Blessings to each of you! We’ve been sharing a pretty grueling series of posts about the 7 year Tribulation. It’s grueling because even the word “Tribulation” implies a time of great trouble or suffering. This time of suffering will be unprecedented in that there has been no other time on earth nor ever will there ever be again that will produce that level of pain. The Bible indicates that to the vast majority of humanity, this time of Tribulation, “the Day of the Lord”, will sneak up on them as a “thief in the night”. Sadly, many people THINK that because God hasn’t “acted”, we can continue to deny Him while worshiping the throne of “self”. As the numbers of Christians dwindle, and many mega Churches no longer speak about sin, repentance, and holiness, mankind’s predictable slide into wickedness and iniquity continues to escalate. Growing numbers of people, especially the younger generations, mistakenly think that either God doesn’t exist, He doesn’t SEE, or He doesn’t care.
O Lord, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth,
Render recompense to the proud.3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord,
How long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;
All who do wickedness vaunt themselves. (Praise themselves)
5 They crush Your people, O Lord,
And afflict Your heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 They have said, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”8 Pay heed, you senseless among the people;
And when will you understand, stupid ones?
9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10 He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath.When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises mischief by decree?
21 They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death. (abortion and other murders)
22 But the Lord has been my stronghold,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will destroy them.
The vast majority of people in this world do NOT SEE, nor do they UNDERSTAND, what is soon to come upon this world. The God who formed the Heavens, the Earth, and every living thing DOES SEE our rebellion, our idolatry, and our wickedness. The earth is beginning to groan under the weight of our sin. The fish of the sea, birds of the air, and mammals on the ground are dying in larger and larger numbers because of our sin (Hosea 4). It is now estimated that thousands and thousands of Koala bears have died in Australia because of the MASSIVE forest fires. There have been massive hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, and civil unrest as God chastens mankind in an attempt to turn hearts back to HIM. But like Pharoah in Egypt, many hearts are hardened, and when the pain is relieved, people just go back to “business as usual”. Or…”they” cry out “Climate Change”..how can WE save OURSELVES? After 9/11, many, many people turned to God for answers. People began to flood Churches, returning to God. It seemed like there was going to be a Great Revival. But it didn’t take long for complacency to set back in, and for people to again turn their backs on God. The truth is, GOD IS REAL, SIN DOES EXIST, and GOD DOES SEE. He patiently waits until HIS TIME, the “Day of the Lord”. We should not mistake His silence for ACCEPTANCE of sin, apathy, or worse yet…a false belief that He doesn’t exist.
There will be a day of reckoning, so it’s best to get in the Ark now. Jesus Christ IS the Ark. If you have eyes to see, then you are GREATLY BLESSED because sadly, many do not. Wide is the road that leads to destruction, and MANY are on it. Narrow is the road that leads to LIFE, and few find it.
If you are a God-fearing person, then it is probably difficult to process how quickly our world has fallen into severe iniquity. Although there has always been sin, idolatry, murder, war, racism, sexual perversions, and the like, there was also a tacit respect for GOD’s COMMANDMENTS, CHURCH, LAW ENFORCEMENT and AUTHORITY. There has been a top down and bottom up ROT and DECAY going on in the world, where many people no longer respect the rule of law, and depending on political affiliation, wealth, status, and fame, many people are NOT PENALIZED for BREAKING the law. God considers this inequity (lack of fairness or justice) to be unequal scales and measures, an abomination before the Lord (Proverbs 20:23). At the same time, God’s laws have practically been banned, with words like “FREEDOM FROM RELIGION”. Dark deeds done in the shadows are now openly celebrated. There is DEFINITELY a MOCKING, RIDICULING, and DEMONIZATION of law enforcement and conservative CHRISTIAN values. If churches would have “held the line”, perhaps the slide into severe iniquity wouldn’t have been so rapid; however, MANY Churches have also embraced all manners of things that go against God’s Word.
