Damascus in fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1.

All Nations Oppose Israel
In past wars Israel could always count on the United States to stand by them. That is no longer the case. Despite the rhetoric from the Obama administration, their actions have made it clear that our government can not be counted on to support Israel in a war. Our diverting bunker buster weapons intended for Israel is but one example of these actions. This development puts the world in the condition necessary for Zechariah 12:3 to be fulfilled, “it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

Considering all this brings Habakkuk 1:5 to mind: “Look among the nations and watch-- be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” It is hard not to have a sense that these days are rapidly approaching.

Russia's Interest in the Mideast

2010-05-11T11:56:00.003-05:00

It has be a regular pattern for Russia to align themselves with the Islamic nations in the Mideast. And now, for the first time since 1944, a Russian head of state is visiting Syria. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, will meet Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, in Damascus during a three day visit to the region.

Those who think Ezekiel 38 describes the next war in the Mideast and that Russia is Magog are keenly watching these developments. I do not think that Russia is Magog, nor do I think that Ezekiel 38 describes the next war in the Mideast, but I do think Russia's interest in the Mideast will play a key role in what happens next.

Russia is certainly aligning themselves with the Mideast Islamic nations to increase their political power in the world. But these alliances also promises to boost the two main sources of hard currency benefiting the Russian economy: oil and weapons. The tensions in the Mideast are good for Russia's weapons business since most of the Mideast Islamic nations are armed with Russian-made equipment.

It is also important to note that Russia's oil business will benefit from a war in the Mideast. A war there would at least threaten to disrupt oil supplies causing the price of oil to go up. The amount of oil Russia can supply is pretty well fixed so this would be a sure way to increase their oil revenues. Thus I would expect Russian President Medvedev to convey all sort of assurances to Syrian President al-Assad they they will support them if there is war with Israel. This encouragement may be all Syria needs to join with Hammas, Hezbollah and Iran against Israel.

I'm convinced that the next war in the Mideast is described by Psalm 83...
"Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, 'Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more'" (Psalm 83:1-5, NKJ).
Russia is not named among the nations God allows Israel to overrun in Psalm 83 but that doesn't mean they don't play a role in encouraging Israel's enemies.

It should also be noted that the U.S. economy will be harmed by the price of oil going up. This is icing on the cake to Russia since they are competing with us for influence in the world. And as the U.S. is less able to exert our will in the world, it makes us more willing to cooperate with the world community of nations... a condition necessary for a world government to emerge.

No-doubt there are many even in this country who are cheering-on Russia because they want to see the price of oil go up. Besides forcing the U.S. to be more of a team player in the world, higher oil prices will reduce consumption of oil and the man-made carbon dioxide emissions they think is causing global warming. God is giving us over to this debased thinking so that mankind will get to experience the results of these objectives. It will not be the Utopian vision they imagine it to be. Jesus called it the Great Tribulation in Matthew 24.

I thank the Lord that the most literal interpretation of Scripture makes it clear that true followers of Jesus will not suffer God's wrath.

Pushing Israel to the Edge

2010-05-10T10:45:00.004-05:00

A recurring theme in the trends we are seeing today are the unintended consequences of actions taken that are contrary to God's will. We are seeing this today in the U.S. policy forcing Israel to make peace with those who consider it their religious duty to rid the world them.

The Obama Administration sees Israel as a destabilizing factor in the Middle East and so have been taking actions to limit their political and military power while building up their enemies. Forgetting the fact that this amounts to poking a finger in the apple of God's eye (see Zechariah 2:8), this might be a workable strategy if it were not for the real destabilizing factors in the region. Former U.S. Gen. Paul Vallely reveals how Iranian submarines have been equipping Israel's enemies with Scud missiles armed with chemical weapons.

The United States and Israel's enemies are pushing Israel to use a final resolution to the Palestinian problem. It is likely that all this is going to come to a head by the fall of this year. The radical Islamic Mullahs running Iran and their proxies want to draw Israel into a conflict which they see as a necessary prerequisite for their messiah, al Mahdi to emerge. And Israel is being pressured to do something about Iran's nuclear ambitions before they loose their technological edge.

You would think that there is a grand conspiracy to cause war to happen in the Mideast. There is indeed a conspiracy but it is not a human one. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NKJ). Fallen angels are working behind the scenes tempting people in key positions to take actions that look like world leaders are conspiring to together against Israel. This is evidence that God is removing His restraint of evil in the world; we are seeing more irrational ideas being put into action... "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1:28).

God promised Israel, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you" (Genesis 12:3). The United States has unwittingly decided to risk the curse of God in not standing by Israel in the face of their terrorist enemies. This was inevitable per Zechariah 12:3 and reveals how close we are to the Lord's return. Hopefully the Rapture of the Church will happen before the full consequences of our Mideast policies are fully realized.

Hope for America

2010-05-07T13:58:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of discouraging trends in the world today that threaten the blessed life we enjoy in the United States. But I’ve seen signs of hope this week despite all the otherwise negative developments.

I spent most of the week at a conference for Texas Instruments Field Applications Engineers. Besides networking with my current constituents and old friends I have worked with in the past, I learned some useful things about how TI is poised to significantly grow our market share for embedded microprocessors.

Texas Instruments really is a great company to be associated with… we are aggressively investing in manufacturing capacity even in the midst of a recession. And while R&D really is all-“D” for most of our competitors, TI is one of the few semiconductor companies investing in “R” through our Kiby Labs. And we are introducing microprocessor solutions that offer unprecedented capabilities.

One good example is in the field of industrial automation (which includes manufacturing robotics). I will not go into the details here but we now have solutions that enable an order-of-magnitude reduction in cost for industrial automation systems. People who fear losing their manufacturing jobs due to them moving to China really should be more fearful of being replaced with an automated system. With industrial automation costs coming down, robots will be used for more and more operations previously done by manual labor.

People who lament the trend of automation usurping manufacturing jobs need to just face reality and prepare themselves for the inevitable change. This is nothing new; we no longer need stagecoach drivers or typewriter repairmen either. Technology by nature causes jobs to become obsolete. And with the accelerating pace of technological innovations, new jobs will come and go with greater frequency.

Industrial automation has enabled manufacturing companies in the United States to be competitive in the world market despite our higher labor costs. Workers need to recognize that we are rapidly moving toward a service-based economy. As more manufacturing becomes automated, the best opportunities for workers will be to customize products for users. There is always demand for value that can be added to manufactured products.

I see hope for America in Texas Instruments. The innovation TI makes possible typifies what enables America to be competitive in the world economy. Innovations people need are blessings from God… “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17, NKJ). God is in control and He rewards those who apply His principles. TI does a better than average job of applying God’s principles which has led to being recognized as one of the world’s most ethical companies.

Even more important to me, it is encouraging to work for a company that recognizes the importance of faith in God. TI management has encouraged faith-based diversity initiatives official sanctioning employee activities such as weekly Bible studies and even a worship service during lunch time on-site. Just yesterday we had several TI sites conduct observances of the National Day of Prayer. Followers of Christ know that nothing of value happens apart from God, so prayer is a critical part of applying God’s principles on the job.

God promised Israel that, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NKJ). Embedded within this promise is a principle that applies to our employers and nations… God blesses those who act in obedience to Him.

There has never been a time when prayer for our institutions has been more important. Please pray that TI and our nation will take the actions necessary to continue in God’s favor despite the gathering clouds on the horizon.

Unstoppable Islam

2010-05-06T05:45:00.002-05:00

Democracy in Iraq appears to mean they will effectively be an extension of Iran with a Shiite Islamic religious government. A deal between the country's two biggest Shiite Muslim alliances has allowed them to squeeze out the Sunni-backed secularists from controlling power in the government. So despite our best efforts at nation building, it looks like Iraq will be another Islamist state. I don't expect this development will change our plans for the U.S. Army to bug-out of Iraq. This will no-doubt make for even more chaos in that war-torn country.

