Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Honesty is the best policy...so I've heard...

James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."


I'm just going to be honest with y'all right now...I need some wisdom seriously. The past month or so has been one of the weirdest and toughest seasons of my life! I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel of apparent darkness (or maybe cloudiness is the best word) and I know that I will look back at this one day and say, "Oh so that's what You were doing!" However, in midst of the mire and muck, I find myself easily discouraged and easily frustrated and maybe I'm not so fun to be around (I don't know, you will have to ask those that hang out with me...). But seriously, it has been a season where a lot of the things I felt so sure about and so confident in, have been in a way taken from me. Or I guess the best way to put it is that things are not working out how I thought they would. Yes, yes I know what I just said and I am not claiming that I run my own life. Nor am I saying that I don't trust God's sovereignty or His leadership...I'm just being real.

Right now (and maybe some of you out there) I am struggling to find my role in a number of different situations (church, worship, relationships, etc). I'm the kind of personality that thrives on feeling value. I need affirmation. Lately, that has been lacking. Maybe it's just a season where I'm taught to find my true value in Him, or maybe it's an attack from the enemy. Whatever the root, I'm constantly trying to remind myself that God likes me! God likes me! Hey in case you forgot, God likes you!

There are moments where I wish it could be like the movie Click where Adam Sandler fast forwarded through all of the bad stuff and only lived out the good stuff. But where would the lesson be? And where would the refining and purification be? It would be just a thing that happened with no deep-rooted, heart transforming revelation. I don't want that! I need a revelation. I need wisdom from the Lord.

Ephesians 1:17 - "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better."

So God, that is my prayer. I'm asking for wisdom and revelation. I want to know You better. I want to know the purpose behind this season better. I need wisdom that can only come from You. You promised to give it to us IF we ask for it. Your move.

(Note: I'm not angry or bitter)

Grace and peace.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Seventy "Sevens"

A good friend of mine posted a comment on one of my last blogs about explaining what the "Seventy 'Sevens'" are that Daniel mentions in Daniel chapter 9. So I will do my best to offer some insight into this prediction that was inspired by a prophetic word given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel.

To best explain this portion of Daniel 9, we are going to take it a verse at a time...

To start off it is necessary to clarify that the term "weeks" in this passage actually means "years." So if you do the math, then Seventy "sevens" equals 490 years...roughly. I say roughly because the actual number depends on what calendar you use, even though the difference in years with the two different calendars is miniscule. The Babylonian calendar is 365 and a 1/4 days, whereas the Jewish calendar is 360 days. Therefore, you can see where the number of years will only be off by a few years in the grand scheme of things.

In verse 24 Daniel is told that "seventy sevens" are decreed for Israel in order "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy."

Then in the very next verse the angel Gabriel broke down 69 of the 70 "sevens." He says, "From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One [Jesus], the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens' [7 + 62]

It is not sure which "decree" Gabriel is talking about but most believe it was the decree made by Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah which allowed the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Other decrees that it could refer to is the decree made by Cyrus that began the return of the exiles in 536 B.C. or the decree made by Darius, which allowed more of the exiles to go back. So most believe that the first seven "sevens" mentioned is the actual rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.

To take this a little further and boggle your mind even more, if you fast forward 483 years [which is the 69 - sevens], then you land on the time period around either Jesus' birth or His baptism. Note, some say it could be His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. To me, it doesn't matter. It's just simply amazing to think that Daniel, through the words spoken by Gabriel, was able to predict the coming of Jesus some 500-odd years before it was to happen!!

You might be asking, "Then why didn't he just say 69 'sevens' instead of breaking it down as he did?" I believe [and others] that the answer lies in that same verse [25]. "It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, in times of trouble." The time period for Jerusalem and the temple to be rebuilt and function as a city, according to Nehemiah and Ezra, was 49 years. Also, it was built after the Babylonian captivity [troublesome times].

Verse 26: "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [again, Jesus] will be cut off and will have nothing [or, but not for Himself]. Now stick with me, my hope and goal is not to confuse you with too many numbers! If you remember, the end of the sixty-two 'sevens' will end with either Jesus' birth, baptism or triumphal entry. Again, it is in my opinion and others that what Daniel is referring to here is the CROSS! Jesus will be cut off, but "not for Himself." It was the Father's will for Jesus to be crucified for the sins of the world. Look at the words of Daniel again...."AFTER the sixty-two 'sevens'...". It was AFTER Jesus' birth, baptism and/or triumphal entry when He was crucified!

The latter part of verse 26 talks about the "city and sanctuary" being destroyed. This is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. It also talks about the "end" coming like a "flood." It has been described that the Romans "flooded" the city with soldiers and destroyed it!

It is also worth mentioning here that Daniel says, "The people of the ruler...". The "ruler" here is referring to the Antichrist. So, some believe that the Antichrist will be of the same people, or in this case, of Roman descent. Interesting stuff!

Daniel then writes, "War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." Here he is describing the interim period between the 69th 'seven' and the 70th 'seven.' I believe we are living in this interim period now due to the amount of wars that are occurring now and that have occurred in our recent past.

Another question you might be asking is why is the Lord waiting on this last seven year period? One possibility is that the Lord is giving us humans time to repent and accept Him as their Lord and Savior [hello? He is gracious and compassionate!]. Another possibility is that He is giving time for us the saints to hasten the day of His return because we, and I mean all Believers here, will be partnering WITH God in bringing about His judgements.

Therefore, we are still awaiting this final 'seven.' In the next verse, verse 27, Daniel describes this final 'seven.' He writes, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

The "he" mentioned here refers to the Antichrist. As discussed in previous posts, there is going to be a universal peace treaty that is established on the earth which will put an end to wars for the first time in history. Also, along with this universal peace treaty, there will be the establishment of a one-world religion based on no absolutes [see last post]. The signing of this peace treaty will mark the beginning of the final 'seven' [or the final 7 years of this age]. Right smack dab in the middle of the 7 year peace treaty the Antichrist will put an end to the treaty AND put an end to this universal religion. No longer will there be the idea that it doesn't matter what religion you declare or what god [or God] you serve as long as you focus on being a good humanitarian and feed the poor. Instead, the Antichrist will force people to worship Him and will set up the "abomination that causes desolation" in a wing of the temple in Jerusalem.

From this point, we know that we are starting the final 3.5 years, or "42 months" or "time, times, and half a time" as described in Revelation [aka the Great Tribulation].

"...until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." To me this coincides with the final 7 bowls of wrath being poured out on the Antichrist's empire and his followers you can read about in Revelation 16.

The end result is the defeat of the Antichrist and Jesus reigning forever! Praise be!!

Alright, I know that was a lot of information to digest, but read it, pray and ask God for clarity because you know He WANTS to tell you about the things to come. See Amos 3:7; Matthew 24:6, 25; John 13:19; John 15:15

Grace and peace.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Addendum...

After reading my post a few times I feel like I need to go into a little more detail regarding the "woman" to bring everything together...and hopefully it will make more sense.

This "woman", or Harlot Babylon, will have one purpose: establishment of a one-world religion that focuses on peace and humanitarian aid, but all for the wrong reasons. There will be false peace and wars will cease for the first time in history. She will have incredible influence (albeit Satanic influence) that many will become "drunk on her fornication"...even her worship will be seductive and captivating, but it will be demonic in origin. Leaders all over the world will give money to support what she is misleading them with. At the same time, she will be given support by the Antichrist, which is represented by him carrying her [which we talked about last time].

This woman will be carrying a golden cup of abomination and filth. Filth means moral perversion and abomination is idolatry (hence the term "abomination of desolation" which will be an idol the Antichrist sets up in the temple).

But the Antichrist is only using her for his gain. This false religion that she promotes revolves around no absolutes. The driving theme will be to throw off any denomination, religious belief, etc and focus on feeding the poor and offering humanitarian aid. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, etc will be deceived by her because a big focus of religions, especially Christianity, is to feed the poor. The Antichrist is using her and this false religion to set up his own world religion, which is worship him or die [Revelation 13].

The woman is a forerunner for Satan's influence on the earth. The Harlot Babylon will open up hearts to tolerance and no absolutes [or truth], and then the Antichrist will then set up a religion with zero tolerance and will kill anyone who doesn't worship him.

II Timothy 4:3-4 : For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables…


If we are to "stand firm" then we need to be lovers of Truth! Enough said...

Finally, once the "woman" has served her purpose, she will be killed by the 10 kings who become jealous of her. According to the end of Revelation 17, these 10 kings will "burn her flesh". This will occur 3 1/2 years into the false peace time period. Her murder, along with the establishment of Antichrist's religion of intolerance and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation and God's judgements are released.

