The shepherd struck, the sheep scattered

The shepherd struck, the sheep scattered

Scripture:

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. Matthew 26:31-35

Observation:

Speaking of the night of His arrest, the Lord prophesies to His disciples how they will all fall away according to the Scriptures. Yet He also adds how He will rise again, and go ahead of them into Galilee. Even before He died, the Lord was fully aware that He would rise again and meet His disciples again.

The disciples naturally refuse to accept their cowardice, claiming that they would never leave Jesus even if it meant dying with Him. Peter in particular boasts how even if all fall away, he would remain true to the Lord. However, the Lord prophesies to him specifically how he would deny Him three times before the rooster crows.

Application:

Earlier, the Lord had warned His disciples, whoever acknowledges Him, He would acknowledge before God the Father in Heaven while whoever disowned Him He would likewise disown. On the night of betrayal, all his disciples fell short there, especially Peter. However, the Lord already in essence forgave them in advance, knowing that they would be restored when they met Him again in Galilee. Later, after being given the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples would receive boldness to proclaim the Lord throughout their lives right up to martyrdom.

In the Christian life, there are ups and downs, and sometimes we may be “sifted like wheat” like Peter. We fail in our humanity and weakness. Yet in spite of this, the Lord gives us His grace, even declaring ahead of time, our future position where we will be fully restored and in communion with Him.

For our part, we need to remain humble, to know that if even the Lord’s closest disciples fell away at the hour of trouble, we too can easily give in because of our fears and weaknesses. In these last days, where trouble is imminent for all true Christians once the Anti-Christ appears, we need to be prepared and seek God humbly, asking for His mercy.

Prayer:

We praise You and love You, Lord, for the great things You have done. We thank You for the disciples, and even the record of their failures, for it shows us Your great mercy and grace for our fallen race. Forgive us, we pray, and restore us again that we might serve You faithfully and passionately. Give us more and more of Your Spirit of boldness we pray. Even in these last days, O Lord, pour out Your Spirit abundantly upon us. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Sheep and the Goats

The Sheep and the Goats

Scripture:

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

Observation:

In the last part of His discourse on the events of the End times, the Lord speaks of the final judgment when He will sit on His glorious throne and all the nations will be gathered before Him. At this throne, there will be a great separation, between the sheep and the goats. The sheep are those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, were hospitable to strangers, clothed the needy, looked after the sick and visited those in prison. The goats are those who did not do any of these. Those who did the good deeds were deemed to have done it to the Lord Himself while those who did were deemed to have neglected the Lord Himself. From this, we see the love the Lord has for the poor and needy of the world, even equating Himself to them. Throughout Scripture, we see God’s heart for the poor and needy, and there is a call for us too to have that heart of compassion for the them too.

However, does this passage apply to Christians? We know that we are saved by grace, through faith, not by works so that no one can boast. Our deeds do not save us. It is only our faith in Jesus Christ that enables us to receive God’s gift of salvation. Scripture is true and thorough on this fact. What then is this passage about?

To understand this event better, we need to compare it with Revelation 22, which describes a great White throne where the dead are raised to life and judged according to their works. Books are opened, which record the deeds of each person, and there is also a book of life. Those not found written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire.

This Great White Throne event in the book of Revelation only takes place after the 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ, much later after Jesus has come in the skies and brought the true Christians to Himself in the Rapture.

Through the centuries that man lived, there must have been millions who did not hear the gospel, who did not have a chance to know Jesus and be saved. How will they be judged? According to their works, and God is completely fair in this. The way the sheep here responded, it appeared they did not know Jesus, but those who were inherently good and helped the poor and needy, it appears that Jesus allowed them to also enter Heaven. It would appear though that this group would not include anyone who rejected Christ, for the Lord also stated that whoever acknowledged Him, He would acknowledge before God the Father in Heaven while those who disowned Him, He would disown. This would also not apply to any who received the mark of the Beast, for Scripture confirms that all who do are condemned.

