Discern both good and evil

Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


How do people call evil good? Shouldn't it be obvious to everyone exactly what is evil? How can anyone look at evil and know it's evil and call it good? How can someone know that something is bad and yet call it good? I can understand someone committing evil knowing it's evil, but to call it good and believe that it really is something good, how is that deception possible?


On the opposite side of the situation how can anyone know something is good and then call it evil?


How does one call dark - light? How?


And how does one call light - dark?


Can you take something bitter and call it sweet? It's impossible isn't it?


If I have something sweet I cannot make it bitter just upon my say so, it doesn't happen.


We are given a warning- WOE. Woe is that warning.


woe
noun
1.
grievous distress, affliction, or trouble: His woe was almost beyond description.
2.
an affliction: She suffered a fall, among her other woes.
interjection
3.
an exclamation of grief, distress, or lamentation.

Pasted from


Woe unto them. Distress, affliction, trouble, grief unto them. We are warned that if we lie it will mean grief, affliction, trouble, and distress unto us. Because isn't calling something the opposite of what it truly is- a lie?


How many things in our world do people call harmless fun that are really not harmless at all? We've become so incredibly desensitized to evil we are very guilty of calling evil good, and of calling good evil.


2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.


We have to examine ourselves, we have to prove our own selves, whether or not we are in the faith- whether or not we are among those who could be calling evil good. We don't want to think for a moment that we are doing that, do we? How much better is it to recognize evil for what it is and NOT try to make it out to be something it is not. When we let ourselves begin that deception we are treading on very dangerous ground. How much better is it to call evil - evil and good- good? If we do get caught up in evil at least then we can repent of that evil, but if we are stuck believing that evil is really good then we won't repent, will we? Why would we repent of what we believe is good? We wouldn't. We'd be caught up in Satan's deception.


Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


Is it any wonder at all whatsoever that the pronouncement is - Woe? This is something to be very concerned about. We have to examine ourselves, something we don't really like to do. The world around us is filled so deeply with deceit, with evils that are passed off for good that discernment must come from God, and we must desire this discernment.


Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.


Strong meat. We've talked about this before but it bears repeating again and again as the Lord wills.


Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.


We need the ability to discern what is good and what is evil and we only get that ability by making our Savior our life study, our life's work, our life's desire. If we are not taking strong meat then we are just babes and in danger of not being able to discern between good and evil. Our senses need to be EXERCISED and they are exercised by the strong meat of the word of God, skilled in the WORD of RIGHTEOUSNESS! How can we be skilled in the word of righteousness- the word of Christ our righteousness- if we don't study all that He's given us to study? If we truly wish to be able to discern between evil and good we need to study deeply, not superficially.


1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.


Spiritual discernment only comes through the Spirit of God.


1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.


We need spiritual discernment! If we are not given spiritual discernment then the natural man- which cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God- is in control and that natural man will only call the things of God foolish. Oh please God help us to have Your within us, help us have spiritual discernment! We need this so desperately because there is so much wickedness around us, in us, that we need to discern for what it is and repent, seeking forgiveness and a new life in Christ without the evil deceiving us.


1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.


Do we do this? Do we prove all things? Do we truly understand that we need to do this rather than just go along with things because that's the way things are? All too often we settle for things in life, we compromise with principles because the world dictates we should. So many people will be lost for conforming to the world, for not wanting to stand out and be God's as God would have them be. There's a temporary, fleeting comfort in conformity but one thing is most certain- whenever we conform the guilt that conformity brings to us later is great and we end up wishing we hadn't conformed. Too often regret overcomes any sense of comfort we might have. What good is it to have our lives now if we are lost to eternity? What good is it to *fit* in and not be considered *strange* if it means that to fit in we are giving up salvation in our Savior. In a world where so much evil is now call good, and so much good is now called evil we are living on a very, very slippery slope and our only hope is to cling to Christ and study His word, pray for the Spirit of God to enlighten us, to give us all we need to belong to our Lord.


Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.


To the law and to the testimony- some will say that is outdated by Christ's coming- I say this…


Rev 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.


Keep the commandments of God- TO THE LAW.
And have the testimony of Jesus Christ- TO THE TESTIMONY.


There is NO light in those who do not keep the law and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. We'd love to believe that all people will choose God over Satan, but the sad truth is that very few will. Is it any wonder we HAVE to take anything we find ourselves tempted to believe in and hold it up to the standard of the law of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ?


Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.


Amen.


Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.