I hoped this addendum helped. I read the previous post and realized the "woman" needed more explanation.

Grace and peace.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The vote is in...

Well, just as I suspected, I had one person offer their opinion as to where to go next on our journey through the End Times [thanks Kurtitos!!]. So the plan for the next however many posts will be to take some Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, and relate them to the Last Days.

With that being said, we are going to start with a portion out of II Thessalonians 2...verses 1-12:

Paul starts off by correcting a report that was floating around then that the "day of the Lord has already come." From what I have researched, at that time, the people of Thessalonica were undergoing some intense persecution. And since Paul had taught them that the last days were to involve intense trouble and persecution, they were convinced by others [and evidently by a false letter supposedly written by Paul] that the Lord's second coming had already happened.

Paul corrected them by saying "that day will not come, until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [the Antichrist, 'the man doomed to destruction'] is revealed...". Paul goes on to say a few verses later that the lawless one will revealed when the "one that is holding him back...is taken away."

So what is Paul talking about?

Well first off, the "rebellion" Paul talks about is the massive falling away that occurs during the last days [which we read about in Matthew 24]. This falling away is termed, apostasy. The word apostasy is defined as "departure, an abandoning of a position formerly held."

The next major event Paul describes is the unveiling of the "man of lawlessness." This person is the Antichrist. This person [and it will actually be a person] will "oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped." He will set up an idol of himself in the temple, which we know is the "abomination of desolation." Paul says that the "coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." He will make everyone worship him and will claim to be God [Revelation 13]. The prophet Daniel [which we will go into greater detail later] describes this Antichrist in very intense detail. In Daniel 9 it says that this lawless one will sign a counterfeit universal peace treaty and 3 1/2 years into the false peace he will break the treaty. This, and the setting up of the abomination of desolation, will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

Now what about this restrainer Paul talks about in verses 6-7? Some say that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit; that the Holy Spirit is the One who is holding the Antichrist back and then one day He will step out of the way and let the Antichrist do his thing. Now this may be the case, but I have a different idea.

I will pause here and say that these are MY thoughts. Please get into the Word, pray and ask questions as to the validity of what I am writing. If you have a contradiction, post a comment and we will discuss. I like discussion!!

I believe the one that is "holding him back" comes out of Revelation 17. The woman described here is a False Prophet that the Antichrist will use to gain his stronghold on earth. Another label this woman has is the "Harlot Babylon." This woman, or "prostitute", "sits on many waters." The angel that is showing John these visions says that the waters here are "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages" [Revelation 17:15]. It says that the prostitute "sits" on the waters and that the "inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." To me this means that this woman is going to be very influential on earth. In verse 4, it describes her appearance: dressed in purple and covered in precious jewels. The color purple indicates royalty and the fact she had a lot gold and precious jewels on her could mean that she is very rich as well.

Also, it says in this chapter that the prostitute was riding on a "scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns." The beast once was and "will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction", which Paul writes about back in II Thessalonians 2. The beast will be "overthrown with the breath of His mouth and destroyed by the splendor of His coming." Anyway, back to Revelation 17, the fact that she was riding on the beast means that they will be partnering together during the first 3 1/2 years of the final 7 years of this age. They will be partnering together in bringing about this false peace.

The ten horns on the beast's head are 10 earthly kings who will eventually give the beast all of their power and authority in order to "make war against the Lamb." These 10 kings will hate the prostitute and together with the beast/Antichrist will kill the prostitute [verse 16].

So, now with the prostitute out of the way, the Antichrist and all of his evil are revealed and unleashed. The false peace on earth is over and the Great Tribulation begins.

Comments are encouraged!

Grace and peace.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Vote

Since I have gone through Matthew 24 in regards to End Times, I need some help from my 2-3 readers as to where to go from here. There is an incredible amount of information to cover and if you want me to, then I want to. We could do this a number of ways: I could go through some important chapters in the Bible that are about the End Times (non-Revelation books) and discuss those, or I could start going to through parts of the Book of Revelation or I can open up this blog to questions and then answer them one at a time?

So there you go, it is in your hands now. And if I don't get any responses (which is highly likely), then I'll just quit blogging altogether!! Haha...I'm just kidding...or am I?!

Let me know what would be most beneficial for those who want to know more about the Final Days and the Father's heart (because that's what it all boils down to!).

Grace and peace.