In the midst of chaos, people tend to choose a strong law-and-order government over freedom. We have seen this over and over in history with the Nazis, Stalin, and more recently with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hamas in Gaza. Islam with their Sharia Law makes for the sternest law-and-order government around. And the Islamist approach of intimidating people to follow them and not tolerating any other religion has been very effective in gaining converts.

I believe the religion of the Antichrist will be some form of Islam. Since all the world will worship the Antichrist, there has to be some religion that forces the people to submit. By the way, Islam means "submission." Besides Islam, the only other candidates for a world-wide religion are secular humanism and some new age form of apostate Christianity. I do not see either of these prevailing against Islam. We have seen how the secularists are faring in Iraq. And false Christianity has no power without the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 13:4 says, "So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (NKJ) This is what we are seeing today with Islam. As God removes his restraint of evil in the world, there will be more chaos and thus more opportunity for Islam to flourish.

I am convinced that the Rapture of the Church occurs during a time of chaos among the nations. I don't look forward to more chaos, but it is a comfort to remember that God has a plan for us as we see increasingly chaotic times.

Order of Events

2010-05-05T04:32:00.001-05:00

It certainly looks like war in the Mideast is inevitable. Every day there are multiple news items describing how Israel’s enemies are preparing. And the US government has been reinforcing the idea that Israel is on their own. This sense of isolation will make Israel more likely to act decisively with their nuclear weapons when they are forced to defend themselves.

So this might be a good time to review some of the prophecies that have been fulfilled by Israel and look at what is likely to be next in chronological order…

God enables the people of Israel to return to the Land of Israel… “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel’” (Ezekiel 37:12, NKJ).

God orchestrates circumstances to bring together Jews that have been in dispersion from all over the earth and rally them under their own national flag… “He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12).

God arranges for the ancient cities of Israel to be rebuilt and inhabited… “I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt” (Ezekiel 36:10).

God will revive the Hebrew language which was all but dead as a spoken language due to the Jewish Diaspora… “I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord” (Zephaniah 3:9).

God allowed Israel to meet Muslim/Arab resistance… “I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the insults of the people of Ammon, with which they have reproached My people, and made arrogant threats against their borders” (Zephaniah 2:8).

God arms Israel and establishes an army for their defense… “breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10).

God allows the ancient Muslim nations to confederate together against God and be committed to the destruction of Israel… “They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You” (Psalm 83:4-5).

God allows a war between the Muslim Confederacy and Israel enabling Israel to decisively defeat their enemies… “the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together they shall plunder the people of the East; they shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them” (Isaiah 11:13-14).

God reshapes the geopolitical reality of the Mideast allowing Israel to expand their borders… “‘the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war in Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall be a desolate mound, and her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 49:2).

God allows Israel to dwell securely in their land… “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'’” (Ezekiel 38:10-11)

The Rapture could occur at any point of these last several developments. As we see the stage being set for these prophecies to be fulfilled we know that “it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

Next in the Mideast

2010-05-04T04:24:00.002-05:00

A growing body of prophecy watchers now believe that the next war in the Mideast is likely to be described by Psalm 83. Those expecting Ezekiel 38 to describe the next Mideast war are dwindling because of several issues with a literal interpretation…

While the nations described in Ezekiel 38 are far from being friendly toward Israel, they are not directly adjacent to them. The nations immediately adjacent to Israel are not mentioned in Ezekiel 38 which begs us to ask why. Many prophecy watchers are now saying that Psalm 83 offers the explanation.

Another problem with Ezekiel 38 describing the next war in the Mideast is that Ezekiel 38:11 refers to Israel as a land of “unwalled villages.” I used to rationalize that this does not apply to the security walls in Israel because these are no defense against a modern mechanized force. But the prophecies about the Lord’s first coming were literally fulfilled so we should expect details related to His return to be literally fulfilled as well. So something must happen to enable Israel to be confident enough about peace that they can remove their security walls.

I have also come to the conclusion that the term “Gog” in Ezekiel 38 is a reference to the Antichrist. The only other place the term “Gog” is used in the Bible is in Revelation where it describes a world leader who opposes Christ at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. So this means that Ezekiel 38 must occur during the Tribulation and thus may not describe the next war in the Mideast.

One more observation about Ezekiel 38 from the “literal interpretation” category… Ezekiel 38:4 describes the army attacking Israel as riding horses. Now this could be symbolism for a mounted, mechanized force or the way Ezekiel used to describe this since there were no tracked vehicles in his day. Or it could be that some prior war will eliminate the mechanized weapons and literal horses will need to be used. It is interesting to note that the EMP from nuclear weapon air bursts fries electronics thus rendering modern vehicles inoperative. The Tribulation will be characterized by one war after another so it would not surprise me that combatants are reduced to using primitive weapons.

Considering all this leads one to conclude that there must be a war that precedes Ezekiel 38. Psalm 83 does appear to better describe the geopolitical situation that most immediately threatens Israel today. The motivation of Israel’s enemy in Ezekiel 38 is “to take great plunder” (Ezekiel 38:18, NKJ). On the other hand, Psalm 83:4 says, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” This is indeed the motivation of the series of Palestinian Intifadas that have made Mideast peace impossible.

The nations mentioned in Psalm 83:6-8 describe Israel’s immediate neighbors that will surely be drawn into any conflict involving the Palestinians. Wikipedia leads me to make the following associations for the Psalm 83 nations that oppose Israel:

Edom refers to the descendants of Esau and Jordan is the modern nation that best fit where they settled. The Ishmaelites were part of the Midianites that settled in Iraq, Jordan, and Arabia. Moab was the son of Lot and his daughter and it also refers to Jordan. Hagrites means the followers or descendants of Hagar and has come to mean any Muslim. Gebal refers to Lebanon; Ammon is Jordan; Amalek is associated with Mecca (Saudi Arabia or Al-Qaeda) and symbolic of the archetypal enemy of the Jews. Philistia refers to the Philistines who at various times were in Gaza, Syria and Egypt. Tyre is Lebanon and Assyria refers to portions of Syria and modern-day Iraq.

There have been other Mideast wars involving these nations before but this next war will be different. Israel’s neighbors now have more destructive capacity and they have demonstrated a willingness to pay a high price to kill Jews. Hezbollah based in Lebanon is now armed with more improved missiles than most governments in the world. The next war that Israel faces will be an existential one. The enemies of Israel will not wait for Iran to get a nuclear weapon, they are in a hurry to get rid of them to make way for their messiah, al Mahdi. “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12).

We know that God will allow Israel to deal a deadly blow to those who try to “wipe them off the map.” Zechariah 12:6 says, “In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left.” Israel will probably have to use their nuclear weapons to stop the missiles from raining down on them. This will certainly bring an end to the Palestinian problem and make Israel’s neighbors a non-issue in the later Ezekiel 38 war. We know that Damascus, the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world will become “a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).

The Psalm 83 war will also set the stage for the Antichrist to come on the scene. Such a major tragedy demands a charismatic world leader to emerge that can promise peace to Israel. This peace will enable Israel to build their temple in Jerusalem that must be in place by the mid-point of the Tribulation per Daniel 9:27.

The Psalm 83 war will throw the world into a panic. I can’t think of a better time for the Rapture to occur when there is such a major distraction. Indeed, 2 Thessalonians 2:11 says, “God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” that explains away the Rapture of the Church.

So as we see the Psalm 83 war about to take place, “look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28).

Immigration

2010-05-03T04:21:00.001-05:00

Immigration has been a hot topic lately due to a new Arizona law giving police more authority to deal with crime from illegal aliens. I’ve been amazed by all the attention this topic has been getting in the media, but I think there are good reasons for this…

Conservatives are making a big issue out of demanding that laws be enforced to stop the growth of illegal aliens. But there can be no useful immigration reform unless we can control our borders. Our federal government has not demonstrated the will to do any serious control of our borders. I think one reason for this is that there are powerful political forces in this country who would really like to see no distinctions between nations; they envision one big worldwide community.

