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Luke 17 Passage: When The Son of Man is Revealed - By Gene Lawley - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/08/30/luke-17-passage-son-man-revealed-gene-lawley/
This is in reference to Luke 17:26-37 where Jesus compares His coming in the Rapture appearance and its signs and times with the times of Noah and of Lot. The various responses to its content are as troubling as the content itself, in that guidelines for properly interpreting Scripture are so clearly violated. That is my opinion, of course, but many folks seem to oppose that outlook. Obviously, believing as I do is not a requirement of Scripture, necessarily, but when one would teach the Scriptures to others, what James 3:1-2 says bears heavily upon that person to "rightly divide the Word of truth." James wrote this: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body." The Luke passage has a partial parallel in Matthew 24:36-44 but that passage leaves off any reference to Lot's situation. Both refer to the end-time prophetic situation when Jesus is revealed to those who are snatched up to Him in that rapture experience spelled out in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:10, and in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. These references make it basically clear that there is, in fact, to be such an event as the Rapture of the saints, a taking out of the world those who belong to Jesus Christ. According to 1 Corinthians 6:20, they are not their own but were purchased by the price of His blood on the cross of Calvary. Major confusion has been caused by how verse 37 in Luke 17 is interpreted and applied to the context preceding it. But first, let's work out just what the context of Luke 17:26-36 really tells us before we consider that last verse 37. First of all, it is obvious that this is an end-time scenario because it plainly says the situation will be at the time when the "Son of Man is revealed." The first time Jesus is revealed in the last days will be at the time of the Rapture, the snatching out of the world those who belong to Him. The fact that Noah and Lot were not taken to heaven does not fault the comparison with that of the Rapture when the righteous will be taken to heaven and the sinful ones are left behind, nor does it reflect negatively on who is taken and who is left in the Luke passage. In both cases they are removed from the judgment of sinful men. The conditions described here are not possible for a Second Coming timeline. Just look at what is going on in the whole world - people are buying and selling, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. After seven years of tribulation as described in Revelation 6-19, it is not possible that those activities told of in Luke 17 could be the normal life of the world's population. The major concern of all people will be their safety and security, their very survival. Then, the likeness of this future scenario will be as it was in the days of Noah and of Lot. That is, the current day's situation included the extreme sinfulness in the times of Noah and of Lot. In Noah's time, Genesis 6:5 says, "Then, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Match that with a thriving economy, as described, and an "eat, drink, and be merry" attitude prevails, and we have the conditions in today's world. Especially is that exemplified here in America, for this country is the leader in the world, like it or not. Likewise, it was the same in the time of Lot, the Luke passage tells us. Jesus is relating these things to us in Luke, but He was also present in those situations with Noah and Lot. The latter is much clearer as to that fact when we read of Abraham's encounter with the Angel of the Lord and the two angels in Genesis 19. The conditions in Sodom were a saturation of immorality and degradation that engulfed the whole city. Yet, in Luke 17 they were involved in all the activities of life as it was from day to day. Jesus brings the picture from the whole world down to one local area, and then, finally, to two individuals, as we will see later in the passage. But don't miss this: As it was then, so it will be when the Son of Man is revealed. That is future for us today, except that we are, in fact, enjoying a rising economy that matches those described in the times of Noah and Lot. Satan's desire to distract believers, and especially non-believers, from this looming truth that Jesus is returning very soon is very evident. The anti-Trump leftists are trying their best to denounce President Trump and return to their plan of devastation and destruction. Jesus said conditions will be like this when He, the Son of Man, returns. He actually begins this discussion at Luke 17:20 with a question from the Pharisees of when the kingdom of God would come. In verse 24, Jesus brings the issue forward to a far later time. He says there, "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day." In between that time when He said that and this future one was His crucifixion, the rejection by His Jewish kinsmen, and the building of His true church, the body of born-again believers in Him. Now, we are told of His imminent coming in the words of Luke 17:26-35. After verse 30, He begins to expand on what happens after that lightning flash appearance of Him coming in the air. It is as Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." Note carefully that last sentence-"we shall always be with the Lord." The continuity of the passage continues without a chapter break in the original writing, and details how His coming, like lightning, will affect the people on the earth. One statement in the context is when "they" shall say, "Peace and safety." Then Paul writes, "then sudden destruction shall come upon them...." It appears most probably that "they" are the Jewish people, Israel, for they have been surrounded by enemies and have had constant threats and actions pointing to their destruction