End Times Perspective

In light of the recent predictions of the Rapture that did not materialize, my good friend Steven Davis provides this look at end times prophecy:

It’s a Matter of Perspective

I began writing this 20 minutes after the earthquake that was to end all earthquakes had failed to herald the end of life as we know it. No Judgment Day. No Rapture. Life goes on. So as you look at the lack of transpired events, don’t jump to conclusions based on a faulty perspective. One, and only one, influential and misguided man does not represent the Church. Nor does he represent the theological position most of Christianity holds so dearly. His perspective was only his, and as seen, was flawed.

There was another faulty perspective, one illustrated in a military campaign from the biblical times. A couple of millennia ago, there was a king in Jerusalem who was surrounded by an invading army from Assyria. Let’s start with comments from one of the Assyrian King’s lieutenants:

Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have? But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”  (2 Kings 18:19, 22, 25)

Now it is true that Hezekiah had taken away the high places and altars. But there are three huge assumptions based on a faulty perspective at work here.

They were not the high places and altars of the Lord God; rather they belonged to false gods from other cultures who were foolishly worshipped at times by the Jews. Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. (2 Kings 18:1-4)

Hezekiah may have said: “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”, but his understanding came from what the LORD had said to David: He said to me, “Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts” (1 Chronicles 28:6); and to Solomon: The LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. (1 Kings 9:3) Where the LORD’s house and courts were, where He had placed His name, and where His eyes and heart perpetually were, that is where His worship must be.

The third misconception derived from this flawed perspective was that he, the King of Assyria, had been called by God to destroy the Jews.

Later in the confrontation we catch him contradicting himself:

Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” (2 Kings 18:28-30, 33-35)

So at one point the king of Assyria was saying he was following the Lord’s command to destroy the Jews, and the next he’s relegated the LORD with some backwater, tribal, false demigods. Why obey such a random and obscure supposed deity?

By now you’re probably asking: What does this have to do with the judgment day? I’m glad you asked. Hopefully you’ve seen that the king of Assyria and his lieutenant have a pretty messed up perspective as did the man predicting the massive earthquake that was to have happened today. I’m asking you to not suffer the same mistake.  Don’t get your perspective from one solitary man.  Get your perspective from Christ.

Judgment Day is coming. The Rapture is coming.  Jesus is coming… just not today.  Hear the words of Christ, trust Him, and get your perspective from Him:

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.  Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. (Matt 24:36-44)

So did we dodge a bullet? No, because the gun was never fired. When Mr. Camping proclaimed: “The Bible guarantees it”, he was right; he just had no business of assigning a date. You still have an opportunity to come to Christ today; to confess Him as Lord today. That’s why the Judgment Day didn’t come today. There are still some, maybe you, on whom the Lord God is waiting to come to Him.

No, Jesus didn’t come today. Judgment Day didn’t fall upon us, nor did Rapture raise us. Still, I join with the Apostle Paul as he cries out at the end of his letter to the Corinthians: Maranatha! (Our Lord come).

 

God's Wrath?

A very respected pastor has made a dire prediction. That many of the nations, and the worlds, cities will soon be infernos. Pastor David Wilkerson is quoted in a World Net Daily exclusive:

David Wilkerson, author of “The Cross and the Switchblade,” a book about his ministry to troubled New York street kids that was later made into a movie starring Pat Boone, tells readers of his blog this weekend that he is “compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message” about his prediction.

“An earth-shattering calamity is about to happen,” he writes. “It is going to be so frightening, we are all going to tremble – even the godliest among us.”

He is quoted later in the article saying that it will be God pouring out His wrath in judgment on sinful nations. This is where I feel compelled to interject. While I don’t disagree that some horrible disaster might be on the horizon, I do NOT believe it will be God’s wrath!

We live in a fallen world and we have an enemy. Satan and a third of the angels have been cast out of Heaven. Revelation 12:12 says:

¹²“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

Yes, the devil is not happy. He hates you. You are made in God’s image. He wants to destroy God, but since he can’t, he’s after you and your testimony.

Now don’t get me wrong. God hates sin and He has, is, and will, deal with it. Just not the way some people think. First, God dealt with sin on the cross. He poured out His wrath on Jesus so He wouldn’t have to pour it out on you! If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior than the Bible says that you are redeemed from the curse of the law. That’s good news! That’s THE good news!

