Wrath and Righteousness
Rev. {19:15} And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
(Noah Webster's Dictionary http://refbible.com/w/wrath.htm
1. (a.) Violent anger; vehement exasperation; indignation; rage; fury; ire.
2. (n.) The effects of anger or indignation; the just punishment of an offense or a crime.
3. (a.) See Wroth.
4. (v. t.) To anger; to enrage; -- also used impersonally.
Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia
WRATH, (ANGER)
rath, roth, rath ('aph, from 'anaph, "to snort," "to be angry"; orge, thumos, orgizomai): Designates various degrees of feeling, such as sadness (Psalm 85:4), a frown or turning away of the face in grief or anger (2 Chronicles 26:19 Jeremiah 3:12), indignation (Psalm 38:3), bitterness (Judges 18:25), fury (Esther 1:12), full of anger (Genesis 4:5 John 7:23), snorting mad (Genesis 27:45 Matthew 2:16).
1. Divine Wrath:
Wrath is used with reference to both God and man. When used of God it is to be understood that there is the complete absence of that caprice and unethical quality so prominent in the anger attributed to the gods of the heathen and to man. The divine wrath is to be regarded as the natural expression of the divine nature, which is absolute holiness, manifesting itself against the willful, high-handed, deliberate, inexcusable sin and iniquity of mankind. God's wrath is always regarded in the Scripture as the just, proper, and natural expression of His holiness and righteousness which must always, under all circumstances, and at all costs be maintained. It is therefore a righteous indignation and compatible with the holy and righteous nature of God (Numbers 11:1-10 Deuteronomy 29:27 2 Samuel 6:7 Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 42:25 Jeremiah 44:6 Psalm 79:6). The element of love and compassion is always closely connected with God's anger; if we rightly estimate the divine anger we must unhesitatingly pronounce it to be but the expression and measure of that love (compare Jeremiah 10:24 Ezekiel 23 Amos 3:2).)
***
Rev. {6:16} And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and
hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb: {6:17} For the great day of his
wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Rev. {11:18} And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come,
and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and
that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the
prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name,
small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy
the earth.
Rev. {12:12} Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye
that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great
wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Rev. {14:8} And
there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of
the wine of the wrath of her fornication. {14:9} And the
third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his]
mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev. {14:10} The same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall
be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the
holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb
Rev. {14:19} And the angel thrust in his sickle into the
earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into
the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev. {15:1} And I saw another sign in heaven, great and
marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for
in them is filled up the wrath of God
Rev. {16:19} And the
great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the
nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before
God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of his wrath.
Rev. {15:7} And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven
angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who
liveth for ever and ever.
{16:1} And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying
to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of
the wrath of God upon the earth
Rev. {18:2} And he cried mightily with
a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,
and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
{18:3} For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath
of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the
earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies.
***
People get angry and the majority of the time they believe the anger is righteous. When the blood gets boiling, the emotions start to rise, that feeling of fury fills a person they start to say things they often regret. No one likes when anger is directed towards them, it makes them want to respond in kind. Anger is destructive in so many ways. So many crimes are committed from anger. Is there a righteous anger? Yes, we've all felt it, but then again as already mentioned most people believe their anger is justified, that it's righteous.
I've been guilty many times over of unrighteous anger, an anger I feel that seems to have little cause, no rhyme or reason. I've lashed out at people for no reason other than the anger in me. Anger can be a problem for a lot of people, I know it has been for me.
God's anger is righteous. God's wrath is justified.
Just as we know how it is to have an anger that is righteous- the anger of a mother whose child has been intentionally hurt by another person. The anger of a father whose son is murdered by a mugger, these sorts of anger are righteous. God's anger, God's wrath is righteous.
God offers His love, God offers life eternal through the sacrifice of His Son. God is justified in His anger as all that He has to offer to His own creations is rejected. As His creatures believe they are in fact creators. As His creatures believe they are more worthy than their Creator.
