The Elephant in the Room

[Keraz]

People today are mostly in denial of what the future may hold for them. Worldwide natural disasters and manmade problems seem to be proliferating with no easing up or solutions in sight. It may just be possible for mankind to overcome its plagues, economic woes, resource shortages and rebuild earthquake damage, etc, but a prospective World War 3, starting in the Middle East, has the potential to practically wipe us out and pollute large areas of the earth.

A lot of people do not want to be concerned about the future, it’s hard enough just to get by without any extra worry and it is right that we must carry on doing what we have to for survival. Those whom God has called for a specific task must continue to do it and we all need to plan and provide for the future as though things will continue as usual. It is a mistake to sell up and withdraw to a hideout, as many failed doomsday proponents have shown.

However, ‘You, My friends are not in the dark’ about end times events. ‘It is ‘While they are saying: All is peaceful: sudden destruction will come upon them’. 1 Thess. 5:3-4 ‘My friends’- those who love the Lord and keep His commandments. Luke 21:34-36
‘they/them’- godless people, who don’t know that God Himself will act against them. Micah 4:12

The Bible [and the Apocrypha] have a very large amount of unfulfilled prophecy, that is not there for no reason; God expects us to take note of what He has told us through His prophets. Because so many incorrect ideas and notions about what God has planned abound in the church and in the secular world, it is difficult for us to overcome them and just simply believe the literal words of the prophets. Excepting for the obvious metaphors, which are used to describe events and scenes unknown in their time.

With the current world situation as it is, then we must expect something dramatic to change the situation and commence the end times events. The Lord had told us, through the ancient prophets, what this will be – in over 100 prophecies, of the great and terrible Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath, a judgement of fire that destroys His enemies and sets the scene for the fulfilment of Revelation 7 - 22, to Eternity.

We are clearly informed of the nature and extent of this event, it will be a gigantic fireball exploded out from the sun – a Coronal Mass Ejection of superheated particles that will envelope the earth and literally cause all the prophesied disasters. But there will be plenty of survivors, just a matter of staying under shelter until the CME passes; Isaiah 26:20-21, and fervent prayers for the Lord’s protection. Acts 2:21, +

The so called prophecy gurus, don’t have the truth and while their motivation is money and adulation, God will not enlighten them. Demonic entities can perform certain signs and wonders and they know what the Bible says, therefore they may give mankind information or dis-information, for their own reasons.

So, people are now without any real idea of how and when this huge threat will impact their existence.

The fulfilment of the Lord’s Day of vengeance and wrath is ‘the Elephant in the Room’, the event that ‘comes like a thief’, but we who ‘are His friends’ can and should know of what the Lord has planned for His Creation.

 

[Keraz]

As the years pass by, we may wonder what it is that the Lord has next for His creation. We know the story of how He destroyed an early civilization by the means of a great flood. Jesus prophesied that in the time of the end it will again be ‘as in the days of Noah’. We can’t know how bad that civilization was, but it seems they just got on with life much the same as we do today. From God’s point of view, their problem was they failed to acknowledge Him or respect His Laws, so their Creator simply wiped them out and virtually started over again, just like anything made that turns out defective is remoulded, or with breeding; try a new bloodline. Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:6-7, Romans 9:20-21
So are the world’s people today as bad as those in Noah’s day? It seems likely, as evidenced by the decline in moral standards and the widespread disbelief in the Creator God. Jeremiah 6:18-19, Psalms 10:13, Ezekiel 20:39

Several Bible verses tell us that God the Creator takes a keen interest in what is happening on earth. Revelation 2:23b, Job 34:21-22, Proverbs 15:3, Psalms 11:4-5, Jer. 32:18-19 In our perfectly balanced and organised universe, He is playing out a drama, a set piece carefully orchestrated and arranged so that each player can choose their own role. Each person is given a conscience; a moral intuition to be aware of what is right and what is wrong, so we all make our choices as to how we live our lives.

Today, the whole world is in a precarious state, with a population of over 8 billion. There is the capacity to produce enough food and provide a reasonable lifestyle for that many, but not the altruistic desire to do so and human mismanagement exacerbates the problems. Therefore the situation deteriorates, life is difficult and short for most and only relatively few live a good and fulfilling life, while most people do not acknowledge the one true God or keep His Laws. Over 100 Bible prophesies say how God will judge the world and punish His enemies, to once again ‘reset civilization’. Deuteronomy 32:35, Psalms 18:7-15, Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 30:25-28, Habakkuk 3:12, Zephaniah 3:8, Hebrews 10:27, 2 Thess. 1:8, Jeremiah 23:19-20, Revelation 14:17-20

Note that most of the prophesies about the great Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath, which is the next prophesied event we can expect: being the fulfilment of Psalms 83, Micah 4:11-12, Rev. 6:12-17, state that this time He will use fire to ‘set the heavens ablaze, the earth will be enveloped in flames and all that is in it will be brought to judgement’. 2 Peter 3:7, Isaiah 30:25-28, Malachi 4:1, Isaiah 66:15-16, Zephaniah 3:8