since the day of their establishment as a sovereign state. Islamic enemies do not recognize their right to exist, even. How, then, will this desire for "peace and safety" be fulfilled? In Daniel 9:26-27 is a prophecy that a person coming out of the heritage of the old Roman Empire will "confirm a covenant with many for seven years" with or for someone. As a result, a new temple will be built by the Jews. That leaves us with a conclusion that it is with the Jews, their state of Israel. That new nation was the result of action by the United Nations. Thus, the "many" who sign the covenant with this person from Roman ancestry will be, again, the United Nations. And, also, the building of a temple is confirmed by the statement that this one (the Antichrist, as he is now identified) cancels religious activities in the temple, takes possession of it, and declares himself to be God at the mid-point of the seven years. Two questions are left for us to consider. First, when will this Antichrist come into a position of authority where he will co-sign a covenant with leaders of other nations? The second is when will the announcement of a peace covenant come about? Answers to these are yet to come. But let's get back to the Luke 17 passage, where Jesus changes His discussion from groups of people to the individual person. "In that day," He said, when He comes like a flash of lightning that is seen around the world, "he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife." When He comes, don't try to hang onto anything of this world, for you are headed for heaven! Here Jesus is talking about those who are to be taken away to Him. The sense of that portion is now brought to that often-confused issue of where they are taken. The transformation from mortal to immortality and corruption to incorruption will be instant, like the twinkling of an eye, so Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53. Jesus pinpoints the issue to the individual believer who is with one who is not a believer. He says, then, "I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." Now, if one stops at this point, verse 36, the most reasonable conclusion is that those taken are the believers, taken to be with the Lord forever, just as 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says. Judgment for those taken is not mentioned at all. In all of the Scriptures, where do you find the Lord coaching lost and rebelling sinners to not try to "go back and get anything being left behind before judgment. Jesus is recorded as saying to those kinds of people doomed for judgment, "Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity" (Luke 13:27). God turns His back on evilness, for sure. Listen to what Jesus said on the cross, even: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" as the man Jesus died for our sins there. Then, we come to the place where the disciples ask Jesus, "Where are they taken?" That is in verse 37, and Jesus responds with this, as translated in the New King James Version: "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." It seems to be common to say this statement means that those who are taken, in the prior context, are taken to judgment. What Jesus said was an "idiom," a saying that is defined by the context in which it is used. What if Jesus had said, "Where the king is, there his subjects will be," or, "Where the wicked one is, there his subjects will be." The meaning of the statement would have a direct relationship to the content of the preceding narrative. In that sense, Jesus is saying to His disciples, "What did I just tell you about who is taken and who is left?" Read again about the Rapture event in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Those dead in Christ are taken first. But where? Not to judgment for sure, for they have been before the judgment seat of Christ already. Then, those who are alive are caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. What could be more plainly spoken? To link this statement of Jesus and its prior context to the passage in Revelation 19:17-18 where birds of prey are invited to a great supper of the flesh of mankind further contradicts this issue, for that passage forces the Luke passage to a "post-tribulation rapture" timeframe, for it deals with God's judgment at the end of the seven years, and the Luke passage clearly is at the beginning of the seven years. An honest consideration of that response, as some translations put it, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather" (NIV), or "Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered" (NASB), what deep spiritual truth do these comments, as translated, have to do with the context of Luke 17:26-36? I say, "None!" It is, again, an idiom, a common saying that points the reader to the actual content of the prior discussion. For example, when someone says, "Boy, O boy, it's raining cats and dogs out there!," you don't run to the window expecting to see the lawn covered with cats and dogs, do you? Finally, and perhaps this is the greatest fault of all in the common response that "they are taken to judgment," is that it is contradictory to what Jesus is saying in that context; therefore, that response is saying Jesus is contradicting Himself. That is a travesty upon His character and will not be shrugged off by the Lord. Then, having created the contradiction of the Lord, a problem of His justice is created. God saves Noah and his family, taking them into the ark, and also saves Lot and his family, taking them by hand with two angels out of the city so the angels could go back and destroy that city. As it was then, it is not the same (in contradiction) in these latter days, for suddenly those taken are the bad ones and those left are the righteous ones. But Jesus said "as it was then, so will it be when the Son of Man comes." That is, those taken back then were the righteous, so it will be the same when Jesus comes. Likewise, one must consider God's attribute