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Today’s Assault on Bible Prophecy Takes Aim At Jesus’ Future Glory – By Jonathan Brentner - https://harbingersdaily.com/todays-assault-on-bible-prophecy-tarnishes-jesus-future-glory/ Bible prophecy is under siege today; it’s become the target of much abuse from both fellow believers and those outside of Christ. Jan Markell’s article on Harbinger’s Dailly, We Are Under Siege Like Never Before, aptly sums up the increasing intensity of attacks on our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture, which often overflow to those of us who cherish this hope. Over the past few years, I have noticed an underlying current in teachings that deny what the Bible says about the Rapture, the seven-year Tribulation, and Jesus’ thousand-year reign. They greatly diminish the magnificence of Jesus’ role in end time events. I believe that today’s assault on Bible prophecy tarnishes Jesus’ future glory by: Focusing Our Hope on An End of Days Event Rather Than Jesus Pastors who say there’s no such thing as the Rapture of the church or thousand-year reign of Jesus dishonor Him by shifting the hope of the saints away from Jesus to an event that’s remarkably sterile compared with how Scripture describes Christ’s return to earth. Most often than not, it’s a perfunctory wrap up of history just before the eternal state that may or may not include the Second Coming. The 1833 New Hampshire Confession of Faith perfectly sums up this no Rapture view of future things. Yes, it includes Jesus’ Second Coming, but His return becomes anticlimactic against the backdrop a far distant occurrence during which time God simultaneously raises both saints and sinners after which He separates and judges them. Many in this amillennial camp say Jesus returned to earth in AD 70 and tell us that the culmination of our Gospel hope occurs either with the inauguration of the eternal state or the appearance of the New Jerusalem. Such teaching, which often includes sermons stating that all believers will die someday, contradicts Paul’s emphasis on Jesus’ appearing as central to the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-19, the apostle connects our future resurrection with that of Jesus making them both essential to the Gospel message he sums up in verses 3-11. These two themes run together for the rest of the chapter culminating with our receipt of immortal resurrected bodies when Jesus appears (vv. 47-55). Our future receipt of immortal bodies is the hope of the Gospel proclaimed in the New Testament. Yes, the Rapture is an event, but it focuses our hope squarely upon Jesus alone and exalts Him as our Savior. Our focus thus becomes that of eagerly awaiting “a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to by like his glorious body . . .” (Philippians 3:20-21). Biblically sound teaching makes Jesus and His appearing the focal point of our hope of glory. Making The Church Our Hope Rather Than Jesus In several of my conversations with those that make the church the recipient of God’s kingdom promises in the place of Israel, I have often heard words exalting the church rather than the Lord Jesus. At first, I did not attribute any particular significance to these statements, but now I see them as symptomatic of an undue exaltation of the church. Those that say the church is now God’s kingdom in fulfillment of prophetic passages such as Psalm 2 or Revelation 20:1-10 make a remarkably similar error as do those that say the church alone will rule over the world before Jesus’ returns to it. They diminish Jesus’ importance in the culmination of human history and thus shift the focus away from Him to the church. The Bible says that when Jesus rules over planet earth, things such as wars, ethnic strife, extreme wickedness, deception, lawlessness, and widespread corruption will not exist. The prevalence of these things in our day signifies that Jesus’ reign over the nations, including a restored Israel, awaits a future day. Is it not demeaning to Jesus to say that He now fulfills the words of Psalm 2 when these things characterize our world? Yes, absolutely! Only Jesus can initiate this future time of righteousness and peace on planet earth. This is not our current experience nor is it something a woefully divided and worldly church could ever accomplish in the future. Those that make the church the replacement kingdom for Israel, either now or in the future, exchange the glorious wonders of how the Bible describes this coming realm for the decay we now experience today in our world. Elevating Human Wisdom Over The Words Jesus Inspired This leads me to a third reason why I say that the current siege of Bible prophecy tarnishes Jesus’ glory. Those that say the church is now God’s kingdom, or an outpost of it, contradict the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians. There he identifies “the kingdom of God” as our future inheritance rather than our current possession (1 Corinthians 15:50). Yes, of course, God transfers us to His spiritual domain at the moment of our redemption (Colossians 1:13-14). However, the Bible tells us that we are also heirs to a yet future and physical manifestation of it (compare Ephesians 1:11-14 with 1 Corinthians 15:50). James 2:5 confirms that as believers, we are heirs to a kingdom: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” The Apostle Paul wrote that we are “joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). The New Testament never identifies the church as God’s kingdom, nor does it say that we are “co-possessors” of Jesus’ realm at this present time. Words matter! The words of 1 Corinthians 15:50 provide additional