But the Lord’s people have a Powerful Advocate, He promises to protect and save His righteous people. Jer. 50:33-34, Isa. 51:16, Nahum 1:7, Psalms 60:4-5, Zech. 9:15-16

They will go to live in all of the holy Land; Isaiah 35, Ezekiel 34:11-16, Romans 9:24-26

Psalms 30:1-5 I shall exalt You Lord, for You have lifted me up and not let enemies prevail. I cried out to You and You healed me, You saved my life as I was sinking into the abyss. Sing praises to the Lord, all you His loyal servants, give thanks to His holy name. In His anger there is punishment, but in His favour there is life. There may be distress at nightfall, but the morning will bring rejoicing.

 

[Keraz]

Latter days

I believe that the very existence of the State of Israel today, surely places us in the Latter Days. Therefore, correct understanding of the end times should be the aim of every Christian believer.

We need to not be taken unawares of coming world changing events. Those Christians who believe in a ‘rapture to heaven’, may find themselves unprepared to face severe Tribulation. The Lord has called us to be His co-workers, so we must know what lies before us, to work diligently toward the furtherance of His Kingdom. Remember that Jesus rebuked the people of His day, for not being able or willing to discern the signs of the prophetic times in which they lived.

Since 1948, we have seen an amazing restoration of the Jewish people into a portion of the Land.-
Joel 3:1 When the time comes, I will reverse the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.
God says; in that time period, certain things will occur. The next prophetic event will be an attack on the Jewish State of Israel by the Islamic peoples, with the support of many other nations and entities. The Lord’s fiery judgement on them will result in the destruction and depopulation of most of the Middle East. Jeremiah 12:14, Psalms 83:1-18, Ezekiel 30:1-5, Micah 4:11-12, Zephaniah 1:14-18

Joel 3:2-3 I shall gather the nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat [the Lord Judges] I will judge them on behalf of My people, whom they scattered among the nations.
This event is not at the Return of Jesus, as it is described in Rev. 19:11-21 and Zechariah 14:3-4
It will be the great and terrible Day of the Lords vengeance and fiery wrath:
Joel 3:4-8 What are you to Me, Israel’s neighbours? Do you want vengeance? I will make your deeds recoil onto your own heads. You have harmed Judah and stolen their treasures. I will rouse them and bring them home; your own people will be enslaved.

Joel 3:9-17 Proclaim war among the nations! Prepare your weapons, let the weakest say they are strong. The nations all around will hear the call and gather for judgement. The harvest is ripe- wield the knife, tread the grapes. [Rev. 14:17-20] The Day of the Lords vengeance is at hand, in the place of Decision. But the Lord is a refuge for His people, a defence for Israel. By this you will know that I am the Lord your God. Jerusalem will be holy.

Joel 3:18-21 When that day comes, there will be food and water in plenty in the Land. Egypt and Edom will become desolate wastes because of the violence they did to Judah, but the Land of Israel will be inhabited forever. I shall avenge their blood and the Lord will dwell in Zion.

For the universal Church of Jesus Christ and all peoples, it is time to realize that we are now at the edge of cataclysmic events. The obvious determination and preparedness of Israel’s enemies is so great, that there is no defence adequate to cope with their attack. It will require divine intervention to avoid the devastation of a worldwide nuclear exchange. The Lord’s terrible Day of wrath by fire, earthquakes, storms and tsunamis will be triggered by this attack and will result in the virtual depopulation of all the holy land. Ezekiel 30:1-5, Zephaniah 2:8-9, Obadiah 1-21
This event will be the fulfilment of Isaiah 30:25-30, Isaiah 63:1-6, Revelation 6:12-17, Isaiah 66:15-16, Zephaniah 1:14-18 & 3:8, 2 Peter 3:7, +

The assurances given concerning the protection of the faithful Christians, if not kept, would render His Word unreliable, and His character flawed. God’s promises never fail, He will protect His people during His Day of vengeance and wrath against His enemies. Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 41:13, Psalms 91

It should be clear to anyone that a secular State of Israel is not God’s highest ambition for His people. Currently the Jews only occupy a small portion of Greater Israel and are beset by problems, water shortages, religious schisms and are threatened on all sides. Many, many prophecies predict a remarkable future greatness for ALL the tribes of Israel. Most Bible scholars relegate these predictions to the Millennium, as they cannot see any earlier fulfilment. They have often been influenced by the well entrenched “rapture to heaven” view and a belief that wrongly thinks the Israel of God is separate from the Church of born again believers.

But when thought is given to what so clearly must happen before Jesus Returns, then wonderful is the prospect of a righteous nation, living in peace and security in the Promised Land – after the whole area is cleared and cleansed by this great Day of the Lord’s vengeance. Deuteronomy 32:34-35