A desire to break down the boundaries between nations is evidence of the spirit of Antichrist who “shall intend to change times and law” (Daniel 7:25, NKJ). The law this is referring to is God’s law including His setting the boundaries of the nations… “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord” (Acts 17:26-27).

God has a purpose in maintaining boundaries between nations. Those who oppose the Lord seek to break down those boundaries. Psalm 2:2-3 expresses this attitude, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’” Psalm 2 goes on to relate the consequences of such opposition to God.

There are very good reasons why we should encourage immigration but it does need to be controlled. We should encourage a lot of immigration because it would make up for the diminishing birth rates of this country. God has told us how we should regard immigrants… Leviticus 19:33-34 says, “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt” (NIV). As God brought people to Israel so that they could learn about Him and be saved, the US is one place in the world where this can happen today. We don’t have to go to all the world to teach the gospel if representatives from all the world come here.

One reason why liberals would like to see people struggling over the immigration issue is that it has the potential to divide conservatives. I’m a conservative who would like to encourage more immigration because of its benefits; the more people assimilated into our way of life, the better. But I acknowledge that immigration needs to be controlled with secure borders. I know that there are other conservatives who even want to deport long term residents of this country. That would cause more problems than it would solve. Liberals would like to see us at odds with each other over these differences so that they can stay in power.

The reason many conservatives cite for needing to control our borders is that it would be a hedge against terrorism. We should do our due diligence to control our borders but to think that this is what will keep us safe from terrorism is misguided. The 9-11 terrorists were all here legally. “Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain” (Psalm 127:1, NIV). Let’s not lose sight of the real source of this nation’s security. When we are attacked, God allows this to happen for a reason… it should shake us up enough to seek His deliverance.

Longer term, I expect the politicians running our government would like to see the immigration issue become even more of a crisis. That way they can institute some sort of national identification system to have more control over people. Certainly our liberal government has been doing everything they can to usurp more and more power from the people. Any move toward a universal identification system prepares the public for the day when the Antichrist “causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17, NKJ).

It is amazing to me how those who oppose God look forward to a good crisis. They see this as a way to make changes that would otherwise be rejected by the public. This is one reason why I think the return of Christ is near. God has been allowing His enemies to cause crises and prolong them with increasing frequency. This trend will eventually culminate in the Tribulation when God allows mankind’s evil to come to a head.

Call me an escapist if you will but it is comforting to me that the most literal interpretation of Scripture reveals a pre-Trib Rapture. Come soon Lord Jesus!

Environmental Disaster

2010-04-30T10:21:00.003-05:00

It looks like we are likely to have an environmental disaster on the Gulf Coast. The off-shore oil drilling platform that blew out is spilling 5,000 barrels of oil a day and it is headed toward the shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Some have said that this oil spill could eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska.

I suspect the economic fallout from this disaster to far exceed the clean up costs. There are already forces driving up the price of oil due to concern about war in the Mideast. This disaster will only serve to reinforce the positions of those who don’t want us to drill for oil off our shores and say, “not in my backyard.” The net result will be that we will become even more dependant on oil from the Mideast; from Islamic nations that despise our way of life and fund terrorist groups to wage Jihad against us. So the price of oil is destined to go up stalling our economic recovery and fueling inflation; the price of oil impacts the price of everything.

There is a powerful political contingent in this country that secretly applauds the price of oil going up and even the economic crisis that will result. It is part of their agenda to bring the United States down and force us to be more subservient to the world community of nations. This is necessary to make way for the global government that mankind pins it hopes on to solve our problems. Any government that does not seek to please God will fail and the worldwide government of the Antichrist will fail spectacularly.

I can’t help but think that the reason the federal government has been slow to react to the Gulf oil spill is because president Obama is in the camp of those who want to diminish the power of the United States in order to make us more of a team player in the world. Playing this kind of politics will have consequences. The time will come when God will “destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18, NKJ).

This environmental disaster foreshadows even worse pollution during the Tribulation. Revelation 8:10-11 says, “a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.. many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.” While this is probably a reference to the effects of radioactive fallout from the use of nuclear weapons, it too is pollution resulting from the sin of man.

Every day something happens to make us cry out to Jesus to deliver us from the mess ungodly men are making of His creation. Indications are that it will not be long before we see that Day.

Centralization Trend

2010-04-29T07:44:00.004-05:00

The spirit of Antichrist is not just being seen here in the United States, it is popping up everywhere. For example, it now looks like Ukraine has effectively returned to being a satellite of Russia. President Yanukovych has taken advantage of American indifference and European Union ineptitude to undo most of the pro-Western policies of his Orange Revolution predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko.

One might miss this as being the spirit of Antichrist except for a revealing tidbit in the Times OnLine article linked above: "He declared that the famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s was not genocide perpetrated by the Soviet Union but a “shared tragedy” with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan at the hands of Joseph Stalin." This kind of historical revisionism is what the Antichrist will do; "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law" (Daniel 7:25, NKJ).

Unseen pressures are causing governments to seek bailouts from higher authorities. Of course they are not seeking deliverance from the highest authority, only human agencies. It seems like the trend toward more centralized governmental authority is becoming bolder and more urgent. It has become easier to see how a major crisis could catapult the world into embracing a world-wide governmental leader. God is in the process of giving the world over to total human authority which will culminate during the Tribulation when "authority was given him [the Antichrist] over every tribe, tongue, and nation" (Revelation 13:7).

As we experience more birth pangs heralding the proximity of the Tribulation, there will be plenty of crises for governments to take advantage of in grabbing more control over the people. The goal is total control. The day will come when "no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Revelation 13:17).

I am convinced that followers of Jesus in this Age of Grace will not have to suffer through the Tribulation. Yesterday's blog pointed out how the flood of Noah's day is connected to the pouring out of God's wrath during the Tribulation. Thus one would expect Genesis to offer insight into the timing of the Rapture since it is such a significant event. And indeed it does, Genesis 5:24 says Enoch who "walked with God" was taken directly to heaven to be with the Lord ahead of the flood. Enoch was a type of the church. As Enoch was protected from God's wrath in the Flood, those who walk with Christ will be protected from God's wrath during the Tribulation.

Considering Enoch reminds me to make sure I'm walking with the Lord all the time because we don't know when Jesus will return. I certainly don't want to miss out on His coming for us.

Noah’s Ark Found!

2010-04-28T05:32:00.003-05:00

The remains of Noah’s Ark have been seen by many people before but the site has now been documented sufficiently to be revealed to the worldwide community. A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers found the remains of the ark at 13,000 feet on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. This is just as one would expect from Genesis 8:4. Carbon dating of the wooden beams proves the relics are 4,800 years old, around the same time the ark would have been built.

This may be the most significant archaeological discovery of all time. Representatives of Hong Cong based Noah's Ark Ministries said the structure contained several compartments used to house animals. The structure could not have been part of a building since no established human settlement has ever been found above 11,000 feet in the vicinity. The freezing temperatures at the altitude the ark remains were found preserved the wood for just such a time as this.

It is interesting to me that the Lord would allow evidence of Noah’s Ark to be made public now. The discovery of Noah’s Ark reinforces what the Bible says about the last time God poured out his wrath on the earth and indications are that we are close to the Tribulation when God will change the earth yet again. Of course most of the world does not believe the Genesis flood was world-wide, just as they scoff at the idea that Jesus is coming back…

“Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 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.’ 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, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.” (2 Peter 3:3-6, NKJ)

The denial that Jesus is returning is coupled with the denial that God poured out His wrath on the earth by a literal world-wide flood. Besides this connection, there are a lot of similarities between the first time God poured out His wrath on the earth and the next time. Indeed, Jesus said, "as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:37-39, NKJ).

Thank God that followers of Jesus in this Age of Grace will not have to go through the Tribulation. "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9, NKJ). Every day there is more evidence that we do not have long to wait before we get to experience that salvation.