There is a sense o betrayal when someone grooms another person helping them attain a status in life that is wonderful only to have that person turn around and reject the very person who has helped them get where they are, the person who was there every step of the way. This is on a human level. The pain of being rejected by someone you've only loved and wanted what was best for them is immense. It's practically incomprehensible that someone could betray the love given to them. If it's like that on a human to human level, creature to creature level, how much more so is it on a Creator, creature level? Where the perfect Creator loves the imperfect creature, rather than imperfect creature betraying imperfect creature. We know that every human being is capable of deception and betrayal, but God is not capable of betrayal or deception. His love is perfect and since the beginning He has offered that love to us- the imperfect creatures. If we return the love He has for us that's all He desires. Yet time and again He's been rejected, the perfect love is betrayed over and over.
To put an end to all the sin in the world. To put an end to the author of lies, the first betrayer and the deception that he's used to deceive countless numbers of people, to end all evil personified it has to be justifiably destroyed. The wrath of God will fall upon the author of evil personified and all those who have joined hands with that author of evil and rightfully so.
Each of us will be on one side or the other, God's or Evil's. The wrath of God will fall on the evil and destroy it completely. How can we escape that wrath? By the love of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the Son of the Father who makes it possible for us to join with God and His love.
By His mercy and grace may we cling to Him alone who can save us from the wrath deserved. We can't save ourselves, but we can ask Jesus to save us. Jesus will save us, we have to believe that He will, that the power of salvation is real and found in Jesus. In Christ alone we live and in no other way. Believing in Christ this is all we have to do, believe in His power to save us. Once we believe as a result of that believing we live a life in harmony with that belief. Only then is it a true belief. If I say I believe a person will do something and then act as if I don't think they will do that something, do I really believe? No. If we believe Christ is our Salvation then if that belief is real we will live a life that portrays that belief it's a natural outcome of real belief, of real faith. If we say we believe and yet our life doesn't reflect that at all, then is that belief real? Not that we aren't going to struggle, we are! Real belief does not mean perfection in all you do, it means a life surrendered to God's will, and a life that continuously is given over to God's will.
James {2:17} Even
so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. {2:18}
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:
shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee
my faith by my works. {2:19} Thou believest that there is
one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble. {2:20} But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith
without works is dead? {2:21} Was not Abraham our father
justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon
the altar? {2:22} Seest thou how faith wrought with his
works, and by works was faith made perfect? {2:23} And
the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed
God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he
was called the Friend of God. {2:24} Ye see then how that
by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. {2:25}
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works,
when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them]
out another way? {2:26} For as the body without the spirit
is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Faith - believing and yet living as if you don't believe - is no good.
Faith- believing and living as if you do believe - is good.
When one believes they live in that belief. And like the one man who wanted Jesus to heal his sick son, Jesus asked if he believed, and the man cried out that he did believe but he didn't stop there... he added... help thou my unbelief!
We are caught up in a world that would have us not live as a result of our belief in Christ. We struggle daily against the principalities and powers, the wickedness that would keep our belief separate from our living reality. That wicked one doesn't care a whit if we believe as long as the belief isn't one that is truly reflected in our lives. In fact the wicked one rejoices when he finds people who will shout loudly of their belief and at the same time they live as if they don't believe at all.
Faith, hope, believing, and living in that reality and letting our lives reflect that belief is salvation through Christ. The natural outcome of a real belief, a real faith is a life lived in that faith. We must pray that Jesus helps our unbelief, we must pray that our belief results in a life that reflects that belief naturally, unfeigned.
By the mercy and grace of Jesus alone it is possible. May the Holy Spirit guide us, live in us, lead us, may the love of Christ be real in us now and always.
Amen.
8/16/10
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
sun·dry
[suhn-dree]
1.
various or diverse
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sundry>
di·vers
[dahy-verz]
1.
several; various; sundry
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/divers>
God spoke to mankind through prophets.
