We are humble before the Lord, but we should also look to the examples of our fathers and mothers in the bible to remember how strongly and boldly they prayed. In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah is praying in thanks to the LORD for the gift of her son, but the song is so much more than that. Did you know that this prophetic prayer is the first time we read of a someone uttering the “MESSIAH’ or the “Anointed” in the bible? Here is the song, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, then some commentary about it, to encourage you
Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Beautiful! In the bible, ‘horn’ is the symbol of strength. Hannah is not magnifying herself when she says that her horn is lifted high. She is saying that in Him, she is strong.
Clarke says, “she describes the promised Savior of the world as a King, before there was any king in Israel; and she first applied to him the remarkable epithet Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek, and Anointed in English, which was adopted by David, Nathan, Ethan, Isaiah, Daniel, and the succeeding prophets of the Old Testament; and by the apostles and inspired writers of the New.”
As Barnes Notes describes, “The song of Hannah is a prophetic Psalm. It is poetry. And it is prophecy. It takes its place by the side of the songs of Miriam, Deborah, and the Virgin Mary, as well as those of Moses, David, Hezekiah, and other Psalmists and prophets whose inspired odes have been preserved in the Bible. The special feature which these songs have in common is, that springing from, and in their first conception relating to, incidents in the lives of the individuals who composed them, they branch out into magnificent descriptions of the Kingdom and glory of Christ, and the triumphs of the Church,”
Matthew Henry says, “Hannah’s heart rejoiced, not in Samuel, but in the Lord. She looks beyond the gift, and praises the Giver. She rejoiced in the salvation of the Lord, and in expectation of His coming, who is the whole salvation of his people….And here is the first time that we meet with the name MESSIAH, or his Anointed.”
Pray boldly, pray confidently. Know that your Savior, long prophesied from the time of Hannah, has come. The Kingdom she has alluded to, is soon to come. Picture the words from her mouth as musical notes wafting through time, woven throughout the pages of the epochs of the bible, to land in your heart, today. Love the Lord in all praise and confidence.
Last night’s quake swarm evidently did trigger or was a precursor to a volcanic eruption at Eritrea. There are several volcanoes in that region, though Nabro is said to have never erupted and Dubbi last erupted in 1861. The volcanoes in that area have been quiet ever since. Until last night. Here is the progression of the news:
Eritrea quakes “A series of moderate earthquakes struck the Eritrea – Ethiopia border region on Sunday evening, seismologists said, but it was not immediately known if there was damage or if there were casualties. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a total of 14 light to moderate earthquakes in the border area on Sunday evening, with the strongest being two 5.7-magnitude earthquakes which were both centered in Eritrea.”
Seismologists, volcanologists, and knowledgeable laymen immediately noticed the unusual nature of these quakes. They were strong, and they were occurring in a pattern that suggested a circle around a known volcanic region.
Then people noticed what looked to be an ash plume forming, seen in successive satellite photos. The cloud seemed to be stationed over one area, but grow over time, lengthening in the all-too-familiar plume formation. It looked for all the world like an ash plume, not a thunderstorm. But how can this be? The area was thought to be fairly dormant for volcanoes?
Getting news from the area was difficult because of the nature of the remoteness and lack of infrastructure to disperse news quickly. The quakes were a fact, confirmed on USGS and EMSC. Whether these quakes were related to the Nabro or Dubbi volcanoes, I was not sure. I went to bed.
This morning, the net was alive with stories swirling about this unusual event. It WAS a volcanic eruption!! Irish Weather Online explains:
Major Eruption Of Nabro Volcano In Eritrea “The Anabro (Nabro) volcano in the Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea in Africa has erupted sending an ash plume more than 15 kilometres into the sky. Part of the Afar Triangle, the stratovolcano is one of many volcanic caldera complexes in the north easternmost part of the East African Rift valley region. It is located in the Danakil Depression, close to Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia and north of Djibouti, and has not erupted in at least 150 years.”
“The volcano erupted at 2103 GMT Sunday evening. The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) said Monday that the 5,331 ft volcano has resulted in a large ash plume of up to 8 miles high. The eruption was preceded by seven moderate earthquakes yesterday afternoon. A 5.6 magnitude quake at 9.03 signalled the start of the eruption. The quake was centred 48 km south of the town of Edd (pop 11,259) and 199 km southwest of the city of Al-h’udaydah (pop 617,871). A 4.6 magnitude quake followed less than 35 minutes later.”
“The ash cloud from the volcano could potentially cause some disruption to air traffic in the region. According to Irish Weather Online senior forecaster Peter O’Donnell, the ash cloud is heading west towards Sudan. “The eruption happened in Nabro, a stratovolcano that has not erupted in historic times. (some early reports mention Dubbi or Dubbo to the north but satellite imagery confirms the source as Nabro). Potentially, there could be impacts on visibility and optics over at least parts of southern Europe and west Africa, the Middle East … but there would be no direct impacts on Ireland from present information.” The largest known historical eruption in Africa occurred on May 1861 when the Dubbi volcano, also located in Eritrea, showered maritime traffic in the Red Sea with pumice and plunged coastal settlements into darkness.”