In Romans 2:14-16, Paul said “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.” Interpreting this, it seems that when Gentiles by nature do things required by the law, they become a law to themselves even though they don’t have the law. Likewise, when Gentiles by nature act out kindness like a follower of Christ, even when they have not yet known Christ, it is as if they are a follower themselves. And this is consistent with Paul’s final reference to the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, which will happen when the books showing the record of their lives are opened.

Application:

Although, we as Christians are not judged by our works, the good deeds described by the Lord here are ministries that please Him so much so that He considers the same kindness as done to Himself personally. We would do well to participate in giving or serving in ministries that feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the poor, or visit the sick and those in prison.

The same principle mentioned in the last point about Gentiles also applies inversely. If a Christian by nature does evil things that a true follower of Christ wouldn’t do, even while knowing Christ, it is as if they are not a true believer. As the Lord warns, some will come to Him at the end and say “Didn’t we cast out demons and perform miracle in Your name?” and He will reply “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers”. We should never take our salvation for granted, but make it our continual desire to seek to know Him deeply and intimately more and more as our Lord and Savior. Instead of judging others, we need to remain humble and focused on the Lord of our Salvation.

It is interesting to note how no typical bad deeds like stealing, killing, or even lying was mentioned of the goats. They were guilty seemingly only of sins of omission yet were allotted the same faith as the devil and his angels. This is consistent with the fate of the servant who did nothing but bury his bag of gold in the ground. He had not done anything noticeably bad or evil other than omitting to invest his gold. Many Christians think they are ok living life to themselves, perhaps attending church on Sundays, but do no good deeds and help no one. How terrible it would be if we imagined ourselves to be saved and all but end up missing the Rapture and instead standing before the Great White Throne judgment as a goat who did nothing for Christ.

Prayer:-

We thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your love for the poor and needy, for the way You provide and take care of them. Give us that same heart of compassion for them O Lord. Teach us and lead us to ways that we might serve and help the hungry and the thirsty, the poor, the sick, and those in prison.

We also pray, Lord, that You teach us to be humble and always thankful for the great salvation You have granted us. May we always remain faithful to the end, In Jesus name, Amen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Fire in the lamps

Fire in the lamps

Scripture:

 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ ¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:1-13

Observation:-

Continuing along the same vein of parables concerning His second coming, the Lord gives the parable of the wise and foolish virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. 5 were foolish and took their lamps without bringing any oil while 5 were wise and remembered to take oil along with them. Presumably, these virgins were to be part of the bridegroom’s procession and were required to hold lighted lamps as part of the ceremony. The bridegroom was a long time in coming and the virgins fell asleep. At midnight, the bridegroom arrived to loud proclamation and the virgins hurried to meet him. As their lamps were going out, the foolish virgins rushed to buy more oil. The bridegroom arrived and was warmly greeted by the wise virgins who joined him in the wedding banquet. Later, when the foolish virgins came back again, they found the door shut, and the bridegroom refused to acknowledge them.

Similar to the previous parable of the good and faithful servant, this parable is about being prepared for the Lord’s coming. Throughout the Bible, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and reminds us of the importance of keeping ourselves filled with the Holy Spirit. Another Scripture warns us not to quench the Spirit, and Paul exhorts us to walk in the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit, to keep in step with the Spirit. John the Baptist prophesied how Jesus would come after Him and would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The presence of the Holy Spirit comes with fire, and again is consistent with the lamps being lit by oil to give fire and light in the parable.

Application:-

The Lord wants us to be Christians filled with His Spirit and on fire for Him. In Revelation, it is written how the Lord will spit the lukewarm out of his mouth. We need to never lose that fire, that passion, that desire to receive more and more from God. How do we get that fire? We need to earnestly desire it, and ask of God our Father. How much will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Its not about asking once or asking flippantly, but asking earnestly and with passionate desire, like the widow who would not stop knocking on the judges’ door. First desire, and then ask with all our heart.