Prophets-
G4396
prophētēs
prof-ay'-tace
From a compound of G4253 and G5346; a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy an inspired speaker; by extension a poet: - prophet.
A foreteller-an inspired speaker-a poet.
We live in a day and age where believing in foretellers(fortune tellers), believing in 'inspired' speakers, believing any poet might be receiving messages from God to relate to us is very skeptical, but at the same time quirky enough to be accepted. Do you suppose it was always this way? Believers and non-believers? Skeptics and non-skeptics? Along with those the wavering sort who believe sometimes but not other times? It's factual that God used men to speak to His people, to speak to others, and they were called prophets. Wherever there is a true there is a false but when God needed to get His message across to one and all He did so and usually through miracles. When God sent messages that were meant for His people to take a leap of faith there wouldn't necessarily be any miracle to reveal the power of the one and only God. Messages from God came in different ways and at different times. God did not use just one way, and God did not just give His messages at a certain time. It was accepted without doubt that God used men and women to be His prophets. Here in Hebrews it continues…
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds
The word continues…. God… spoke through His Son. The equating here between God choosing to use prophets -ordinary men- in the past to reveal His word and now using His Son is remarked upon. The past contained the word of God through ordinary human vessels, the present contained the Word of God through God's own Son. The importance of the words coming from God's Son, not originating from the Son but the Father can't be overlooked. Even Jesus pointed us to the fact He was doing the will of the Father, not His own will.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
His entire life was spent doing the will of the Father. He was the ultimate prophet.
God appointed His Son to be heir of ALL things.
God made the worlds by His Son.
The uniqueness of God's Son can never be overlooked. His words holy. His words God's will.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high
God's Son- the brightness of His glory!
God's Son- the express image of His person!
God's Son- upholding ALL things by the word of His power!
God's Son- purged our sins.
God's Son- sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.
Some people get confused by this part of the verse- 'purged our sins', as if sin no longer exists in us. When we think of purged we think of it with a sense of finality. Gone. God's Son earned the right to do away with sin in us. God's Son paid the price needed to rid the world of sin. God's Son could sit at the right hand of His Father sinless.
This literal translation from Young's Literal Translation of the Bible- says it a different way- 'through Himself having made a cleansing of our sins…'
Heb. 1:3 who being the brightness of the glory, and the impress of His subsistence, bearing up also the all things by the saying of his might--through himself having made a cleansing of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the greatness in the highest
And this translation is from the International Standard Version of the Bible.
Heb 1:3 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty
'After He had provided a cleansing from sins…'
Jesus provided a way for sin's purging. Jesus provided a way for sin's removal. Up until this time sin was only removed through the sacrificial sanctuary services by the priests, and more decidedly the High Priest once a year cleansed all the sin brought to the temple. A person brought their sin sacrifice and offered it with the assistance of a priest, after the sacrifice was made they left the temple with their sin covered by the blood of that sacrifice, the price had been paid for their sin. Yet, even after that act, once a year there was a full cleansing of the priests, rulers, people, and the temple itself, a day when ALL people had to afflict their souls, all had to fast and keep the day as holy.
No longer would anyone have to bring a sacrifice to the temple.
No longer would anyone have to have the assistance of an earthly priest.
God's Son was the Sacrifice and God's Son sits in the Heavenly Temple having made the sacrifice necessary for sin to be forgiven.
Jesus --
God's Son- the brightness of His glory!
God's Son- the express image of His person!
God's Son- upholding ALL things by the word of His power!
God's Son- purged our sins.
God's Son- sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.
Studying the book of Hebrews is going to take some time, and I pray God blesses us all as we seek a fuller understanding of His will. Praise God for His amazing love, for the forgiveness He offers to us who deserve nothing. By the grace of our Lord, our Savior, alone are we saved- through faith in Him and all He's done for us.
All glory to God!
Amen.
8/16/11
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.
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
sun·dry
[suhn-dree]
1.
various or diverse
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sundry>
di·vers
[dahy-verz]
1.
several; various; sundry
Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/divers>
God spoke to mankind through prophets.
