Watching For The Lord's Return

1 Peter 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

I was praying the other night when the Spirit of the Lord deposited this eye opener into my spirit.  Hopefully I can get across the point that was communicated.  The basic idea is not a new one.  Those mid trib, "pre-wrath" and post-trib die hards to absolutely refuse to watch and pray for the Lord's any time imminent return might be in trouble.  It is not their erroneous doctrine per say that will cause them problems (i.e. believing in mid trib rapture etc), rather their problem lies in their refusal to do what they were told to do, which is watch for the Lord's unexpected return which He made a point of beating that message into the ground:

Mark 13:32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

The Lord, The God of all creation communicates with an economy of words.  He, being the master writer has no need to write wordy rambling messages to us because He is infinitely wise and can communicate perfectly His message in the minimum words necessary to do the job.  Which is why we need to pay more attention when we see Him repeat Himself 4 times in 5 verses as we see above.

What the Spirit impressed upon this writer is a no brainer we should all already know.  What we believe matters.  What we expect, watch for, intend, pray for, all matters.  Or why would our Lord write this to us:

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

When we combine this idea ^^ with the matter of obedience:

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

We get a 1:2 punch as it relates to this idea of watching and praying for the Lord's return.

To wrap this all together, we are told to be watching for the Lord's unexpected return.  How do we "watch?"  We do it as 1 Peter 4:7 tells us, through prayer.  And what is an example of one of these "watching" prayers?  Consider this one:

Luke 21:34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

We were told right here ^^ in no uncertain terms that we should be praying that we may be counted worthy to escape all that is about to come to pass and stand before our Lord.  In that same sentence our Lord combines the idea of watching with prayer just as we read in 1 Peter 4:7 above.

^^And this idea becomes a real problem for the mid-pre-wrath-post trib crowd as they both 1. know what they were told to do (pray to escape all that is about to happen) and 2. refuse to do it (willfully disobey).  And why would they obey the direct command of the Lord to pray for an escape from all when they have knowingly, willfully accepted another doctrine that directly contradicts the Lord's own commands and considered their own doctrines superior to the Word and commands of the Lord?

What happens to those who are not found watching?

Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Matt 25:1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

What this all really comes down to is not as much a matter of say the mid-trib doctrine itself (or pre-wrath, post-trib) as it is a major problem with lack of obedience.  Who knows, maybe the mid-trib folks are correct and the escape takes place in the middle of the tribulation, if that was the case, we should have all been watching and praying for the unexpected return of the Lord and escape every single day up until the middle of the tribulation.  Its called obedience.  Its a matter of placing more weight and importance on the direct, unambiguous commands of the Lord than our own interpretations of the more ambiguous portions of scripture like the timing of the unexpected return of the Lord.

This means we should not be as dogmatic about the timing (pre, mid, post trib) of the Lord's unexpected return and more dogmatic about doing the things that we were clearly told to do and we have no shred of a doubt about.  Said another way, we can debate the timing of the rapture but we cannot debate the command to watch and pray for the Lord's unexpected return and or the escape, every day.

The elegance of the logic is another proof it comes from the Lord and not from man.  If you are watching and praying for the unexpected return of the Lord/rapture every day you cannot miss it.  You cannot be caught "not watching" if you are watching through prayer every day.  If the timing of this unexpected event takes place either pre, mid or post tribulation you cannot be wrong watching and praying every day for the Lords unexpected return.  Those, on the other hand, who refuse to watch and pray for the escape today could have some real problems if this unexpected event takes place before their dogmatic doctrine stance.

This was a real eye opener for this writer even though there is nothing new in it per se but they way it was impressed led to an "ah ha" moment.  All we have to do is exactly what we were told to do.  We do not have to figure everything else out, just do the things we were clearly told to do and the rest that is less clear will take care of itself.  Glory to God!

grace and peace

Encouragement From The Lord

I haven't posted in awhile in part because I have had gout for weeks that has moved back and forth between my feet and been quite painful.  It is almost gone but one toe is holding out, please pray that the Lord will heal this last part of my foot so I can get back to 100%.