How do we keep that fire? We must seek God in purity of heart, to ask God to purify our hearts, to purge out the dross, the distractions and desires of the world and its attractions. When our eyes and heart stray to worldly things, our fire dies down, and life becomes mundane and lifeless again in a spiritual sense. Do not be satisfied with that. Cry out for fire again from God! Do not give up! But call to Him “Lord, Fire! Fire! Fire!” It is His Spirit and His fire that will drive us and give us the strength and passion to overcome in the last days, when the love of most grows cold, and even loved ones may turn against us.

Prayer:-

We praise You, Heavenly Father, for You love us and give to us generously of Your precious Spirit who guides us and leads us and fills us with Your precious fire! Stir Your Spirit within us O Lord to seek You more to desire You more to want more and more from You. Let us not be satisfied with life in the doldrums, with a life that just goes through the motions without a genuine, passionate relationship with You. Give us more passion, more love, more fire for You, we pray, precious Lord Jesus! Kindle us with Your passion we pray. Set us aflame with Your fire, Lord! Do not let the flame die down within us, but stir that passion again to grow and burn and light up that Your glory may shine like a city on the hill! Pour out more of Your Spirit on us we pray. Let Your Spirit overflow in us, so that we may have Your might river flowing through us and out of us to bless others, to touch others, to bring Your healing and love to many. May Your name be praised forever, O Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

No one knows that day or hour

No one knows that day or hour

Scripture:-

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:36-44

Observation:

After talking all about the signs preceding His coming, the Lord then tells his disciples how no one, not even the angels in Heaven or even the Lord Himself knows the day or hour that the Second coming will occur. It is a secret that only God the Father knows and it is His prerogative when this will happen. The signs and events around us give us an indication of the proximity of this Day, but no one will know the exact day and hour.

In speaking of this, the Lord draws a parallel of its suddenness with the days before the flood during the time of Noah. People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, all up to the day Noah entered the ark, and knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and drowned them all.

Again, the Lord speaks of the Rapture, the gathering of His people when He comes in the skies, describing how two men will be in the field, one taken and the other left and two women will be grinding with a hand mill, one taken and the other left.

Then He admonishes His disciples again to remember to keep watch, since we do not know on what day our Lord will come. Imagine if an owner knew a thief was coming sometime in the night. He would certainly keep watch to make sure he was prepared to intercept him. In the same way, we are called to be ready, as the Lord will come in an hour we do not expect Him.

Application:

Praise our Father in Heaven that He holds all secret things, and keeps necessary things secret for His good and perfect purposes. It is according to His great mercy that He prolongs the life of the earth, giving people everywhere the chance to repent and turn to Him.   

Heed the Lord’s warning to be watchful, not allowing ourselves to drift away into the pleasures and worries of the world until we forget this all important fact of His second coming which makes all other things immaterial in comparison. How do we keep watch? By constantly checking ourselves to see if we are right with the Lord, and ensuring we have a prayerful attitude and being close with the Lord, in our personal time and in our service and giving to the Lord.

Prayer:

We praise You Heavenly Father, for You hold all great secrets in Your hands. You have hidden the day and the hour according to Your perfect wisdom and goodness. We praise You for Your mercy that You are slow to anger and abounding in love, giving people everywhere time to repent and turn to You.

Protect us and sustain us we pray. Help us stay close to You, and be found worthy of Your coming. We praise You and love You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.                                                                                                 

Coming on the clouds of heaven

Coming on the clouds of heaven

Scripture:-

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. ²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky,  and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[e] is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:26-35

Observation:

