Are You Still There?

“Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this and cause us to hear former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, It is true.”  Isaiah 43:9   For over the past year I have been trying to figure out exactly what has changed and pondering how they did it, for in doing so, the interest in serious Bible studies, Bible prophecy, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Antichrist, the Second Coming, the Battle of Armageddon, the mark of the beast, all of these sorts of things have also diminished greatly compared to the sphere of influence that they once had.   There comes a point where a servant of Christ must ponder whether or not it is time to ‘shake the dust’ (Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5) and move along to others who will hear?    Though there are times where God calls someone to preach, even in the following circumstances:   “As for them, whether they hear or whether they forbear; for they are a rebellious house; yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.  And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.  You shall speak My Words to them, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, for they are most rebellious.” ...

Culmination: Armageddon

“And I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  And He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, followed Him on white horses.  And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of the heavens, Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,  that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.  And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.   And the beast was captured, and with...

The Dead Stirred Up

“Sheol from below is excited over you, to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the chief of the earth. It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.  All of them shall speak and say to you, Are you also as weak as we?  Have you become like us?  Your arrogance is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of your lutes. The maggot is spread under you, and the worms cover you.  How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the morning!  How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!  For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of the Mighty God; I will also sit on the mount of the appointed assembly, in the recesses of the north.  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the Pit.  Those who see you shall stare at you and consider diligently, saying, Is this the man who made the earth to tremble; who shook kingdoms; who made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed its cities; who did not open the house for his prisoners?”  Isaiah 14:9-17   Now this is interesting indeed and something that very few people ever hear about.  Just a little more thought into the following verse:   “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil...

Disconnect

“And I will give to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.  These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.  And if anyone tries to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone tries to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.  These have authority to shut the heavens, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.  And when they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.  And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  And those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.  And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.  And after three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet, and great terror fell on those who saw them.  And they heard a loud voice out of Heaven saying to them, Come up here. And...

God’s Rewards Program

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to what his work shall be.”  Revelation 22:12   My hands have been busy doing much work recently.  While the following might sound strange and perhaps it is, over the years I have found myself understanding person after person in the Bible and having experienced similar things, gaining a deeper understanding of what is recorded for us in the Holy Scriptures regarding these people.  In this particular case, where I now have some additional understanding is with Solomon.   “I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore regard pleasure; and this was vanity.   I said of laughter, It is madness; and of mirth, What does it accomplish?   I sought in my heart to gratify my flesh with wine, while leading my heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, until I might find out what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.   I made my works great; I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.  I made gardens and orchards for myself, and I planted trees in them, of all kinds of fruit.  I made pools of water for myself, to water the forest springing up with trees.  I have bought slaves and maids, and had servants born in my house; I also had more livestock, herds and flocks, than all were before me in Jerusalem.  I also gathered silver and gold to myself, and the treasure of kings and of...

Divide & Conquer

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”  Matthew 24:12   “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unyielding, slanderers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away.”  2nd Timothy 3:1-5   Understand as this study begins that this is not speaking of everyone, note that the Bible says ‘many’ not all.    There is a disease that started in this country some time ago.  I’ve spoken about it in the past, but the other day after hearing of some more problems, I thought about the horror of the way many people mistreat each other and was considering God’s Word, pondered a different angle, one that has to deal with end times events.   In a nutshell, most people should be able to understand that the love of many is already growing cold and this seems to be continuing to get worse as time goes on.  There is also a lot of unnatural affection, my mind always goes to the type of affection found via social media with a quick like, comment or emoji, but with no real substance many times.  In this there is affection and it is not traditional, therefore, can it be natural?   I had seen a study a few years back that young people, despite all of the technology and...