Bee Mystery

2010-04-27T10:08:00.004-05:00

Unprecedented changes are occurring in the world that are subtle enough that they could easily be dismissed unless you are actively watching for signs of the Lord’s soon return. A good example of this is that more than one-third of the nation's commercial honey bee population has mysteriously disappeared.

This phenomenon is not limited to the United States but has been observed in other food exporting nations worldwide. It was in fact first documented in Israel which indicates to me that this development has special prophetic significance. Ohio State University's state honey bee specialist, James Tew said if bees are unable to pollinate the nation's crops, Americans could be forced to settle for a menu of wheat and corn.

God is the source of the diversity we enjoy and His reducing our food options foreshadows the coming Tribulation. The Third Horse of the Apocalypse symbolizes one of mankind’s afflictions after the Antichrist emerges. Revelation 6:5-6 says, “when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine’” (NKJ).

A denarius represents a day’s wages. The time is coming when war and plagues from God pouring out His wrath on the earth will result in so much scarcity that a typical day’s wages will be required to pay for a day’s food. Jesus said that an increase in famines would be a sign of His soon return in Luke 21:11. These famines will get so bad during the Tribulation that most of the world will be touched by them during this time.

Most people dismiss the idea that we will experience a famine here in America. But there is more than the disappearing honey bees that threaten our food supply. The coming war in the Mid-East will disrupt the oil supply which will drive up the cost of producing and distributing food. A major terrorist attack on this country or some other macro-economic event that crashes our economy would also make food scarcer. One of the effects of a nuclear attack is EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) that will fry electrical systems including the ignition systems in vehicles used to transport food.

Of course, such events are unthinkable and painful to imagine for our life time. But upon considering all the trends we are seeing today and the accelerating pace of developments; it is hard not to conclude that the Bible's dramatic culmination of history can not be far off.

The mysterious disappearance of the honey bees is just a subtle foreshadowing of what is to come. I expect we’ll see increasingly less subtle signs up until the Rapture when it will be hard for people to deny that God is trying to shake the world awake.

Extraterrestrials

2010-04-26T14:30:00.004-05:00

We should definitely take notice when a leading scientist makes a prediction that is aligned with Scripture. Mankind is being prepared for a great deception involving alien disclosure…

Stephen Hawking believes that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist but humanity should be doing all we can to avoid any contact. Hawking said, “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach.”

Despite Hawking being a materialist, his basic expectation that mankind mixing it up with extraterrestrials will not have a good outcome is consistent with the Bible. The extraterrestrials described in the Bible are angels. About a third of the angels are or will eventually be fallen angels, also known as demons (see Revelation 12:4).

Jesus told us when He returns it would be “as the days of Noah were” (Matthew 24:37, NKJ). Among the things characterizing the time preceding the worldwide flood was this: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4, NIV). The term “sons of God” is a reference to angels (see Job 1:6, 2:1). Non-corporeal beings can not have children so this must be a reference to propagating those possessed by demons.

The angels that mixed it up with mankind during this period have been incarcerated awaiting punishment… “The angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6, NKJ). Fallen angels have gotten involved in the affairs of men in the past and they will do so again…

Jesus warned that there will be great deception during the Tribulation that will precede His return (Matthew 24:24). I believe that during this time extraterrestrials will introduce themselves to mankind. Revelation 16:13-14 says, “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” I think it likely that these demons will masquerade as friendly aliens rallying earth to come together to thwart an impending alien invasion.

It is interesting that the Apostle John refers to the three demons as looking "like frogs." The most common depiction of alien faces have big eyes, smooth features, and no nose… "like frogs." Fallen angels are preparing mankind to have this expectation for when they formally introduce themselves. And indeed there will be an extraterrestrial invasion coming… “Immediately after the tribulation of those days… Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29-30, NKJ).

I could certainly see the scenario where the three friendly alien ambassadors deceive mankind into coming together at Armageddon where Jesus and the armies of heaven squelch mankind’s rebellion against God. What most of mankind on the earth at that time perceives to be “good” aliens will really be bad aliens and visa versa. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20, NKJ).

Followers of Jesus don’t have to fear the coming alien invasion. Indeed, I’m looking forward to being in the Lord’s conquering airborne cavalry that ushers in His Millennial Kingdom (harmonizing John 14:3 with Revelation 19:7-8, 19:14). What a glorious colony the Millennial Kingdom will be!

Fear of the Truth

2010-04-23T13:49:00.005-05:00

Our government is careful not to label Islam as the root cause of the terrorism radical Islamists direct against Western Civilization. Our politically correct fear of offending Muslims is on display for all to see virtually every day. A good example of this occurred on Thursday when the U.S. Army withdrew an invitation to Franklin Graham to speak at a Pentagon prayer service next month.

Ostensibly, our government is fearful of inciting the easily offended Islamists. But I suspect that this politically correct attitude has come more out of postmodernism than anything else. After all, who are we to impose our values on others? This attitude apparently also applies to people who are working hard at doing everything they can to kill Americans.

Postmodernism is a lethal doctrine. It leads to spiritual death and it will likely also lead to the physical death of many people in this country. We should not be fighting a war if we can not identify who the enemy is. I’m sure that is the conclusion our government has come to since they are actively seeking to extract our selves from Afghanistan as well as Iraq as soon as possible.

Our lack of resolve will embolden those who seek to do us harm so it is just a matter of time before we see another major terrorist attack on our country. That is if something else does not happen to keep the Islamic terrorists busy in the Middle East. I think it likely that Israel’s need to do something about Iran’s existential threat will be the only thing that keeps Islamic terrorists distracted enough to leave us alone. It does look like throwing Israel under the bus is our government's secret strategy to keep us safe from terror attacks.

I have observed so many times before that those who try to accomplish anything apart from God will end up experiencing that which they are trying to avoid. As 1Thessalonians 5:3 says, “for when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (NKJ).

In the case of postmodernists trying to appease radical Islamists, they will end up becoming subservient to those they fear offending. This is totally consistent with my conclusion from Scripture that the Antichrist will be al Mahdi, the Muslim savior. “They worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’” (Revelation 13:4).

Postmodernists fear following Christ because they do not want to be “constrained” by a narrow understanding of the truth. But Jesus admonished us to “enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13).

While it is frustrating to see the path so many in this world is on, it is a blessing to know that Jesus has promised salvation for His followers.

The Socialist Pendulum

2010-04-21T06:22:00.003-05:00

Just when you think the pendulum is swinging back toward more conservative ideas, the European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers’ dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips. There appears to be no bounds to growth of government.

The governments in Europe have taxed their people about as far as they can go so to pay for any new entitlement scheme such as this they'll need to go further into debt. Western nations already have major debt and the sky has not fallen so what is the harm in just a little more debt? Of course this will inevitably lead to inflation which is really a form of hidden taxation.

It seems to me that there is a general sense among government authorities that the end is near so let's spend all we can while we can. This attitude is the fruit of materialism which denies the judgment of God and says, "If the dead do not rise, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" (1 Corinthians 15:32, NKJ). It is an amazing thing when even unbelievers are acting like the end is near.

Despite strong resistance, maxing out on taxes while piling on as much debt as the government can get away with is the direction we are headed in the United States. A lot of people think that the Tea Party movement and general populist outrage over the excesses of our federal government will turn things around. I hope it will but I can see a scenario where a third party is formed which divides conservatives and allows the socialists to continue their schemes to rob workers of their pay and make everyone subservient to the elites running government.

There is a limit to how far God will allow the socialists to practice their corrupted form of justice. "Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (James 5:4).

The unchecked rise of socialism in the world is just one more reminder of how sorely we need Jesus to return. There is no reason why that Day couldn't be today.

