Edition 242. January 14^th 2015

Where are we on the prophetic clock now?

Where are we on the prophetic clock now?

Introduction:

Many people, including myself, have an insatiable desire to know where we are on the prophetic map and time clock. We desire to be with our Lord and see the end of this entire world’s garbage.

But we must not jump the gun and we must be true to the word of our Lord. There are far too many dramatists out there manipulating people just to get followers instead of following our Lord’s word.

As with a natural birth, labour pains intensify nearer the birth. So it is the situation now and it’s going to all speed up very quickly.

Watching and waiting:

There is a big difference between date-setting and watching. The problem is that many people throw the baby out with the bathwater. For fear of date-setting, many won’t watch for the signs.

No, we should not set dates for the coming of the Lord and yes we must watch for all the signs of His coming. If we are truly obedient to the letter of the Word we can possibly know the time to within a very close time-frame. We won’t know the “day and hour”, but that’s a very short time-frame. Who says we are forbidden from knowing within a week, month or year?

It all depends on how you say things and what your motivations are. If you are dogmatic on a specific day, you are likely to be wrong. If you are trying to prove yourself special with God, right and above others, you are definitely going to be wrong.

The simplest is just to come in humility before our Lord and ask Him to show us what we are entitled to know. That’s it! What we must do then is sit back wait and watch!

There is absolutely no harm in watching, searching out the scriptures and coming up with possibilities and probabilities and presenting them as such.

As we get nearer to the rapture of the church, the start of the tribulation period and all the surrounding events, like an opening scroll, our Lord will reveal more and more to us. We must not jump the gun.

The disciples were told: “It is not for you to know the times and seasons the Lord has put in His power...” (Acts 1:7) Obviously this was an address to those disciples at that time, and is most certainly not the case now. Then we see in Daniel 12:4 that in the last days, knowledge will increase.

Finally as we move right into the end-time scenario Luke 21:25-27 says there will be signs in the sun moon and stars and on the earth.

Matthew 24: 32-33 (Amp) “From the fig tree learn its lesson: As soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that the summer is near. So also when you see these signs all taken together coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, even at the very doors.”  The word “know” as used here is in the imperative tense and is in fact a command. It should say, “I command you to know the time.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 “Concerning the times and season brethren, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. For when they say ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them as labour pains upon a pregnant woman and they shall not escape. But you brethren are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.”

Matthew 24:42-44 (Amp) “Watch therefore – give strict attention, be cautious and active – for you know not in what kind of a day (near or remote) your Lord is coming. But understand this: Had the householder known in what part of the night or morning the thief was coming, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. You also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.”

The problem with not watching is very serious. It may be deadly for you. Not watching has parallels with blindness. Being blind at a time of massive increase in deception, and being blind when God is showing us many things is a sure way to disaster. Not watching means you will not be ready.

Today many Christians are starved of these end-time truths. They are staggering around in ignorance. Their church leaders are more to blame than they are.

What to watch for:

What I’ve done now, for your benefit, is strung together a number of signs from the Bible and presented them in one paragraph. It gives you a nice encapsulated view. There are many more, not included.

►There will be perilous times. People will be lovers of themselves and pleasure rather than of God. People will be full of covetousness, boasters and proud. Their children will be disobedient to parents. People will be unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, despisers of those who are good. There will be a massive rise in sexual immorality, aggressive homosexuality, and violence (terrorism). People will fall under the seduction of evil spirits and doctrines of demons. There will be an extinction of species and a massive rise in natural disasters of all types. False Christs and false prophets will arise on the wings of much deception and false doctrine. There will be famines and pestilences.  There will be a massive increase in Christian martyrdom. There will be a massive world economic collapse. There will be a huge drive for a multi-faith, one-world religion and a big push for world peace.

Many of the above points will occur in the tribulation period, but many will begin to be formed and take shape now in the forerunner and labour pains time-period.

►I would like to briefly have a look at a few of the above points.

●On the point above on world peace and the Inter - Faith movement:

The people of the world backed by Satan think they can bring in world peace by uniting people and religions. I know many ministries that are going full speed down this road.

