Agape
Fellowship
I greet you in the Name of Jesus. And I trust and pray that you are rejoicing and resting in Him. In this letter I will be direct about this time in history as we look back one year at the tragic incidents of terrorism in the United States. We are at a very critical time in history and are turning the corner into uncharted issues and happenings. As this page is being turned for us, what kind of people ought we to be (II Peter 3:11)?
Those of you who know me know that I have never tried to be politically correct or yield to the mindset of the masses. I am, however, led and driven along a path to serve my Master in what He will have me do and what He will have me say. Many times my own ideas and words get mixed with His and dilutes His message. I am endeavoring to keep this as pure a message of His that I can.
Our society and this whole world are fast moving toward the end of this page of history and into the next page, maybe the last page of history for this age. I have observed in my 60 years over seven decades of history that massive changes have taken place in society. Young people have difficulty comprehending such a drastic change because their viewpoint is so close to the recent happenings. Goodness has been replaced by evil in our society and culture, and this is true in the other cultures of the world (II Timothy 3:1-5). Evil is being called good and good is being called evil. Biblically speaking, we are entering the last days and the Day of the Lord will be upon us before many people realize it. The Day of the Lord will bring:
1. Unexpected events on a godless world
2. Cosmic upheaval
3. Divine judgment
Some people picture God as an observer of earthly events. Our God has backbone and will reward the inhabitants of earth with their just reward. His love will not prevent the justice of His holiness. The cup of Man's rebellion and iniquity will soon be filled to the top and God will arise and act as He has said that He would. There is no place on earth that will be exempt. No country or nation or island. No mayors, governors, presidents, dictators, or the like will stand in His way. Even present day speeches from these state leaders about peace and a peaceful planet will not prevent the awesome Day of the Lord, but they may mislead people into complacency when Jesus tells us to watch and pray.
"Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS"
Peter reminds us in II Peter 3:10 that this Day will come like a thief in the night, and it is a Day reserved for judgment by fire (3:7). Scoffers ridicule such a warning by picturing a man with a beard carrying a sign saying, "The end is near" or some similar message. There have been those in the past who predicted the dates of the end and missed it. Some have been over zealous; but depicting excess zeal may cast cynicism for some about this Day but it cannot be dismissed this easily. For God has said in Revelation 6:15-17:
"And the kings of the earth, the great men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'"
Godly foundations in America are gone. Godly foundations in American churches have crumbled. The church is more interested in teaching what men want to hear rather than what God says (II Timothy 4:3). As a nation we are a modern, sophisticated, technical Sodom. We have fallen so far from the divine standard. In fact, we have come up with new standards that sound good to the ears.
As we look at the dangers of Islam and terrorists toward our country and other western countries, we overlook and ignore our own moral collapse, saying," We aren't so bad." As in the days of Noah, we keep on living as we always have and think our churches are pretty good when they have failed this and other nations. Moral corruption is everywhere, in the workplace, in the schools, in government, and in the church.
Before the great and awesome Day of the Lord there will be tribulation on earth worse than at any time before or after (Matthew 24:21). In Revelation 7:9-14, we are told that there will be a great multitude of God's people, Christians, who come out of the great tribulation just before the Day of the Lord. God's truth about end-times remains true even if pastors and best-selling books state another view. Just as Daniel went through the lion's den (instead of avoiding it), and the three Hebrew boys went through the fiery furnace (instead of being spared the experience), so many Christians will go through the great tribulation.
It would certainly be comfortable to be spared this tribulation experience, but the Scriptures do not support this recent theory of men that say we Christians will be removed from earth before the tribulation, although my flesh would like it to be true. The church fathers have always seen the catching away (rapture) and the Day of the Lord as one happening. This recent theory that has shown up in the Scofield Bible, is now accepted as gospel. It separates these two events by a tribulation. Postmillennialism (The Day of the Lord will happen after the one thousand year reign of Christ) was the prevailing view of the church from the first century through the nineteenth century. Jonathan Edwards was rather outspoken about this view in early America. Through these centuries there were those who had a premillennialist view of end times but never separating the Catching Away and the Second Coming of Christ by the tribulation. This view, which comforts the flesh, is a late theory.