insight regarding our inheritance of the kingdom: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” In this verse, Paul says it’s impossible for us to receive our inheritance of the “kingdom of God” in our current state. The apostle’s words negate all teachings that claim the church is God’s kingdom either in its current or future state. Such things cannot happen while we exist in “flesh and blood” bodies. The good news is that Jesus will make us fit for His kingdom when he appears, raises the dead “in Christ” with “imperishable bodies,” and also gives those of us who are alive at the time immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Philippians 3:20-21). The Rapture is most definitely not a tertiary matter, but one of utmost biblical importance because it’s when Jesus will make us fit for ruling with Him in the glorious kingdom that’s coming. After responding to His disciples’ questions about the end of the age and His return Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Those that disparage Bible prophecy should take careful note that after teaching His disciples about the signs of the end times, the antichrist’s future defilement of a Jewish temple, His spectacular return to earth after the Tribulation period, and the “fig tree” as an illustration of Israel’s rebirth, Jesus asserted the absolute permanence of His “words.” My chief complaint with teachings that either claim there is no such thing as a Rapture and assert that the church is now God’s kingdom rather than Israel is this: Either willfully or perhaps unwittingly, those that teach such things tarnish the glorious name of our Lord by pushing our expectation of meeting Jesus in the air to a spectacularly dull wrap-up of human history that disregards all that the book of Revelation teaches until the last couple chapters (although some claim that its words have reach fulfillment). The words of Bible prophecy, taken at face value, exalt the Lord Jesus as they focus our hope solely on Him (not the church), and affirm the spectacular nature of His Second Coming and wonders of His future kingdom, which will exceed our most fanciful thoughts of what it might be. In Hereafter, It’s Far Better Than You Can Imagine, Terry James and I describe the future glory that awaits us as believers beginning with Jesus’ appearing to take us home. From beginning to end, we emphasize the jubilant joy that awaits us in Heaven. The way in which the Bible exalts Jesus in its portrayal of future events radically differs from what’s taught in many churches. In addition, the silence regarding Heaven deprives believers from anticipating the wonders that lie ahead for us, which are truly far better than we can imagine in our most fanciful thoughts. The Storm Is Here – Do Not Panic – Dr. Mike Spaulding - https://www.drmikespaulding.com/the-storm-is-here-do-not-panic-dr-mike-spaulding/ “Truth will ultimately prevail where pains are taken to bring it to light.” - George Washington We are living in unprecedented times. America appears to be imploding. The once strong moral and social fabric of American society has become threadbare and is showing serious signs of tearing apart. How did this happen? How did this happen seemingly “overnight”? Answering the first question is easy. America is in the position that it is because evil has been allowed to permeate every facet of our government, civic, and social institutions, and has propagandized a critical mass of Americans. The intentional removal of American civics from the classroom, the obfuscation of the responsibilities of every citizen in this Constitutional Republic, and a state-controlled media has resulted in a population of extremely mis and disinformed people who unwittingly advocate for their own demise. Freedom and liberty are on life-support because most Americans are fixated on themselves, their pleasures, their material prosperity, and their comforts and lusts (James 4:1-4). Too many Americans are averse to any type of sacrifice, service for others, or upholding the truth of foundational principles of right and wrong. Live and let live is a sure recipe for death. Living your life while watching other people destroy theirs, as well as those close to them, is not compassion and mercy. It is shameful indifference and worse. That is what we are seeing right now in America. The answer to the second question, “How did this happen seemingly overnight,” is that it did not happen overnight. It has been a slow and deliberate strategy to undermine American exceptionalism by methodically undermining what made her strong, to begin with, an adherence to Judeo-Christian principles and truth. A nation that was established to be that city on a hill, shining the Gospel light to the entire world, once lived up to that divine mantle. But, alas, the light has been slowly dimmed such that today, other nations send missionaries to America! America has a dual personality. The rest of the world sees America as either that place where dreams come true, the fabled land of freedom and liberty, or as an enemy that foments wars and the inevitable consequences of war such as destroyed economies, poverty, disease, and years of tragic turmoil trying to rebuild lives after the Americans leave. Most Americans only see the former. I was reminded of this dual personality once again in a book I recently read. In Dallas ’63: The First Deep State Revolt Against the White House,[1] author Peter Dale Scott alerts readers to the true nature of America. The massive projection of U.S. wealth and power abroad has produced a massive increase of covert unchecked power in Washington, to the extent that we now have what the journalists