The volcanism blog has the more scientific facts–
Ash cloud from Eritrean volcano Dubbi, erupted June 12
Volcanism blog: plume picture A significant eruption is evidently under way at Dubbi volcano (although there is still some doubt about the precise identity of the volcano involved) in Eritrea, north-east Africa. An earthquake swarm occurred during during the evening of 12 June, with moderate quakes followed by two strong quakes of magnitude 5.7, all around 10 km depth: 12 June 2011 15:37UTC: mag 5.1 Eritrea-Ethiopia region (USGS info) 12 June 2011 19:21UTC: mag 5.0 Ethiopia (USGS info) 12 June 2011 20:32UTC: mag 5.7 Eritrea-Ethiopia region (USGS info) 12 June 2011 21:03UTC: mag 5.7 Eritrea-Ethiopia region (USGS info)
“A volcanic eruption appears to have begun around the time of the last 5.7M earthquake, at about 21:00 UTC. Toulouse VAAC identified the volcano as Dubbi and issued two Volcanic Ash Advisories so far for this eruption today: at 04:00 UTC the eruption was reported to have started at 23:00 UTC on 12 June 2011, and to have produced a plume between FL150/300 (15,000-30,000 feet/4,500-9,000 metres altitude), while at 06:00 UTC the volcano was described as being in ‘continuous emission’ with ash at FL300 (30,000 feet/9,000 metres altitude) and trending W/WNW.”
“Dubbi was responsible for the largest known volcanic eruption in Africa in historical time, in 1861: more than 100 people were killed, ash fell more than 300 km from the volcano and the lava flows travelled 22 km and reached the Red Sea. Other possible candidates for the current eruption include Nabro and Mallahle. UPDATE. Thanks to Clive Oppenheimer of Cambridge University (via Earthquake-Reports) we have a useful news report from the Cambridge Geography Department site related to Clive’s Eruptions that Shook the World book: Eruption in Eritrea, 12 June 2011. ‘Loud explosions were heard in Afdera, across the border in Ethiopia, and ashfall is reported as far as Mekele in Tigray province’ … the identity of the volcano is still to be confirmed – Nabro or Dubbi?”
That is the news, and those are the scientific facts. Here is the biblical fact: Jesus said that the time between His ascension and the time He came back would be like birth pangs. We know that birth pains grow from almost unnoticed, to very frequent and painful. Then the rapture would happen and the Tribulation would begin. Jesus still has 7 years in the Decree stated in Daniel to work with His people the Jews. In that 7 year period he would punish them for their transgressions, and do 5 other things. Here is the link to the passage in Daniel 9:20-27 which explains the Lord’s purpose for the Tribulation.
We, the Church, have had our sins wiped away, they are remembered no more (Colossians 1:22; Colossians 2:14). Therefore we are not to be punished (Acts 3:19), nor are we appointed to wrath. The Tribulation’s wrath is stated to begin in Revelation 6 with the opening of the seals.
In explaining all this, Jesus sat down with His disciples at the Mount of Olives and answered their questions about the signs of the end of the age. Jesus said that one of those signs would be earthquakes in diverse places. I think a sudden and powerful volcanic eruption coming out of nowhere and the first in recent history qualifies as diverse.
Even more prophetically, the nations in that area are part of coming events. In Ezekiel 38-39 it is explained that an alliance of nations attack Israel- and almost win. This alliance includes Iran, Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and the northern tier of Africa, where these quakes were and eruption was. Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan, are all mentioned. The larger context is that Cush and Put are the regions that will join with Iran to attack Israel, and those include larger territories than the nations’ borders of today. In effect, the northern tier of Africa decides to join with Russia and Iran and go against God’s people in an evil attempt to wipe them out and steal their riches. This is known as the Gog-Magog battle and though the timing of it is not stated n the bible from other events that occur before and after, we can put it in a general time of this battle being the gateway to the Tribulation.
While I was watching the Eritrea event occur last night, there was a powerful quake at Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Chilean volcano erupted again, sending the lower part of the world into a frenzy due to airplane flight cancellations because of ash. The birth pangs are occurring so frequently now that they overlap, and their increasing impact on the world is incredible. I feel that the time is so short that we may even hear the trumpet and the call to “Come up here!” any moment. Surely the time is near. Please repent, please seek Jesus as your savior and your Lord. Your eternal destiny depends on it.
A reader sent me an interesting story out of Maryland. An Episcopal church has decided to convert, en masse, to Catholicism. The parishioners, along with the pastor, wants to be under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and its pope. Why? “[C]hurch members said, they were satisfying their longing for a clear religious authority by welcoming the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI.” It was not because their denomination allowed gay and lesbian ordination of pastors. No, that wasn’t it, sad to say. It wasn’t because of bitter land disputes around the country costing tens of millions, either, as “Seven breakaway Northern Virginia congregations have been in court for more than four years with the Episcopal Church” over land issues. No, the congregation is converting because they want authority and they decided that the Reformation was a mistake. “It feels fantastic,” Delaney said. “It’s like correcting 500 years of history.”
The thirst for authority has come, they say, because of the dearth in leadership in their congregations, and the ‘absolute authority’ of the Pope is attractive enough to fill that spiritual void. “In the Episcopal Church, bishops in one place say one thing and in another say another,” explained Patrick Delaney, a lay leader from Mitchellville. “That’s the crux of it. Each bishop has its own kingdom.”
They forgot that their authority is Jesus, the Word!
