0306 KEEP ALERT

KEEP ALERT

“Teacher,” they asked, “when will all this happen? That’s one of our first thoughts, isn’t it? Will this happen within my lifetime? Will I be ready when it does? As it turns out, being ready for it is the whole point. It’s like the end for each of us. We know that death is coming. But we think if we just knew WHEN, then we could somehow be more ready. It’s just not how the universe works. All we can do is to be ready NOW for what might not happen for a long time.  What sign will show us that these things are about to take place?” How do we know this is really, really the end?

He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, because if there is money to be made or power to be grabbed, people will do it. It’s easy to claim that God spoke to you, if it can make you feel powerful, for many will come in my name, even though it seems hard to believe, people use the name of Jesus to gather followers for themselves! claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ which means the anointed one. God has spoken to me, and I can pretend to do miracles and have words of knowledge that seem impressive. There are too many examples for me to even have to explain this. and saying, ‘The time has come!’ We all want to know that it’s happening right before our eyes, and we have become a very impatient people with a clear desire to have end-of-the-world panic all around us, But don’t believe them. Always ask yourself, “What’s in it for them? Follow the money, and you’ll see who truly believes and who is pursuing their own selfish agenda. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Be concerned for those who are victims, and for the aggressors, but know that it’s not about you. There is a very big picture of history that unfolds, showing what mankind does when they make their own decisions.  Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.” People have been predicting the end of the world since Jesus ascended. Even these signs Jesus provides are no predictors of the final chapter. In my lifetime, the last 50 years have been filled with end times predictions, seeing the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 as being fulfilled, when Gog from the north in Russia and Magog from the south in Iran come to invade Israel, a people living peacefully in cities without walls. Then he added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Russia will invade the Ukraine, and there will be increasing divisions within our own country, leading toward another civil war. Currently, there are wars or minor conflicts in around 40 countries today, most of them in the middle east, many of them ultimately focused on and surrounding the modern nation of Israel. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, let’s just go ahead and call it global climate change, and recognize that we have had a lot of changes in the patterns of weather on the planet, including 6 earthquakes in the last 18 years of 8.1-9.1 in magnitude, all in the Pacific. Famines are increasing on earth, due to climate change, ongoing wars, and the pandemic. At least 155 million people in 55 countries faced acute hunger in 2020 — 20 million more than 2019 famines, and now they say there has been a Six-fold increase in people suffering famine-like conditions since pandemic began. And I think it is fair to call COVID-19 a plague. and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven. Terrifying? That’s why they call them terrorists! Miraculous? I suppose surface to air missiles would be miraculous signs to the ancient witness of them.

. . .  For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against this people. Can you say Holocaust? Diaspora? The Pale of Settlement? There always have been enemies of the Jews, and today is no exception. The current modern state of Israel, with the angry eyes of the whole world focused on it.  They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. This began in A.D. 70 and continued in the ensuing centuries. By far, there is no nation on earth that has been so singled out to be scattered and driven away as the nation of Israel over the years. And yet, they have still been identifiable for all these centuries.  And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end. Perhaps you remember my telling you that the Romans in the year 70 defiled and destroyed the temple, but they also drove out Jews from being allowed to live in Jerusalem. They renamed the city Capitolina to have a secular name, and they named the land Palestine, which was a derogatory term, meaning “Land of the Philistines,” the known enemies of Israel. During the Persian period, the total Jewish population in all of Palestine was less than that of New Richmond. About 1500 Jews in what we know as Israel.  In the 1870s, the total population of the city of Jerusalem was around 17,000 people. Jerusalem had the population of Loveland Ohio. And yet, in 1948 the state of Israel was re-established and Jews from all over the world returned. And today the Jewish population of Israel is almost 7 million  and the city of Jerusalem has almost a million citizens. Has the period of the Gentiles come to an end?

“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Would you consider large meteors coming near, satellites in space or data stored in the cloud to be strange signs? And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. The sea is rising, almost 4 inches in 30 years, and predicted to continue rising as the polar ice caps melt. Tsunamis have increased, as well as major hurricanes and monsoons. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. You can hardly turn on the news without hearing how terrified people are at what they see coming upon the earth. Of course, they believe that it is due to carbon emissions! As if our greatest sin is to emit carbon dioxide. But there is coming a judgment from God for reasons far more morally evil than unknowingly leaving a carbon footprint! Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. And at last there is the return of the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. I don’t know what image comes to your mind with this. Is he riding on a cloud like a surf board? Is he circling the earth so that all can see him? Are cameras focused on a UFO—a little man-sized anomaly that they eventually see is Jesus, complete with white robe, descending from the sky? I don’t know. But I trust that everyone will see it, and all will see that he has power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” Notice what is near? Your salvation! These days, we talk about the future with an invented end of the world. The most popular now is a Zombie Apocalypse. I am embarrassed even to say it. There is no biblical or scientific prediction of such a thing. It is completely made up. Others see nuclear explosions covering the earth and wiping out life as we know it. We predict pollution destroying the planet, or carbon emissions bringing about global disasters, or incurable disease spreading like a plague. Any number of scenes that we have painted. But make special note of this: when these things begin to happen, you can stand and look up, for your salvation is near! Not your doom or mankind’s extinction! Your salvation!

“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. This is why we are talking about this chapter today. It is not to predict politics or weather. It is not to prove that the Bible is true. It is not to tell you to build a bomb shelter. No. It is to help us all to be aware, and not to become complacent, with the worries or pleasures of this life taking over our lives. Listen: video gaming and self-entertainment are far greater dangers to our planet than greenhouse gas emissions or even world war! The danger Jesus warned against is to let your heart be dulled by self-indulgence or the worries of this life. We become unaware. Like a trap.

For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. This is more than even world war 3 or a nuclear disaster. There is no one escaping the appearing of Jesus. Keep alert at all times. Not to scare yourself or others with dire predictions. Keep attuned to the Spirit of God. Memorize Scripture. Read it every day. Discipline yourself to pray. The one who guards at night is vigilant to particular movements and sounds. You let some go and focus on the important ones. Your job is not to think world politics but to watch for immediate dangers. This is us. Jesus gives us the big picture, but then tells us to be alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” This is the end of his talk on the subject. Let us pray that we will be strong enough to escape the coming horrors and be firm in our faith so that we can stand before the Son of Man, rather than falling before him being judged for what we did while we had the chance on earth.