Dana Priest and William Arkin have called: two governments: the one its citizens were familiar with, operated more or less in the open: the other a parallel top-secret government whose parts had mushroomed in less than a decade into a gigantic, sprawling universe of its own, visible to only a carefully vetted cadre – and its entirety…visible only to God. The power of the public state is based on the constitution and periodic elections and is thus limited by checks and balances. The power of the covert deep state, in contrast, is unchecked and has expanded as the global U.S. presence has expanded. The two kinds of power were destined to come into conflict. The public state aims at openness and persuasion. The deep state represents the opposite, intervention by secrecy and violence. (pp.5-7) What we are seeing today in America is the clash of two worldviews of two distinct aims and goals for the nation of America and indeed, for the world. Behind the secrecy and domination through violence is the deep state, composed of various organizations and individuals who collectively have one common goal – control the world and increase their personal wealth regardless of the cost to anyone else. These individuals and organizations are composed of well-known individuals, businesspeople, heads of major global corporations, politicians, historically wealthy families, central banking cartels, media conglomerates, and of course, various religious factions. I will not go into greater detail than that here. That work is left for you to do. The information is available in abundance for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. (Luke 10:23). Do not be the person who is critical of revealed truth when you have never bothered to verify anything. The Bible says God’s people perish because they have a lack of knowledge. There is a serious lack of not only biblical knowledge but of knowledge concerning the reality of the world we live in. America is in the throes of death precisely because Americans have allowed the God-haters and America-haters to thrive and press their ungodly views upon everyone else. Even in the midst of this current struggle I have hope. I have hope because I believe that what is right will prevail even in this dark hour. I have hope because I do not believe God is done with America yet. I have hope because I know of many Americans who have been awakened from their slumbers and understand the times in which we live demand a swift and pronounced opposition to what the deep state desires to do to us all. But most importantly, I have hope rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has already won the greatest victory over any and every deep state and those individuals and organizations that empower them. I have hope that the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ will rise up and make this our finest hour in America. Will you join me in this struggle? I am praying for God’s mercy. We may be under the judgment of God, or we may simply be reaping the fruit of our own failure to be the moral compass for America. Regardless of which it is, we are not free to sit back and do nothing. You cannot sit it out. It is here and it will touch every community large or small. There will be no standing on the sidelines observing this war. If America is to survive every man and woman who loves America in spite of its blemishes, must invest themselves in this struggle. I hope one day I will be able to say to my grandchildren, I did all I could and left everything on the field of battle so that you might enjoy the freedom and liberty you now have. Let’s do this for the glory and honor of God! Semper Fidelis to Jesus! Dr. Mike Spaulding Pastor, Calvary Chapel of Lima [1] Peter Dale Scott, Dallas ’63: The First Deep State Revolt Against the White House, (Open Road Integrated Media: New York, 2015). DOWNLOAD THE PROPHECY UPDATE APP Prophecy Update Videos Must Watch Videos! Videos You Can Trust
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DONATE HERE Your can also mail your support to: Prophecy Update PO Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384 Has America Run Out of Time? - by Michael Snyder - https://endoftheamericandream.com/has-america-run-out-of-time/ For those that love America, these are very trying times. We have watched our beloved country go steadily downhill for decades, and in recent years that process has greatly accelerated. Now we have reached a point where our entire culture is absolutely saturated with evil, and large media corporations make billions of dollars exporting that culture to the rest of the world. In the end, we will truly reap what we have sown. If our nation had chosen to reverse course, things could have worked out much differently. But that has not happened. Yes, there are individuals and small groups that have chosen to change direction, but the nation as a whole just continues to run the wrong direction as fast as it possibly can. In this article, I am going to share some numbers with you that are just staggering. We have been given opportunity after opportunity to choose a different direction, and we just keep making the wrong choices. At some point we will be out of opportunities. In fact, could it be possible that America has already run out of time? In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. That was an opportunity for our nation to go in a new direction. But that wasn’t what happened. Instead, the number of abortions during the 12 months immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned was actually higher than the number of abortions during the 12 months immediately preceding that ruling. And now