Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Nine Month Road Map to Peace?

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1 Thessalonians 5:3-4

The news about the recent peace talks seems to be putting much focus on the 9 month time line.  While this may be nothing, yet again it could speak volumes for the watchful.  One thing is certain, it should captivate our attention if we are looking through prophetic eyes since the disposition of the Great King's city, Jerusalem, is involved.  All should know that Jerusalem is the focal point for all things prophetic in the nightmare Tribulation coming upon an unsuspecting world. "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 (Zechariah 12:3)."  So why the stress on 9 months? 

Kerry sets 9-month goal for reaching accord on Israeli-Palestinian conflict | McClatchy
OK!  That is enough headlines with "nine" in it. 

What about Jerusalem?
Jordanian King to "Fight Judaization of Jerusalem" - Middle East - News - Israel National News

One might immediately notice that 9 months is the gestation period for a mother carrying a child.  That is interesting!  Notice the reference to that same concept in the scripture above from 1 Thessalonians?  Could we begin seeing increased birth pangs as we near this peace agreement?  



Nine months?  That would bring us into the Passover time frame as well as the first of the blood moons so many studying prophecy have been talking about. The first one also coincides with Passover 2014 (Nissan 5774). Some note that these have tended to occur at times when Israel, as a people, suffered greatly.  Could this be a warning too?  Could the agreement in 9 months lead to a seven year peace treaty brought about by recent wars in the region?  There are already threats of destroying Israel again even as the peace parties met.

Abbas: Palestine will be Judenrein - Middle East - News - Israel National News
Iran: Armageddon at hand, prepare for war

Just a reminder from a prior post linked here called Nine, nine is a very interesting number in scripture.  Using the rule of first reference, nine was first associated in scripture with war.  In Genesis 14, 4 kings led by Chedorlaomar of Elam (a part of current day Iran) attacked 5 kings in the plain of Sodom.  4 kings against 5 kings adds up to nine.  In every case after that, 9 or its multiples were associated with judgment or war.  Here is one more example from Haggai 11.  How many things are mentioned as a part of God's judgement?

"And I called for a drought upon the land, 
and upon the mountains, 
and upon the corn,
and upon the new wine,
and upon the oil,
and upon that which the ground bringeth forth,
and upon men,
and upon cattle,
and upon all the labour of the hands."


9 is the last and highest of the single digit numbers so it always speaks of finality as well.  Is the continued reference to nine signaling that we could be about to see the final 7 years of the Tribulation soon?  There should be no worries if you are a blood bought saint of God through Christ's atoning sacrifice, but it should signal to you that efforts to share the gospel need to be doubled.  If Christ is not your only hope of salvation--call on Him today for forgiveness of sin.  There is still time for you!

Lot's of questions and uncertainty with this post, but one thing is certain--Jesus Christ is Soon2Come!!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Stealthy

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:3-4

How could one sneak into a group of believers and subvert their faith over time so that eventually there would be a different message preached than what was originally once delivered?  That is a very important question; consequently, it is one that demands an answer if vigilance is the goal.  It is also the very thing that Jude is warning the church about--those who would stealthily creep into the church and alter the message of Christ crucified for sin, resurrected as our Great High Priest, and coming again to reign as King of Kings.  This inspired message warns that the end result would lead to "turning the grace of our God into laciviousness" while "denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."


First, what is laciviousness?  Simply put--it is living in gross immorality while masquerading as being forgiven. It is certain that we are not saved by our actions.  Not now nor ever.  Who could ever do enough good to match the atoning work of Christ?  However, so many seem to feel there is no power in the grace of God in Christ to overcome sin.  As a result they never press through to live a life that reflects the power of Christ over sin.  Add to this those who redefine what is good and right as opposed to what is wicked and sinful and we begin to realize that we might just be living in the very time that Jude (as well as other New Testament writers) warned us about.



In an old post from 2011, the story of the Carelessness of Sardis was considered.  Here is a paragraph from that article:

"The ancient city of Sardis was strategically located on an escarpment at the base of Mt. Tmolus about 1000 feet above the valley of Hermus.  This location gave the inhabitants of this community a false sense of security.  History tells us that this distorted view of their invulnerability led to disaster when Cyrus the Great attacked the city circa 549 to 546 BC.  King Croseus of Lydia decided not to guard the cliffs on three sides of Sardis, his capital, as he assumed that the Persians would not be able to scale the sheer faces and attack.  The story goes that a soldier of Sardis accidentally dropped his helmet over one of the cliffs.  He then used a path known to the locals to recover the helmet, but his actions were observed by a Persian warrior named Hyeroeades.  The next night, Hyeroeades and an assault team used the path on the unguarded side of the cliffs thus gaining access to the city.  Sardis was soon overrun."

The fact that the town folk of Sardis did not believe that an attack could come from a certain direction  took them off guard and was the reason the invasion was so successful.  Now, if you were an insidious enemy who longed to subvert the truth of the Gospel while effecting large numbers, where might you start where no one might first suspect?  Where could an invasion begin that would not be looked for?  Maybe with the pulpit.

It would be hard to get a seasoned veteran who has walked closely with Christ to start sharing heresy so why not start with the next generation.  The enemy is patient and will take as long as necessary to destroy.  He would probably start elsewhere.  How about fill Bible schools with unbelieving professors who would corrupt the impressionable minds of young men called to preach and defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One would first need to get them to deny the inspiration of scripture.  Maybe classes could be taught that show that the first 11 chapters of Genesis are Hebrew myths and fairy tales.  Then, "science" techniques could be used to teach that the books attributed to Moses were written over time by several different men with different ulterior motives.  One could even say that books like Isaiah were written by two, three, or even more men.  Methods courses on how to critique the scriptures could be taught which would sound legitimate but would cause the students to become critics and not students of the Word.  Prophecy--how could one cover up the Bible's unfailing record on prophecy?  Maybe it would be possible to re-date the books to a post event date so that they are actually telling what happened in a form that makes them appear to be predictions.  But we know that his could not be done.  It would mean that godless men with deluded agendas would be overtaking the institutions that prepare ministers.  Of course, if you could turn out a generation of unbelieving "ministers" whole churches could be overrun with unbelief.  Of course, this is all but speculation.

Every core doctrine would need to be considered suspect:  Christ's deity, the virgin birth, the inspiration of scripture, the need for salvation through a vicarious atonement.....  Yes, every doctrine would need to be destroyed; but again, this is all but speculation.



Or is it?

One thing is certain--Jesus Christ is Soon2Come, so 
 earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints!  

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come... Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 1:1 & 5-7