of justice. He is described in the Bible as One who says, "The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, but is terror to the workers of iniquity" (Proverbs 21:15), and One who "will bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly" (Luke 18:7-8). This is in consideration of the claim that the Rapture is at the end of the tribulation period, "post-tribulation rapture," that is, and during that time of the wrath of God, those saints who are alive, physically, will endure all the judgments of that seven years. There is no Scripture telling of the protection of God for those saints. Those who do not take the mark of the beast will be killed, as shown in Revelation 7 where those "who come out of the Great Tribulation" are seen as souls dressed in white robes, standing before the throne of God. Only in Revelation 12 do we see where God protects one-third of the Jews, hiding them in the wilderness. Meanwhile, those who were dead but transformed from the grave will be in heaven-unless those proponents say the dead in Christ will also be in the earth during those seven years. They would be immortals, not mortals, so how can the body of Christ be separated? The question is where is the justice of God for those who are living when Jesus comes, for those who are already dead will no longer suffer in the tribulation? "Will He bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly" (Luke 18:7-8). These two deviations from rightly dividing the Word of truth are opposed in Proverbs 9:10 with these words: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Fear of the Lord has two characteristics-reverence for His character traits of love, grace, mercy and forgiveness, and respect for His even-handed justice, that sin will not be tolerated. That wisdom, then, seeks knowledge of the Lord in that light and understanding of His ways comes forth. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 103:7, "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel." How close and personal do we dare to want to be with the Lord? I must close with this quotation from Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (KJV). Contact email: [email protected] These are the Times - By Hal Lindsey - https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-9-3-2019/ These are times of brutality, vulgarity, rage, and recklessness. We live in an age of pestilence, earthquakes, extreme weather, and signs in the heavens. This is the era of humanism, dark arts, floods of pharmaceuticals, and spiraling levels of mental illness. We are entering a season of uncertainty, fearfulness, and escapism. The spring of pride is fast becoming the winter of despair. Everything on the list above is a sign that we are approaching the last of the last days. And it's a list that could go on for pages and pages. For those of us who love our fellow human beings and our country, seeing these biblical signs play out is not pleasant. But we must remember where we're going. This road travels through tough terrain, but it's headed for glory. I don't know how long the world can go on in this condition. But I do know that things could fall apart in short order. The moral foundation of the world's leading nation has, in only a few decades, been largely abandoned. The resulting chaos prepares the whole world to follow Antichrist and the False Prophet. Our society worships technology, honors blasphemy, rejects truth, believes lies, and is becoming progressively more violent. Those are the Antichrist's main attributes. As you read these words, I hope you will not despair. Instead, I hope they will encourage you to remember where your hope and security really lie. They are not in this world or the institutions of this world. They are in Jesus Christ and His kingdom. On more than one occasion, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd." He who laid down His life for us, will not stop caring for us just because we live in dark days. A good shepherd watches over the sheep of His pasture. He protects them from harm. He makes sure that their needs are met. Psalm 84:11-12 says, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!" That's just as true today as it has ever been. No matter how dark the time, we walk in the light of Jesus Christ! Not only does He promise to care for us in times of difficulty, His word teaches that He will remove us from this world before the worst of the dark times ahead. Titus 2:13 in the English Standard Version says, "Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." Soon, He shall appear and snatch us away from this world. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says, "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." Those words should comfort us. They should also spur us to action. Don't give in to the despair of our times. Instead, let the urgency of the hour draw you ever closer to the Lord and His word. People everywhere need Jesus, and we need to faithfully share Him. He's the only hope. The darkness of our times should remind us of 2 Corinthians 4:6. "Light shall shine out of darkness." Nearing Midnight: Scanning Fearful Future Still on Track - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/ Madness that assaults the senses every waking moment continues to expose the lateness of the prophetic hour. This generation is deeply into reprobate mindset the Apostle Paul forewarned will ultimately afflict any person or any generation of people who turn their backs on the God of Heaven. Not intending to make myself out to have a word of knowledge or other strange wind of supernatural soothsaying ability, I nonetheless must recount a matter that constantly dominates my spiritual senses these days. It involves how the Lord spoke to those senses years ago about things that have proven to be insight with ongoing, unfolding validation. My series of commentaries I called "Scanning a Fearful Future" covered the emails filled with panic I was at the time receiving on a