Friday, April 22, 2011

In That Day...

The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 
Zechariah 12:1-4



Zechariah was a post-exhilic prophet who is mentioned, along with Haggai, as ministering to the Jews returning from the Babylonian Captivity in Ezra 5.  Haggai's chief concern was the restoration of the temple (search for the posts "Drought" and "The Fruit of Confession") while Zechariah was directed by the Holy Spirit to focus on the establishment of a godly government which will have its fulfillment in the return of Jesus Christ.  Zechariah's use of "in that day..." reminds us that he was looking well past his current situation to the Day of the LORD.  It is that day that is upon us.  It is a day when all of the world's nations rush headlong into an encounter with God over the city of Jerusalem.

How can people not see that these prophesies are in the process of conclusion?  The message of the burden of Israel found in chapters 12-14 is clearly unfolding in our time, yet the majority can't see it.  Jerusalem is the very burdensome stone and the very cup of trembling Zechariah said that it would be.  The city of peace is anything but a peaceful place and the gaze of the whole world, as foreseen, is upon it.  The answer is found in 2 Peter 3:4 with this question asked by the scoffers and doubters of the last days, "Where is the promise of his coming?"  Even as the Word is coming to pass there would be a spiritual fog over the very people who are puppets in its accomplishment.  These unbelievers have seen miracles like the reformation of the nation of Israel after 2000 years of destruction and many other clearly fulfilled prophesies; however, their foolish heart is darkened to the point they can't acknowledge the God of the miracles and prophesies.

It reminds me of Xerxes in the book of Esther when he asked, "Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?"  (Esther 7:5b)  How could he ask that question about Haman?  He let Haman talk him into the edict that called for the annihilation of the Jews. That same sort of cloud of preoccupation and obsession seems to be over the vast majority of men and world leaders today.  Was he so obsessed with himself and his power that he could not see that he was being taken advantage of by his Prime Minister?  Could He not see he was a stooge in the plan of satan?

This same fog was over many at Jesus' first coming.  Surely, they recognized that this miracle worker was different than the charlatans whom they had seen before?  They even acknowledged that he had brought Lazarus from the dead after 4 days.  Yet, they conspired to kill Lazarus too as recorded in John 12:10-11, "But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus."  How could they not see that they were the assembly of the wicked prophesied of in Psalm 22 as killing the Messiah?  Here was a man like no other, but their sin blinded them to the overwhelming truth of God with them.  

That is where you and I come in.  People who do not know Christ are dead in their sin.  They need a resurrection.  Dead people have no clue what is going on around them.  Those dead to what the Holy Ghost is doing are rushing themselves towards the great tribulation before the coming of Jesus.  They need praying saints to pray for their spiritual resurrection.  Since we are in the season of Passover and Resurrection Sunday wouldn't today be a great day to begin praying for the spiritually dead to arise to life in Jesus Christ?  May God bless and hear your prayers.   

Some of the following news articles are strong reminders that the world is blindly rushing towards judgment.  Please pray for those who are unwittingly bringing wrath upon themselves.  They will literally bring hell on earth in the tribulation and spend eternity in the lake of fire without life in Jesus.

Israel and the Middle East--Zechariah's Prophesies Are Soon2Come

Report: Obama's Diplomatic Plan - PA State, No 'Return' - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News  Here is a blind President who cannot see that this plan will bring wrath down upon America.  He is calling for surrender of a portion Jerusalem.  

End Time Technology


Godlessness In The Last Days


A Tribute to Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Grapes of Wrath Revisited

Last year I did a short article on Isaiah 5.  Since that time, I have spent many hours researching this chapter and comparing it to the current condition of the US over the last few decades.  According to this chapter alone, we are in serious trouble with the LORD!  






The message of Isaiah 5 is just as relevant today as it was when the prophet delivered it to the people of Judah over 2500 years ago.  The nation of Judah was on a downward spiral towards an encounter with God’s holiness.  God, who does all things with redemption in view, was warning the people to repent or face His wrath for their unwillingness to turn around.  His judgment would be poured out in the hopes that men would reform and walk with Him as they learned of the discipline of a loving God who cares enough to correct His erring people.  It was not only for them; consequently, God wanted the people of Judah to be a witness to a lost world.  He had to correct them so that they could be that witness. 

By looking at this letter we can see many parallels to the very situation that we face today in America.  Solomon was correct when he assessed that, “there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9d). The six woes given by the prophet Isaiah are clearly seen unveiling themselves in the last few decades of American history while showing our departure from the values of Christ that made our nation great.  Serious judgment, then, is inevitable unless severe contrition is seen in the land.  Judah did not repent, and we know that God kept His word about judgment.  Where does that leave America today?

