Signs of the Times

Red sky in the morning, sailors warning! 

When the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus for an attesting sign, He replied, When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Then He asked them, Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? (Mt. 16:1-3).

Over 2000 prophecies scattered throughout the Scriptures predict future events. 

Three hundred of those were fulfilled in detail through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many others were completed throughout Israel's historical journeys. Now, approximately 600 remain to be carried out in the glorious and second coming of Jesus Christ.

The age in which we presently live is defined Biblically as the "last days" (Acts 2:14-18, Heb. 1:1-2).

These "last days" are synonymous to the "age of grace" or the "church age," in which all nations are invited to partake of God's blessings, rather than just Israel. (Rom. 11) This invitation will be extended up until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who then returns for those who have received Him as the Messiah, God's Redeemer. 

While both Jew and Gentile are granted this invitation now, God's focus is primarily on the Gentile nations. That focus will return to the nation of Israel in the near future to fulfill prophecies regarding their restoration (Acts 1:6, 3:21, Is. 2:1-2).

So, what are the signs of Christ returning? How will we know when the "fullness of the Gentiles is complete" and God's focus switches back to Israel? (Lk. 21:24, Ro. 11:25). 

Stay tuned for that...

I'd love to have you check out my book called Just Like the Days of Noah based on Matthew 24. I think you will be intrigued by how relevant Jesus prophecy in this chapter is to us today. Available from Crossbooks or Amazon.

The Parousia of Christ

The parousia refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ, an advent of power and glory, one that will stand in stark contrast to His first humble entrance into our world.

Because of the recent economic, political and even international changes we are now witnessing, not to mention the escalation of global disasters – I am compelled to share in a series of posts, what Christ Himself said that we can expect before His return. No, I am not being pessimistic about our future – I am being realistic. The “head in the sand” approach has never appealed to me and I hope it doesn’t you either. New Testament writers and the Christ Himself said to “Be alert. Be sober. Be ready.”

Current events are lining up as prophesied predecessors to the return of Jesus Christ. Are you aware of what Scripture says to expect and how to respond? Very clear directives are given and will prove themselves beneficial if we know what they are.

First, we can know that the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures (the Bible) is a source of reliable truth. Fulfilled prophecy validates the source as trustworthy. Over 300 prophecies have been precisely fulfilled in the first coming of the Messiah. Approximately 600 remain to be fulfilled in His second coming. In addition, many more prophecies were given by God regarding judgments against kings and nations prior to their occurring. Thus we can know with certainty that whatever God predicts will come to pass - will.

The second coming of Christ will be an event that obliterates all other historical accounts of miraculous interventions. The parting of the Red Sea, the destruction of the world by a flood, the judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah – will all pale in comparison to the heralding of the King of Kings as He returns with the sound of trumpets in majesty and glorious light. His return is a good thing – a really good thing because Jesus Christ will usher in the true peace that we all long for. What we will have to endure before that last trumpet sounds is what we need to be aware of and prepared for. I invite you to join me on a journey through the Scriptures for a revelation of what is and will come, regardless of where our current global chaos takes us. God willing, I will post every Monday the sequence of events. Come join me for an exciting revelation into the future!

A New Era Coming!

In my humble but firm opinion, there is not a more spectacular holiday than that of Christmas. I love the contagious sense of anticipation, warm crackling fires, brisk weather, green and red wreaths on our windows, doors and mantles, brightly lit trees permeating the landscape and of course – all the specific services designed to honor “Emmanuel” – God with us. There simply is no other day like Christmas!

Extensive energy goes into preparing for this holiday which commemorates the first coming of the Son of God. Yet, when this same King of kings returns in unprecedented power and glory, we will be celebrating His second coming for an extraordinary 1,000 years rather than just one day. Jesus will be revealed by His Father to the whole world when He returns – the Christ along with His Bride, the Church. The glorious marriage supper of the Lamb will then begin.

So, what are we doing to prepare for the Lord’s return and this 1,000 year marriage celebration?

Five years ago, I began to study and write on the timeline of Christ in Matthew 24. In that chapter, Jesus answers the disciples’ question – “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” In His response, Jesus highlights two prophetic signs to watch for that precedes the end along with a new beginning.

Since the return of Jesus Christ will be the most spectacular, supernatural phenomena to ever occur in the history of heaven and earth, shouldn’t we be aware of it? Just as any of us would make preparations for an earthly marriage ceremony, we should also know that there are measures to take for this heavenly one.

“Just Like the Days of Noah,” is a 7 week Bible study on Matthew 24. We are given this timeline by Christ to know it. Then, in knowing it, we are more adequately prepared.

I have a website to support the study – justlikethedaysofnoah.com. You can also go to Crossbooks.com or Amazon.com to purchase a copy. Regardless of the many views on future events, the teaching of Christ is trustworthy and stands resolute above them all.

Blessings to you as we embark on a new year, 2013!

If 2012 is any kind of barometer or projection, we need to objectively consider what may be ahead and fortify our hearts with a sound faith that will stand in difficult times…a sound faith that can stand, until the Lord returns. To that end, and by the mercies and grace of God - have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'd love to have you check out my book called Just Like the Days of Noah based on Matthew 24. I think you will be intrigued by how relevant Jesus prophecy in this chapter is to us today. Available from Crossbooks or Amazon.