This story is emblematic of the larger problem of the prophesied apostasy. Apostasy is a falling away from the truth. The word Paul used in the prophecy of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is ‘apostasia’ meaning a defection, or leaving a previous standing. Apostasy is not new to the church. Almost immediately, the church was infested with people falling away, and Paul even used these words to describe one group that defected [from the Truth]: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;” (Galatians 1:6).
But Jesus said that at the end of days and as a sign of His coming, defection from the truth would occur in widespread fashion. In Matthew 24:5 He said, “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ’ and will deceive many.” And in verse 10 He reiterates, “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,” and in Luke 18:8b Jesus asked rhetorically, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Other examples of a current falling away come to mind. Charismatics, many in holiness Pentecostal churches, allow personal revelation and spiritual experience to be added to the Divine Word. It’s gotten so bad in some cases that they allow personal revelation and ‘spiritual’ experience to be the authority for the congregation instead of the Word. When one member stands up and says “God told me and we should do the following,” they DO, even if it is against the Word!
In the case of Mormons, they have allowed an angel named Moroni bringing a different Gospel to become their authority. Even though Paul wrote in Galatians 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” Mormons accepted what “Angel Moroni” had to say and a cult was born. The Mormon issue is serious because one who holds great political and cultural and political sway is Mormon Glenn Beck, and two candidates running for President are Mormon. (former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.). The article “Mainline Protestants need not apply” remarks on how none of the current 2012 Presidential candidates are from traditional Protestant denominations.
The figure atop all Latter Day Saints (Mormon) temples is the angel Moroni. Jesus is not given that high position of worshipful adoration, a false angel is, even though the Word says not to do it! (Rev 22:8-9)
In these three cases, either a fallible man (Pope) has become their authority, or personal experience has become their authority, or an angel has become their authority. The Catholics allowed the Word to be swamped under Tradition. The Charismatics have allowed the Word to be added to. The Mormons allowed the Word to be rewritten.
I believe all humans have an inherent compass that seeks ultimate authority. We chafe under authority sometimes but we all need it and we all look for it. In the cases of apostasy, that drive to find ultimate authority has been jogged off the path of righteousness toward a false authority of some kind or another. In all cases, from Paul’s time to this, the mistake is the same. They left their first love. The sin of the Church at Ephesus so described by Jesus in the Revelation 2:4 is that they declined in love, slipped and slid away from sound doctrine. They were not completely cold. But the condition of the faithful at the end of the age is one that WILL have lost all its warmness. Paul warns Timothy that people will be unholy and without love (2 Tim 3:2b-3a). Jesus prophesied that at the very end, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” (Mt 24:12)
When fervency for the Word is lost, other doctrines creep in, and so do other authorities. The bible and its doctrines are all-important because Jesus IS the Word, and the Word IS Jesus! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) When you submit to His authority you submit to the Word, and when you submit to the Word, you submit to Jesus. Accepting other authorities means you set Jesus aside and accept not the truth. Then begins a long, downward spiral. It’s like that 70s song by Johnny Lee, “Looking for love in all the wrong places“
Mark 12:24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
The authority is not the Pope. The authority is not Moroni. The authority is not a spiritual revelation given by a dream or a word. The authority is Jesus and His Word. Do not leave your first love. Why? Because He first loved US! (1 John 4:19)
————————————- For fun, listen to the video again but through a filter of Jesus and the truth. Video.
I’ve spent a lifetime looking for you Single bars and good time lovers, never true Playing a fools game, hoping to win Telling those sweet lies and losing again.
I was looking for love in all the wrong places Looking for love in too many faces Searching your eyes, looking for traces Of what.. I’m dreaming of… Hopin’ to find a friend and a lover God bless the day I discover Another heart, lookin’ for love
You came a’knocking at my heart’s door.. You’re everything I’ve been looking for.. … God bless the day I discover You, oh You, lookin’ for love
There is a strange doctrine spoken of in the bible, in Genesis 6, and alluded to in several other places in the Old and the New Testaments. The doctrine is also prophesied to occur again in the last days. Strange as this one is, it behooves us to pursue doctrines in good faith, to learn what the Word may be saying to us. It involves the Fallen angels, women, and the Nephilim, their ungodly offspring.
That the fallen angels came to earth and mated with women, is a certainty in my interpretation, though others try to make it into what the scriptures say it’s not but by so doing twist the scriptures to adhere to their pre-suppositions. I always take the plain meaning when it is presented. Here is what the verse says, you decide- “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” (Genesis 6:1-2)
In the next verses God determined to destroy all living matter on the earth, except for Noah, who had found grace with the LORD.
Could it be? Fallen angels mated with women, took them, actually, and offspring were born? But angels can’t have sex, you say. They cite Mark 12:25, or Matthew 22:30: “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” The verse says they do not marry, not that they cannot. Angels are eternal, and eternal beings have no need to make more of themselves. They’re eternal. Unless they have an evil goal in mind, that is.
The Genesis verse continues, “There were giants [Nephilim] in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:4-5, NKJV)
The NIV and King James use Nephilim instead of “giants”. Who were these “mighty men”? One was Goliath, a giant for sure, along with his brothers. (1 Samuel 14:4;2 Samuel 21:18-22 KJV). Og, King of Bashan was another. “For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit.” That means his bed was 18′ X 8′. (Deuteronomy 3:11). Raphaim, from which their tribe was named, means giant, from the Hebrew Rapha.
