imminence

The world is going crazy. Things are deteriorating at a pace that older people have never seen happen so fast in previous generations. People who don’t believe in Jesus even are noticing this. Many people are asking, “What’s going on?”

This is where prophecy comes in. Prophecy is the future told in advance. In order for the future to be told with such detail accuracy in its fulfillment, only God, who is outside of time and the author of history, can do so.

“There is no way to explain the Bible’s ability to predict the future unless we see God as its Author. For example, the Old Testament contains more than three hundred references to the Messiah of Israel that were precisely fulfilled by JesusChrist (Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah). Peter Stoner, a scientist in the area of mathematical probabilities, said in his book Science Speaks that if we take just eight of the Old Testament prophecies Christ fulfilled, we find that the probability of their coming to pass is one in 10¹⁷.” (source)

God said that this world will end. This affects every human being living at the time of when it happens. During the Tribulation, it will be a time of UNcreation, when the orderly creation account we read in Genesis is reversed but in a chaotic and horrific way. For example, every island will flee away and every mountain will be thrown down. (Revelation 16:20). This prophesied event will affect every person living on the planet. For those who are not alive during this period when God’s wrath descends to earth, affecting everyone on it, He said that some will be awakened to everlasting life and others to everlasting wrath. (Daniel 12:2). Either way, prophecy has meaning for every person who ever lived or is living at the time of fulfillment, believer in Jesus or not a believer. Therefore, prophecy is of utmost importance.

The purpose of prophecy

Considering such weighty emphasis upon prophecy in the Scriptures, we may properly ask regarding its purpose in God’s unfolding plan. Why did our heavenly Father cause so much of his word and revelation to consist of prophetic utterances that spoke of future times, circumstances, and events? All Scripture, we understand, “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). But what is the special role that prophecy holds in influencing the life of the believer?” (source)

All scripture is profitable. (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Since two-thirds of the bible is prophecy, it is obvious that God put the words of prophecy in the bible to profit us for His purposes.

Prophecy exists to reveal the glory of God:
“I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done” (Isa. 46:9, 10).

Prophecy exists to establish the bible’s credibility and to authenticate the biblical speakers of prophecy, including the Triune God and the men that God designated to speak His words. (2 Peter 1:21).

Prophecy exists to enlighten the believer and to stimulate to activity. (Mark 13:23). (source)

I hope you understand by now how important prophecy is to the believer and non-believer alike. So the next question is,

What does God say is going to happen?

God has been working since before the foundation of the world. He is still working. (John 5:17). After He created humans there was an entire span of time He was doing works that will result in His glory. But then Jesus came. In the days of His flesh (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus taught and performed signs and miracles to prove who He was. Then He was killed and nailed to a cross and absorbed all God’s wrath for sinners. (2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:5-6).

Pleased with His son’s obedience, God raised Jesus on the third day and soon after, Jesus ascended to heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. (Hebrews 12:2). When Jesus ascended, the Spirit came and thus began this present age, the age where Jesus is building His church. (Matthew 16:18).

When the church is complete, Jesus will call His church to heaven in an event known as the rapture. (Romans 11:25, 2 Thess 2:1-12, 1 Thess 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:52). All those who have come to saving faith in Him since He began building His church will arise from their graves or from their live bodies, be glorified instantly and meet Jesus in the air. He will lead us to heaven, where we will enjoy the Bema Rewards ceremony where our works we performed while int he flesh will be tested. Then we’ll having received our crowns for works done in His name on earth that stood the test.

During that time in heaven there will be ceremonies and activities and hallelujahs and praise. But back on earth, there will be Tribulation. (Matthew 24:21). This tribulation will involve Israel, and the whole world. Since all believers will have been taken to heaven at the rapture, and along with them, the indwelling Holy Spirit, His restraining ministry will cease.

Did you know that the Spirit restrains man from the worst they can do? Did you ever wonder why there isn’t a Hitler or a Jeffrey Dahmer every day? Man are totally depraved and sinful, but they don’t do their worst because the Spirit restrains us. (Genesis 6:3). When Jesus calls us to Him in heaven the Spirit will still draw men to belief but He won’t restrain sin. Sin will be loosed to run fully rampant. (Daniel 9:27).

It will be a time of unparalleled evil in the world. Murders and heinous acts and death and disease and horror and hell on earth. It will be a time of the uncreation of the world. Volcanoes, earthquakes, heat, hail, drought, bloody waters, and more. Demons marauding and putrid corpses. Hell.

This tribulation will begin immediately after the rapture. It will last 7 years. Most of the world will die.

Then at the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return. He will rescue His remnant left on earth, kill the armies assembled against Him at Armageddon, and install His throne on earth. peace will reign for 1000 years. This is called the Millennial Kingdom, because it will last 1000 years. Ezekiel 41 onward has the scene.

At the end of that time, satan who had been bound for the 1000 years, will be loosed so as to deceive the nations one last time, and many will follow him. Jesus will squash the rebellion, he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, and all who ever lived will be resurrected to face their judgment. This is known as the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and it will occur at the end of time. Glorified bodies will be given to those who are raised from death, so that those who are destined for hell can withstand their eternal punishment, and those who are destined for eternity with Jesus can withstand looking Him full in the face with all His glory. The eternal state will begin as the earth melts away. (2 Peter 3:10). The bible doesn’t say what comes next.

So if you have followed along, the rapture is the next event in God’s long, long plan for humankind. Please be on board with all that is required to join Jesus in the air. You don’t need your money. You don’t need your works. You don’t need baggage or clothes, those will be provided. All you need is faith in the work and person of Jesus Christ, to lay your sin down at His feet, sorrowful for your blasphemies against Him. This is called repentance. He will forgive you of those crimes and invite you to His abode in heaven, He will give you His spirit as a seal of the guarantee of your place.

“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess 5:6).

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Peter 4:7).

On Twitter I read Steve Schippert’s note. It got my attention. “@SteveSchippert, Good Morning! While you were sleeping, Syrian tanks violated Golan Heights. Q is how localized decision was.” Here is the news of it-

Syrian tanks enter demilitarized Israeli frontier
BEIRUT (AP) — Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel said, raising concerns violence from Syria’s civil war could heat up a long-quiet frontier that has not seen such an incursion in nearly 40 years. Israel complained to U.N. peacekeepers present in the area, a relatively low-key response that suggested it did not see the Syrian armor as an immediate threat. But the entry marks the most serious spillover of Syria’s turmoil to date at the frontier, where stray ordnance has exploded on the Israeli side in the past.”

The Golan Heights are strategically important to Israel. The Israel Project explains a brief history of the Golan Heights, situated at Israel’s north along the border with Syria:

“The Golan Heights were captured from Syria in 1967 as a valuable military asset. Prior to 1967, Israelis living in the valleys below the Golan Heights suffered rocket fire and terrorist attacks from Syria for more than a dozen years. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all of the Golan Heights in Israeli control, while returning a narrow demilitarized zone to Syrian control. Since losing control of the territory, Syria has made clear that any peace negotiations with Israel would require a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory to the pre-1967 borders.”

The Israel Project explains why the Heights are so important. If you go to their site you can click on their footnotes for verifications of all facts.

“The topography of the Golan serves as a natural blockade against any military attack from Syria. The Golan is essentially one high-altitude plateau that overlooks southern Syria and serves as an excellent vantage point for Israel to keep track of Syrian military movements.”

‘Advances in ballistic technology in recent years have increased the importance of keeping control of this strategic high ground and maintaining geographic depth. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, control of the eastern mountain ridge of the Golan helped 177 Israeli tanks to repel 1,400 Syrian tanks.”