We cannot be conformed to this world, and the only way to keep from being conformed to this world is to be transformed by the renewing of our minds- proving what is good, what is acceptable, and perfect- will of GOD.


Pro 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro 3:2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.


Amen!


Pro 4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.


Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.


Continue in Jesus' word!


Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.


Hold fast and repent.
Watch.


Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.


Hold fast.


All by the grace and mercy of our Lord, through the amazing love of our Savior. Please Lord help us, renew our minds, let the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth. Please God we don't want to call evil good, or call good evil… help us we desperately need Your help and it's only through You, through YOUR righteousness that we have hope. You are our Hope! You are Life!



In Your amazing love!

Amen.

A Crucial Choice.

Psa 36:1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.


No fear of God.
The wicked do not fear God.


We've spoken of this before- that there are only two crucial, life altering choices we ever face in life. All our less crucial choices from then are shaped by those two crucial choices. Every day we wake up and we have to choose from one of those crucial choices. Every night before we go to sleep we make that crucial choice. Some of you might be truly confused right now and that's understandable. People often like to believe that once they make that first crucial choice then there is no need to make it ever again, but this choice is so incredibly crucial to our lives that it has to be made every day, twice a day, maybe more- especially if we use that choice to define all other choices in our lives. When we neglect to choose, that is consciously choose, knowingly making the choice every day then we set ourselves up to take the default choice and that default choice has the potential for becoming a choice we would not consciously wish to make.


The crucial choice to make is between - eternal life or eternal death and yes, it is a choice we make every day. Our lives are defined by the days we live, and what we choose on those days. Our history is a culmination of the choices we've made throughout our lives, throughout the number of days we've existed. Each day brings with it an opportunity to choose to live eternally or face eternal death. Unfortunately the majority of people don't realize or rather don't WANT to realize that this is a daily choice. All people will have a chance to make this choice at least once, but most people have the choice presented to them more than once. All too often however after making the choice for eternal death by not accepting eternal life in Jesus Christ, people choose to allow themselves to become blind to future choice making and grow oblivious to the opportunities to change their mind. People don't comprehend the need of choosing, and are left to the default choice. The choice of not actively seeking Jesus. The choice of not praying daily for that daily Bread.


Does everyone pray every day? Do you? Is daily prayer necessary? According to Jesus it is.


When teaching His Apostles the prayer to base all their prayers upon, Jesus spoke these words-


Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.


Give us THIS day our daily bread. Give us day by day our daily bread. A daily need of our Savior, our spiritual sustenance.


And so yes, we make this choice daily- knowingly and unknowingly. You hear all the time that silence is a form of acquiescing. If you remain silent you are accountable for your silence. We are accountable whether or not we are actively choosing. I'm positive all wicked people do not wake up and announce to themselves that they are choosing to be wicked that day. Yet they remain wicked unless they make the choice to have Christ as their Savior, asking forgiveness from Him for all their sins, repenting deeply of all they've done.


God's chosen people were given an example of keeping God continually before them- burnt offerings to the Lord were to be made every morning and evening.


1Ch 16:40 To offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel;.


If God's people chose to ignore a morning offering would they have been following God's will? No. They would not have been choosing to follow God when making that decision.


After Christ died and rose, doing away with the need for the sacrificial law He instituted a life of prayer and supplication.


Mar 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.


How was forgiveness to be received? Through prayer. And during that prayer- forgiving others.


Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.


God required sacrifices from His people, God required that His people be in a perpetual state of understanding their need of Him to forgive their breaking of the covenant. God taught His chosen people they were dependent upon Him for their lives in Him. God promised that eventually all sacrifice would be done away with through a Messiah- a Savior, and that Savior came. Our Savior, the Innocent Lamb was sacrificed for us as the ultimate, perfect Sacrifice doing away with the need for the sacrificial ceremonial law.


The thing we need to remember here though is that Jesus Christ did NOT do away with our daily, continual need of God in our lives.


Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.


Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?


Continual prayer. Cry day and night unto God. A constant understand that we are dependent upon God for all things, for our lives now and eternally.


We must DAILY choose Christ! We must choose daily and it's a crucial choice we make. When we choose to follow Christ all the other choices we are called to make in our day should be based on the choice of being a follower of our Savior! Too many don't choose at all, too many choose not to follow Christ, too many choose to not even believe He exists, all to their eternal end.


Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


Psa 36:1 The transgression of the wicked, saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.


The wicked have no fear of God before them.
The wicked choose not to believe in God.
The wicked...


Psa 36:2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
Psa 36:3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
Psa 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.


