Prepare Yourself!
2/2/2005
Since
about October 2004, I have been pondering a theme I sense is from the
LORD. He is urging His people to
prepare and be ready for sudden changes that will affect the world. As Christians, our purpose is to live a life
pleasing to God and share with others the grace He has given us. We are urged to promote the Kingdom of
God.
I
want you to read Matthew 10, 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 and 21 pertaining to the sign
of the return of the son of man and the end of the age. The above texts parallel each other and
please note the overlapping information given through the texts. Let God speak to you.
As
it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the son of man…this
text shows how life will be as usual but then comes sudden destruction upon the
world. Hebrews 11:7 reveals how God
warned Noah about an event that had never happened before. Noah moved in fear and prepared as commanded
by God. He heard the invisible God
talking to Him and took action that would seem foolish by observers because it
had never rained before. Yet, Noah
obeyed God and became the heir of salvation…
Listen,
a lot of people like to talk about the end times. It can be interesting to conjecture about wars and rumors of
wars, earthquakes and other disasters.
However, I see something laid out in the text that is so vital for you
to know. It is more important than
recognizing catastrophic signs that will come with the end. You need to prepare yourself!
Jesus
warns that there will be tremendous disasters in the earth as well as fearful
sights and signs in the heavens, and then he says that Christians will be persecuted. This is what I am writing about today. You must be ready for persecution, or, you
will give up and betray other Christians.
And if you do that, you will suffer severe judgment.
Jesus
says they will deliver you up. You will
be betrayed by those closest to you.
Because of an increase in sin, callousness will take over peoples’
hearts and they will hate other people.
Note the following:
All
of the above-numerated items are spelled out in the texts I have urged you to
read.
Now
then, you ask, “how in the world is my church or any other church going to
persecute other Christians? And “beat
them” you ask?
Please,
step back and listen. Understand the
big picture. You must understand that
God has His agenda and the world has its agenda. An agenda is “ a program or list of things
to be done”. God’s agenda and the
world’s agenda CLASH! They always
have. They always will until the day
calls and end to it all. And that is
why I am writing you today. Because the
big day or the LORD’S day is at hand.
I
hope you can see that organized religious systems are often part of the world
and not of God. Let’s take a look at
that.
Consider
the days of Jeremiah the prophet some six hundred years before Christ. The institutional religion in Israel
orchestrated by the High Priest and echelon of priests was performing religious
duty and the people of the land served Jehovah and other gods too. A little bit of God and a little bit of this
god, and a little bit of that god. The
religious system just kept on doing its religious duties and the people just
kept on generation after generation mixing with the world and violating the
covenant with the Holy God.
Jeremiah
hears a message from God and holds it in his heart. Finally he can hold it back no longer. He weeps for God’s people because he sees judgment and captivity
coming to reprove the people for their sins.
The religious order forbad Jeremiah from speaking this word. “Speak to us smooth things, prosperity and
blessing only. Keep your judgment
warning to yourself.” Just pick up the
book of Jeremiah and read anywhere in the first 20 chapters and you’ll see this
illustrated. How amazing- the religious
group will not only create the religion but they put words in God’s mouth. They reject the true word. They alter what God said and refuse the
truth to be spoken.
The
same was true in Jesus’ day. He came to
his own and his own received him not.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, not for their teaching but for their
refusal to walk in what they taught.
The religion was a show. It was
an act. That is what hypocrisy is. It’s stage play. Not authentic. Jesus
became very angry dealing with the religious system when he said “you not only
don’t have the truth but you hinder the truth from coming to others”. Keep in mind we are unveiling agenda through
this discussion.
Right
now the earth is in birth pangs. Can
you sense it? Do you see it? Not everyone will just like Jesus said about
Noah’s day. Life was as usual buying
and selling, marriage and building and planting…until the day the flood came
and destroyed them all unaware.
Today
I am not just writing about the obvious signs of catastrophes, but I am warning
you about the persecution that is ‘hand in hand’ with the events of the
end. Jesus said this, “take heed to
yourself”. Prepare yourself
beforehand.
“Many
will be offended and betray one another, and shall hate one another”. (Matthew 24:10)
It
might be hard for you to accept this.
You can’t picture something like this in your church. Remember, “All those who live godly will
suffer persecution”. “He that comes to
me must pick up his cross and follow me”.
And, “…they loved not their lives even unto death”. Authentic Christian faith demands a complete
surrender and abandonment of agenda. It
is God’s agenda—no other. Sure, you
will have a unique life in this era that glorifies God but you still must
remember the true agenda of God. If you
do that you will be at odds with the world and the religious system that is of
the world.
The
world doesn’t want to hear from God.
The religious people don’t want to hear from God either. And when you speak up and say…. doesn’t the
bible say this and that? You will be
called on the carpet.
Anyway, in the coming days, there will be a dismissal of the Constitution in the United States. Martial law will be enacted in the name of safety. The agenda of the antichrist is at hand. When martial law is imposed, you can be sure that the religious system will be still in force. It will be an extension of the illusion of the world and political powers seeking to create a one-world government. This is their agenda. Why haven’t you seen this coming? It is here now. You will be persecuted. Settle in your heart now that you will be persecuted for Christ’s sake. Speak what God gives you in that hour. Don’t predetermine what you will say for the Spirit of the Father will give you what to say. Believe me, this will be a great honor for you as you serve God in the coming cataclism between God and the wicked.
Now
you understand how they will beat Christians in the “synagogues”. (Please recall that in Guantanomo Bay,
sequestered individuals are being tortured by the United States military. With the order of the Patriot Act after 911,
many liberties granted by the Constitution have eroded. Watch!
And Pray!)
Yes,
the churches will be called upon from the martial law government to impose
order against those “extreme Christians” that “speak disruption” to the agenda
of the New World Order. (It will come
to pass that “church” leaders will be appointed by the State as well as their
message. Neither will be from God but
of man.)
Remember
the Book of Acts? After Christ departed
and the disciples were empowered with the Spirit to proclaim the Kindom of God
how they were thrown in jail and beaten?
The same is true in the coming hour.
Praise God for the honor. The
power of God was displayed. The glory
of God was moving upon His people.
Settle it now whose side you are on.
Either you are ‘bought with a price by the precious blood of Christ and
your life is no longer your own’, or, you still own your own life and call your
own shots. You decide. But, woe unto you if you are not prepared
and are offended and give up your faith and betray any of God’s little ones…’It
would be better for you to have a millstone tied around your neck and thrown
into the sea’…Jesus words. Read it for
yourself please. Prepare.