“The Sea of Galilee borders the southwestern Golan and provides one-third of Israel’s fresh water supply. In 1964, the Syrians attempted to impair Israeli access to fresh water through a damming project, which the Israel Defense Forces ultimately thwarted. Israel has utilized the fertility of the Golan landscape to enrich and expand Israel’s agricultural sector. About 40 percent of Israeli beef, 30 percent of Israeli fruit and 38 percent of Israeli wine exports come from the Golan.”

So you can see that any incursion into Israel’s Golan Heights is cause for concern. Israel’s response was immediate. Today Al Arabiya reports,

Israeli army on high alert as Syrian tanks enter Golan Heights
“Three Syrian tanks entered a demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights, which was set up in the 1974 disengagement treaty, raising Israel’s high alert as the Israeli military chief observed the area a day after the entrance of the tanks and warned his soldiers to be on high alert. On Sunday, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz warned Israeli soldiers, occupying the heights area, of the escalating violence in Syria and expressed concerns of possible spread of the Syrian conflict across the border.”

“This is a Syrian affair that could turn into our affair,” the army’s website quoted Gantz during his visit to the troops on the frontier.”

“Marco Carminjani, an official with the U.N. body supervising the zone, said he could not immediately confirm the entry of the tanks. But if the report is true, he said, it would be a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement between Syria and Israel. He said it would be the first such move in the zone since the accord.”

In other news,

“Iran has built an advanced drone which can take off vertically without a runway, Iranian state media says“
(Reuters) – Iran has built an advanced drone that can take off vertically and without a runway, Iranian media reported. Iran’s military regularly announces defense and engineering developments, though some analysts are skeptical of the reliability of such reports. Abbas Jam, researcher on a project for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone, said on Saturday that the drone would be tested that day and “unveiled” next year, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.”

Israel has been responding to each Iranian military and technological advance with an advance of their own. At some point the men in charge of these toys are going to want to try them out. And Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39, (and don’t forget Zechariah 12-14) tells us that they will. The only question is wondering how many of these battles will occur on this side of the rapture and how many after we are gone. We do not know. That is one reason the tension among Christians is so high. However, we all feel the imminence.

Iron Dome Upgraded to Meet Iranian Missile Threat
“The Ministry of Defense officially announced Sunday that a series of tests to the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system has been successfully completed, in an important step in the IDF’s plans to upgrade the system. Following the tests, IDF forces will acquire an additional Iron Dome battery, this one with improved capabilities. The new battery, which will be the IDF’s fifth, will soon be transferred to the IAF. The series of tests was designed to broaden the activities of the Iron Dome system and to improve its capabilities against an unprecedented variety of threats. The advancement of the system will enable it to handle the threats posed by Iran’s Fajr and Zelzal missiles.”

Imminence spoken of by John McTernan
“For you that followed this blog for a long time, I can tell you that there is a strong dread over me for America. It is as if the nation was already judged, Something has radically changed in the heavenlies.”

And Todd Strandberg:
“We are now at a point where disasters have become so frequent and massive is scale, the news life cycle of an single event is very brief. Tropical Storm Irene was a bad storm, but it has been wiped from everyone’s memory by Hurricane Sandy.God is clearly trying to get man’s attention with all these calamities. The Lord is very patient, but He is no fool. Eventually, the warnings will end and the final judgment will begin. “Am I truly ready?” is the question everyone needs to ask themselves.”

And Joel Rosenberg:
“That said, we also need to pray for the peace and protection of the nation of Israel, and all of the inhabitants of the epicenter, be they Jews or Arabs. Given all the sins we are committing as a nation — and the danger we face of God’s judgment — the last thing we dare do is forget, or abandon, or turn away from, or stand against the nation of Israel.”

And John MacArthur:
“I don’t know how much time America has left, I really don’t. But we’re on a course described here as God casting us out. The land has become defiled. “I’ve brought its punishment upon it,” verse 25, “so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.”

The most important thing is to continue to pray. Stay connected to Him. He is a Mighty Rock in a weary land!

“Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:2)

Category: imminence

What’s going to happen in the end time?

Syrian tanks in Golan Heights?