regular basis. Pundits, including well-known Bible prophecy teachers and TV hosts, were saying that Christians in America faced imminent danger from dynamics taking place within ever-darkening governmental efforts to completely change the nation in deleterious ways. We would, these pundits proclaimed, wake up one morning and find that the America as founded was now a more or less totalitarian regime. Christians would soon be marching off to gulag. At the very least, we would no longer be able to teach and preach or even talk about Bible truth in public. Just as ominously, these pundits were saying, the economy would completely collapse and we would return to times almost like those before electricity-at least that's how the dystopian warnings sounded to yours truly. Indeed, the presidential administration then in power seemed to be moving America in the dire direction that was being forecast. All of this was taking place during the latter part of 2010 and the first part of 2011. The emails kept coming. Would the United States soon collapse and Christians in America be marched off to FEMA camps for internment? Or worse, would Christians suffer martyrdom as did believers in Christ during the time of the Roman Coliseum spectacles? Again, even prophecy teachers of renown were intimating that this might be the case. Certainly, many secular pundits were almost in unison in predicting that the American and world economies were on the verge of collapse. So, in light of the large number of emails I received from those who read our articles -all worried about future prospects-I undertook to write a series of ten commentaries. While writing these, the Holy Spirit, I'm convicted in my own spirit, imparted through those articles the answer to give these worried brothers and sisters. I've written a number of times over the years since that time about the thoughts I believe the Lord gave through that series. The bottom line was and is that there would be no sudden collapse of the United States economy-there would be no incarceration and martyrdom of Christian Americans. I cautioned that there was indeed such incarceration and martyrdom of Christians all over the globe at that very moment. There continues to be this horrendous treatment around the world as I write this. America, I wrote back then, deserves no special dispensation from such collapse. Christians in America are not, in our own righteousness, immune from the kind of torture and martyrdom being foisted upon Christians who live within evil regimes around the world. Any and all such dispensation is by the grace of God, and that alone. He determines who is born when and where. He, alone, will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy. And this does not mean He favors anyone in particular in the general sense of dealing with mankind. In the case of America, God has obviously determined that the nation is on the planet and at this time for very specific purposes. We have gone over many times that it is believed those purposes are 1) to be a primary instrument of spreading the gospel around the world, and 2) to act first as midwife for Israel's rebirth into modernity, then to act as military protector. The Lord can do that Himself, but He has chosen the US, it is obvious to me, at least, to be his human agency in providing that protection over His chosen nation. In that regard, America is undeniably the apex nation of the world so far as earthly riches are concerned. America is the most materially blessed country of history. It has been among the most spiritually blessed as well. As I stated in that series, the US has, sadly and tragically, become one of the most wicked nations of all times, as well. The evil stretches from pornography to the abortion of more than sixty million babies. So, our "goodness" as Alexis de Toqueville ascribed to this nation is more than overshadowed by the evil among us. As Ruth Graham is accredited with saying (and I paraphrase): "If God doesn't hold America accountable for her wickedness, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." How true this is now more than even when she uttered that thought. We have watched the absolute debauching of society and culture through the LGBTQ and all forms of perversion involving sexuality. We now watch reports of transvestites or drag queens assigned to libraries to teach small children their perverted ways and perversions beyond theirs. We see the Vogue teen magazine instructing, in explicit detail, teenage girls and younger how to indulge in sodomy as a pleasurable means of avoiding sexual interaction that impregnates. We are barraged hour by hour with reports of every sort of inculcation that tries to destroy the institution God the Creator designed involving one man and one woman as husband and wife. Yet, with all this, including our largest cities becoming infested with filth and lasciviousness that is the antithesis of all god intended, America is still here and not only still here, but far outpacing all other nations of the world in most every area of culture-except for turning back to God to a great extent. There are nations that are seemingly seeking God's face much more than is our beloved America. This will, ultimately, bring that judgment, Mrs. Graham forewarned those years ago. America, as I think the Lord showed me, is, however, going to be here for His specific purposes until He calls His Church to be with Christ in the Rapture. This is based on Jesus' own prophecy found in Matthew 24: 36-42 and Luke 17: 26-30. He has put his man of the hour into the office of president of the United States in a miraculous way. Donald J. Trump defied all political odds and defeated the woman who the political world believed to be a sure thing as candidate for the presidency in 2016. Mr. Trump is a builder perhaps unparalleled in modern history. He is a businessman with acumen few can in truth deny. He is a friend of Israel like no other president. He has accomplished