The giants were on earth in the Land shown by God to Joshua. He and the 12 spies saw that the grape clusters were so large they had to be carried by two men (Numbers 13:13) and that the Anakites were there. Anak means long necked giant and in Deut 1:26-28 & 2:10-11 we learn that they were descended from the Rapha.
There are many other examples, but it seems that the fallen angels of the earliest days of humanity on earth, took women, and the women bore children who were hybrids, half human and half celestial. The women were killed in the flood and the angels who did this were rounded up and jailed in chains in the lowest abyss (Tartarus) until judgment (Jude 1:6) If you know your pagan religions, and later the Greek and Roman mythology, this factual event that the bible describes is represented in mythology of the ‘gods’ who came to earth and took women, producing half-celestial, half human hybrids, such as Hercules.
“The rout of the fallen angels”, Illus to Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. By Wm. Blake
Some examples from Greek mythology are Antiope, the daughter of the Boeotian river god Asopus. Her beauty attracted Zeus, who, assuming the form of a satyr, took her by force. Zeus was busy, he also took Leda while disguised as a swan, and he took Semele as a smooth seducer. Zeus took Alcmene by transfiguring himself into the image of her husband. Zeus resorted to deception to get at Callisto. Callisto had taken a vow of chastity as one of the women who served Artemis, but He came to her disguised as Artemis, and when she let down her guard Zeus raped her. Zeus came to Danae as a shower of golden coins. Neptune took Aethra by force. The satyrs chased everyone.
In ancient mythology, the ‘gods’ who came down from the heavens could enchant, seduce, transfigure, and take all the women that they chose, who later bore hybrid children endowed with supernatural powers and who were giants. In mythology Hercules and Perseus are two examples. In the bible, these were Og, Goliath, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were the children of Anak; and many others individuals and tribes of giants who were mighty men of renown. You see the parallels.
The Fallen angels under the direction of Satan attempted to corrupt the bloodline of the people whom Jesus said would spring forth the savior. They were successful enough so that by the time of the Flood, the intents of people’s hearts was only evil, continually. Noah was perfect in his generations, meaning, his bloodline was untainted by the genetic corruption the fallen angels were wreaking. God judged all humans and all of the fallen angels who had done this, but spared Noah and the other 7 because they had found grace. The fallen angels didn’t stop, though. After the Flood, there was a second infestation of the Nephilim, resulting progeny of the fallen angels and women whom they chose (“…and also after that” Gen 6:4). These tribes, several of which I mentioned above, were active in the Land until David. After David wiped out the last of them, this particular kind of assault on humanity seems to have sunk into the recesses of myth and cultural memory. Until, perhaps, the Tribulation.
There have been many books written on the subject. It seems to fascinate, and I admit it fascinates me too. I’ve written about the Nephilim and genetic modification here, and UFOs and the Nephilim here. Also about the Nephilim and vampires, here. Patrick Heron wrote a very good book, “The Nephilim and the Pyramid of the Apocalypse.” At the link, you can read the introduction and the first chapter, buy the book, or download it on iTunes. Chuck Missler preached on it in a series, here.
I’ve been reading the Creation verses a lot lately. Genesis 1 is wonderful and it fascinates me completely. I am also listening to John MacArthur’s series on Creation and last night I heard him explain the verses relating to Day 3. I think it is so important to be thoroughly familiar with the Creation verses because they are under such assault. The Spirit has impressed me with this, and when I read in the local newspaper an opinion piece by the founder of the paper that he believes evolution and creation are co-existent, I couldn’t let it go. Rather, the Spirit wouldn’t let me let it go. I wrote a response, and still, the Spirit wouldn’t let go.
Part of what I wrote was this: “First, science and the bible are at odds on the point of creation. There is no scientific process that has, can, or will ever confirm the creation of the world. It can’t. Creation was not a scientific event, it was a supernatural one.”
Christian, don’t worry about defending the bible against science. It is our job to witness to His holiness against sin.
I continued listening to the sermon, and MacArthur got to the part about seeds. The earth was made fully mature. Adam and Eve were grown adults. The trees were mature and bore seeds and fruit from the first moment. So did plants. (Genesis 1:11). MacArthur said,
“One of the great, great wonders of the world is the science of seed dispersal. I watched an entire video on that just absolutely astonishing to see how God designed seed dispersal, not the least of which is accomplished by birds in your own yard, sometimes even attempted on your car and on your head. Pre-fertilized seed dispersal is very efficient.”
How DO seeds disperse, I wondered. Wikipedia explains, “Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, … There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water and by animals.” I started to think about the Tribulation and the verse in chapter 8 came to mind.
“The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” (Rev 8:7). The earth is judged and that includes the vegetation, which He created on Day 3. Hmmm, grass and vegetation die in this, the First Trumpet Judgment. But the verse later in Revelation came to mind also,
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.” (Rev 11:6). If wind is one of the major ways seeds are propagated, then after the vegetation is burned up then there is very little chance that new growth will occur, especially of no wind if blowing “on any tree”… or its seeds. And when the Two Witnesses cause no rain to fall upon the earth for three and a half years, (Rev 11:6) then that diminishes the chance for new growth all the more.
Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam, detail, Sistine Chapel
It occurred to me then, that Revelation could be seen as the orderly progression of UNcreation. Do the seven days of Creation match in reverse the seven years of Tribulation? Not exactly but in general. Revelation depicts judgment to be sure. But what a synchronicity that the first book of the Bible reveals how Creation was made, and the last book depicts its unmaking. On Day 1 the Light turned on, and ‘immediately after the tribulation of those days’, the sun, moon, and stars give no light” in other words, the lights are turned off. (Matthew 24:29-31). Heaven is made on Day 2, and in Rev 6:14 heaven is rolled up as a scroll. The sea creatures die. The land creatures die. The people die. The sun, moon, and stars fall.
The people know it is God, that He exists, and that He is exerting His power over them. In Revelation 16:9 they curse God on account of the plagues but they refused to repent and glorify Him. Those on the earth who rebel and deny His creative power will watch a slow and excruciating dismantling of creation, plank by plank. This is judgment indeed.
Before I get serious today with a post I’m working on, here is a story out of New Jersey that skitters over to black comedy and at the same time is just sad.
“HAMILTON – A woman who may have been engaged in sexual activity in a township cemetery Tuesday evening was injured when a tombstone fell on her leg, police said. The 39-year-old woman was not badly hurt, and the administration of Ahavath Israel Cemetery declined to press charges, according to police. The woman was with a male friend in the graveyard off Cedar Lane just before 7 p.m. visiting the grave of a relative. When the two engaged in some “extracurricular activities,” one of the grave markers rolled onto the woman’s leg, Capt. James Stevens said. The woman was taken by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center for treatment. Police did not know the extent of her injuries. Cemetery management was contacted, but no criminal investigation of the two was launched after the administration decided not to file a criminal complaint.”
What about the family of the person’s grave that they defiled? I hope they file charges. And I wish they would release the name of the woman and the man.
Here is a rhetorical question. We know the answer already. How does the visitation of a dead relative, an activity that usually evokes emotions of sadness, melancholy, reminiscence, tragedy, etc, flip over to instant and wanton sexual gratification? It’s just gross and monstrous to think that people would have such little self-control that they decide then and there to engage in such activity instead of concentrating on the purpose for which they arrived in the first place. Ugh, in a graveyard no less. In normal times such mixtures of activities and places remain far apart from each other, but as we skid headlong into the Tribulation, we can see the results of Paul’s warning.
I’ve always been puzzled by a verse in Revelation. LOL, more than one verse, but this one really gets me. At the fall of Babylon, we see in the threefold woes that are uttered, that a healthy economy in luxuries had been ongoing. Far from the economy being dead, as many suppose, it traded in all the world’s luxuries as if nothing untoward was happening. The rich still exist but the poor comprise most of the world. We also know that the economy is massively different, being under the control of one man, the Beast (antichrist) as revealed in Revelation 13. But the rich still buy things. We know from Revelation 6 that many are not rich but are really are devastatingly poor, unable to even afford more than a loaf of bread which equals a whole day’s pay. For the rich, they keep on keeping on with their consumerism of ridiculously luxurious items. Except for one particular luxury item in the verse at the end:
Revelation 18: 9-13 Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.”
I could not understand how this could be, though I believe it totally because God’s word is inerrant. But I had thought slavery was pretty much stamped out. There is indentured servitude in informal form, and children sold as sex slaves. But organized slavery today, though it exists is the smallest number than it ever has been in history, is rare. 12-27 million people are purported to be slaves today. Most are debt slaves, largely in South Asia, who are under debt bondage incurred by lenders, sometimes even for generations, according to Wikipedia. But then again, I don’t know why I am surprised that slavery as indicated in the Revelation verse would not be a going boom to the economy. It is the natural end to the philosophy of Darwin, and simply an extension of abortion and euthanasia. There is no regard for life if you adhere to those philosophies or engage in those activities. Life means nothing. Further, the bible tells us that life will mean less than nothing:
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. (Mark 13:12)
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Jesus said, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12). Lawlessness here in this verse translated from the Greek is ‘sin’ or total and complete disregard for God’s laws. People who totally dismiss God will be more liable to disregard the soul of the person inhabiting the body, and just kill it. Or sell it. It’s an “it,” not a person. Then today I read this:
Egyptian Cleric: Poverty Can be Solved by Selling Humans ‘Like Groceries’ “Over the past week, a video has surfaced featuring prominent Egyptian cleric Salafi Shaykh Abi-Ishaq al-Huwayni. In a translation posted by Al Mutarjim on his blog Translating Jihad, al-Huwayni is quoted as advocating jihad (he says it’s “a real pleasure”) and encouraging listeners to ease financial problems through the capture and sale of human beings (he says they can be sold “like groceries”).”
