Month: April 2020

From the earliest chapters of the Bible, God laid out His plan for a Redeemer for fallen mankind. Messiah’s coming would unfold in two phases: as a suffering Servant, whose “heel would be bruised” by Satan…and as a victorious King, who would one day “crush the head” of Satan, (Genesis 3:15).

The promise of the coming Messiah was kept alive & passed down through the line of Seth, the younger brother of Abel. But by the 10th generation, corruption of the human race had increased to the point that— except for Noah & his family— God was forced to destroy mankind by water.

After the flood, the original promise of a Redeemer was re-affirmed to a descendant of Noah’s, named Abram or Abraham. God promised Abraham that “in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,” (Genesis 22:18). The promised Messiah was to come through the descendants of Abraham, but not just for the benefit of the Jews. His salvation was meant for all people!

Throughout the Old Testament, God added to His picture of the coming Messiah. It was two revelations of the same Man: a suffering Servant and a victorious King. Of the two portraits, the vast majority of prophecy described His coming kingship— destroying the enemies of God’s people and bringing about a kingdom of peace on earth. Some Bible scholars estimate that there are three times as much prophecy about Jesus as the coming King, as compared to Jesus the Suffering Servant. Quite humanly, the Jews focused their attention upon Messiah’s kingship, rather than His sufferings.

God gave Israel a foretaste of the Messianic kingdom during the reign of King David, when Israel arose to prominence and power among all the kingdoms of the world. However, after the death of King David, the nation began a descent into sin. This resulted in a split of the nation into two kingdoms. Sadly, both kingdoms eventually went into captivity for their idolatry.

It was during the captivity in Babylon that a man of God named Daniel, began praying for the restoration of his people back to their own land of Israel.

God answered Daniel with a prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) that 490 years were determined upon Israel before the fullness of the promised Messianic kingdom would come. However, Messiah’s public revelation to Israel would occur at the 483-year mark! This was fulfilled in 30 A.D. when Jesus was publicly hailed as “Son of David” (a messianic title) by the Jews on Palm Sunday.

After His public reveal, the prophecy went on to say that Messiah would be “cut off.” At the end of the same week as Palm Sunday, Messiah was crucified as the Suffering Servant for the sins of the whole world. The prophetic clock stopped when the very Essence of Israel’s temple was killed!

Forty years after the crucifixion in 70 A.D., the Roman government would annihilate the nation of Israel by destroying Jerusalem, tearing down her temple building, and killing, enslaving, or scattering the Jews to all parts of the world. In every respect, Daniel’s prophecy— “determined upon” Israel— was dead without the final 7 years having been fulfilled.

But God’s word never fails.

Abraham’s Seed had originally been promised as a blessing for “all the nations of the earth.” Israel had carried the promise of Messiah/Savior for 1800 years. But now it was time to spread to the Gentile nations. For approximately 1800 years following the crucifixion, the gospel went out to the “uttermost parts of the earth.”

Today, the gospel is returning full circle to Israel as the end of the age approaches. The final 7 years of Daniel’s prophecy must play out around the nation of Israel!

The final 7 years of Daniel’s prophecy can only begin when the Jews are back in their land as a people (fulfilled, 1948); with Jerusalem as their capital (fulfilled in 1967 & affirmed by the nations in 2017-18); and with a rebuilt temple (awaiting its official launch at any time). This is because the original prophecy was “determined upon thy people and thy holy city.”

The final portion of Daniel’s prophecy will begin with the confirmation or signing of a treaty between Israel & other nations (Daniel 9:27). Permission to erect a temple will be associated with the agreement. The fact that Israel will build a temple should not be taken as God’s approval of it, but as a SIGN of prophetic significance, heralding the launch of the final 7 years of this age!

