At the risk of stepping on some toes, there are at least four things that we should be aware of during 2016—false prophets, the economy, Islam, and the Lord’s mission. Number 1: Many self-proclaimed prophets are prophesying for the new year. Some are hanging on to the same themes from previous years, adding to them descriptors such as “super” this or that.
Their prophesies didn’t come true then..so maybe this year. Some are wrapped in words of intrigue such as “Discover the mystery.” Others want you to attend conferences to “Hear God’s voice,” or receive a “Mandate from heaven.” A lot of them seem to be about money and selling things. The Lord said in Matthew 24:4, “Take heed that no man deceive you.”
Number 2: It doesn’t take a prophet to look at the circumstances with which we are faced at the beginning of 2016 and see where things could head. For example, the economy is weighted down with over $18 trillion in debt, millions of people unemployed and having given up on finding a job, and an influx of illegal aliens and government-forced repopulation efforts that will put more pressure on the job market and on taxpayers.
Add to that the weight of welfare programs and socialist healthcare, and we have a perfect economic storm in the making. Something has to give at some point along the way. These are the consequences of bad leadership and bad choices.
Number 3: There will be terrorists among the thousands of immigrants permitted to come into the United States and Europe from terrorist-sponsoring states. Islam is a terrorist entity. Its holy book, the Koran, instructs its disciples in over 100 verses to kill infidels and bring them under submission. There will be more and more terrorism against innocents in nations who welcome Islamists into their countries.
This is common sense. Along with this colonization will come the same kind of violence, crime, human trafficking, drug smuggling and poverty that is the hallmark of Islam throughout the world. We must ask: How does a prophetic people respond to this? Politically, we work to stop it. Spiritually, we work to bring these folks into the full knowledge of the one true God and his son Jesus Christ.
Number 4: The consequences of bad leadership and bad choices are not wholly derived from political leaders, but also church leadership. The condition of our nation is directly related to the pulpit and our still majority Christian community. As a prophetic people, we must understand the standards of God and adhere to them—in holding both accountability and love.
Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Choices as a person and as a people determine our place in prophecy. Choices will also determine consequences, good or bad, for individuals and nations.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!