Woe 1—Insatiable greed for worldly gain!—Isaiah 5:8-10.  His word is simple.  God is saying, “shame on you for buying up all the houses and land until there is nothing left”.  The thrust of the message is the same we hear in many pulpits today.  Prosper!  Prosper! Prosper!  It has been this way since the postwar 1950s.  The sacrifices of the Great Depression and World War II were in the rear view mirror and greed became the new gospel.  Jesus did not die so you could be sated with the temporary goods of this world.  He died to free you from sin and to make you a witness to a lost world.  Where has that truth gone?  He promised to leave them without home or land.  Will He do it again in America?

Woe 2—Live it up!—Isaiah 5:11-17.  Life is a party, so avoid boredom at all cost. That seems to be the new mantra.  Maybe that is why most “ministries” are centered on fun and excitement at the cost of discipleship and prayer.  Call a feast—fill a church.  Call a fast—watch them flee.  Isaiah warned that this would lead them into captivity, and we see a whole young generation in captivity now to the trinkets of this world rather than becoming willing and obedient followers of Jesus Christ.  Ever since the late 1950s and the early 1960s we have been in party mode.  That makes sense!  All that money from the decade before had to be spent in some pursuit now didn’t it?

Woe 3—Defiant skepticism!—Isaiah 5:18-19.  Isaiah used an illustration from farming since his message was geared to an agrarian society.   In essence he was (and is) saying that Judah was walking away from God, but they were pulling their sin behind them as if it were a cart load tied to them.  Meanwhile, they were asking questions like, “What is God going to do about it?”  When men follow greed and then regress to fulfilling their own lusts, the next logical step is to doubt God.  Isn’t that what happened to the nation during the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Outright unbelief and skepticism set in masquerading as intellectualism.  Soon, anything that was associated with Christ was to be thrown out.

Woe 4—The confusion of morality!—Isaiah 5:20.  America, like Judah, quickly eroded after the nation began to doubt the Bible.  In the 80s we were inundated with a “new morality”.  The homosexual agenda was on the rise and abortion was an established right.  The idea of sin was suddenly antiquated and anyone standing for righteousness was seen as weird.   When a society is devoted to sin, they sin presumptuously and ignore the convicting power of the word and the Holy Spirit.   They adopt their own sinful standards and then blast those who speak of true righteousness.  They rewrite the rules to suit themselves.  

Woe 5—Self sufficiency and conceit—Isaiah 5:21.  When values are blurred and absolute truth is rejected, the next step is to become satisfied with self and shallow spirituality.  Who needs a God to tell you what to do—are you not your own god anyway?  In the 1990s, we began to see all of the vestiges of Christianity and Judeo-Christian belief challenged.  From the Ten Commandments, public prayer in Jesus’ name, manger scenes, and displays of crosses; all that was associated with Christ had to be challenged.  We were our own and didn’t need the old ways.  We could do it on our own.  However, when you reject light—darkness invades.  It was during this time that our nation was rocked with domestic terrorism and the beginnings of the rise of Islam along with all of the other false beliefs that were invading our nation such as the” New Age”.  Many just claimed to be proud, cosmopolitan, intellectuals who were actually beyond the idea of a “god”.

Woe 6—The systematic perversion of justice—Isaiah 5:22.  The judges of Judah were masters at mixing whiskey sours but their ideas of justice were as weak as straw.  The death of ethics and the development of pride and conceit always lead to a perverted sense of judgment.   That also is a good descriptor of the last decade or so.  One only needs to see what has gone on with the California amendment against gay marriage or other like cases to see that we have hit every woe in this nation.  Like Judah who was dispersed by Babylon, we are awaiting judgment.  There is not a seventh woe.  There is a promise, however!

  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. Isaiah 5:24-25

Godlessness in the Last Days--Some of this is just sick!

Boy, 10, the youngest Australian to have sex change | News.com.au
Free condoms offered for 11 year olds
Puberty blocker for children considering sex change - Telegraph
Pro-homosexuality foundation pours millions into Catholic and mainline Protestant dissident groups « MethodistThinker.com
'Mysticism' infecting Nazarene beliefs (OneNewsNow.com)
Why God Isn't Doing Very Well These Days.  **Very good article--don't care for the title though
U.N. Prepares to Debate Whether 'Mother Earth' Deserves Human Rights Status - FoxNews.com

Israel and the Middle East--PA Statehood and God's Wrath Soon 2Come

Abbas: No third intifada; PA seeks int'l recognition
PA launches campaign for EU recognition of statehood
Report: Quartet may formally recognize Palestinian state if peace talks not renewed - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Nabil Shaath: PA will get majority recognition for state

End Time Technology

Salt Lake City goes wallet-free with Isis • The Register
US Police Increasingly Peeping at E-mail, Instant Messages - PCWorld
DOJ to Supreme Court: Approve warrantless GPS surveillance - Computerworld Blogs
Hotels embed RFID tags in towels to prevent theft - WPMT

Weird News--Rapture Cover-up?
Body of 'dead alien' found in Siberia after claims of UFO hurtling to earth | Mail Online
John F. Kennedy requested UFO files 10 days before his assassination
J. Edgar Hoover's FBI Took UFOs Seriously, Documents Suggest
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Monday, April 18, 2011

He is Still Holy!