A Generation of Genocide

I totally love the freedom that we as Americans have to vote for our national and local leaders. I also respect the differences in our religious beliefs and feel that we should protect this freedom to think independently – to think period. However, with such freedom, comes accountability and responsibility before God. Would you agree? To make choices based solely on personal preferences or social agendas is to flirt with the loss of God’s blessing, protection and favor. Never has that choice been more critical than with this 2012 presidential election.

We have watched the presidential and vice-presidential debates of 2012. Both sides herald promises and predictions. Both sides reveal weaknesses and strengths, divergent social and foreign policies as well as economic platforms. Both candidates stand ready to tackle the decline of this nation before we completely crash and burn, which will take place in the next four years if they don’t.

There is one major issue that Mitt Romney is willing to tackle yet Barack Obama is not, a sin that God will soon judge America for, regardless of who our President and Congress is – if we do not stop.

America is undeniably guilty of a generation of genocide – her mass murdering of 3,700 babies daily, and the glaring total record of over 53,000,000 massacred babies since 1973, when our Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe vs. Wade. The year 2013 will mark a 40 year anniversary of infanticide, America destroying her young, those whom God knit together in the womb.

Are we so arrogant to think that personal rights and agendas should take precedence over the plan and will of God? Yet that is the thinking today, which translates into a tolerance of sin because a child might be conceived out of wedlock or a criminal act or might present a financial risk. Since the woman’s body belongs to her rather than God (she thinks), she has the right to choose (she thinks) whether or not the life within her should live or die. In this wrong thinking, in any wrong thinking, we rationalize sin.

Adolf Hitler convinced his German constituents that minorities, especially Jews, were inferior, unconsequential, ineligible contributions to society. Similar propaganda has convinced Americans that the unborn is not even living and void of rights themselves from the time of conception.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:16)

The most common abortion process today is known as the “suction aspiration.” In this procedure, the cervix is dilated, a hollow plastic tube inserted into the uterus with a sharp tip. The fetus is cut and ripped into pieces before being suctioned out by that hollow tube. What are we killing, if this child is not alive? Why would a non-livng fetus have arms and legs that are being sawn into pieces? Other abortion procedures available include skull crushing (for older fetuses) and chemical poisoning for those who don’t like the idea of butchering. Does it relieve our sense of guilt to crush and dismember a baby before it is removed from the womb rather than after?

Fighting for abortion does not liberate the woman or elevate her to a godlike status. It shames her. Women are honored through the raising of children, not the killing of them. In addition, the abortion procedures put the mother at risk and increase her chances of breast cancer, according to recent studies. But that is not the main reason to stop this sin, and murder will always be – sin. If we do not stop killing the unborn, the innocent, the life that God Himself has ordained to live – this same Creator will remove His blessing from America, just as He has every other nation who did the same thing.

Mitt Romney is willing to confront and end this generation of genocide. We as a nation need to support his effort before the righteous judgment of God intervenes. Forty years is more than enough – 53,000,000 young Americans murdered by our own hands, not by war, not by natural disaster but by our own hands. 

I'd love to have you check out my book called Just Like the Days of Noah based on Matthew 24. I think you will be intrigued by how relevant Jesus prophecy in this chapter is to us today. Available from Crossbooks or Amazon.

The Road Before Us

It's becoming increasingly more difficult to live the Christian faith in our day because unalterable truth is being cloaked by popular demand.

For this very reason, in my last six posts, I have shared Eldredge's book Epic. He highlights the meaning of our existence and conflict by summarizing the Story God is telling.

What difference does it make that we understand His-story and the part we play? Can’t we just believe in God as our Creator and let it go at that? Well, living according to real truth makes a difference in how we truly live. What good does it do us to merely acknowledge our Creator yet be unaware of His plan?

It's like entering a race but then not running. Surely one understands that the purpose of entering the race is to run the course! One of my favorite lines from the movie, Chariots of Fire, is "If you don't run, you can't win." Great movie, by the way.

This is what Eldredge says - “We live in a far more dramatic, far more dangerous Story than we ever imagined. The reason we love The Chronicles of Narnia or Star Wars or The Matrix or The Lord of the Rings is because they are telling us something about our lives that we never, ever get on the evening news. Or from most pulpits. They are reminding us of the Epic we are created for.”

In other words, God puts the plan in our hearts which surfaces through the stories we write and tell. He also reveals it in His Word and even brings it to life in and through Jesus Christ.

It seems to me that most of us spend our lives circling the airport, looking for a significant place to land. We don’t quite know what to aim for, so we just circle and circle and circle, waiting for some entitlement or abridged enlightenment.

In His Word, God has explained our existence as having overwhelming significance and purpose. Life did not occur when heavy metals such as copper and zinc leaked from granite rock into a puddle of slim to activate a lifeless cell of undetermined origin. Are we seriously going to believe that over there being a Creator with a plan and purpose for His creation?

In Epic's last chapter, "The Road Before Us," Eldredge summarizes his book by reminding us that 1) Things aren’t what they seem to be. You are required to live by faith in the promises of God, despite what you see. 2) You are at war and must take the battle against God’s kingdom seriously. 3) You have a crucial role to play and only Jesus Christ, the author of your salvation can direct you into the part designed specifically for you.

Engage the Savior...discover your part in His-story. And don't just enter the race - run to win! Blessings!