Millennial Kingdom

2010-04-20T06:41:00.005-05:00

A science fiction buff challenged me to write a science fiction story from a Christian perspective. The thought had previously crossed my mind. I think it would be a great story to depict the adventures of people during the Millennial reign of Christ. Here are some rough notes outlining a potential story line…

The story is told from the perspective of the main character, Chet, a 20-something computer whiz-kid who works for a major electronics manufacturing company, Zion Instruments. His technical wherewithal gets noticed by senior management in the company and he is asked if he’d like to be a part of an extraordinary expedition that would require a lot of travel away from home for extended periods of time. The company executive could not tell him the nature of the expedition but it would require a rigorous training program. He would only be permitted to go on the expedition if he passed the requirements of the training program.

Chet agrees to go because he was in the mood for some adventure and was getting bored with the often routine tasks required by his job. The training program at a remote desert location was mostly a physically demanding military boot camp type of training but he was part of a special group learning how to work with new technology that was rumored to be from extraterrestrial origin.

Chet perseveres through the physical part of the training because he was enamored with learning how to use the extraordinary technology that apparently had the capability to transport physical matter and communicate across vast distances in space. Chet was not a big fan of the military style discipline which was part of the training but he did come to appreciate it due to how it facilitated getting things done efficiently. Chet excelled in the technical portion of his training and was going to graduate at the top of his class.

When his training was nearing completion, he learned he needed to be interviewed by one of the Ascended Ones who would command the expedition. The Ascended Ones ran all the levels of the planetary government and all the business. Chet had gotten to know some of them since most college professors were Ascended Ones. The thing that fascinated him the most about the Ascended Ones was that it seemed like they were usually attended by one or more of the Shining Ones who were rumored to be extraterrestrials.

The Shining Ones looked like normal people but they rarely spoke, mostly they watched and served as assistants to the Ascended Ones. The Shining Ones were powerful beings that rarely displayed their power but they glowed with an outer worldly light when they did. People who provoked shining Ones to display their power were severely punished by the government.

Chet was apprehensive about his interview with the Ascended One that would command the expedition because they expected all their associates to adopt their religion and worship the King. Chet just didn’t believe the King was as Almighty as the Ascended Ones and Elders said he was. Chet knew that the Ascended Ones had an uncanny ability to know what people were thinking so you could not fool them. That was why all the judges were Ascended Ones; justice was always swift and severe. It discouraged any kind of dissent.

In the interview Chet comes clean that he did not think the King was the Creator-God but Ascended One accepted him for the expedition anyway and told him what it was… to test a star ship with a dimensional drive. But Chet learns later that there was more to the expedition than just a test flight... their mission was to explore the universe along with track down and send to the pit any of the Fallen Ones they could find. It was rumored that the Fallen Ones had scattered throughout the galaxy when the Shining Ones came to the rescue of earth during the Great War. Of course the politically correct version give the King credit for ending the Great War.

On the expedition Chet learns that the universe is teaming with life. And during the course of it and as a result of his relationships with his crew mates and the Ascended Ones leading the expedition, he comes to accept King Jesus as the Creator God and Savior of mankind.

OK, so what is the biblical basis for this? Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (NKJ). When Jesus comes back to establish His Millennial Kingdom, we come back with Him in our resurrected bodies. We will mix it up with mortal people who survived the Tribulation. people born during the Millennial Kingdom will need to accept Christ the same as everyone throughout history. They will have every advantage to do so with Jesus ruling from Jerusalem, a Utopian society where the government is run by resurrected saints, and with Satan bound and other fallen angels on the run.

People who follow Jesus will have a grand adventure. "He who overcomes [the deception of this world] shall inherit all things" (Revelation 21:7, NKJV). The stars are part of all things, I'm convinced we will explore them for, "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1, NIV).

Will we be limited to viewing God’s glory in the heavens from earth? God’s glory will increase the more we know Him through His creation… "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end" (Isaiah 9:7, NIV). All dispensations have foreshadowed aspects of what things will be like during the Eternal State. I believe the Millennial Kingdom will be the closest to what the Eternal State will be like since the fall of mankind.

God will enable us to explore the stars. Jesus promised, "I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:3, NIV) . Jesus promised us that we would be able to go where ever He may be; and He can go anywhere… "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there"
(Psalm 139:7-8, NIV).

Is it only science fiction to think God will enable us to explore the stars? "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV). Sci-Fi has a propensity to come to fruition. It is the result of mankind’s God-given sense of adventure, wonder, creativity, and imagination… Is God’s imagination less than that of His image-bearers? Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (NKJV).

Granted, there are a lot of details to fill in for this story but it is interesting to speculate what things will be like during the Millennial Kingdom. Meanwhile, we have our missions during this Age of Grace... adventure awaits!

Postmodernism

2010-04-19T03:00:00.006-05:00

I recently had a discussion with an associate where my faith in Christ was maligned as being too constrained. The more I thought about this, the more I was struck by the bad logic of that rationale. Truth is very constrained. A common argument for not allowing yourself to be constrained by the truth is to deny that we can know the truth.

Postmodernism denies that we can know the truth which leaves people to accept for themselves as valid what ever wild thought pops into their head. Such a perspective is attractive because it enables people to be accountable only to themselves and denies an Almighty Creator who will judge us. This perspective is what gets the nations in hot water with God during the Tribulation...

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision. (Psalm 2:1-4, NKJ)

I am convinced that people who doubt we can know the truth about God really don't want to know the truth about Him. They are happy going along as they are with whatever belief system they have manufactured for themselves since it just feels right. They have made God in their own image. This is plain and simple rebellion against God. And the consequences for holding to this philosophy is to get what they desire... separation from their Creator for eternity. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12).

God has made the truth easily accessible to anyone who really wants to know it. The Bible is the most published book in the world by a huge margin. The Bible has been translated into more languages than any book in history. There is a reason the Bible has been so successful... the Almighty Creator wants us to know him. The first thing governmental authorities who hate God do when they come to power is make the Bible illegal; yet it is amazing how the Bible has overcome all opposition to be everywhere. There is a reason for this, God is behind it.

A common way of dismissing the Bible by skeptics who don't want to let go of their personal view of God is to say that the Bible is subject to interpretation... "who can know what it really says?" This is just more postmodern philosophy that corrupts a person's ability to think clearly. God gave us His Word so that we may know Him. Thus God would have to make the Bible understandable by the common person without needing some specially anointed intermediary to tell us what God is really saying to us.

The problem is that people just don't want to believe what God has said to us in His Word. They may accept this piece or that piece but reject the truths they don't like. Such lukewarm acknowledgement of God is worse than being a blaspheming atheist... Jesus said, "because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:16).

My own personal discovery that I can take God's Word literally was the most liberating development I have ever experienced next to being born again. The Bible is full of prophecies that have been literally fulfilled; thus we should expect the ones yet to be fulfilled to be fulfilled literally as well. This is simple logic that anyone who honestly seeks the truth must acknowledge.

God wants us to check these things out for ourselves. "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8).

Antisemitism

2010-04-18T14:09:00.002-05:00

Antisemitism is another trend we can expect to see in the time leading up to the return of the Lord. A friend pointed out to me that Pastor Mark Blitz in his latest newsletter believes God raised up a volcano to shut down tourism in the U.K because the British government is attacking tourism in Israel. The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) criticized Israel for including pictures of the Western Wall in a tourism advertisement, claiming that the holy site is technically not located within the country's borders.

Now I know a lot of skeptics will simply say this is a coincidence; but I don't believe there are coincidences with an Almighty God who is in control of His creation. Despite immediate repercussions for "touching the apple of God's eye" (Zechariah 2:8), antisemitism will increase as we get closer to the Lord's return because all nations will seek the demise of Israel... "it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:3, NKJ).

Israel is being backed into a corner by the world and so it is just a matter of time before they will be forced to respond decisively. It amazes me that most people don't see this trend or are just content to put their head in the sand denying what is happening so that they can go about pursuing their own personal agenda that excludes any recognition of God. Of course the Bible tells us why there is such spiritual blindness in 1 Corinthians 2:14.

I get the sense that we are on the cusp of some dramatic changes among the nations of the world. Habakkuk 1:5 says, "Look among the nations and watch-- be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you." God is allowing the evil of antisemitism to grow so that Israel will be forced to take action. The chain of events this triggers will plunge this world into the Tribulation.