Here is a translation from the video which is at the link. Sounds like he has thought long and hard about this. I mean, he has a mini-economy in people going on there in that twisted head of his:
Here’s the translation in copy form: “We are in the era of jihad. The era of jihad has come over us, and jihad in the path of Allah is a pleasure. It is a real pleasure. The companions (of the Prophet) used to compete to (perform jihad). The poverty that we’re in—is it not due to our abandonment of jihad? But if we could conduct one, two, or three jihadist operations every year, many people throughout the earth would become Muslims. And whoever rejected this da’wa, or stood in our way, we would fight against him and take him prisoner, and confiscate his wealth, his children, and his women—all of this means money. Every mujahid who returned from jihad, his pockets would be full. He would return with 3 or 4 slaves, 3 or 4 women, and 3 or 4 children. Multiply each head by 300 dirhams, or 300 dinar, and you have a good amount of profit. If he were to go to the West and work on a commercial deal, he would not make that much money. Whenever things became difficult (financially), he could take the head (i.e. the prisoner) and sell it, and ease his (financial) crisis. He would sell it like groceries. Of those who are–” and the video is abruptly cut off.
Remember this Wendy’s commercial from the early 1980s?
I used to love Clara Peller, who was a breakout hit for several years in the ad cycle. Good for her.
In the world in general there is a steep decline in civility, modesty, and behavior that would comport with what the Lord advises is pure living. With all the millions of Christians claiming that they are Christian, you would think that there would be more modesty, cleaner language, more purity, stronger families, and higher regard for Godly things. There is a terrible disconnect and it all has to do with transformation.
Philippians 3:20-21 reminds us that we have a bodily transformation to look forward to: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
But before we get there, 2 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us that after submitting to the Lord, our transformation of mind and spirit is an ongoing process- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”[emphasis mine]
We would expect such an ongoing transformation. When we first believe, He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our body. A supernatural occurrence begins to start the transformative process- the transfer of a divine being from heaven to our flesh. If you really mull through all the ramifications of this, it is mind-blowing. God sends a part of His very self to be planted inside our body which then works as an engine of transformation to His likeness.
Paul reiterated the transformative process in Romans 12:2- “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Our minds AND our bodies are being transformed by the Spirit into Jesus’ likeness.
What this looks like on the ground is a slow or a fast but a visible process where people eschew the same activities, recreation, language, and thoughts they had before. A beer-drinking, porn consuming, profanity laced man will become a gentle, moral, and upstanding husband or bachelor. Initially, the transformation is hard for the new believer but it gathers speed and becomes easier as His holiness spreads in us like a tapestry being enlarged, thread by thread. After a while, we notice that our eyes can’t stand the same television shows, books, movies, and computer activities we used to enjoy. We notice that not only has our own language cleaned up, but hearing it from others is jarring. Not only do we notice that our character is being transformed but being around unbelievers is a strain as the things they say and do hurt our gentle soul because they are an affront to God. Friends drop off, new ones are made. You begin to eagerly look forward to church, not counting it as a trial but a joy. The Spirit is transforming you.
When you repent, you renounce yourself. You allow Christ to become in you more fully every day. Now, reformation is not regeneration. Reformation is a fleshly effort in our own strength to change our ways. Due to our sin nature, permanent reformation is impossible. We will fail. If we could reform ourselves to the extent necessary to become acceptable to God, then we would not need Jesus.
Regeneration means we are being knit by a divine, supernatural process into a new creation. But it doesn’t happen spontaneously. When we are saved, we are always saved. But are we growing? The writer of Hebrews acknowledged that even after some lengthy period of time, some Christians were not growing. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12). They should have been strong enough to have been teaching others at least the basics (‘first principles’) by then, but were disappointingly still ingesting milk and not strong meat! Do a self-check. Are you still on milk of the Word and not the meat?
When I say that regeneration is not spontaneous I mean that it takes effort of the Christian to apply himself to the process. Once you are saved you are always saved, but as for growth to produce good fruit, if the new Christian never reads the bible, never or rarely attends strong worship or listens to bible preaching, never studies, haphazardly prays, or only occasionally does any deeds, they won’t grow. They may have heard the word, but they are not doers of the word- in the aforementioned things.
James 1:21-27talks about being a doer. “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
This is the age of the Laodicean church. There are many who are hearers only and worse, what they prefer to hear is false doctrine that tickles the ears. They are not growing, and in truth, many of them are even deceived as to their natural state. Thinking themselves saved, they are not. If you never confess your own sins, thinking that your initial confession and forgiveness covered it all forever, you will not be regenerated. James urges us James 5:16, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” We all sin daily but if we confess daily then we are purified and the gratitude for this purification makes us submit even more to the Spirit’s work in us. It is a cycle.
Jesus said that there are true disciples and false disciples. (Mt 7:21-23). Many won’t make it into the kingdom, they will realize too late that their hearts deceived them. Check yourself. It is pretty simply really. “WHERE’S THE BEEF?” Do you have a fluffy exterior, big and laden with condiments, but if you peek inside, is there little to no meat? Has there been spiritual fruit borne of your deeds lately? Or not? If not, there is a problem.
Take another look at the commercial. Except let this script run through your mind:
“It certainly is a big church.” “It’s a very big church.” “A big, busy church.” “It’s a very big, busy…[lifting the top to peer at what is inside]…church” “Where’s the Gospel?” “Some churches give you a lot less Gospel on a platter of tolerance.” “Where’s the beef??” Announcer extolling solid doctrine, un-watered down and meaty. “Where’s the BEEF?? I don’t think there’s anybody back there.”