As the “labour pains” intensify and terror, strife and world conflict increase, so the call for world peace will intensify. It is so even now.

What is the main obstacle to world peace? It is all the differences people have in religion, politics and everything in between. So what is the answer? It is to get rid of those differences. People must be made to be subservient to a larger, bigger goal. They must lay aside their differences so that they can be one.

We have just seen a classic example of people of many persuasions coming together as one in Paris.

There is one great big, huge, monumental difference between true Biblical Christianity and all other religions, philosophies and thinking, that forever separates us from the rest. It is the cross of Calvary and the shed blood of our Lamb.

To unite true believers with the unsaved, you have to get rid of the cross. This would make Christianity an acceptable world religion, together with Islam, Judaism and all the others. This is exactly why cross-less Christianity is already on the interfaith bandwagon.

To unite us with others you must get rid of the cross. Sorry, the truth is the other way around. For true everlasting peace, God will get rid of all and everything outside of the cross!

Imagine spending your life as a so-called believer working for world peace and religious harmony by removing the cross and then God fries it all forever! Imagine it no more –that’s what’s coming - a giant fire and frying pan!

1 Thessalonians 5:3 “When they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes.”

The verse above is such a slap in the face to all these Universalists and interfaith types and world peace organisations. They think they’re doing good. “We’re working for peace and safety” they say! Have they got a surprise coming!

I have said a dozen times and say it again. World peace is coming – God’s way, which is the way of the cross through to resurrection.

●On the point above on martyrdom, the statistics are already terrible and we’re not even in the tribulation yet. In researching this, the figures are all over the place. I think this is obvious because it’s difficult to know just who a Christian is and it’s also difficult to get consistent numbers from many isolated places. But God knows everyone.

2014 saw the largest number of Christians martyred ever in one year!

The single bottom line is that it is increasing at a dramatic rate. This is prophetic.

“Martyrdom” of animals by Muslims:

I have always been an animal lover. I have owned quality red setters all my adult life. I’ve been involved in conservation and protection of endangered species and the richness of bio-diversity in general.

I can’t tell you how angered and furious I was recently to see a video clip of Muslims chasing a dog in their vehicle and running it over numerous times until it was dead. Do you know why Muslims hate dogs? Let me give you some information from their prophet and their book:

Their prophet said “Angels do not enter a house wherein there is a dog.” And- “Whoever keeps a dog except for farming purposes will see his deeds decrease every day.” “Then on that very morning Muhammad commanded the killing of the dogs, except the ones for work in the fields.” “A puppy deterred the Archangel Gabriel from entering the house.”

The British House of Commons did launch an investigation into the sign above. A little sign on a park fence in London is not the issue; it’s the much bigger picture that is of importance.

Here are a few verses showing what God thinks of animals:

Deuteronomy 25:4 “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.”

Proverbs 12:10 “A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”

Proverbs 6:17 “Hands that shed innocent blood are an abomination to our Lord.”

So, what then does this have to do with end-time events? Glad you asked. It is essentially wrapped up in one verse:

Revelation 11:18 “God will destroy them that destroy the earth.” This obviously includes the full spectrum of bio-diversity.

It is essentially Satan who is the hater and killer of God’s creation. But God will also destroy those people who have been cruel to His creation! To me that is a great and comforting thought.

It is a wonderfully inspiring thought that the future universe with Satan bound will be holy, pure, true and without any evil.

More Muslim murders will be the mark of the times and this year in particular. We are going to see their trademark – mass murders intensifying greatly.

Israel remains the focus:

The focus of all end-time events is Israel and not the US, Europe or anywhere else. They will play their part, but the main stage of events is the Middle East.

I’ve seen reports of ISIS moving towards Israel. We have a political situation in Israel that is now shaking. We have big dramas within the Palestinian Authority and its leadership. We have nation after nation turning against Israel. We have church after church turning against Israel, with the Presbyterians and Methodists leading the way.

We have Russia in economic turmoil and getting worse fast. We have the Russia / Ukraine situation brewing and shaping up for war.