things in Israel no other president has come close to attempting. Some Israelis even are calling him their "king." I don't agree with the Israelis bestowing that nomenclature or the thought, but I put it here just to show the importance of this man who is not a godly one, but who is most definitely God's man for this crucial hour at the end of the Church Age. No matter what Satan's globalist hordes try against Trump, he prevails and even thrives. It is astonishing to behold. And, it is at least in part attributable to God's people invoking the prayer of 2 Chronicles 7:14, I have no doubt. The "Scanning a Fearful Future" series concluded by saying it is all in fulfillment of Christ's prophecy as listed in the "days of Noah, days of Lot" Scriptures above. We are in an unprecedented time of economic upturn-of building, selling and buying in this nation, even while the rest of the world is struggling. Thus, also, even though the signals abound that all could come crashing down. And many economic experts say it will do so at any moment. This is what they were saying, remember, back in 2010 and 2011. But God holds all in His omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent hand. Just like Jesus said, I believe that it will be just like in the days of Lot when Christ next catastrophically intervenes into the affairs of rebellious mankind. That evil generation was buying, selling, and building. Business was great. But the day Lot and his family went out of Sodom, God's judgment fell and destroyed the rebellious inhabitants. As stated near the end of that series, Christians need not fear that coming judgment and wrath. It will be not a fearful future, but a fantastic future we will face when the glorious event we call the Rapture occurs and we are suddenly in the presence of our Lord and Savior. As I view it, all is still on track to unfold exactly as I believe I was impressed to write those nine years ago. Messiah almost here and Orthodox Jews, Evangelicals know it, pastor says - By Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman - https://www.jpost.com/printarticle.aspx?id=600516 Orthodox rabbis and Evangelical Christians equally believe that the world is on the cusp of the Battle of Armageddon and that "we are about to see the messiah," said Dr. Jeffrey D. Johnson. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Johnson said that the reality of devout Jewish and Christians sharing this common bond, "should cause us all to pause and say, 'Oh my word, there is hope here.' In a world of great despair, there is hope in the messiah." Specifically, he said the common bond is in the belief that one day soon, there will be a war as described in Ezekiel 38-39, in which Israel will battle a coalition led by Persia, which is considered today to be Iran, and through this battle the messiah will come. He admitted that while there may be some theological differences about who the messiah is, the narratives are strikingly similar. "It's a common bond," he said, and the premise of Johnson's new book, Divine Mysteries: Concise and Thoughtful Ancient Biblical Wisdom. In the work, the author uses both the Tanakh (known by Christians as the Old Testament) and the New Testament to explain some of the Bible's most perplexing issues. Johnson, whose mother is Jewish but said he considers himself a Christian, is a former adjunct professor of systematic theology and has taught at universities around the world, including Harvard and Oxford. He is also the founder of Israel Today Ministries, which has provided tens of thousands of meals to poor Israeli children and Holocaust survivors. He says that any leader or pastor who wants to eradicate the Old Testament from modern-day Christianity is making the New Testament irrelevant as well. This goes against generations of Christians who understood that the Church has replaced Israel, and that the Jewish Bible became obsolete. Known as replacement theology, this doctrine diminishes the significance of Israel and the predictions of the Jewish prophets concerning Israel and the restoration of the Jewish people in their land. "It's a very dangerous doctrine," Johnson told the Post, explaining that replacement theology has been made popular by Bible teachers and leaders who promote it, which can lead to antisemitism and hatred of the Jewish people. RABBI TULY WEISZ, the founder of Israel365, an Orthodox Jewish organization in Israel that works to build a bridge between Jews and Christians based on their common religious roots, said that replacement theology "has led to all kinds of hostilities until this very day. "The synagogue shootings can be traced to the antisemitic notions that we refer to today as replacement theology - but throughout history this was just called Christian theology," he said. Weisz was referring to the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue massacre and the more recent shooting at a Chabad shul in Poway, California. While Johnson did not want to link these murders to replacement theology, he admitted that "bottom line, it really is an antisemitic understanding. "There are those who wish to eradicate, to do away with the Tanakh," he continued. "As a Christian Bible scholar, I can say that the Tanakh is God's word and it's the crucible from which Christianity was birthed. The early followers of Jesus - and Jesus himself - read the Tanakh. We cannot do away with the Tanakh - that is just foolish." He said that when Christians become familiar with the Jewish Bible, the natural by-product is that they love Israel and the Jewish people. "The good news is that there are a few seminaries that now are beginning to emphasize the Jewish roots of Christianity," Johnson said, which helps to counter those who believe in replacement theology. Weisz expressed similar sentiments. He published The Israel Bible, a 2,000-page bilingual English-Hebrew version of the Hebrew Bible that highlights the special connection between the Land and the