I don't look forward to the Tribulation, but I do look forward to the Rapture that has to precede it. Let the grand adventure begin!

Earthquakes & Volcanoes

2010-04-15T18:33:00.003-05:00

The increase of earthquake activity is now getting hard to ignore. It hasn’t been long since I commented on the major quakes in Haiti and Chile and now we have just had another one in China. Also in the news is a major volcano eruption in Iceland that is disrupting air travel across Northern Europe.

People don’t usually think of a volcano as a type of earthquake but it is; volcanoes are caused by tectonic movements the same as earthquakes. And a shaking of the earth is always associated with volcanoes.

The message to everyone in this obvious increase in earthquake activity is that all things are not continuing as they have from the beginning (see 2 Peter 3:4). Volcanoes have the potential affect more people over a broader range than earthquakes as we are seeing in this case with the travel disruption. And ash from volcanoes has been known to significantly cool the earth by blocking the sun… God will show the global warming humanists who really controls the climate.

Volcano ash in the atmosphere also foreshadows the even greater darkness God will bring during the Tribulation. Joel 2:31 says, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD” (NKJ).

We are blessed to live in a time when Bible prophecy is being fulfilled. I can’t wait to see what God will do next.

Nuclear Risk

2010-04-14T07:38:00.005-05:00

It never fails to amaze me how people generally end up experiencing the very thing they are trying to avoid when they leave God out of their effort. That is the thought which occurs to me when I hear about President Obama's efforts at nuclear non-proliferation.

President Obama recently watered down our policy for using nuclear weapons and signed an arms reduction treaty with Russia. These developments were followed closely by a nuclear summit of world leaders where Obama declared that, "We've made real progress in building a safer world." So why do I get the sense that the President's rhetoric is really far from the truth? It might be because so much of what this president says has been found to be deceptive. Or that history has shown appeasement to have a poor track record of success (remember Chamberlain and WW II). Or it could be because of the age we are in, "for when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3, NKJ).

The Bible certainly makes it clear that nuclear weapons will be used. Zechariah 14:12 says, "this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths." Now this could be supernatural but since God most often works through natural means this certainly could be a description of nuclear weapon effects.

And consider this passage which describes an aspect of God's wrath during the Tribulation: "He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place" (Revelation 6:12-14). The blast effects of nuclear weapons are like an earthquake; the sun and moon being obscured could be from dust in the atmosphere thrown up by nuclear ground bursts; ICBM warheads re-entering the earth's atmosphere at night will look like falling stars; the sky receding like a scroll could describe a mushroom cloud; and thermonuclear weapons even have the power to displace mountains and islands.

The situation today is significantly more dangerous than during the Cold War when the use of a nuclear weapon was unthinkable because it would clearly result in a massive response. We no longer have this balance of Mutually Assured Destruction. We have rogue nations like North Korea and Iran with, or about to have nukes. We have a potentially unstable government with nukes in Pakistan. The turmoil and corruption of a rapid transition to a market economy has resulted in some nukes going missing in Russia. We have the rapid growth of Islamic Jihadists who believe they have a mandate from god to kill as many infidels as they can. The world is backing Israel into a corner daring them to use their nukes preemptively against Iran. And God is removing His restraint of evil in the world.

I believe that a likely time for the Rapture would be during a nuclear exchange. Who would miss a few million Christians when the world is busy dealing with a crisis where millions more have died from war. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 says "God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie" explaining away the Rapture. People will be significantly more receptive to a superficial apologetic when they have other concerns on their minds.

In these perilous times, it helps to remember the promises of God... "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

Hooks in the Jaws

2010-04-13T07:38:00.002-05:00

Energy companies appear to have discovered just off the Israeli Mediterranean coast the largest natural gas resource ever found. Prophecy watchers have often said that some sort of development such as this would have to happen for the Ezekiel 38-39 war to take place. We no longer have to wonder what that the hooks in the jaws of Gog will be (Ezekiel 38:4).

Ezekiel 38:13 makes it clear that coveting material wealth is the motivation of the coalition of nations that come against Israel in the "latter days," a reference to the time preceding the return of the Messiah. Israel has been blessed with technological prowess but that is less of a temptation for an attacker because it can not be exploited like mineral resources. So this discovery in Israel changes things.

However, there is yet another problem thinking we are on the verge of Ezekiel 38 being fulfilled. Ezekiel 38:11 says that Gog will seek to attack, "a land of unwalled villages... all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates" (NKJ). Since symbolic language is common in prophetic literature, I once rationalized that the security barriers in Israel today are nothing to a modern mechanized force but God put this detail in the Bible for some reason. And couple that with the fact that the nations listed in Ezekiel 38 do not include Israel's immediate neighbors. You would think they would be involved given all the rhetoric regarding the plight of the Palestinians today.

There is a growing body of prophecy watchers today saying that the problems with Ezekiel 38 being on the verge of fulfillment is explained by Psalm 83. The agenda and fate of the nations immediately adjacent to Israel are addressed in Psalm 83. I plan to study this more thoroughly in the coming few weeks but it looks very much like a Psalm 83 battle will precede Ezekiel 38. This certainly is reinforced by my recent conviction that Gog is another term for the Antichrist; besides Ezekiel 38-39, the only other reference to Gog in the Bible is Revelation 20:8, clearly a world leader that is allowed to emerge to oppose Christ.

As we can see the stage being set for the world-wide government of the Antichrist during the Tribulation, we can also see the ground-work being laid for the Ezekiel 38-39 war. I believe this war must happen during the Tribulation. This is reinforced by the fact that Israel will be living in a false peace at the beginning of the Tribulation as a result of a peace treaty guaranteed by the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27).

Since the Rapture of the true followers of Christ must occur prior to the Tribulation, we can see we're getting close. This massive gas discovery in Israel is just one more piece falling into place.

Polish Tragedy

2010-04-12T07:53:00.004-05:00

The fact that Poland has been one of the United States' closest friends has been a source of tension between them and Russia. So the Russians are doing their best to show that they were not complicit in the plane crash that killed Poland's president and other top government officials. All indications are that fog and the pilot not wanting to disrupt the schedule of his country's most important dignitaries were the causes of the accident.

Still, God is in control and could have prevented this accident so He must have allowed it to happen for a reason. We will probably not know the full scope of that reason while we're in our mortal bodies but it appears to me at least part of the reason is that this reinforces our suspicions we are in the season when God is increasingly removing His restraint on evil in this world. Jesus said in Matthew 24:6-8 that the incidence of tragedies common to this fallen world would increase in frequency and intensity like birth pangs as His return gets closer.

The Apostle Paul reinforced this when he explained to the Thessalonians that God is keeping the government of the Antichrist from rising up through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who restrains evil... "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" (2 Thessalonians 2:7, NKJ).

The tragedy of losing a country's top government officials could have happened to any country. The fact that it happened to a close ally of the United States is just more evidence that God is allowing the influence of the United States to be diminished in the world. This is necessary to have a more level playing field between the nations of the world to make way for a worldwide government to emerge.

Even though God is removing His restraint on evil in the world, it doesn't mean evil has to affect us personally. Spiritual warfare is not new to followers of Christ; Ephesians 6:10-18 explains the resources God has given us "to stand against the wiles of the devil." We are entering a time when superficial faith will not be suffice... "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" (Luke 21:36).

Rumors of War

2010-04-09T07:28:00.002-05:00

The price of oil is beginning to creep up. A barrel of oil is now $87 a barrel, its highest level since October 2008 prompting concerns that triple-digit crude was once again in the offing. The pundits are saying this is because speculators are anticipating increasing demand as the world comes out of the recession. But I suspect there is another dynamic at work: fear that the supply will be disrupted.