I have been asking the Lord about what the future holds as I see the United States circling the drain of history.  Power is in the process of shifting from west to east with Russia and China rising while the United States and western Europe in decline.  If you look at politics in the United States today you can see we are not far removed from that movie idiocracy.

The "news" today has devolved to the point where I literally cannot stomach it for more than a couple minutes regardless of the source.  It has become toxic.  Here is where the Lord has stepped in with some Divine wisdom that confirms more or less why the "news" should for the most part be off limits for us.  Consider:

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Is there anything true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, anything of virtue or praise in the news anymore?  I cant find it.  So how much time should we devote to it?  Little if any.  I wonder how much time our Lord spent reading the Roman newspapers of His day?  He didn't have to keep up with the news because He was (and is) the news.....

I have found myself encouraged by moving away from this world's toxicity according to what we read in Phil 4 above.  After Phil 4 we can consider this:

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

While the world agonizes over which political, social and economic solution will fix their spiritual problem and things continue to get worse (they should pause to wonder why nothing seems to fix their ever growing problems), we are to rest.  We are to rest, and be patient.  We are not to fret over the evil we see all around us growing by the day.

Be patient and rest.  Thats good news indeed.  Where have we heard something like this before?  Maybe here:

Rev 3:10Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

We do not know when the Lord is going to do what He said He would do but we know with certainty He will do what He said He would do.  We know we should not fret over all of the wicked who appear to get away with murder, fraud, deceit and wickedness of every kind without being brought to justice.  We know we should be patient and rest in the Lord.  And.....we know we should be watching for His unexpected coming at any time.

The Lord is coming back.  We are not focused on the coming of anti-Christ, we are focused on the unexpected, surprise, "secret" coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who told us over and over and over again to be watching for His surprise unexpected coming.

Mark 13

32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

The Lord our God who cannot lie told us emphatically He is coming back and it will be a surprise:

32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

When the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ doesn't even know, yea I think we can call it a secret.

So, we should be resting in the Lord, watching for our Lord's return and all the while doing that work that our Lord has equipped us to do.  We are all different with different talents and abilities which we should be putting to use as the Spirit of the Lord directs us.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Be encouraged.  We are in this world but we are not of this world.  We have some fantastic promises made to us by Almighty God who cannot and does not lie.  We are hanging onto those promises as we watch for His return.  This world is in for trouble and more trouble but we are not to be troubled.  Rest in Him.  Stay in the Word, let it encourage you, guide you, guard you and provide for you (and me) as we walk through this world on the way into His kingdom.

grace and peace

(please don't forget to pray for the complete removal of gout and/or whatever else may be causing pain in my feet.  Thank you!!  :-)

Babylon Divided?

Gen 11 The Tower of Babel

(Daniel 1:1-7)

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

What exactly is all this push for 'inclusion and diversity?'  Is it that our politicians have grown a conscience and suddenly deeply care for the downtrodden and oppressed?  Hardly.  They (the politicians) have in their heart to do their father's (the devil) will.  Our adversary is fully aware of what the Lord God said in Genesis 11:

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

 Which is why today the battle lines are drawn between the globalists and the minority fighting it.  The globalists dominate both political parties in the United States and most other political parties around the world, but they have a problem and that problem's name is The Almighty.

It would have been easy for the Lord to allow Clinton to put the icing on the globalist cake baked for her by every president who came before the 2016 election.  Something happened in 2016 however starting with Brexit, and followed up by Trump and now a growing insurgency around the world as evidenced by the yellow vests in France, Italy, Hungary etc who have put a thorn in the side of Babylon's progress.

It is the Lord God who has authored the current resistance we see to the final formation of end time Babylon.  We know what the end time kingdom is and it is not resurrected Rome.  Do you see anything even hinting at end time Roman revival in the book of Revelation?  No, you do not.  What you do see is this:

Rev 18 Babylon is Fallen

1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

We read about Babylon.

Is it just a coincidence that the EU chose a rebuilt tower of Babel to announce their intentions for the world?  No, they did not chose to replicate the Roman senate building or any other Roman building, they chose Babylon.