The Lord had prophesied of the initial signs of the false Christs, the earthquakes, the plagues, the wars and rumors of wars. Next would come the worldwide persecution of Christians and the resulting falling away of most from the faith because of it. Now comes the seventh seal spoken of in the book of Revelation, the Lord’s Second coming itself. And these are the signs accompanying His coming. Firstly, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. This seems to indicate an unprecedented eclipse of the sun that will cause a heavenly blackout. Secondly, the stars will fall from the sky. We are familiar with shooting stars, asteroids that come from space and fall onto the earth. Here we will probably be seeing meteors and asteroids falling upon the earth on an unprecedented scale. Thirdly, the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Study of Astronomy shows that the interaction of gravity between the sun and the earth and the other planets are beautifully aligned to hold all the heavenly bodies in their current places. The emergence of a new black hole or a large scale asteroid shower could easily upset completely the delicate order of the planets and stars as they are. Only a slight deviation in the rotation of the earth could cause life itself to become extinct on our planet.

On the earth itself, there will be a great earthquake as mentioned many times in other Scriptures. Against this backdrop, we will see the sign of Jesus Christ in Heaven, for He will come on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Against the darkest night, His glory will certainly shine most glorious, and everyone will know that He is truly the Son of God.

                                                                               

Strong and glorious in the air, the Lord will then call His angels to gather His elect from the 4 winds. Who is the elect? Throughout the New Testament, the term for elect refers to true Christian believers, Jew or Gentile. The elect gathered here consist of true Christians still living at that time and also the dead Christians who would come back to life in the first resurrection.

This gathering into the air is thus, the precise point when the “Rapture” will happen. Note that this happens “after the distress of those days”. Therefore, it is after the Great Tribulation, not before as often inferred to by pre-tribulationists. 

The Lord then closes off this prophecy by declaring how this generation of mankind will certainly not pass away before these things have happened, and how although heaven and earth will pass away, His words will never pass away.

Application:-

Remember clearly and absolutely that we are not to believe anyone who tells us that Christ is here or there. When Christ comes, it will be in power and glory in the skies, and everyone will know for themselves for sure.

All the peoples of the earth will mourn at the Lord’s coming because they were not prepared, and they had made the wrong choice, putting their allegiance with the Beast and thus would share in its accursed faith. We have been warned beforehand through this prophecy so that we have no excuse. We must wait for the Lord to come, no matter what trouble or hardship we must face before that. Here’s where faith comes in, for we can only believe that this will happen although it has yet to do so. We really need to pray to God to increase our faith and maintain our faithfulness to Him.

Many are called, but few are chosen (elected). How do we know we are part of the elect? If we have Christ in us, we certainly are. Do we have a close relationship with the Lord? Do we love Him? Do we know that we are dearly loved? The Lord knows His own. If we know we belong to Him, we can be assured that we are part of the Elect.

Praise the Lord that His Words are forever and they will never pass away. Let us endeavor to read and know His Word and let it assimilate within us, that it may change us, strengthen us and motivate us.

Prayer

We thank You, Lord, for Your great prophecy and for giving us great hope. We thank You, Lord, that we can view all things in perspective to the greatness and certainty of Your second coming. As prophecy is fulfilled before our eyes, we become more and more assured that Your Word will come true in every manner and form. Even in the midst of tribulation, give us Your strength and perseverance that we may overcome. How we need You, Lord. We thank You for Your promise that You would be with us always, to the very end of the age.

We thank You, Lord, for calling us, for choosing us, for drawing us to You. Let us always remain in Your presence O Lord, always faithful to Your name. We thank You, Lord, that Your Words are forever, unfailing and true. Strengthen us and help us Lord we pray, even as we approach the end time events to come. In Jesus name, Amen.

The abomination that causes desolation

The abomination that causes desolation

Scripture:

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ²⁰ Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened Matthew 24:15-22

Observation:

First were the false Christs, the wars and rumors of wars, the earthquakes, famines and plagues, all coming in greater and greater frequency. Then the Lord prophesied of the worldwide persecution of all His disciples. And the Lord now gives us an even closer look of this time by referring to the prophecy of the Old Testament prophet Daniel.