A war in the Mideast threatens a disruption in oil supplies which honest analysts would have to conclude is inevitable. Iran is defiant in developing nuclear weapons so that they can execute their mission from Allah to rid the world of Israel. The world community of nations are unable to impose effective sanctions on Iran. And Israel will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon while Iran's proxies in Syria and Lebanon are itching to punish Israel for an attack on Iran's nuclear capacity. It doesn't take a political science scholar to figure out what all this will lead to.

You also have to wonder if the world is really coming out of the recession. The number of US workers claiming jobless benefits for the first time recorded an unexpected rise last week. And the economic melt-down in Greece is about to come to a head. The fundamentals that plunged us into a recession are still at work... there is massive debt everywhere with no real resolve to do anything about it. Thus many financial analysts think that conditions are ripe for a second dip recession. So this means the main reason for the price of oil going up must be jitters about supply disruption.

Jesus told us that an increase incidence of "rumors of wars" is a sign of His coming soon in Matthew 24:6. The price of oil going up in anticipation of a war disrupting supply certainly qualifies as a rumor. The only consolation for me about paying more at the pump is that we are getting closer to the Day when Jesus will come for us. It behooves us to stay ready.

Inept U.N.

2010-04-08T08:18:00.001-05:00

The United Nations does not have a very good track record of doing anything of value. Yet the world keeps trying to improve our condition by working through this community of nations. The U.N. is the world’s great hope of being able to “beat swords into plowshares” and not have to “learn war any more.” But Micah 4:3 says that it is the Messiah that makes this possible.

The struggle over how severe the sanctions imposed on Iran should be is only the latest display of U.N. fruitlessness. You have to wonder how long the governments of the world will tolerate a powerless body like the U.N. The day is coming when they will yield their sovereignty to a strong world leader who can get things done… “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:13, NKJ).

The trend toward more centralized governmental power has certainly been accelerating in this country. It wouldn’t take much to see this trend extend to the nations of the world. There will be some crisis that precipitates it. The situation between Iran and Israel is likely to be the catalyst that causes the nations to cry out for a strong leader to fix our problems. The idea that we can fix our own problems without God will lead to His wrath.

I’m looking forward to the true peace between nations that will only happen when Jesus returns to rule on the earth.

Perilous Times

2010-04-07T10:17:00.003-05:00

As we get closer to the return of Christ, we can expect to see what 2 Timothy 3:1 calls perilous times. Since we don’t exactly have anarchy in the streets, perilous times seems like it could be far off but we are seeing political posturing that reduces our security.

President Barack Obama has declared that the United States has changed its doctrine on using nuclear weapons essentially saying that they will not be used against nations that do not possess them. This sounds good on the surface (a la, imagine a world without nukes); but it completely disregards the realities of human nature…

You have to ask yourself, does narrowing our nuclear weapon options make us safer or less safe? The answer to this question depends which side of the ideological divide you are on. I’m sure that secular humanists will think it is one step closer to world peace. But those of us with a biblical world view know that reducing the nuclear deterrent will only make this world more dangerous.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (NKJ). The only thing that keeps wicked hearts at bay in this world is the threat and use of force. Resolving to back off on that force allows wickedness to grow bolder. There are a number of specific results I expect will be seen from Obama’s new nuclear doctrine…

This new nuclear weapons posture seeks to appease those who would like to see the demise of the United States. History shows how well appeasing despots work; it fails every time it is tried. The timing of this in the midst of growing Islamic Jihad is pretty significant. This new policy encourages Islamic Jihadists to use chemical or biological weapons to test our resolve not to punish a nation that harbors them.

I think this new policy makes Ezekiel 38-39 more likely to happen since there is less risk that the United States would intervene on behalf of Israel. Many will ask what the danger is in the Ezekiel 38 war to the United States… I think a close reading of Ezekiel 38-39 reveals that it describes a nuclear war that escalates (see especially Ezekiel 38:22 and 39:6). The reference to “fire on the coastlands” may well include the United States. The real danger of nuclear weapons is that their use by any nation is guaranteed to escalate.

President Obama’s new policy makes the US less of a military super power and thus more likely to go along with the will of the world community of nations. I’m sure many will applaud that feature. I’ll only point out that this is designed to be coupled with our reduced economic super power status to make it easier for a world government to emerge.

President Obama thinks his new nuclear policy is a step toward peace in the world. But what it does in fact is reduce our security by encouraging those with terrorist visions. This is one more sign that God’s restraint of evil is being removed. “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Israel Forever

2010-04-06T11:21:00.002-05:00

While we have been fiddling around with domestic issues associated with the economy and health care, things have been heating up in the Mideast. Not only is there now general acknowledgement that Iran will soon be a nuclear state, Palestinians believe the peace process has reached a dead-end in the wake of Israel moving forward with building in East Jerusalem.

Jordan's King Abdullah told The Wall Street Journal that, “I think the long-term future of Israel is in jeopardy unless we solve our problems.” This could be interpreted as a threat and is somewhat of a surprise coming from a neighbor of Israel who used to be a friend. There are other indications that the relationship between Israel and Jordan has going sour.

King Abdullah must not know what God has said about the future of Israel or he wouldn’t make such ominous predictions… “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again... and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever” (Ezekiel 37:21-25, NKJV).

A lot of this prophecy has already been fulfilled. Jews have returned to the land of Israel from the nations where they have been dispersed. And they have been one nation in the land of their ancestors for 62 years this May. So since the first part of this prophecy has been fulfilled, we should expect the rest to be fulfilled as well; thus Israel is back in their own land to stay.

An increasing number of people think that peace in the Mideast can not be achieved without the demise of Israel. These people are opposing the will of God and will suffer His wrath as a result. Betting against God’s Word is illogical and its growing pervasiveness shows that God is giving more people over to a debased mind (Romans 1:28).

All people should need to be convinced that God’s Word is true is to look at Israel. It is amazing to me that so many reject this evidence for the veracity of the Bible to pursue their own path. “If it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

Fading Rule of Law

2010-04-05T11:16:00.002-05:00

The Constitution of the United States represents the rule of law and not rule by the whims of rulers. As we get closer to the world being ruled by the Antichrist, we can expect to see us moving away from the rule of law and toward more rule by decree of the king.

U.S. Representative Phil Hare (D-Ill) revealed his mindset regarding the rule of law recently in a heated exchange with his constituents. While being pressed on the complications of “Obamacare” he was asked, "Where in the Constitution?" Hare’s reply was, “I don't worry about the Constitution on this to be honest.” This is amazing to hear from one of our “lawmakers.” Phil Hare must not have really meant it when he swore to uphold the Constitution.

This kind of Freudian slip that reveals a person’s true thoughts about a matter is more evidence that the spirit of Antichrist is growing stronger in our day. Indeed seeking to change from the rule of law will be one of the character traits of the Antichrist. Daniel 7:25 says, “he shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law” (NKJ). It is interesting to note that our president ran promising change. I wonder how many people would have actually voted for him if they knew what kind of change Liberal Democrats really want to make.

Jesus also told us that there would be an increasing departure from the rule of law as a sign of His soon return. Matthew 24:12 says, “because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” There are many who do things under the auspices of caring about others but their real motives are to secure power for themselves or their political party. I look forward to the day when Jesus returns to expose such schemes for all to see.

Impending Mideast War

2010-04-01T10:35:00.002-05:00

I’m guessing that when President Obama breaks himself away from his domestic agenda to deal with foreign policy that he genuinely wants to see peace in the Mideast. But it is amazing how actions by rulers with a materialistic world view end up with exactly what they are trying to avoid.

After Israel approved 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem, President Obama diverted JDAM kits for turning bunker buster bombs into smart bombs from Israel to the US Air Force base on Diego Garcia. I’m sure this is intended to punish Israel for building in Jerusalem by discouraging them from attacking Iran. But all this does is signal to Israel that they are on their own regarding Iran so their first strike has to be effective. There were already questions that conventional bunker buster smart bombs would be effective, so this only makes it more likely that Israel will employ tactical nuclear weapons to take out Iran’s hardened targets.