a new report from the Guttmacher Institute is telling us that the abortion rate in 2023 was the highest that it has been since 2014… Abortions have reached their highest level in 10 years, despite bans on the procedure in more than a dozen states. A report released Tuesday by reproductive health firm Guttmacher Institute showed that there were 1 million abortions in the US in 2023, the equivalent of 16 per every 1,000 women. That was up 10 percent from the 14.4 per 1,000 in 2020 and the highest since 2014, when the rate was 14.6 per 1,000. As for the total number of abortions, we haven’t seen a million in a single year since 2012. Today, most abortions are done by taking pills. That same Guttmacher Institute report says that a whopping 63 percent of all U.S. abortions were conducted in this manner last year… The report also found that 63 percent of abortions performed in 2023 were from medications, such as the two-pill regimen of mifepristone and misoprotol. In 2000, no abortions were done with this method. It has become easier and easier for women in the United States to get these pills. In fact, it is being reported that “abortion pill mifepristone hit the shelves at CVS and Walgreens for the first time this month”. So the number of abortions performed by taking pills is expected to go even higher during the years ahead. Of course many of the celebrities that our young people follow militantly promote “reproductive freedom”. For example, Plan B pills and condoms were given out for free at Olivia Rodrigo’s recent concert in St. Louis… The Missouri Abortion Fund distributed the morning-after pill and condoms to concertgoers during Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour Tuesday night in St. Louis. It was part of the pop star’s Fund 4 Good initiative focused on “building an equitable and just future for all women, girls, and people seeking reproductive health freedom.” Rodrigo, 21, has not been shy about her support for reproductive rights throughout her career. Fund 4 Good, launched in conjunction with the GUTS tour in February, has announced Rodrigo’s commitment to partnering with local chapters of the National Network of Abortion Funds throughout the tour and is ensuring that a percentage of proceeds will go to reproductive rights organizations. “It’s brutal out here in Missouri, but we are here for abortion access,” the abortion fund tweeted following the concert. Whether you like it or not, this is our society now. Meanwhile, the proportion of the population that identifies as LGBTQ+ just continues to grow. The following comes from NBC News… The percentage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adults in the U.S. continues to increase, reaching an all-time high of 7.6% in 2023, according to a new Gallup report. Broken down by gender, the survey of 12,000 people 18 and older across the country found that women were nearly twice as likely as men to identify as LGBTQ. “Almost 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ+, most as bisexual,” Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor at Gallup, told NBC News. “That’s where a lot of the growth seems to be happening.” Just think about those numbers for a moment. Young adults are the future of this country. And now almost a third of all Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ+. Those that wanted to fundamentally transform our culture have succeeded. Can you imagine what our founders would think if they could see us today? Earlier this month, I was shocked when I read a story about a social media influencer known as “Meow” that identifies as a dog… An American woman who identifies as a dog has given an insight into what her daily life looks like. The social media star, who is known as Meow, appeared on KIIS FM’s The Kyle & Jackie O Show on Thursday to discuss what it means to live life as a canine. She told hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson how she sleeps in a crate, is rewarded with dog treats and has ‘handlers’ who help to look after her. Meow, who livestreams on gaming platform Twitch, explained how she identifies as a Dalmatian and will bark and run on all fours as she embraces life as a dog. I don’t get it. Why would you call yourself “Meow” if you identify as a dog? Maybe someone out there can explain that to me. At this point, nobody can deny that we are in the midst of a cultural tsunami. Once upon a time, most Americans embraced Christian values, but now a recent Pew Research Center survey has discovered that 80 percent of U.S. adults believe that “religion’s role in American life is shrinking”… Meanwhile, the vast majority of U.S. adults — 80% — said “religion’s role in American life is shrinking,” a percentage that’s the highest it has been in Pew’s research history. Just 18% expressed the belief faith is gaining influence in American society. Unfortunately, there aren’t any signs that this is going to change any time soon. So it is just a matter of time before we reap what we have sown. I often remind my readers that “the clock is ticking”, and time is certainly flying here in 2024. We have already reached the end of winter, and now spring has begun… Spring is starting a little earlier than usual this year. Tuesday, March 19 at 11:06 p.m. EDT will mark the vernal equinox for the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun is directly over the equator and its energy is in balance between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, according to the National Weather Service. Every day is so precious, and our nation has been going in the wrong direction for a very long time. How long will be too long? Sadly, I am entirely convinced