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." --Jesus Christ
Luke 17:28-30

But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
Genesis 13:13

"Attention Seniors: 
If you have not yet ordered your cap and gown, you may do so on Thursday, April 14 in the lobby during lunch periods. Please see *** ****** in the Library to pick up an order form. 
SHHHHHHH - The Day of Silence is Coming. Day of Silence is April 15. Sign ups will be during lunch periods outside the cafeteria on Wednesday and Thursday. 


Making peace must start within ourselves and our school. We will commit ourselves as best we can to become nonviolent and peaceable people.
Who are you going to be silent for? 
*** ***** (A list of names of well known homosexual suicides or crime victims)
*** *****
*********

SHHHHHHHHHHH be silent because their voices are no longer heard" 

As has been mentioned many times, God is immutable and eternal.  He does not change forever.  If something was considered wicked in any book of the Bible by God then it will always be wicked in the eyes of God no matter what mankind thinks in any given generation.  Remember Genesis 11?  In this chapter the whole of humanity united themselves against God and His direction.  The world had one voice and one mind.  God saw this, came down, and made correction.  Today, many change the morality of the Bible and because so many are doing it and agreeing with a teaching in direct opposition of scripture the notion seems to be credible.  God, however, is unmoved.  Such universal shifts in the values, morals, and societal mores will accomplish exactly what happened in Genesis 11--God will come down.  Isn't that what Jesus Christ is saying above?

The above notification is not made up.  It was pulled directly from the online announcement page of a high school in the United States.  It is announcing an event that seemingly went by unnoticed.  Had this event taken place 40, 30, or even 20 years ago, parents across the nation would have risen in opposition.  Yet, this went by without notice or opposition in most places.  Friday, April 15th was the National Day of Silence for the gay rights cause.  Some (not all) schools across the nation observed a time of quietness for the GLBT cause, but the number of schools participating is growing each year.  Yes!  This has been and annual event for some time now.  It is a part of the many ominous signs that point to the nearness of the anti-Christ and the tribulation.  You can't have a united world government unless you destroy the values of whole societies and reform them to a generic bunch of garbage.  Here are a few sites that verify the "celebration".


As has happened many times in the past, God was not silent either.  Friday saw a pattern that has emerged over the years.  What is the pattern?  Whenever a nation celebrates homosexuality or abortion on a national level, catastrophe strikes.  Remember the Christchurch Earthquake just a few months ago on the heels of the Mr. Gay New Zealand contest?  Do you also remember major news outlets calling those who made the connection wicked?  Go back twenty years and look at the major GLBT events and see the connection to catastrophe for yourself.  Look at the taunts of the gay community when it claimed, just before Katrina, that God, Himself, could not stop that years Southern Decadence event--the event that Katrina shut down.  For many more connections, visit the blog of John McTernan whose address is to the left.  He has done a wonderful job tracking this since the 80s.  At any rate, we were hit by killer storms.  One news outlet had the storms being called wicked.  Isn't brainwashing children in godlessness and sin the real wickedness?


If God has changed His mind about homosexuality then He needs to resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah as he acted unjustly.  No!  God is ever holy and ever the same.  The good news is that no matter how sinful and how far from His ways you get there is a wellspring of life at the cross of Jesus Christ.  You can go to Him and be forgiven.  There is no sin so great that its power is greater than the love of God that was revealed at the cross; but remember, what God calls sin will always be sinful and need to be repented of.  He changes for no man!

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Hebrews 12:14

Today's Headlines
Sex Worker Fears After Killings  The person who is committing these murders is wrong and needs to be caught and brought to justice.  No man has the right to be judge, jury, and executioner.  I have included this video to show another subtle change.  Notice the terminology "sex worker".  What happened to prostitute?  This is another attempt to legitimize sin and change the value structure of society.
Obama, the Interpreter of the Message of Passover - A7 Exclusive Features - Israel News - Israel National News  How dare he tie the Passover to Islamic "social transformation and liberation." 
    
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