Does God see, does God care? We saw in Psalm 94 that although God is silent for now, He does SEE and He does CARE. God is not slow, as some may think, but is very patient, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The time of judgment, of Tribulation will be a terrible time on the earth, and one that is difficult to contemplate. However, it does us no good to bury our heads in the sand. It’s best to recognize the truth now, while there is still time for us to make some changes. Repentance is not something preached in the Churches, but it is necessary. It means to TURN from SIN and go the opposite direction. Run TOWARDS JESUS and not away from HIM.
(1 John 1:9). If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But when we confess our sins, Jesus (GOD) who is FAITHFUL AND JUST will FORGIVE our sins and CLEANSE US (with His Blood) from ALL unrighteousness.
The message for 2020: God WILL RESTORE what is LOST!
Although the world appears pretty dark right now, and sin is running a-muck, God has not abandoned the earth. Sin, FALSE “GODS” (IDOLS) and everything that is WICKED will be burnt up, and will disappear as chaff on the threshing floor. But…our God is in the RESTORATION BUSINESS. JESUS is making ALL THINGS NEW.
Last night, the Lord gave me a Word of encouragement that I believe is for all of us! He said “Come to me and I will tell you great and mighty things you do not know”. This occurred in the middle of the night when I was pretty drowsy. I knew this Word was important, but as I was coming more fully alert, I forgot the Word. So I asked the Holy Spirit if this Word was something that He wanted me to remember, would He please bring it back into my memory. Immediately I remembered the Word and wrote it down. I recognized this Word as a Word from Scripture. It is a Word of encouragement.
When I awoke this morning, I went to search out the Scriptures to get some more insight on what the Lord wants to convey. We find this word in Jeremiah 33. Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who prophesied to Jerusalem of the coming destruction at the hands of the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. The kings of Judah did NOT want to listen, and rebelled against the Word of the Lord. At the time that Jeremiah received this Word of hope and encouragement, the same Word from the Lord that I heard last night, he was confined in the court of the guard…the siege of Jerusalem that he had warned was coming, was in progress. The Lord was telling Israel that as all of the bad things that were prophesied were coming to pass, namely the siege of Jerusalem, death and destruction and ultimately exile, so would all the good things come to pass. The siege and exile are NOT the end of the story.
For us today, the Tribulation is NOT the end of the story. God ultimately has a PLAN of RESTORATION.
Jeremiah 33: 5: ‘While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: 6 Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.
7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah (JEW) and the fortunes of Israel (GENTILE) and will rebuild them as they were at first. 8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. (through the Messiah, the blood of Jesus) 9 It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them (Jew and Gentile, the Israel of God), and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
For the Lord is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting”;
In the days of Jeremiah, God was telling Israel, yes, you have sinned against God and you will reap what you sow, BUT God has a plan. God has a plan to RESTORE everything that has been lost. For those who REPENT and TURN TO GOD, there will be PEACE, HEALING, and RESTORATION. God is restoring Judah (Jews) and Israel (Ephraim/Gentile Believers in Jesus) even BETTER than we were before …in the Garden of Eden. There will be GREAT JOY when this restoration takes place, when the DEAD IN CHRIST RISE FIRST, when the Jewish people say “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD”! The Streets of the NEW JERUSALEM, the CITY OF GOD, will be INHABITED with GOD’S PEOPLE! Jesus Christ IS the Bridegroom, and His Church, His people ARE His Bride. The Jewish remnant, those chosen by God, those who WILL RECEIVE GOD’S TRUE MESSIAH JESUS, WILL be protected, and also RESTORED as a part of the NEW JERUSALEM. God has already RAISED UP THE BRANCH (JESUS CHRIST) to TAKE OUR SINS AWAY, and pardon our INIQUITY. And, God will RESTORE this earth back to the way that it was originally intended, the KINGDOM OF GOD on earth. Although there will be great destruction coming during the Tribulation, God is going to shake what can be shaken, and only that which cannot be shaken, that which is CONNECTED to the VINE (JESUS CHRIST) will remain. Everything that is unclean will be removed, and only the clean and pure remain.
That is the message for 2020…RESTORATION is coming. Although things look bleak in the world right now, and may get even darker as we approach the final 7 years of mankind’s self-rule on earth, REJOICE and LIFT UP YOUR HEADS because your REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR. Call to Jesus and He will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.
May the Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ rest upon each of you and your families this new Year. God Bless!