that it is already much later than most people think it is. Revelation 22: The antidote to deconstruction of faith - By Mark Creech - https://www.christianpost.com/voices/revelation-22-the-antidote-to-deconstruction-of-faith.html Say the name Billy Graham and almost everyone from around the world will know of him. His ministry is regarded as one of the most influential and impactful for the cause of Christ in modern history. Graham is renowned for being a tremendous Christian evangelist who held large-scale evangelistic meetings in stadiums and arenas. He was a spiritual advisor to presidents and world leaders, authored several books, involved in various humanitarian initiatives, and was a radio and television preacher. He was also well-known for his integrity and humility, setting the standard for so many others who proclaim the Gospel. While he was known for sticking to his convictions, he committed to interfaith dialogue with the hope of transcending denominational lines and impacting people for good from all walks of life. Few Christian leaders throughout ecclesiastical history left a lasting legacy of faith, inspiration, and transformation of hundreds of thousands of lives as Billy Graham. Yet his grandson, Will Graham, says there was once a pivotal moment in his grandfather’s life when all of his many achievements for Christ’s sake could have been thwarted. He recounts how in the early years of Dr. Graham’s ministry he faced sizeable uncertainties and doubts. Dr. Graham had become the close friend of Charles Templeton, a fellow evangelist who often traveled with him in campaigns organized by Youth for Christ. Graham and Templeton, however, despite their close friendship, would end up going in different directions. Templeton started studying at Princeton and had come to believe the Bible was flawed, and not entirely reliable. Templeton started challenging Graham’s beliefs and even exacerbated some of his discouragements. All of this shook Graham to the core, filling him with unanswerable questions, not only about theological matters but with doubts about his calling. But a momentous turning point occurred during a visit to Forest Home, a Christian retreat center in California, where Graham had been invited to speak. While there, he devoted himself to earnestly searching the Scriptures, and praying. It was in the serene setting of Forest Home and his time alone with God that the evangelist developed a profound conviction. He acknowledged and committed himself, without reservation, to the divine authority and power of the Word of God — the Bible. Will Graham writes: “One night at Forest Home, he walked out into the woods and set his Bible on a stump — more an altar than a pulpit — and he cried out: ‘O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck [Charles Templeton] and others are raising.’ “And then, my grandfather fell to his knees and the Holy Spirit moved in him as he said, ‘Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word — by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be your inspired Word!’ “My granddaddy wrote in his autobiography that as he stood up his eyes stung with tears, but he felt the power and presence of God in a way he hadn’t in months. ‘A major bridge had been crossed,’ he said.” The next day, Graham preached at Forest Home and some of his closest friends said they had never heard him preach with such authority and power. That day 400 people were said to have received Christ. In recent years, there has been an emphasis on “faith deconstruction.” Several high-profile Christian personalities have reportedly left the faith and repudiated what they previously believed. Other professing Christians have said they too went through a period of profound doubt and wrestled with difficult questions, but the experience led to a deeper understanding and a stronger faith than before. Someone said that sometimes God allows a period of doubt to inoculate us from a lifetime of disbelief later. It’s interesting to note what Will Graham said about the difference between Templeton and his grandfather, Billy Graham. He said that Templeton came to believe that “academia — not Jesus — was the answer to life’s problems.” The theme of Revelation chapter 22 verses 8 through 11 provides the antidote to a complete deconstruction of faith. It underscores the importance of genuine faith and spiritual authenticity, encouraging all those who profess the faith to “worship God only” — to cultivate a deep personal relationship with God and never exalt any other, whether an angel, human, or some belief system as God’s equal or greater than him. Here is what the Bible says: "I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said, 'No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!'" Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near. Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.” The Apostle John said that as an eyewitness, he could affirm everything recorded in the book of Revelation was completely accurate and trustworthy. John speaks in the same vein as Luke, who highlighted in his Gospel account, the careful investigation undertaken by himself and others who were eyewitnesses of the events surrounding Jesus’s life. In the book of Acts, chapters 2, 3, and 10, it says that the apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ and the miracles he performed. Peter in his first epistle emphasized the apostles’ firsthand experience of the Savior’s majesty, reinforcing the authenticity of their testimonies. Eyewitness testimony can be necessary to prove truth claims. It’s highly valuable in a court of law, particularly in trials where a person’s life is on the line. In the book of Revelation, the lives of millions are on the line and the apostle John assures everyone his words are based on what he saw with his own eyes. Sin is a powerful force in life. Every Christian knows the experience of sinning, then repenting of it, but later falling back into the same offense. In chapter 19 and verse 10 of Revelation, it’s recorded that John bowed before an angel in worship and was rebuked by the angel not to do that, but to worship the Lord only. But in verse 8 of chapter 22, John repeats the same sin! How thankful we should be that God is not begrudging in granting his forgiveness many times over. Not long ago, Pope Francis gave a homily at St. Pius V. Parish in Rome and said something that every Christian should always remember: “The God of mercy; he does not tire of forgiving. We are the ones who tire in asking for forgiveness, but He does not tire.” Oh, how wonderfully true! Where would be if this were not the case? We would have no hope in this life or the next. When John bows down in worship to the angel in chapter 22, he is instructed for a second time: “Worship only God” (vs. 9). The angel’s censure echoes the first of the Lord’s Ten Commandments: “You must not have any other gods but me” (Exodus 20: 3), meaning we must not pay homage or give allegiance to anyone or anything more than God. John A. Broadus, once the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote: “The German philosopher, [Immanuel] Kant, probably the greatest philosopher of modern times, said: ‘There are two things that always awaken in me, when I contemplate them, the sentiment of the sublime. They are the starry heavens and the moral nature of man.’ “Oh! God made them both, and all there is of the sublime in either or in both is but a dim, poor reflection of the glory of him who made them. Whatever there is in this world that is suited to lift up men’s souls at all ought to lift them towards God. “[T]he idea of God subordinates to itself all that is great … More than that is true. I repeat, all that exalts our souls ought to lift them towards God.” Genuine faith requires that everything in life be subordinate to God. Recognition of this first principle of authentic spiritual life mandates every doubt, fear, and anxiety secondary to him. There are many matters about God, his Word, and complex issues of experience that can not only be difficult to understand, but despite our best efforts to comprehend them, they allude us. Nevertheless, we must lean on God still, trusting him implicitly. We must cling to him when nothing seems to make sense and we are tempted to conclude he either doesn’t exist or he’s indifferent to our circumstances. The Bible admonishes, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). This is the essence of what it means to “worship only God.” Worshipping only God means prioritizing one’s relationship with him above material possessions, personal desires, romantic partners, family members and friends, power and influence, entertainment and pleasure, political ideologies, philosophical beliefs, cultural norms, spiritual practices that detract from the one true God as revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Scriptures. When the prophet Daniel received his message from God about the future, he was told, “Keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). But John was instructed to do just the opposite, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near” (v. 10). Daniel’s vision was for a later time and sealing it would preserve its integrity until its appointed season. In contrast, the events revealed in John’s vision were imminent, indicating that the time of their fulfillment would begin to unfold and people desperately needed to know about them so they could prepare their hearts and lives accordingly. The book of Revelation describes many primary events that will occur during the apocalypse. There will be wars, famines, natural disasters, calamities such as hail and fire, a mountain (perhaps an incredible meteorite) cast into the sea, the poisoning of both salt and fresh waters, plagues of painful sores, scorching heat, intense darkness, earthquakes, the return of Jesus Christ, Judgment Day, and the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth. Unfortunately, too many professing Christians avoid the study of Revelation because much of it seems enigmatic and mysterious to them. Many pulpits won’t take it up. Yet a careful study of Revelation is like someone being given insider trading tips for the stock market. It’s exceedingly profitable for a virtuous, meaningful, blessed life, and unlike insider trading, it’s perfectly legal. In fact, it’s encouraged. When these events in the world start happening (and it seems several have already started), most people will be blindly groping their way through the unknown, baffled by what’s going on. However, God’s people who have embraced the prophecies of this book will be able to navigate the times. The primary themes of Revelation are to prepare, believe and obey, endure persecution, and be encouraged because your faith and works will surely be rewarded. The future may hold the worst of times, but it also promises the best of times. But perhaps one of the most ominous messages of the book of Revelation is verse 11, which reads: “Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.” This passage has been debated extensively, but it isn’t difficult to interpret actually. It is a warning that there is an expiration date on faith. If faith is not exercised in time, it will be too late, and whatever the state of one’s soul is outside of a right relationship with God, is