People of Israel. The work is aimed at the Religious Zionist and Christian communities, which both share the messianic beliefs that Johnson described. "Historically, whenever Christians wanted to study the Jewish Bible it was for nefarious purposes: to bait the Jews, to prove they are right and we are wrong," Weisz said. "Today, in the modern era, many Christians are studying the Jewish Bible to come to a deeper understanding of the Jewish roots of their Christian faith and to come closer to the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, which is a wonderful thing. "Jewish people, by teaching non-Jews what the Bible says, are fulfilling our national mandate of being a light unto the nations," he concluded. Johnson said that his book is aimed at Evangelicals, but he also hopes that there will be Jews who want to read it so they can see that the core and foundation of Christianity is not antisemitic. "I know that historically, the Church has done some terrible things and that is very unfortunate," Johnson said. "But there is a turning point now and people are more educated. "There are millions of Christians and Messianics worldwide who love Israel," he continued, "and in their own way, they are standing with Israel." Daily Jot: Responding to this darkness as Christian Americans - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com As the Democratic National Committee has embraced the ungodly, Christian Americans need to take control of the narrative surrounding this divided nation. We need to look beyond the rhetoric and the media's negative and false reporting, and the Democratic Party's class and social warfare of division to foster change from the leftist tyrannical policies of globalism. We need to find ways to change the narrative of hate and take control of bringing a divided nation to unity. We can do this. But we have to set our emotions aside, hold in check our tendency toward offense, and pray and act with a purpose in mind. The current situation represents a tremendous opportunity to shine the light of Christ. We rejected the policies of division and tyranny at the ballot box in 2016. Those who were rejected have taken personal offense and labeled us haters. In doing so, they are showing hate. They are demonstrating, rioting, physically assaulting, and verbally abusing those with whom they disagree. It is so easy to respond with an eye for an eye. But brothers and sisters, this is the time when we need to speak into our nation, speak into our states, into our communities, into our neighborhoods and into our families. We need to talk about reason, calming the rhetoric-even if the other side doesn't want to hear it. We need not compromise our beliefs, but we can take a higher ground. We need to dismiss the premise of hate and bigotry and build our case for unity, and in doing so, show the light of Christ. This is a time when we need to deescalate the rhetoric and angriness of people who spew hate by accusing others of hate by saying, "I know you are upset, but isn't it time to put that aside and work for a better country? Isn't it time to see that your fellow Americans are not what the news media and the political establishment labeled them, but just people like you and me that want something better for their country, for their futures, even for their children? We have a system of laws and elections and decent people follow laws and respect the will of the people. I know you are a decent person." Then we need to demonstrate that treating everyone one fairly under the law is a good thing. It's time to come together and put aside the visceral, and reunite as a nation. While many don't believe this can happen, as Christians we are charged with being salt and light to the world. It's time for us to show leadership as Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Daily Devotion: Meet Me in Heaven - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.-John 14:1-3 Johnny Cash's brother Jack was two years older. Jack was his protector, best friend, fishing buddy, and mentor. The brothers were inseparable. No one who knew them back then can remember a cross word between them. Jack prayed all the time and was forever encouraging Johnny. "You need to be sure you follow the Lord in your life and in whatever you're doing," he'd say. By the time he was fourteen, Jack was close to wearing out the small-print Bible he carried with him everywhere. Cash remembered that while he listened to the radio every night before bedtime, Jack intently studied Scripture at the dining room table by the light of a kerosene lamp. One Saturday, as Jack and another student sawed posts on the pendulum saw at school, Jack was somehow yanked into the oversized, razor-sharp blade and sliced wide open. Jack clung to life for a week. Jack was under heavy sedation for the pain, with his entire family at his bedside. Jack looked at his father and asked, "Will you meet me in Heaven?" Ray Cash did the most unexpected thing: he fell to his knees and prayed, asking Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior. A moment later Jack said, "What a beautiful city! And the angels singing! Oh, Mama, I wish you could hear the angels singing!" Then he was gone. But death for a believer is not the end. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV) Jack was a spiritual encourager and example of faith in Johnny's life. Who has God placed in your life to encourage and build you up in the faith? "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3 NKJV). For believers, death is not the end. Jesus has given us the hope of Heaven. What do you look forward to most about Heaven? Do you already have loved ones there? "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14 NKJV) Even on his deathbed, Jack was shining the light of Jesus and inviting others into God's kingdom. Who can you share your faith with and invite to Heaven today? 
FROM THE HEART
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