I hope you are asking yourself the important and ever-pertinent question- where’s the Gospel? Look at your church. Look at yourself. Are you on meat? Do you feel yourself being regenerated, part of an everlasting cycle of doing, hearing, growing? Or not? Ask yourself now. You don’t want to find out you belonged to a Laodicean Church when it is too late to change the outcome…
The people who say they are looking forward to an earth after the rapture with Christians gone are completely deluded about what kind of world it will be. It will be a world with no restraint against sin, with evil running rampant. Paul describes it this way, and his words can’t even approach the terror of these upcoming days: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
People will be accusers and slanderers, and also truce-breakers. No relationship outside the home, as in business or professions, will survive mutual distrust, accusation, slander, and oh, yes, blasphemy. They will break treaties, and throw away promises, written and oral. No language, promises, verbiage or contracts will be sacred in the business and professional world.
The familial world will fare no better. ‘Without natural affection’ means unloving toward kindred and close family members. Mothers and fathers hating their children, children unloving toward parents. In the Tribulation passage in Mark 13:12, Jesus explains further: “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.” When a society breaks down that far, it indeed has broken down fully. Being on earth at that time, of thorough civil, no-holds-barred breakdown, is to me a fate worse than death. Nowhere will a person be able to turn for respite, care, love, or safety.
In government and politics, the world will be similarly dysfunctional. Oppression will rule the day. We are told of an antichrist who will take over, at first by flatteries (Daniel 11:21; 11:32). He will upset kings and take them over then take over the rest of the world. After he gains the world, he oppresses it by forcing all to take a mark of worship to himself, without which they cannot participate in the economy. (Rev 13:16-17).
With the progression of these verses and the awful picture they show you can clearly see that individual, family, professional, political, governmental relations are all corrupted in their entirety. Restraint is gone, brutality reigns supreme. This state of being will not come upon the world all of a sudden, even though the difference between pre-rapture world and post-rapture world will be abruptly different. The decline began long ago but as birth pangs that Jesus said would characterize the end of days, they increase like a stone rolling down a hill until the momentum is prevalent and unstoppable. These next clips and news excerpts show that oppression is here, in brutal form for what we consider today’s world but in post-rapture Tribulation world people will look back upon and it will seem seem by comparison almost benign and gentle. The platform for the verses to spring from have been well-developed and oppression is ready now to fly from the nest.
On May 5, a Pima AZ SWAT team stormed Jose Guerena’s home (with a warrant), kicked open the door, and fired 60 times. Twenty-two of those bullets entered Guerena’s body. He was a veteran who had served honorably in Iraq, and no drugs were found to be inside the home. His wife and child, however, were in the home with him. He had not fired at officers nor was his weapon ever taken off the safety position. Controversy of this event abounds in Arizona, and rightfully so.
On CNN, the reporters had interviewed two different people who survived the Joplin MO tornado who were looking for missing family members. In a follow up story it turned out that their family members had been in a morgue all along, but the two people only wound up knowing about their loved ones’ deaths because of back channels and from friends who had secret knowledge of who was in the morgue. Bizarre, I know. Many other family members are now clamoring to know about his secret morgue and want to know if their own family members are in it. So CNN went on a mission to find out and were summarily stopped by police. The reporter said it was a bizarre encounter with law enforcement, like trying to cross an international border without a passport. The action with law enforcement begins at :55 of this 1:55 clip but it is short enough to watch all the way through. Here is a partial transcript of what they found:
“There are some strange things going on here right now. The morgue, the morgue where these bodies are, is a secret morgue. It literally is a secret. If you call law enforcement and ask officials where the morgue is they will tell you we can’t say, it’s a secret. Families don’t know where the morgue is. The families who do know where the morgue is are afraid to tell us because they are afraid of getting in trouble.”
This next one really got to me, even after I had read the background and tried to understand the law and see both sides. I still hate it. Radio Host Adam Kokesh and several other activists participating in a flash-mob were arrested at the publicly-funded Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Their crime? Silently dancing, in celebration of the first amendment’s champion. Courts had recently upheld a ban on dancing at the Monument. I understand wanting to maintain decorum, but a law to suppress any and all behaviors that may lead to indecorous behavior is not the answer. Neither is the apparently overreaching and sometimes brutal enforcement of such laws here in America, or anywhere for that matter. It was very disturbing to see the arrests but worse was the fact that we have such oppressive laws now, and such wide latitude for applying them. The Founding Fathers surely didn’t envision this degree of minutiae and legal license to modify behavior to such a personal degree, did they? I mean, did they really have to body slam a guy? And the lineup of sitting, handcuffed men reminded me of the lineup of convicts in Iraq before they behead someone.
Here is Fox News article of the incident and then the disturbing video from Breitbart. (It is not graphic, only depressing) “A group of people in Washington, D.C., protesting a recent court decision that says expressive dancing is the same as picketing and marching, were arrested for just that — dancing, MyFoxDC reports. A dance-in at the Jefferson Memorial led to five arrests and a violent clash with U.S. Park Police. The incident was posted on YouTube and appears to show officers using force to push the arrestees to the ground. MyFoxDC reports that a spokesman for Park Police says the agency is investigating complaints officers overreacted. Despite the court ban on dancing in certain areas of national monuments, the protesters say they plan to be back next Saturday at noon.”