The final 7 years of this age will unfold with increasing birth pangs. Satan will endeavor to present a world leader– an antichrist– as mankind’s expected savior. But, the elect of God will hold fast to the word of God– awaiting the true King– as the universe labors to give birth to Jesus/Yeshua’s return and the establishment of His long-awaited Messianic kingdom! God’s revelation of King Jesus, Messiah of the world, will come at Revelation’s 6th Seal when the very cosmos bows down to its Creator. There will be a great earthquake, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the sky will roll up like a scroll! This will be followed by a flash of lightning from the east to the west as Deity returns on the clouds of heaven to gather His elect to Himself, pour out judgment & wage war on the kingdom of Antichrist, and finally establish His Millennial reign on earth!

The present coronavirus crisis is nothing that should significantly disturb the peace or joy of any of God’s elect. It is a blip, a mere pang compared to the glory that awaits us. We may be the generation privileged enough to witness the return of Christ! The magnitude of that should overshadow everything else!

Halleluia & Rejoice!

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.  Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,” (Acts 2:17).

At Pentecost, God sent an outpouring of His Holy Spirit like an early rain, leading to a great harvest of souls— both Jew & Gentile— in the early church.  Every age of the church since then has experienced a degree of spiritual watering out of God’s own Spirit.

But, the latter rains are quite bountiful.  They began to fall on the church in the early 20th century and have not stopped.  In gatherings all over the world, men & women are still experiencing the transformational power of the Holy Spirit as they seek after God with their whole hearts.

Yet at the same time, tares are being sowed among the wheat.  A counterfeit Pentecost is also playing out.

Satan was once Lucifer, “the anointed cherub” who covered the throne of God Himself.  Satan knows what the presence of God looks and feels like.  To a large extent, he knows how to mimic it.  He produces a counterfeit of the true and genuine article.

In 2 Timothy 3:1, we are strongly warned “that in the last days perilous times will come.”  One of the hallmarks of the end times is that there will arise “evil men and imposters” who “will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived,” (2 Timothy 3:13).  The more accurate translation of “imposters” from the original Greek is “magicians.”  Evil men and magicians will arise in the end times, deceiving many, while being deceived themselves.  These are the false prophets, producing false signs & wonders…and who will point to a false messiah, Antichrist, as the great hope for the world.

What is the antidote for such deception?  Paul immediately declared:  “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, AND IS PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, FOR INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, that the man of God may be be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work,” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

Jesus Himself was tested by the connivery of Satan.  Christ Jesus— being full of the Holy Spirit —was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. How did Jesus stand against the wiles of Satan? Through the WORD OF GOD!  Jesus is our Example.  In order to face the onslaught of the great deception ahead, we must as Spirit-filled believers also hold fast to the word of God.  “IT IS WRITTEN…”

We are not seeing clearly if we are getting all our information from outside sources.  And judging something spiritual as being from God, when it runs contrary to what is written in the Bible, is dangerous. Satan has and will use his own version of the Holy Spirit and Scripture through false prophets, signs, and lying wonders:

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and LYING WONDERS, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because THEY DID NOT RECEIVE THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, that they might be saved.  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).

In 1 John 2:18-19, the example of the early church is set before us, where antichrist spirits were already arising from within the church itself:

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

How bad will deception get in end times?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul tells us that the revealing of Antichrist in all his awful wickedness, is first PRECEDED BY “the falling away” or apostasy.  What is the apostasy?  It is a deliberate rejection of revealed truth (the word of God) by people.

In the end times, there will be a departure from Biblical faith concerning Christ, the Anointed One or Messiah.  People will be yearning for a messiah to save them & preserve this world.  When such a man arises, he will garner the approval of the religious, even appearing as a friend to Israel.  Israel will be able to build her temple & do sacrifice.  But, the mask comes off when this world leader enters into the Jewish temple, declaring himself to be God— the anticipated savior of the world.

In the end times, when love of the truth is exchanged for a lie, the Divine restraint that has been in place since the early days of the church, will cease.  “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming,”  (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

The church’s adherence to foundational Scriptural truths concerning Jesus has functioned— throughout the centuries— as the barrier preventing the spirit of antichrist from breaking forth into its fullness as THE Antichrist.