the way that person will remain throughout eternity. The Scottish New Testament teacher and profound scholar, William Barclay, says of this verse: “There comes a time when it’s too late to change. In Daniel we read: ‘The wicked shall do wickedly’ (Daniel 12:10). As Ezekiel had it: ‘He that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse’ (Ezekiel 3:27). A man can so long refuse the way of Christ that in the end he cannot take it.” Perhaps the worst part about Hell will not be the pains of hellfire, whether the fire is literal or not. Perhaps the most torturous aspect of hell will be that its inhabitants are forever stuck with their unsatisfying desires, bitterness, hardness of heart, hatred, unforgiveness, emptiness, misguided and perverted sense of morality, lack of peace, and the futility of lives not directed by a regenerate heart purified by faith (without faith is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6) but instead driven by ego-centric motives and not for the glory of God. Only someone who has been born-again can live in a way that pleases God (John 3:3-7). Only someone who has become a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15) can live a life characterized by righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God. It’s not that the unsaved person doesn’t have enough good works to save them, it’s that they don’t have any at all. In Romans 3:10-12, the apostle Paul emphasized the bleak spiritual condition of the unregenerate, saying: “No one is righteous — not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” It doesn’t matter how much an individual may think of themselves as a good and virtuous person, or how much they may esteem another as being good, God has a higher standard. To be good is to do what God commands — to obey his laws from a heart made anew through faith and the regenerative work of his Spirit. The Bible says, “Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). An illustration of this would be the pirates who operated along the coast of my home state of North Carolina during the colonial period. The region was known for its treacherous waters and hidden inlets, making it ideal for pirate activity. Pirates such as Blackbeard were notorious for their raiding of ships and barbarous acts. Nevertheless, if we were to look closely at their lives, we might find some noble and commendable things. They might have been kind to their women and cared for their children. They might have given generously to the poor from their treasures. They might have had a strong work ethic, planting and raising crops to feed themselves, and their families. Yet, every seed they planted, each ear of corn they harvested, and every shilling they gave to the impoverished was part of their labors to continue in willful rebellion against the United States. Therefore, they were guilty and they had nothing by which to commend themselves to the United States government, they could only accept its terms of surrender. And so it is for everyone outside of Christ. God calls on us to stop resisting and surrender to his sovereignty. Conversion, a change of mind, heart and will, starts the moment an individual surrenders to Christ. This transformation of life is not something that can come through human effort or moral striving, but it’s the result of an inner change wrought by the Holy Spirit in the heart. By being born again and becoming a new creation in Christ, individuals are empowered to walk in the power of God’s Spirit, enabled to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The redeemed are equipped to live out God’s purposes, glorify him in their lives, and fulfill the mission to which he has called them. What fruitless and wasted lives are those who never experienced the new birth! The lives of those who don’t know Christ’s saving power are spiritually unfit for anything but to ultimately be thrown into God’s cosmic garbage can, with no hope of changing, no hope of ever being the person God intended them to be, and no hope of ever possessing godly character. But those who come to know the Lord are not only declared righteous but can increase in righteousness from one level of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18). “Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.” God’s prophetic strategy is starting to manifest. Doubt sees the obstacles, Faith sees the way! Doubt sees the darkest night. Faith sees the day! Doubt dreads to take a step. Faith soars on high! Doubt questions, “Who believes?” Faith answers, “I!” Daily Jot: Stupidocrisy: Paying for poverty - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com We can all remember leftist-controlled cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago and others were making a deal about being “sanctuary cities.” They welcomed all the migrants or illegal aliens or whatever you call them these days. Little did they know that the open borders policies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden would actually result in these migrants being shipped to their cities. The resultant drug problems, homelessness, poverty, and sharp increases in crime have caused these hypocrites to rethink their policies. Especially when governors in overrun states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico called their bluff with busloads of “if you like your illegal migration, you can have your illegal migration.” In a remarkable turnabout, Economist and Nobel Prize winner from Princeton Angus Deaton is rethinking his commitment to free trade and mass migration because these policies, in his opinion, harm American workers and do nothing to reduce global poverty. In a