Abraham knew God and He knew God’s character. The LORD and a couple of His angels were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham made a plea on Sodom’s behalf. You can read the whole thing in Genesis 18, but here’s a revealing snippet:

²⁵“Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

²⁶So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”

Abraham knew that God wouldn’t deal with the righteous unrighteously! God only found one righteous man in Sodom and he got Lot and his family out first before He destroyed the place. God’s character hasn’t changed.

After 911 many pastors said God was judging America for our sins. Same after Hurricane Katrina. Do you think there were 10 righteous believers in those planes that hit the twin towers? In the Pentagon? In New Orleans?

Prepare for hard times? Sure. It’s good to recognize the season and the times we are in. Blame God for it? No. I’m gonna blame our enemy and use uncertain times to tell people about a loving God who died for them so they don’t have to. A God who wants to make their future solid in Him.

Jesus said all of these things must come to pass. He is working out His plan. Jesus also said not to worry because He had overcome the world! We can overcome the world too, but only if we know Jesus; as Savior, as Lord and as a friend. I have no doubt that Pastor Wilkerson would agree. The bottom line to what I believe Pastor is saying is what Jesus is saying. Know God, make Him known and trust Him with your life no matter what.

Babylon

⁹ “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,
¹⁰ standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
¹¹ And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more– ”
-Revelation 18:9-10 (NASB)

I would hate to be in Babylon on that day. Wait a minute. Babylon is a ruin isn’t it? Located about 55 miles south of Baghdad, Babylon has basically been in ruins since Old Testament times, although Saddam Hussein started rebuilding the ancient city in 1985! It is being rebuilt even now!

(here’s what Wkipedia has to say about the history, and reconstruction, of Babylon)

Joel Rosenberg, the best selling Author and founder of the Joshua Fund, was on Glenn Beck, Friday, April 25, 2008. They discussed Bible Prophecy, End Times, Current Headlines, The Role of the United States in End Times (if any) and something that was most interesting. The future of Iraq! More specifically, Babylon. Here is an excerpt from the show.

I had the great privilege of interviewing Joel Rosenberg in late March of 2008. You can listen to the entire interview here, on Family Life Radio’s web site. We didn’t discuss Iraq in this context, but we hit on a few other topics, including radical Islam and how they would really like to take out the U.S. with nukes as outlined in his latest work of fiction, “Dead Heat.”
Joel Rosenberg Interview – Dead Heat

Keep praying for the peace of Jerusalem and that God will reach many many many more people before He returns to judge Babylon and all the nations of the Earth.

⁸ “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”
-2 Peter 3:8-10 (NASB)

You Can Trust God's Word

Pastor Scott Richards is the host of Scott Richards Live heard on stations across the U.S., and Pastor of Calvary Christian Fellowship in Tucson. Don’t forget to read Pastor Scott’s Blog for insights into current events!

This morning (Sunday, April 27, 2008) Pastor Scott gave us insight into a prophecy that Daniel received about 2,500 years ago. It was so specific that you could set your watch to it and it came true to the day!

It’s found in Daniel Chapter 9 verse 25:

²⁵ “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.

A week represents 7 years. The Angel Gabriel is telling Daniel the he is to “know and discern” the meaning of what God was saying. God was not, and is not, hiding His plans from us. No. He is REVEALING them! And so He did to Daniel here (and us).

Sir Robert Anderson wrote a book, “The Coming Prince.” In it, he crunches all the numbers and based on the Jewish calendar that had 360 day years, with odd months thrown in to keep it all timed out over time. The decree to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem occurred on March 14, 445 B.C. You can read more about that in Nehemiah 2. Seven weeks (49 years) and sixty-two weeks (434 years) adds up to 483 years, or 173,880 days. According to Sir Richards’ math, that 173,880th day was the FIRST Palm Sunday! April 6, 32 A.D. Read more about that day in Luke 19

Better yet, enjoy the sermon in it’s entirety, linked here as an .mp3:
God’s Word – Can You Trust It?

Not just another reason to believe, but an awesome example of a sovergn God who knows everything and is in ultimate control over everything. You can trust Him to know that He is real and has the power to save you. You can trust Him when He says that He will never leave nor forsake you! God Loves You! He has the power to demonstrate it. Always. No matter what!

Prophecy Update

Pastor Scott Richards is the host of Scott Richards Live heard on stations across the U.S., and Pastor of Calvary Christian Fellowship in Tucson. On March 5, 2008, Pastor Scott took a look at world events and gave a prophecy update. It’s a nice mix of Bible prophecy and recent headlines.

The update is in three parts via GodTube and is embedded below: