Real Life

To understand prophecy, first we must understand what is the intent of the prophecy. With few exceptions, Bible Prophecy is not so we can "predict" the future. It is so we can understand events as they are occurring or shortly thereafter. Some exceptions would be the Prophecy naming a specific future King, Cyrus of the Persian Empire (Isaiah 44:28) and Daniel's 70 weeks (Daniel 9) in which a specific timeline is given for the coming of Messiah. With current events now in early 2020 there are many once again proclaiming specific prophetic fulfillment and timelines. This desire to know the future isn't anything new. The disciples had the same desire. Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Signs of the End of the Age 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. No One Knows That Day and Hour 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Here Jesus closest followers are asking about a specific time. Jesus tells them no person knows the time. Rather it’s going to be just a regular ordinary day. It will be a day that people don’t think Jesus is coming and suddenly it WILL happen. Jesus tells us all to Be Ready. Be Ready at all times. In another conversation the disciples ask Jesus again about the timing of his return. Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. This time Jesus tells them “it is not for you to know” the timing of those prophecies. He then gives a specific prophecy that they should focus on – receiving the Power of the Holy Ghost. Did you catch that? It is not for us to know the timing of certain prophecies. There is a prophecy that we should be focused on fulfilling. Receiving the Power of the Holy Ghost and being a witness throughout the world is the prophecy to focus on. God Speed.

Written April 8, 2020 Currently most of us, myself included, have said we are not under “religious” persecution. From the natural view this is true. From a spiritual view it is probably false. Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. I think most Apostolic ministers would agree that the governmental response in grabbing more power and control is demonically inspired. Regardless of how this pandemic started, naturally, accidentally released from a lab or intentional bio-weapon, it does not matter. We are living with the results of the loss of life and liberty. The government orders and mandates have not focused only on Christians. There are other Biblical examples that would be similar. Esther 3:2 And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. The King had given a command for all to bow, not just the Jews. It later became persecution of a specific group. Demonically controlled leaders do not care how many people will die in the process of their end goal. Satan wants to destroy every last one of the true worshippers. Daniel 3:4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages , Daniel 3:5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: Again initially this was a universal command, not “religious” persecution of one group. Dan 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Dan 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. We have the benefit or reading the back room story of how the King was tricked into this decree. Regardless, the decree was for “ whosoever ” and “ every man ”. The “conspiracy” was they were after ONE man, Daniel. Certainly our circumstance is different because the orders and mandates are for a “compelling state interest to protect health and safety.” It is a brilliant scenario if you want to unite the entire world into agreement. Ever since the collapse of some European economies years ago (Greece, etc.) I have said that the only way you can get a one world economic system is you have to collapse all the existing economies at once. Then you can present the new economy as the solution. Of course I didn’t understand how that could happen, but we now see how it will happen. A worldwide pandemic, whether it is this one or another will level all the economies and the obvious answer will emerge. When that happens there will not be “religious” persecution either. Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond , to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. If the Beast system is fulfilled in the way most of us believe, with a real physical marker, once again it will not be a matter of “religious” persecution. The mark won’t be just for Christians. It will be for ALL. The unbelievers of this world care nothing about our book and beliefs. We will be a risk to humanity if we don’t comply and using the excuse “that’s against my religion” will not work. It never has. Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The dragon is after us and the entire world is caught in the crossfire. Should we comply with not resisting and not gathering now? I am not so sure.