So what?  So, this gives us insight into our Lord's thinking.  Just as the people of Babel were scattered to prevent them from doing what they imagined to do, so today the Lord is at work retarding (once again) the progress of Babylon.  He could have allowed the Babylonian freight train to keep gaining steam but instead he derailed it (at least temporarily).  Just when we all thought (this writer included) the Lord was allowing the end time script to play itself out, instead the Restrainer went to work.

2 Thess 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

The globalists are furious.  This is why they despise Trump and the British public who voted for Brexit.  Consider the words of this EU politician:

Tusk warns of 'special place in hell' for those who backed Brexit without a plan

They want their new world order (Babylon) and they want it now.  They were so close but so far, no cigar because they did not consider they are at war not with a man (Trump) but the Almighty.  Not that Trump is anyone's savior.  Trump promised to 'drain the swamp' then proceeded to fill his entire cabinet with the swamp (guys like John Bolton who like John McCain have hands so bloody they should be painted red).  Trump promised to drain the swamp but the only people going to jail are his people, those associated with him and his campaign.  And as for making America great again?  A house divided cannot stand.  Trump came in to do the job of a wrecking ball, not a national healer which should be obvious.  An interesting aside here, wrecking balls are used in construction (Trump's family business) to demolish old structures and build new ones.

The net effect of the Trump presidency to date has been to unite the world against America and Israel which prophetically speaking is a bullseye for end time fulfillment.  'They' cant go after Israel until America is brought to its knees first, which is what is happening in a way that few expected.
If Trump was put into office to make America great again we would have seen at least a flicker of national revival and repentance (no obvious signs of this).  Apostasy goes on unabated.  Nevertheless Trump is playing his part.  Not the part he advertised but the part the Almighty destined him to play.

Another product of the current global turmoil is this, this world is looking for a savior.  We, the Christians are looking for a savior from heaven (our Lord Jesus Christ to come back for us), while this world is looking for something entirely different.  When the anti-Christ shows up, the people of this world are going to have been worked up into such a lather by people like Trump that they will throw themselves at his feet.  The Lord knows what He is doing.  We are witnessing a setup of such exquisite complexity, beauty and intelligence that we should all stand in awe of the God we serve even more than we have up through this very day.  The twists and turns of it all are breathtaking.

If the Lord was using Trump to just take America down so Israel could be isolated, He could have left Brexit, the yellow vests, the seismic pollical shift in Italy etc off the table but He moved all of those forward.

What does this tell us?

It tells us that the Lord is sticking to the end time blueprint outlined for us in Revelation and the books of the prophets but....how we get there is a path that few to none of us would have supposed.  The Lord has been warning us with back to back signs in the heavens, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars that what He promised is coming, is coming.  What do we do with this knowledge?  Warnings are given for a reason.  Warnings of what?  The endgame.  We were told that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back for us at an unknown day and hour.  How many are watching for the Lord's return today?  He warned us over and over again about this 'secret' coming.  Yes, arrival at an unknown day and hour is a 'secret.'  Yes, a day and hour that not even the Son of God knows but only the Father is a secret:

Matt 24:36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Contrast this ^^ unknown day and hour of the Lord's coming with this:

Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

The Lord gave an exact day count for the time of the tribulation, down to the precise day.  And what is it exactly that's going to put an end to the tribulation?  You got it, the very public and not so secret arrival of Jesus Christ:

2 Thess 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

The formation of end time Babylon was put into disorder once again (as it was, so it will be again nothing is new under the sun).  We must consider what our Lord is doing.  The road this world is now on is much different from the road it was on in 2016 (which was preceded if you remember by the blood moon tetrad of 2014-2015...)  Trump the American wrecking ball has inspired the nations of this world to find ways to live without America.  They are developing alternative currencies, alternative financial transaction systems, alternative trade deals, and in many cases forming alliances that would never have been formed had Trump not been elected.

The complexity of it all is mind boggling but if we look carefully at where this world is headed it is on a collision course with precisely what our Lord told us would happen.  We don't need to forecast how the Lord is going to work out the road to the tribulation.  We should however appreciate that this world is on that road.  World war appears to be a real possibility.  Civil wars are becoming real possibilities even in places we would not have expected (like America).  The climate is changing but it is certainly not because of the SUV you might drive.  How exactly are they going to tie the exhaust from my SUV to all the green grass being burned up, the trees all wasted, a third of the sea turned into blood and a third of the ships destroyed?  Don't worry, knowing how deceitful todays political class is they will likely blame it on Russia and pay off some scientist to claim it is our fault for the cars we drive.