Today, both Catholic & Protestant churches are uniting with other religions which openly avow that “God has no Son.”  Others are espousing a man (who is not Christ) as their great hope of bringing peace & prosperity to the world.

Maybe it’s time to refresh ourselves with the Holy Scriptures, which “are able to make us wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  With birth pangs increasing in our world, Jesus’ warning about deception in the last days (fostered by impressive signs & wonders) and exaltation of a leader (promoted by a False Prophet in Christian disguise) is one we cannot afford to ignore!  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

In Isaiah 8:12-13, the Lord instructed Isaiah that he was not to engage in all the conspiracy talk that the people of his day were engaging in.  All I can say is “Guilty!”

“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.  The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow.  Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.’”

Satan is a master of deception.  He was once the highest ranking angel in the throne room of God.  He knows how to appear not just religious, but spiritual.  His musical talent is phenomenal, his intelligence keener than  ours.  And he has been around for a long, long time.  Satan understands mankind better than we know ourselves.  He knows how to manipulate, entice, enslave, and deceive.

Satan is a master of mixing truth with error so adroitly that many fall for it.

And so it goes during this Coronavirus pandemic. There is a mixture of truth and error going on out there.

The coronavirus is a highly contagious threat that needs to be taken seriously.  The guidelines to limit the spread & contagion to others are based upon Biblical guidelines:  frequent cleansing of one’s own person & isolation of the sick from the healthy.  Those with underlying conditions are particularly vulnerable to this virus, while those in good health generally weather it & return to good health without difficulty.  This truth is generally not under debate.

However, there is a great deal of sensationalism, even exaggeration that is being pumped from the airwaves right now.  This is contributing to fear, even panic & despondency among the general population.

Corona is a definite birthpang, sent by God to warn mankind to turn from sin, before a greater judgment falls.  It is a plague in the Biblical sense; mankind’s reaping some of what it has earned through sin.  Idolatry & murder  (abortion) are serious enough transgressions to bring on a retribution of plague (death) & economic catastrophe.

Corona is also being used by politicians to further their own ends and agendas— no big surprise here.  I have heard on both tv & videos certain world leaders promoting their idea of a universal vaccination record being required, utilizing microinjected semiconductor crystals that can be read as a mark under one’s skin (using infrared light).  Can anyone say, ‘THE mark’?  This required vaccination record would be tied into a digital ID program that could be linked to many other things— banking, for example.

The Jewish Sanhedrin is also seizing upon this crisis as an incentive to reinstitute a real sacrificial offering up on the Temple Mount itself, as an atonement for the sin that has led to this worldwide crisis.  (They have not yet received Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice on Calvary.)  If the Jewish sacrifice is allowed, watch out.  The building of the tribulation temple will be a foregone conclusion.

God has called us to lead peaceable lives, submitting to those in authority for our own good.  The only time we are to draw the line is when there is a clear & direct conflict between choosing God or choosing sin.  We must always choose faithfulness to God, even to death if necessary.

What does God want for His people?  He doesn’t want us to get so caught up in conspiracy theories and panic & fear over pandemics that we lose sight of who & where we are.  We are children of God, in a covenantal relationship with Him.  Thereby are given to us exceedingly great & precious promises— not the least of which is protection during times of plague!

BUT, we are also living in the latter days, the generation which has seen the miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel, which the Bible points to as a great SIGN that the end of this age approaches!  So, should we be surprised, panicked, or fearful of all the very strange & rapid developments unfolding before us?

If we keep our eyes upon Jesus and judge things— not after the seeing of our eyes, nor the hearing of our ears—but, according to the word of God, we will go through all of this in perfect peace.  “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You,” (Isaiah 26:3).

We MUST keep our eyes upon the Lord and His word.  It is the only way to get through victoriously what is happening now, and what will certainly happen in the future.