The wicked flatters himself in his own eyes- SO TRUE! So many people are cocky in their own belief of superiority. So many wicked applaud themselves for being too smart to believe in God, too intelligent to be fooled into believing in the unseen, too amazingly bright to get caught up in anything that actually calls for faith.


The wicked speak sinful things, deceitful things, and the wicked are NOT wise in abandoning God and believing only in themselves.


The wicked bring on their own destruction.


The wicked choose to accept evil. The wicked even call evil good.


Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


Without any fear of God in them, a person chooses eternal death.


God is merciful!


Psa 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Psa 36:6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
Psa 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psa 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psa 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Psa 36:10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Psa 36:11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
Psa 36:12 There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.



Praise God! All glory to God!


We talk about wanting to understand what everything is all about, what the meaning of life is and I'll tell you- it's to live and the only way we live is in Christ, through Christ's righteousness, through Christ's forgiveness, by Christ's mercy and grace!


We have two crucial choices to choose from- life or death, God or self, make no mistake it is our choice to make and no one else's.


By the amazing love of our God may we choose Him always and not be accounted among the wicked- fallen, cast down, never able to rise again.


Al praise and thanksgiving, all honor and glory to our Creator, Savior, King, to our Heavenly Father, to the Holy Spirit!


Amen.

Prophecy 57 - Revelation

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.


Now I've studied this before but it bears studying again and again, and again. This is the revelation of JESUS CHRIST. This isn't John's revelation, this is our SAVIOR's revelation. And God gave this revelation to His Son so the servants of His Son would see all the things that would come to pass. Yes, it says shortly and in the grand scheme of eternity the time is shortly.


Jesus sent this revelation and signified it by His angel and His angel gave this revelation to our Savior's servant, John. How amazing is this, seriously, God used Daniel as His prophet , a prophet our Savior even referred to. Now God gives a revelation to Jesus Christ to give to Jesus' servant John. John, like Daniel is the human instrument who records the revelations. John spent three years with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry until it's end. John who since the death and resurrection of our Savior spent His life spreading the gospel of the kingdom was chosen to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ. John bore record of Jesus- the Word of God. John bore record to the message that Jesus Christ had to bring to the world. John had seen so much of Jesus', so much of His life that he could give first hand testimony to all. First hand testimony means so much. People who live with someone for three years come to know them quite well. Even those who go to school- let's say college for a couple years and live in a dorm room with someone- gets to know them and that's not a very good analogy to the day in day out living with Jesus that His Apostles did. It is safe to say with all certainty that the Apostles, of whom John was one, knew Jesus like no others, including those who lived with Him all His life up to that point. How can I say that last bit? I can say it because it wasn't until Jesus was baptized that He began His ministry, He did not live His ministry before that time. Yes, He went about His Father's business as instructed but the message of salvation, the message of the gospel of the kingdom was not preached until He was anointed by His Father upon His baptism. Only His Apostles knew Jesus so intimately it could be said of them that they bare record of the word of God, that they had the testimony of Jesus Christ and all things that he saw.


Jesus chose the Apostle John to bring this revelation to others by recording it and we must understand the revelation is prophecy and prophecy is the foretelling of what WILL come to pass if God wills. Do you remember talking about how not ALL things prophesized come to pass? Remember when God issues prophetic warnings they are done to get His people to see the error of their ways and if the people do, God can will that the thing prophesized not come to pass. Prophetic warnings have this possibility, but prophetic history does not. There was little warning, but a lot of fact in Daniel's prophecies of our history. As we study this book of Revelation we will see a lot of warning, as well as history- of things which must come to pass.


Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.


Blessed- are the readers.
Blessed- are the hearers.
Blessed- are the keepers.


Read, hear, keep and we are blessed.


By the grace of God may we truly READ with eyes wide opened, with our hearts kept in Christ, with the blessing of the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.
By the grace of God may we truly HEAR all that is said to us, may we comprehend all that Christ would have us comprehend and be blessed.
By the grace of God may we KEEP all that we comprehend from reading and hearing.


All through Christ's righteousness! All through His love! By His mercy, by His grace forever!!!!!!!


Amen.

Prophecy - 56

Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.


Amazingly wonderful! We know what this is, the second coming of our Savior!


1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.


Delivered!


The prophetic unfolding of history, of that vision given here in Daniel, realized at last!