Specifically the prophet Daniel prophesied that the abomination of desolation would be set up in God’s holy temple, and that the daily sacrifice to God would be taken away. In Biblical language, idols are typically called “abominations”, and in all likelihood, an idol will be set up there to be worshipped instead of the true God. During the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a type of Anti-Christ, he set up the statue of Jupiter in God’s temple, and took away the daily sacrifice. Apparently, archaeological studies indicate that the statue of Jupiter or Zeus has been relocated in Italy, recast as the prominent statue of St.Peter in  Rome today, with its feet kissed by devotees until its toes are nearly worn away. Some theologians even surmise that this very same idol will be transported back to Jerusalem to be this abomination that causes desolation.

An interesting point to note about this prophecy is that for this to happen, there must be a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and that the daily sacrifice to God must be resumed. Since the temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago, and Israel ceased to exist as a nation, all this totally could not be envisaged. However, Israel has against all odds, reappeared again suddenly in 1948 as a country, and has become very powerful in a short time. A famous mosque now stands where the temple used to be situated, but there is a growing movement within Israel lobbying for the temple to be rebuilt. In fact, the temple utensils and sacred items, the priest robes and training of the Levites has already begun! End time prophecy is coming true right in our lifetime! Some experts have estimated that it will only take less than 1 year to rebuilt the temple, which some also infer may be built next to the famous Mosque in a compromise probably brokered by the great peacemaker between the Jews and the Muslim nations who will be the AntiChrist himself.

When this happens, the Lord warns specifically those living in Judea in advance, to flee to the mountains, not taking anything from their house or even getting a cloak. How dreadful it would be especially for the nursing mothers or those pregnant, for they would not be able to flee quickly.

Now this prophecy will come true and nothing can change that, but the Lord indicates that prayer can shift the timing when this prophecy occurs. Specifically, we are asked to pray that it will not happen in winter or on a Sabbath, which will make the flight even harder than it already is. The Lord speaks of distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never again. This distress is spoken off as the Great Tribulation in the Book of Revelation. If those days were not cut short, no one would survive, but interestingly, for the sake of the elect, they are shortened. Who are the elect? Those who belong to Jesus - us who are chosen.

Application:

Watch carefully the proceedings that are happening in Israel today, for they hold the key to tell us our proximity to the coming of the abomination of desolation and the Great Tribulation. Specifically watch for the rebuilding of the third temple that is already being strongly advocated. In the mean time, it is also a call for us to be vigilant and aware of the events to come, keeping ourselves strong in the Lord.

In accordance with the Lord’s word, also pray that this day will not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. Even now, just as those in Judea will be forced to take flight, the Lord’s disciples everywhere may also well be prepared to take flight, to the mountains or the wilderness, to escape the coming persecution. In light of this, we must be prepared not to be too attached to our property and belongings and comfort in life, which can all change in an instant. We all need to pray more and ask the Lord for wisdom.

Thank God that He chose us, calling us from the beginning, knowing us by name. Seek and pray that we will always remain in the Lord, who is the vine, and we are the branches. In Him, we are secure, even if death comes upon us.

Prayer:

We thank You, Father, for the many warnings in prophecy that You have given us, that we may be prepared and not caught unawares when these things happen. We fear for the future O Lord, for the great suffering and distress that awaits us, but we trust in You, O Lord, that these things must happen, even as You prepare a new home, a new world for us.

Keep us safe in Your arms O Lord. Prepare us, and sustain us, for all that we are destined to face. In accordance to Your Word, O Lord, we pray that this event will not take place on a Sabbath or during winter.

Most will turn away from their faith

Most will turn away from their faith

Scripture:-

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:9-14

Observation:

The signs of the earthquakes, the wars, the false Christs and the plagues have already come and everyone can see they are becoming more frequent and more serious. However, the sign the Lord speaks of in this portion of Scripture has certainly not happened yet. It is referring specifically to a worldwide scale attack on all Christians by each and every nation, where we who follow Christ will be persecuted and put to death because of our faith.