Prophets-
G4396
prophētēs
prof-ay'-tace
From a compound of G4253 and G5346; a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy an inspired speaker; by extension a poet: - prophet.
A foreteller-an inspired speaker-a poet.
We live in a day and age where believing in foretellers(fortune tellers), believing in 'inspired' speakers, believing any poet might be receiving messages from God to relate to us is very skeptical, but at the same time quirky enough to be accepted. Do you suppose it was always this way? Believers and non-believers? Skeptics and non-skeptics? Along with those the wavering sort who believe sometimes but not other times? It's factual that God used men to speak to His people, to speak to others, and they were called prophets. Wherever there is a true there is a false but when God needed to get His message across to one and all He did so and usually through miracles. When God sent messages that were meant for His people to take a leap of faith there wouldn't necessarily be any miracle to reveal the power of the one and only God. Messages from God came in different ways and at different times. God did not use just one way, and God did not just give His messages at a certain time. It was accepted without doubt that God used men and women to be His prophets. Here in Hebrews it continues…
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds
The word continues…. God… spoke through His Son. The equating here between God choosing to use prophets -ordinary men- in the past to reveal His word and now using His Son is remarked upon. The past contained the word of God through ordinary human vessels, the present contained the Word of God through God's own Son. The importance of the words coming from God's Son, not originating from the Son but the Father can't be overlooked. Even Jesus pointed us to the fact He was doing the will of the Father, not His own will.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
His entire life was spent doing the will of the Father. He was the ultimate prophet.
God appointed His Son to be heir of ALL things.
God made the worlds by His Son.
The uniqueness of God's Son can never be overlooked. His words holy. His words God's will.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high
God's Son- the brightness of His glory!
God's Son- the express image of His person!
God's Son- upholding ALL things by the word of His power!
God's Son- purged our sins.
God's Son- sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.
Some people get confused by this part of the verse- 'purged our sins', as if sin no longer exists in us. When we think of purged we think of it with a sense of finality. Gone. God's Son earned the right to do away with sin in us. God's Son paid the price needed to rid the world of sin. God's Son could sit at the right hand of His Father sinless.
This literal translation from Young's Literal Translation of the Bible- says it a different way- 'through Himself having made a cleansing of our sins…'
Heb. 1:3 who being the brightness of the glory, and the impress of His subsistence, bearing up also the all things by the saying of his might--through himself having made a cleansing of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the greatness in the highest
And this translation is from the International Standard Version of the Bible.
Heb 1:3 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty
'After He had provided a cleansing from sins…'
Jesus provided a way for sin's purging. Jesus provided a way for sin's removal. Up until this time sin was only removed through the sacrificial sanctuary services by the priests, and more decidedly the High Priest once a year cleansed all the sin brought to the temple. A person brought their sin sacrifice and offered it with the assistance of a priest, after the sacrifice was made they left the temple with their sin covered by the blood of that sacrifice, the price had been paid for their sin. Yet, even after that act, once a year there was a full cleansing of the priests, rulers, people, and the temple itself, a day when ALL people had to afflict their souls, all had to fast and keep the day as holy.
No longer would anyone have to bring a sacrifice to the temple.
No longer would anyone have to have the assistance of an earthly priest.
God's Son was the Sacrifice and God's Son sits in the Heavenly Temple having made the sacrifice necessary for sin to be forgiven.
Jesus --
God's Son- the brightness of His glory!
God's Son- the express image of His person!
God's Son- upholding ALL things by the word of His power!
God's Son- purged our sins.
God's Son- sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.
Studying the book of Hebrews is going to take some time, and I pray God blesses us all as we seek a fuller understanding of His will. Praise God for His amazing love, for the forgiveness He offers to us who deserve nothing. By the grace of our Lord, our Savior, alone are we saved- through faith in Him and all He's done for us.
All glory to God!
Amen.
8/16/11
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.