column written for the International Monetary Fund, Deaton opines, “I am much more skeptical of the benefits of free trade to American workers and am even skeptical of the claim, which I and others have made in the past, that globalization was responsible for the vast reduction in global poverty over the past 30 years. I also no longer defend the idea that the harm done to working Americans by globalization was a reasonable price to pay for global poverty reduction because workers in America are so much better off than the global poor.” After going through some esoteric verbal gymnastics that economists often do and end up saying nothing, Deaton concludes: “I used to subscribe to the near consensus among economists that immigration to the US was a good thing, with great benefits to the migrants and little or no cost to domestic low-skilled workers. I no longer think so.” Deaton skirts around the glaring issue that politicians with the philosophical belief of cheap labor, which many of us would equate to some form of slavery—if not physical, certainly economical—are deliberately trying to pump the labor force full of uneducated, low-wage, drones. These politicians believe that these people will eventually get the right to vote and will do so en masse for the party responsible for letting them come to America. This may be a huge miscalculation at the expense of all Americans. Now the Biden Administration is trying to slip a $13 BILLION price tag into the 2025 budget to bail out those sanctuary cities. The money would be earmarked for illegals to receive transportation, food, medical care, shelter and other services. This transfer of taxpayer wealth would be laundered through non-profits that are aligned with Biden Administration open border policies. Brietbart reports that under Biden there has been roughly one migrant for every American born during his three years in office. His policy has caused lower wages, higher housing costs and higher crime. And Biden wants you to pay for this poverty through your taxes. Proverbs 14:31 says, “He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker.” These politicians are indeed taunting their maker as they oppress both the illegals and the citizens. Say it with me…Stupidocrisy. Sources: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2024/03/Symposium-Rethinking-Economics-Angus-Deaton https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2024/03/12/biden-wants-13-billion-from-congress-for-migrants-and-sanctuary-cities/ https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/02/10/gop-senators-block-mcconnells-migration-bailout-for-sanctuary-cities/ Daily Devotion: The Day Jesus Got Mad - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org And he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. —Mark 11:16 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-day-jesus-got-mad/ - Listen If you’ve ever watched a Western, then you know that if you want to make a point, you turn over a table. After Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, He entered the temple, looked around, and assessed the situation. Then, He returned the next day, and He began to cleanse the temple by driving out the merchants and turning over their tables. Mark gives us these details in his Gospel: “When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves” (Mark 11:15 NLT). Maybe you’re thinking, “Now, wait a second. I thought Jesus was meek and mild. Isn’t that how a Christian should be?” Let’s understand what that means. Jesus did say, “I am humble and gentle at heart” (Matthew 11:29 NLT). The problem is that we sometimes equate meekness with weakness. We think that to be a Christian, we need to be soft-spoken. That’s what we think meekness is. But that isn’t meekness; that is just quietness. The image of Jesus knocking over tables and chairs of the money changers isn’t what we’re used to. As a matter of fact, in the way artists portray Jesus in traditional religious art, He doesn’t look like He could turn over a chair, much less a table. But the Jesus of the New Testament, the real Jesus, was a man’s man. He was strong. The merchants’ tables weren’t little temporary folding tables. Rather, they were massive tables made of heavy wood, maybe even marble. And Jesus turned them over. It was complete chaos as doves flew out of their cages, and money flew everywhere. Meekness is not weakness. It is power under constraint. Meekness is being able to do something and choosing not to. Weakness, on the other hand, is not being able to do anything. That is the difference. Jesus was applying meekness. He was indignant and angry because they were hurting God’s people. He told them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Mark 11:17 NLT). They were preventing people from worshipping the Lord. Instead of praying for the people, these religious leaders were preying on the people. If worshippers wanted to pay the temple tax, they had to exchange their money for special half shekels in the sanctuary, which were the only form of currency the temple accepted. But it came at a hiked-up price. The same was true for sacrificial animals. If people brought in their own animals to sacrifice, the animals would be rejected, which forced them to buy the merchants’ more expensive animals. The bottom line is the merchants were keeping people away from God. And that made God angry. Very angry. In the same way, we need to ask ourselves this question: Am I a bridge or a barrier to people coming to Christ? PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 3/20/24 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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