We have the entire Middle East in the middle of the oil-price dramas, which will spark conflict very soon.

So with all of this intensifying, we see a message in the labour pains. Our Messiah is coming soon.

What must still transpire?

Has the gospel been preached in all the world? (Matthew 24:14.) We will never know exactly but we can presume that it has through missionary work including radio and TV broadcasts.

Although the Bible is not very clear on the exact timing of these terrible wars, it seems probable that they will occur before the tribulation begins.

Still to come we have a massive war in which a confederation of Arab nations tries to wipe Israel off the map. This is revealed in Psalm 83.

The war in which the capital city of Syria, Damascus is destroyed with sections of Jordan is still to take place. This is revealed in Isaiah 17.

Then of course we have the massive war of Gog and Magog, generally referred to as WW111. This is revealed in Ezekiel 38 & 39.

The Bible shows the order of things to come. Some things which must still fall into place include:

The signing of a pseudo-peace covenant between Israel and the person who will become the antichrist is still to take place. This also includes “The many” which may be the UN.

As this event takes place, the “restrainer of evil” will be removed. So if you think the world is full of evil now – it’s going to get much, much worse. (But this will be as the tribulation period begins.) This is when I believe the rapture will take place as well.

We also need to see the formalisation of a ten-nation confederacy in the general area of the ancient Roman Empire. This includes modern Europe and the eastern Muslim portion of that ancient empire, which would be Turkey and surroundings through the Levant and around to Libya.

We are going to the falling away from the church gather steam as well. Today we are in a situation where a great deal of the church has already forsaken the truth and effectively fallen away – although they can’t even see it themselves.

So as you see, we’re not quite there yet.

But do remember that many of these things can and will happen fast.

Could it be this year?

This could be the year of the rapture and start of the tribulation. If it is not this year, I don’t believe there will be more than a few more years left. That is also the consensus opinion of many prophecy teachers and reputable watchmen. In this regard you need to take note when the watchmen are saying the same thing!

There are a number of people claiming to know that it will be this year. I’ve read some of the reasoning. I’m happy to leave this door open. We will know when the signs speak.

I don’t have any word from the Lord or anywhere else that it will be this year for sure. But at the same time it could be.

Either way it is very wise to be ready all the time. How much time do you spend thinking about eternity and all things related? Do you deliberately expand your horizons into the realm of eternity?

I took the image above in a section of the massive Namib Desert. I would frequently go off for weeks on end into this beautiful orange desert, over a thousand kilometres long, on photographic trips, but also just to be there and expand my horizons with my God. I would spend much time in prayer, often on a fast as well, seeking our Lord.

Lying in the desert at night was the most surreal horizon-expanding experience ever. The stars would sing and I could almost feel eternity. (I’ve superimposed an image of me rejoicing in the desert.)

Colossians 3:2 “Set you mind on things above and not on the things of this earth.”

Think about all that is involved in stepping into eternity. The big thing is that everything reward-related is over. There is no going back to do things again. There is no second chance. Do you know that your eternal reward-state is set forever as you cross the finish line? You can’t go back and run the race again!

You can run the race again now. You have a second chance now, but not on the other side! It’s always good to expand your horizons and think about eternity. You will live forever my friend – think about that amazing thought.

Do you think it’s worth giving your all to our Lord for His plan and purpose for your life?

One thing you can be absolutely sure of that is birth pangs will intensify. We are going to an escalation in wildly dramatic, most severe events on all fronts. This will include social, political, economic and environmental.

Final thoughts:

Matthew 24:44 “You also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.”

I did this mixed media painting by moulding the leaf from a real one and printing it onto the canvas a number of times using different colours with each print. The rest of the painting is a celebration of colours and textures in abstract style. The Baobab tree at the top is a collage element merged into the painting. I’ve used other trees that are similar in other paintings as well.

 I took this picture at night. I set the camera on a tripod with the shutter open for two minutes. I went around the flower with a little hand-held halogen torch “painting” it with light from behind and in front. Voila!

Shalom and grow in grace!