Now, Daniel desired to understand the visions given to Him and God sent an angel to help him understand, but the truth of the matter is, Daniel probably couldn't fully understand everything. However Daniel did understand the 'end result'. That end result was salvation! That end result was deliverance by God. Daniel lived hundreds of years before Christ was born, and yet He knew that there would be salvation through Him. He knew a Great Prince would save God's children. He knew that many who were sleeping in the dust of the earth (the dead) would awake- some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. People who died in Christ, in God had hope of living on. Those who died without God, without Christ only had the hope of death. Daniel understood there would be an end to all history of mankind living without God. God would live on eternally and God's people would live on with Him. This amazing hope was Daniel's and in that He was given so very, very much from that angel- Daniel's prayer was answered.



Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.


Now the angel says- shut up the words, seal the book to the time of the end- many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. We KNOW that this has happened only within the last couple hundred years- or less. Seriously! You find a person who was born in 1911 and ask them how much has changed in our world and they'd have great stories to tell. Prior to that a person born in the early 1800's would have been shocked completely to realize how greatly things would change. Horse and buggy- to all the various modes of transportation we have today. Out houses and washboards- to indoor plumbing and washing machines. Cruel, seemingly barbaric forms of medical treatment in operations- to our pain free life saving techniques of today. I could go on and on, but I won't. The point here is for thousands and thousands of years our world changed very gradually with the occasional advancement but then quite suddenly all over the world at the same time- knowledge was increasing by leaps and bounds and not only knowledge in secular things, but knowledge in things Biblical. That sealed book was unsealed, that shut book was opened- the things in Daniel could be understood because enough of the history had past for people to truly comprehend the wonder of the prophecy given. How blessed people are and most don't even realize it, don't even want to realize it, would rather believe in anything but the sure word of God's prophecy.



Dan 12:5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
Dan 12:6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
Dan 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Dan 12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Dan 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Dan 12:12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
Dan 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.


We are going to stop here, but we are far from finished with the prophecy of Daniel. Tomorrow God willing we will be begin studying the book of Revelation.


We need our eyes opened, we need our hearts made new, made clean, by God. We have to understand what times we live in and keep our eyes wide opened to our Savior's love. Only through Him do we have hope of understanding, of prevailing, only in Christ's righteousness!


By His grace!
By His amazing unending love and mercy!
Through His forgiveness, His righteousness!


Amen.

Prophecy - 55

Dan 11:45 And he (the Papacy) shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.


Right up until the very end this Roman power would exist JUST AS PREDICTED.


There is no indication whatsoever that the Papacy will disappear, is there? Can you imagine a world without Catholics- a religious body that has been in existence for over 2000 years? Some did imagine its demise back in the late 1700's early 1800's- but the beast that received what appeared to be a deadly wound was healed.


Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.


We will be going to the book of Revelation after we finish up the book of Daniel, because the two go hand in hand with this prophecy, and we cannot ignore that fact.


That statue in Daniel chapter 2 focused on the Middle East- focused on Jerusalem and the surrounding countries, kingdoms, powers and it tells us the big picture. That prophecy is as sure today as it was when it was given.


NOTHING stopped what was predicted from coming to pass, and NOTHING WILL stop what is yet to come. Stop believing in God, stop believing in the Savior, stop believing in the Bible, turn your back upon everything- that is your choice and it's a choice we all have- to believe or not to believe.


When we are given proof through prophecy, proof in history then we have ONLY ourselves to blame when we turn our backs on truth. Regardless of every single belief a person in any religion has, there are facts that can't be disputed. As you dispute the Bible and say it's all fantasy, all fable, all made up nonsense then explain how that made up nonsense that only fools would belief could predict our future so perfectly? Lucky guess? Hardly. There is proof for those who are not blinded by their own deceit, who are not blinded by their own desire to remain blind. The blind however can happily say they see nothing and believe it to be the truth- their nothingness, but in the end everything will be revealed as PREDICTED.


By God's grace alone are we saved. By the righteousness of our Savior alone do we have hope. By faith in our God we have to live. Satan will try to strip it all away from us and he will succeed for most, it is only through God's mercy that we can be His. The choice we make to believe -that is where it all ultimately lies, that is what is within our grasp- our choice. When we make our choice then we place our lives in God's hands or Satan's hands.


When that time of trouble comes, God's people will be protected, they will have been sealed as His, living completely in the righteousness of Christ. Those who are not protected will feel the horrific effects of that time of trouble the precursor to the coming of our LORD. More on all that as we study Revelation.


This verse however struck me today for some reason-


Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.


The righteous are NOT promised an end to the afflictions of life as numerous and horrific as they can be, there is NO exemption for those who choose to be God's.