Many Christians put their faith in the so-called “Rapture” theory where they think they will be scooped up to Heaven and avoid the terrible persecution and death spoken of here. However, when Jesus says “you” in this passage, He is referring to His disciples, and we who are His disciples must be included here.

What is the consequence of this persecution? Most (the majority, nearly all) will turn away from their faith. Some preach “once saved always saved” but how can one turn away unless he has already turned to the faith in the first place?  How can the love of most grow cold unless it was at one time hot? By saying only those who stand firm to the end will be saved automatically infers that those who do not stand firm to the end will not be saved. The church today has allowed an easy-going and bless-me gospel to infiltrate the church whereby Christians expect only blessing and prosperity from God in a time when the exact opposite seems to be brewing just round the corner.

False prophets will come and have already come to prepare the sheep for the slaughter. Those whose faith only expects blessing without understanding that there is also persecution will quickly fall away. False prophets with sweet words will easily cajole the masses to follow the Anti-Christ and his one-world religion. Will we be among those who give in to avoid persecution and immediate death?

One natural result from the persecution is that it will cause the Christians to scatter just like in the book of Acts, and as persecution drives us deeper into the rural areas and outskirts, we will bring the gospel as we go, and in so doing bring the gospel to the whole world. This then will precipitate the end which comes with the second coming of Jesus Christ.  

Application:

How strong is our faith, really? Would we really die for our faith? Would we allow our beloved family members to die or suffer or be separated from us? How deep and genuine is our love for Christ? False or shallow love will quickly be exposed. Only a deep love for Christ that surpasses our love for ourselves, even for our family members, can survive the coming persecution which is called the Great Tribulation. Every prophecy in the Bible has come true, and based on the timeline, this next prophecy looks to be just round the corner.

Let us soberly pray to God for mercy that we may be prepared should this persecution come upon us. Pray for our family members, our church brothers and sisters to be strong. Ask God for a deeper revelation concerning the aspect of persecution in the Christian walk. Educate our loved ones of this prophecy and encourage one another to be prepared and walk closely with the Lord. Start committing portions of Scripture to memory even now, when there is still easy access to it. A situation like in North Korea may well occur worldwide in a short time, and there will be a famine of the true Word of God.

Prayer:

Father in Heaven, have mercy on us we pray for we are so unprepared for the challenges that are to come. We bring our beloved family members before You and pray that You have mercy and grace upon them. Where possible, Lord, spare us we pray from the suffering and death that is prophesied for all Christians during the time of tribulation. Give us Your wisdom and knowledge we pray, that we may know where to go and what to do when such times come upon us. Give us the discipline to read and know Your Word even when we have the time now. Forgive our carelessness and wanton waste of our time. Draw us close O Lord to You. Let our love be strong and deep so that it will not grow cold and so that we will not turn away from our faith, even in the face of intense persecution. Help us, Lord we pray. Teach us to live by Your Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen

False Christs and wars, earthquakes and plagues

False Christs and wars, earthquakes and plagues

Scriptures:-

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:1-7

Observation:-

“How great this temple is”, thought the disciples as they marveled at the beauty of the temple. They even beckoned at their Master to look, but to their shock, He instead prophesies how the temple will be completely destroyed with not one stone left on another. This came true in 70 A.D. when the future emperor Titus overthrew the Jewish rebellion in Jerusalem and destroyed this Second Temple and also much of Jerusalem, confirming the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy.

Intrigued, the disciples later ask Jesus when the temple will be destroyed, and what will be the sign of the Lord’s coming and the end of the age. The Lord begins with a warning for all His disciples not to be deceived. He foretells that many will come in His name and claim to be the Messiah, deceiving many.