The more chaos erupts, the more we need to keep our eyes to the skies.  Is that escapist?  You bet it is.  I am an 'escapist' because my God is an escapist:

Luke 21:34“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

"Pray that you may be able to escape" are Words from the Almighty that a growing chorus of todays so called preachers and teachers rail against with red faces and bulging neck veins in their rage against one of the greatest promises the Lord God has given humanity.  Do I know when that escape is going to happen?  No, nor does anyone else.  What I do know with rock solid certainty is I was told to be prepared and watching at all times for the unexpected, 'secret' return of the Lord on a day and hour that nobody but the Father knows.

We would be wise to do what we were told to do.  Not told by man but told by God Almighty.  The Lord Jesus Christ is what and who we should be watching for as this world falls apart.  We have a hope that the rest of this world does not have.  We are told to be watching always which means today.  If we are still here tomorrow we watch tomorrow.  If we are still here at the mid point of the tribulation we are still watching.  How can you possibly screw that up?  The only people 100% certain to not be wrong about the time of the escape are those who are watching and ready every day.

Our eyes are on Jesus Christ.  Regardless of the royal mess in this world.  This world is in chaos because they rejected Jesus Christ.  There is a price for that rejection and we are seeing that price being paid day in and day out as none of this world solutions to its problems makes anything better.  They just don't get it.  They are trying to solve a spiritual problem with political and social solutions.  Chances of success with that strategy?  Zero.

The tribulation phases in increasingly severe judgements because some people need to have more pain applied than others to open their eyes.  Some will just go down swinging in a war with the Almighty they cannot win.  We however, have not rejected Jesus Christ.  We pray every day "they kingdom come and thy will be done."  We never asked for this sick world, we did not want this sick and increasingly sick world, we are just passing through it.  While we pass through, we are to do exactly what the Lord God told us to do.  Had the world done this, the world would not be circling the drain of history as it now is.  That's the big takeaway from the whole thing.  Man tried things his way and failed miserably.  Do things the way the Creator said to do them and things will turn out much better.

Be looking for our Savior to show up any day.  It could be tomorrow, it could be 10 years from now or some indeterminate time in the future.  We don't need to predict hours and days, we need to be watching and ready.  End time Babylon is coming.  Even now it is being created in a way none of us saw coming.  Jesus Christ is also coming.  Our hearts will rejoice when He shows up and this world will mourn:

Matthew 24:30 ³⁰"Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

Enough for now, its time for bed.

grace and peace

Give The Lord The Benefit of the Doubt

I was praying for something recently that I not only did not get, but what happened was about the exact opposite of 1.  what I asked for and 2. what I wanted.  The day before, I prayed for something that received the exact answer for what I asked within 5 minutes or less.  What happened?

The Lord always answers:

Matt 7:7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no, sometimes wait.  The Spirit explained this morning that we need to think a little bit harder about what appear to be 'no.'  We need to give the Lord the benefit of the doubt when what we get is not what we asked for  and/or not what we wanted.  We need to ask better questions like "is there a bigger picture here that I am not seeing at the moment?"  Could the short term "no" be part of a larger, longer term "yes?"

Give the Lord the benefit of the doubt:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

The Lord sees the end from the beginning.  On the chess board of life in a 100 move game He sees, understands and has plans for all 100 moves of the game.  He is the only infinite, all knowing, all powerful being, full stop.  Just because 1. we didn't get what we wanted today, 2. didn't like todays answer does not mean there isn't something larger and longer term at play in store for us tomorrow.

Add to all of this ^^ the fact that we are loved with a love that goes beyond anything our minds or hearts can understand.  Our God is good, He loves us, He always answers.  We have to be faithful, patient and give Him the benefit of the doubt that somehow some way todays "no" will work out later for our good and in many if not most cases turn today's disappointment into tomorrows rejoicing.

Keep the faith.

grace and peace