This premillennialist view of separation of the rapture (when Christ will come for his saints) from the Second Coming (when he will come with his saints) is a view introduced by the theory of dispensationalism. This view started to spread in the latter part of the nineteenth century in the United States. What is distinctive about the whole approach of this view or theory is the separation of Israel from the church. It is standard orthodox teaching that the two (Israel and the church) shall be one at the end of the age (Ephesians 2:11-16, Romans 11:11-24). This separation of the church and Israel is also the basis of pretribulationalism.
I have no doubt that we have entered into the time that Jesus called the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8). I do not know how long it will be until we see the full fury of tribulation, but I pray that there is still time to accomplish what God wants from us. I remember reading about the situation in China in the 1940s when Watchman Nee thought he had five years to lay the groundwork for the church in China and actually he only had two years until the communists took over. The amount of time we have until the Lord returns is known only by the Father. But, we must make good use of every moment. The issues before us are:
1. Getting our lives and priorities in order
2. Preparing for great spiritual warfare
3. Understanding the purpose God has for us at the end of this age
On the horizon for most of the world is another revival, which will include a significant harvest of the lost. We cannot make the revival happen any more than we can harvest the lost. The timing is God's and the Holy Spirit will lead sinners to Christ. We must find our place of faithfully sowing into the harvest, but first, each person must put his house in order. Here we must seek the face of God and ask Him to establish those issues which are important and those which are not. We often miss God's best because we are satisfied with what is satisfactory.
We must not put this off any longer. In America there are too many creature-comfort distractions to woo us into complacency. I am convinced that the shadow of the one who will be revealed as the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) is on the earth today. After we have dealt with every issue that needs attention in our lives (the Holy Spirit will show us when we seek Him), we must prepare for the battle that is ahead. We must not get lulled into spiritual apathy when the next revival is upon us, but we must be even more fervent in our preparation for the great tribulation. All Christians will not heed this warning, so those who do must prepare for those who are unprepared when the warfare gets heated. We are our brother's keeper even when we don't see eye to eye.
It is not the time to prepare for battle when the battle is upon us. Our preparation must include gaining an understanding of our specific purpose for that day. In the heat of terrible times we must know that we know that we know who our God is and what we are to be doing. The study of Scripture is good. Concentrating on apocalyptical books such as Daniel and Revelation can surely prepare us, but we must hear God as He reveals to each of us our role in the last days. Scripture is meant to strengthen us, not tickle our minds (II Timothy 4:3-4). Intellectual pursuits are dangerous, at best. That which ministers fear is not of God (Matthew 24:6). Emphasis on political alliances tends toward fleshly speculation. Those who focus on dates and set times are in the same serious trouble as those who have done it in the past. Many have lost their lives (natural and spiritual) because of this error. Keep in mind that prophetic writing is revelation, not an outline to be followed. Types, figures of speech, allegories, and pictures are spiritual concepts that need the Holy Spirit to reveal understanding. And much of that understanding will be hidden until it is upon us (Deuteronomy 29:29).
I find the following outline helpful in understanding the chronology of the end of the age:
A Chronology of the End of the Age
Hebrews 9:27-28
Daniel 7:1-27
Matthew 24:1-44
I Corinthians 15:20-28, 35-58
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
II Thessalonians 2:1-12
Acts 1:6-11
Joel 2:28-32
Acts 2:1-21
Revelation 1:4-19 10:7, 11:15-12:17, 14:6-13
Daniel 9:20-27, 11:29-12:4
Revelation 15:5-6a, 16:15-18:4, 19:11-21:8
We cannot discuss spiritual warfare without considering Ephesians 6:10-18:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-"
We cannot take up the offensive until we have prepared defensively or we will expose ourselves to become spiritual 'prisoners of war.' Truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, and salvation must be an integral part of our lives if we are to use the sword of the Spirit and prayer effectively. Prayer is often left off of this list. I believe that it is God's ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistics Missile) for us and needs to be launched as we go to battle, during the battle, and in giving thanks after the battle. I am concerned about integrity in present day Christendom. We must be people who exercise the weapons of spiritual warfare.
A final thought: In John 17, Jesus prays that we all be one as He and the Father are one. The unity and commitment of all Christians one to another is the prominent sign that Jesus has been sent by the Father. This will be more important in the final days of this age than it is now, and it is extremely important now!