Before 1900, the number of men (and sometimes women) claiming to be Jesus Christ were few and far between. However, since 1900, the number of false Christs have risen, and some are even influencing thousands or even millions around the world today. These include the Australian Alan John Miller who has set the Twitterverse ablaze by his claims of having been Jesus Christ, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda who refers to himself as Jesus Christ made man and has thousands of followers in Puerto Rico and Apollo Quiboloy, leaderof the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church who has misled thousands in the Philippines, claiming he is the appointed son of God. We are told to watch out for these deceivers. Corresponding to the book of Revelation, this sign is the first of the seven seals, depicted by the rider on the white horse, who comes with a bow but no arrow, representing deceivers set out to conquer.

The second sign Jesus speaks of is the increase in wars and rumors of wars. Only since the 1900s, we have seen two World Wars which has inflicted widespread death and suffering.

Research by Professor Mark Harrison as reported in historytoday.com showed that “Between 1870 and 1913, the frequency of ‘pairwise’ conflicts (the numbers of pairs of countries involved in conflicts) increased on average by 6% per year. The frequency of wars increased by 17% per year in the period of the First and Second World Wars, and by 31% per year during the Cold War. In the 1990s, the frequency of wars between states rose by 36% per year. “ And this research did not include civil wars, which has also been increasingly frequent. Today, rumors of wars continue to abound with North Korea and Iran continuing to look threatening. This corresponds to the second seal, the coming of the rider on the red horse in Revelation 6, who takes away peace from the earth and cause people to kill each other.

The third sign Jesus spoke off was famines and earthquakes in various places. In the 20^th century, there was little talk of famine, but in the 21^st century, famine is a serious problem, with the world approaching 10 billion people with no increase in food supply. 925 million people worldwide go hungry every day and 5 million children die of starvation every year according to the World Food Program. Earthquakes have also been on the rise in terms of frequency and severity. As reported in endtimesonline.net:-

While earthquakes have been a part of our human history since the dawn of time, large earthquakes have been increasing in frequency and ferocity in recent decades.  The US Geological service and other scientific earthquake authorities have shown that the number of earthquakes above 6.0 on the richter scale have grown exponentially over the last 10 years.  The overall frequency of annual earthquakes has grown by five times since 1970.   There have been more earthquakes above 6.5 on the richter scale in the last 10 years, than the previous 80 years put together.

This sign corresponds to the fourth seal, which talks about the rider on the pale horse, named Death with Hades following closely behind him. He was given the power to kill by sword, famine and plague.

Interestingly, these signs were likened by the Lord to birth pains of the end times. That means, as the end draws closer and closer, all of these will happen with increasingly alarming frequency and severity. In the last 100 years or so, we have indeed seen this happening – false Christs, wars, earthquakes and famine becoming increasingly frequent and serious.

Application:

Jesus told his disciples these signs so that they would be prepared. No one knows the day or hour that Jesus will return, but we will certainly know when the time is drawing closer by observing the signs around us with reference to prophecy in the Bible.

A common human reaction, even among Christians is to avoid end times discussions or information. We would rather think about more pleasant things. However, the signs are there, and we must be wise to heed the warnings and be prepared.

For one, we must be on the watch out not to be deceived by false Messiahs who claim to be Jesus Christ or the Son of God. He will not come as a human being again in the way He came 2000 years ago. Anyone who says He is here or there does not speak the truth, for when Jesus comes, everyone will certainly know as He appears in the skies.

We should also not be surprised of the events around us – war and terrorism, disease and famine and earthquakes. These things must happen, and we need not fear them but trust in the Lord. If we are caught in one of these events, do not worry, but continue to hope in the Lord. With Christ, we can face all things. Life on earth is only temporary, and even if we lose our life on earth, we are safe and secure in Jesus in Heaven. Where possible, we should also do our part to help those afflicted by these occurrences.

Prayer:-

We thank You and praise You, Lord, that You foretold these things way before hand that we may be prepared and not be surprised. Help us heed Your warnings, Lord, and stay close to You, in these end time. Where possible, Lord, enable us to be a blessing, and open doors how we may help with those afflicted by these end time troubles. Give us Your wisdom and purpose in all things. Let us stand secure to the end. In Jesus name, Amen.