Given the existential nature of the threat Iran’s nuclear weapons program represents for Israel, using nuclear weapons against it is justified. And the world will ostracize Israel for attacking Iran whether they use conventional weapons or nukes. This is all the more reason for making sure the first strike will not require a second.

There is speculation that the reason Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently visited President Obama was to notify him about Israel’s single-strike plan. This conjecture is reinforced by the White House stepping up efforts on getting sanctions imposed on Iran by the world community of nations in weeks rather than months. All that sanctions will do is give the nations participated in it the perception of the moral high ground; it gives them cover that they did all they could to avoid a war. Iran has sufficient support from other nations that universal sanctions will not happen and thus will not be effective. Israel knows this and will not risk waiting for the world to come around to realizing this as well.

So Israel will attack Iran in a single, multiple target strike with tactical nuclear weapons. We don’t know when but I’d expect it to happen this year, probably by summer. The world will be outraged and I expect this will likely precipitate the Ezekiel 38 nations to mass for an attack on Israel. What will the outcome be? Israel will prevail. Zechariah 12:6 says, “In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem” (NKJ).

Any time nuclear weapons are used, even for a limited tactical objective, there is high risk of escalation. And it is very likely that the Ezekiel 38-39 war which includes a nuclear exchange will be the result. Ezekiel 38:22 describes how God will devastate those who attack Israel, “I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” I’m sure this defensive action is what will cause the world’s longest continuously inhabited city, Damascus to become “be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1). And the devastation will not be limited to the massing soldiers: “I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 39:6).

This war will set the stage for the Antichrist to come on the scene to clean things up. If this scenario is plausible, the Rapture must happen in conjunction with the Ezekiel 38 war. And I think that a nuclear exchange would be a likely time for the Rapture to occur. Who will miss a few millions Christians when the world has lost millions more from a nuclear war? 2 Thessalonians 2:11 reinforces the idea that God will time the Rapture in such a way that people will not give it the significance it deserves.

Developments in the Mideast bear watching… “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28)

Global Warming Foolishness

2010-03-31T08:45:00.001-05:00

A couple days ago I wrote on how bad doctrine can get those who profess to follow Christ into trouble. But it certainly goes without saying that bad doctrine also gets people into trouble who have abandoned all pretences of a biblical world view.

There is a report that famed global warming activist James Schneider and a journalist friend were recently found frozen to death about 90 miles from South Pole Station in Antarctica. Now I don’t know James Schneider but I do know that people who are convinced that mankind’s carbon dioxide emissions are causing global warming generally don’t have much use for God’s Word. It is certainly clear to me that no one with a biblical perspective would be found dead in the middle of Antarctica waiting for the snow to melt.

Most people from modern nations who have no biblical world-view are materialists. The high priest of materialism, Carl Sagan, is known for proclaiming, “The cosmos is all there is, or was, or ever will be.” This kind of thinking has no room for God and has led to the idea that the universe is billions of years old. So with this mind-set, seeing climate changes leads materialists to think that mankind must be the cause.

God tied today’s materialistic mind-set to people not being ready for Jesus to return in 2 Peter 3:3-6: “scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 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.’ 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, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water” (NKJ).

This passage in 2 Peter certainly describes the state of things in these days leading up to the return of Christ. It has only been about 5,000 years since conditions on earth have been dramatically changed by a world-wide flood. Yet this biblical truth does not fit a materialistic perspective so people rejecting God’s Word dismiss all the evidence of the flood and come up with other theories to explain it away.

My heart goes out to people who are so blinded by the lies of this world that they do stupid things like James Schneider. It is easy to dismiss this and say he got what he deserved for his foolishness. But freezing to death in Antarctica is not the worst thing that can happen to a person; dying without Jesus is. Hell is real and materialists who reject Jesus are destined to spend eternity there. That is the bigger tragedy, people all around us are on the broad road to perdition. My hope is that some who see me on “the way which leads to life” will be attracted to it and join me there (Matthew 7:14).

Easter Reflections

2010-03-30T08:12:00.006-05:00

Texas Instruments is a great company to work for. How many other companies allow their employees to conduct an Easter worship service on site during lunch time? I have an opportunity to share a testimony at this event later today and while I’ll not say all of this, the following is what I have in mind…

When I was asked if I’d like to share a testimony, I felt compelled to do so because the way the Lord open my heart to Him is particularly relevant for today.

There are a lot of disturbing trends going on in the world today related to the culture, environment, economy and politics. God used my being perplexed about the end of the super power stand off between the US and Soviet Union to bring me to Jesus. There are even more compelling reasons today to recognize that ancient prophecies are on the verge of being fulfilled. The prophecies that have been fulfilled confirm that the Bible has to be from God because only He can declare the end from the beginning since He is outside the confines of time.

We are celebrating Easter so consider the crucifixion of Jesus. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians, used by the Greeks, but perfected by the Romans. 500 years before crucifixion was even invented, King David of Israel was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about how the coming Messiah would die…

Psalm 22:14-18 says, “I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; you have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

This prophecy was fulfilled a thousand years later when Jesus died on the cross. In fact, all the details were literally fulfilled… Matthew 27:35 says, “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.”

Psalm 16:10 prophesied that the Messiah would be resurrected from the dead, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” And indeed that is what happened. Matthew 28:6 comments on the empty tomb of Jesus saying, “He is not here; for He is risen.”

There are many other prophecies about the Messiah such as the fact that He would be miraculously born of a virgin, where He would be born, and what His genealogy would be. All the Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus.

The Bible also has many prophecies that have been or are in the process of being fulfilled especially related to the nation of Israel. For example, Ezekiel 36:24 says, “I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” This is pretty incredible when you consider that Israel ceased to be a nation in 70 A.D. being dispersed throughout the world then became a nation again in 1948.

In the 1800+ years of the Hebrew Diaspora, the language of the Jews had all disappeared from common use. But the 20th Century has seen a restoration of the Hebrew language as prophesied in Zephaniah 3:9 which says, “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language.” This is unprecedented in history, lost languages do not just re-emerge.

And look at the prophecy in Zechariah 12:3: “it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” Jerusalem is always in the news because it is the original epicenter of the world war on terrorism and the most difficult nut to crack in terms of world peace. The conventional wisdom is that if mankind can bring peace to the Mid-East, there is nothing preventing peace worldwide. It grieves me that the U.S. now appears to be among the nations ostracizing Israel over Jerusalem… but that must happen eventually because Scripture says it will.

Zechariah 12:5 prophecies that in the time-frame prior to the return of the Messiah, Israel would be governed by a democracy. Today, they are the only true democracy in the Mid-East. The jury is still out on Iraq. Zechariah 12:6 says that in the time-frame prior to the return of the Messiah, Israel would be victorious in battle against all countries coming against them. We have seen this in every war they have had since 1948.

There are also prophecies being fulfilled today in the culture, environment, economy, and politics. This blog is intended to help others consider current events from a biblical perspective.

I’d like to close with a prayer…

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for TI & the opportunity to have this worship service.

We thank you for the privilege of working for a company that is so well known for its high ethics. We know that is because of your principles that are applied here. And we pray that exceptional ethics will continue to be a shining characteristic of TI.

We pray that TI will be successful in bringing products to market that our customers need on a timely basis. Help us to make continual improvements in quality and reduce costs. Help us to be better at making the right customer commitments so that we can be more consistent in surpassing expectations.

We pray that TI will continue to be a strong growing company even in the midst of these uncertain economic times. We pray for our government that they would act with your wisdom; and we pray for more people in this country to turn to Jesus for salvation so that they would not suffer the consequences of living apart from you. Thank you for being our source of strength in these uncertain times; please help others see Christ in us.

Please help us be good stewards of the jobs that you have blessed us with. Please help us to be walking testimonies of Jesus in all that we do. Please help us to be exceptional workers so that our coworkers will be attracted to Jesus as the source of our motivation.

Thank you for everyone who participated today; please help us to see you working in our lives here at TI.

Lord, all these things we ask in Jesus’ name; Amen.