MANY are the afflictions of the righteous.


MANY afflictions for those who are God's.


TOO many people blame God day in and day out for everything that goes wrong in their lives. TOO many claim that as proof that there is no God because He lets good people suffer. TOO many can't face the truth, that MANY afflictions come to the righteous. Believing in God is not a get out of jail free card, it's not a get out of life's troubles card, it's not a free pass for turmoil and the greatest of heartaches. Why there is that misconception that God is out to get someone, that God hates someone because He allows intense pain and heartache I don't know. Often the closer we are to God the greater challenges we face because Satan wants to steal us back and he'll go to get lengths to do just that.


How many people willing put a target on their backs in a middle of a war? Not many. Yet that is sort of what we do when we choose God over the world, over satan. We place a spiritual flare on top of our heads. We have a loudly beeping tracker attached to us and satan will NOT hesitate to pounce on us with attack after attack. Does that mean God isn't protecting us? NO! God will protect our ETERNAL LIFE! Everything here right now should be counted as expendable, even if it breaks our hearts in a million trillion pieces. Eternal life will be time enough for joy, time enough for no more heartache or pain. Right now we have to know that our Savior suffered in a way we can't even imagine and the suffering we are called to endure is nothing compared to His. He is our all in all and in Him we find life eternal.


Easy for me to say- I know people will think that, but believe me Satan knows how to attack anyone who chooses God over Him and I'm NO exception.


Prophecy is amazing. Prophecy comes true. And by the grace of God we will live to the end of all prophecy.


By His grace may we live always in HIM!


Amen.

Prophecy - 54

Yesterday we began to delve into what I believe could be or could not be unfulfilled prophecy. What I do know is this, the papacy has NOT come to its end. The little horn power has not come to its end, the beast power has not come to its end. How do I know this? Because evil still exists in our world and our Savior has not yet returned for us.


Let's re-read the same verses we read yesterday--


Dan 11:40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him (the Papacy): and the king of the north shall come against him (the Papacy) like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (the Papacy) shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.


Dan 11:41 He (the Papacy) shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his (the Papacy) hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.


Dan 11:42 He (the Papacy) shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.


Dan 11:43 But he (the Papacy) shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.


Dan 11:44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him (the Papacy): therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.


Dan 11:45 And he (the Papacy) shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.


Now, we ALL know that mankind put the chapters and verses divisions into the Bible and sometimes there are continuations that should be there where they are not.


Let's continue a bit…


Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.


AND at that time, what time? When the Papacy plants the tabernacle of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain (Jerusalem), the Papacy would come to his end and none will help him- and at THAT time- MICHAEL shall stand up, that great prince (Jesus) which stands for the children of thy people.


The Papacy meets its end- and then Jesus stands up!


Where is Jesus? In the Heavenly Sanctuary, the same sanctuary that needed to be cleansed. That cleansing began in 1844. After 6000 some years of sin, with the last 167 years of cleansing underway from ALL that sin accumulated over time- we are STILL In the cleansing phase and will remain in that cleansing phase until our SAVIOR stands up, until His work in heaven as our High Priest is over and He takes on the crown of King of Kings who comes as conquering Deliverer!


Do you see!? We are so close to this amazing second coming of our Savior! We are living in predicted time- every human being alive is living in predicted time. We have to watch and pray, we are told to watch and pray and there is SO much we need to watch and so many prayers we need to pray!



We'll continue with more tomorrow but we really need to think about this- OUR FUTURE! If you hope to be alive when our Savior returns then this has to interest you! I know I hope to be alive when Jesus returns and this interests me a great deal. There is going to be a period of time between the moment our Savior ceases His cleansing work as our High Priest and when He returns for us. One thing is certain that in that time we will be living under the full righteousness of our Savior, under His full grace - cleansed and free from all sin. In that state of being made clean, in that completely purified state we will be ready for our Savior when he comes for us. We won't be cleaned in any way by our own power, we cannot cleanse ourselves- all our righteousness is as filthy rags. Christ must cleanse us, Christ's righteousness must be ours- we have no righteousness of our own. All through Christ, everything through our Savior.


May we grow closer and closer to our Lord, our only hope, our LOVE!


By His grace! By His mercy! By His forgiveness!


Amen!

Prophecy - 53

As this prophetic interpretation of the angel begins to come to a close we can't help but understand that the end of this message has to include our time. At some point we KNOW that the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, will destroy the statue that represents earth as we know it. The kingdoms focused on were centered around the apostate force- those opposing God's people time and time again and giving rise to the beast power that would last for thousands of years right up until the very end - only to be destroyed completely by our Savior's triumphant return.