In this instance, it looks like it did not happen in America, perhaps Spain or Portugal. I am not sure when it happened. The scene occurs on a soccer stadium field where a man holding a sign runs across an active game. Four security guards chase him down, sit on him, and handcuff him. While the four are huddled on the guy, one repeatedly beats the guy with his billy club. Horrified fans leave their seats and storm the field, chasing the security guys off. One falls down and is beaten in turn. I’m not condoning violence, but I was horrified to see such a dramatic level of force used against a man who had no weapon, was engaged in a usual prank, and was captured and subdued already. There was just no reason to beat him with a club.
The times in the Tribulation will be exponentially more brutal. An order of magnitude brutal. Anyone with a bit of power will use it for evil and not for the good. We see that power abuse now. Now let me say that I have respect for our local law enforcement and first responders. I am glad they do what they do and I know they do it with the public health, welfare, and safety in mind. Millions of good police officers work through every day with their lives on the line. But the fact is, we see more of an encroachment toward toward bullying as we creep ever closer to the day when restraint will be abandoned and Tribulation will be here.
In one sense these items may make it hard to trust Jesus to the level that is necessary for salvation. A person seeing how power is abused over and over from small people to the highest on earth- kings and presidents- must be wary of the Christian’s call to submit to the absolute power of a Holy God. That is why we say you must have faith, not only in Jesus name and through His blood that He saved us and will forgive us our sins, but faith that His power is the highest also but the most gentle and loving. We trust that because He made us, and He knows us, that He wants the best for us and that only He knows that that ‘best’ is. No one else on earth by any name or in any powerful capacity, like a government or law enforcement position, knows what is best for us to the degree that Jesus does, and they never will. Trust HIM! He is the ultimate law enforcement official, the highest judge, and He will enforce all his laws in His court one day. Jesus can be your Defense Lawyer (Hebrews 7:25) or your Prosecutor. (Genesis 18:25). His love is such that you get to choose. I pray you choose Him, and not the antichrist. The times are bad now, and they will get worse, but in heaven with a gentle and just God, time will be no more but every moment will be wonderful. Join me.
I was at some friends’ last weekend, at our Sunday School party at their home. After dinner we played a bible trivia game. Here is one of the questions:
“How many angels are named in the bible?” At first blush the answer seems easy. Can you guess? Pause.
Answer: Three. Michael, Gabriel, Lucifer. Most of the teams gave the answer as two, Michael and Gabriel. Those two are easy to remember, but we forget Lucifer, who is that old serpent, satan.
Luke 1:19 we read of the messenger angel Gabriel- “The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”
In Daniel 10:13 we read of Michael the warrior angel, who is an archangel- “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
Paul reminds us of the hierarchies of angels, both good and fallen: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” (Colossians 1:16)
Ephesians 6 is the famous chapter where Paul reminds us that we are in enemy territory here on earth, that the territory has a hierarchy, and that we are always at war, (whether we know it or not): “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
We often forget about Lucifer as an angel, his name means star of the morning, or shining one. Isaiah laments Lucifer’s fall from the high holy place of guarding God’s throne, to his low position of evil rebel destined for the hell (Matthew 25:41).
Hebrews and Revelation together show us that about a third of the angels fell with Satan. (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 12:3-9). Hebrews also reminds “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2). If angels visit us and engage with us on a personal and even intimate level (‘hospitality’ translated, “in one’s home”, “receive as a guest”) then who is to say that we are always visited by the good angels? Sometimes we are visited by the bad ones, too. Probably more than sometimes, probably we’re visited by them often.
I was in another friend’s home the other night, and I mentioned that Dr. David Jeremiah’s latest series is on spiritual warfare. She replied, “Oh! I don’t even like to think about spiritual warfare!” I was stunned by this, she being a seasoned Christian. I remarked that we are at war whether we like to think about it or not! Because of sin, the earth is a battlefield. Satan and his angels battle for souls every day. 1 John 5:19 tells us that the entire earth is under the control of the evil one. In Luke 4:5-6 satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and in one of the temptations, offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus didn’t rebuke satan for making that claim.
In Ephesians, Paul tells us to pray and to wear our spiritual armor. 1 Timothy 1:18 Paul tells Timothy to prepare for the battle. 2 Corinthians 10:2-4 describes the kind of war we Christians are in. There is war-like language all throughout the New Testament, referring to the fact that we ARE in a war. It is a spiritual war, but a war that has eternal consequences for each participant.
I was struck by the two incidents this week- the bible trivia question about Lucifer where it was so easy to forget he is really an angel, and the Christian who dismissed spiritual warfare topics as something unsavory she doesn’t like to think about. Christian, be aware that we are dwelling in enemy territory, and this is not our home. We are unwanted intruders. We are under attack all the time. Not daily, but frequently and constantly. We are attacked by demons, by our own sin, and by the curse of the world. We are in a war and that war will not be concluded for us individually until we die or are raptured. That war for all of us as a body in Christ will not end until after the 1000 year Kingdom when satan will be let out of the pit, will foment one last war and he will be squashed and sent to the lake of fire forever.
But remember an even greater truth. Unlike every other warrior who ever fought in a war, we know the outcome prior to the war’s end! We may be battling, but “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Jesus won the war for us, on our behalf and in obedience to the Father’s will. Jesus is the victor, and through Him we win the war. So, battle on in confidence, but never forget we are in a war. Semper Fi!
the-end-time.org 