Babylon
Medo-Persia
Greece
Rome- Pagan and Papal
A broken empire that would include that Roman power.


Do we really live in the time of the broken empire that includes Rome?


Never has the world seen a kingdom such as the Roman Empire since its dismantling, never!
Rome still exists and show NO indication of disappearing- ever.
The power that came up, that strange, diverse power- a religious power mingled with politics- the Papacy still exists today and show NO signs of disappearing- ever.


So proud of their 2000 year history, this Papal power will have a part to play right up until the end of the world as we know it and the return of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who will take His saints back to heaven with Him.


As we continue on keeping in mind this is all PROPHETIC, there comes a point now where things begin to blur because as mentioned before- we will enter a time when we are living in what is prophesized and not have history to point at.


When we think of history with all the battles, all the wars, all the crusades, all the military campaigns, we have to stop for a moment and think about life today. I read something really interesting the other day- it said that we are already in WWIII, only most people don't realize it because WWIII is being waged on a much different scale than ever before. WWIII is a war that involves technology unlike any in years past. WWIII involves the cyber world, it involves economy, it involves destructive politics. Yes, a lot of that is the same, but the MEANS have changed. Rather than battle with weapons of physical warfare, these battles are fought on a whole new level of intelligence. We're not dealing with a small country here, or small country there, we have huge countries and the means to be in contact with those huge countries instantaneously! Such ways of warfare were completely unimagined in times past. These last couple hundred of years have changed the entire face of warfare. Do we take this into consideration when dealing with prophecy? We have to. We cannot pretend the changes in technology, the changes in society do not matter at all, we can't. If we ignore life the way it exists now then we are saying our lives do not fit into history, they do not fit into prophecy and our lives HAVE to fit into prophecy because we exist- the end has not come yet. So with this in mind we NEED to move our thinking forward to life today and not keep it back in time without our advanced technology.


The prophecies we've read so far have shown us beyond a doubt that the power in long lasting control changed from strictly political to a combination of political and religious. Throughout time the political/religious power has had it's ups and downs but during it all that power has believed in things that have made it corrupt and time has only reaffirmed this evil power over and over. The blasphemy of this religious/political power is well documented, well known. We've discussed this at length so there's no need to go through it all again, if you missed some of the studies feel free to go back and read them.


At the time of the end…


As time has gone on and on we've come to a place that many believe is the end.


Let's read more of Daniel...


Dan 11:40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him (the Papacy): and the king of the north shall come against him (the Papacy) like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (the Papacy) shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.


Dan 11:41 He (the Papacy) shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his (the Papacy) hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.


Dan 11:42 He (the Papacy) shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.


Dan 11:43 But he (the Papacy) shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.


Dan 11:44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him (the Papacy): therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.


Dan 11:45 And he (the Papacy) shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.


*******


This says sooooo much, so incredibly much. And so many things I've read say that we shouldn't even attempt this section of prophecy because it's yet unfulfilled. To me it has meaning but on a different level. I can't back any of my *takes* up on this with wikipedia excerpts, or maybe I can to a certain extent. I'm just going to try to explain where I'm coming from on this but I'm not setting any of the following in stone, I can't. By the grace of God may I not be spouting off nonsense.


The Papacy - the Catholic religion which calls itself the One True Church of God- has in its history ups and downs without any doubt. However, the Catholic church HAS managed to infiltrate much of the world in one way or another. This church has millions and millions of followers and so it's correct to say that many people have been caught under the deception of this power. We also know that there are millions who have escaped this powerful deception. When this prophecy mentions Edom, Moab, and Ammon- is it possible these are the prominent areas of the Moslem faith? When we talk about the treasures of gold and silver, and precious things of Egypt- antiquities of the past- it's not far fetched to look at the Vatican which has billions of dollars, and vaults of treasures which are renown. It's also safe to say that there IS opposition to the Papacy - yes? We can read so much about the East, North - China, Russia- and their history past and current is decidedly anti-Catholic, while still allowing for it's own version. There is tension, well known tension.


We cannot IGNORE all this! We can't! Is it true? Does this fit the prophecy, honestly I don't know, I don't, I can only pray and hope that as this does come to pass, or if it has come to pass that God will open my eyes to see.


Now there is a lot more to all this and we'll continue with it tomorrow by the grace of God. His will be done always!

In His amazing love!


Amen.