Romans 13:11 “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
Ephesians 5:14-18 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the LORD is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
Recently I saw a business sign that said something like this, “Life is like a huge test that I did not study for.” In a lot of ways that statement is true in the fact that our lives here on this Earth is essentially ‘one big test’! Like Paul said, “We are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, to test ourselves whether we be reprobates.” We are also told to test others not by outward appearance but by righteous judgment. Sadly, many are in essence ‘asleep in the faith.’ They are not actively examining themselves or others for that matter. They are not engaged in spiritual warfare, or on their knees in prayer, or sharing the gospel; they are just apathetic at worst, or slumbering at best.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
John 7:24 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
Thankfully our God is a ‘merciful and gracious’ Sovereign Ruler who has been giving people ‘chance after chance’ to wake up! It is clear to see that in the last several years with all of the Natural Disasters, Catastrophic Events, signs in the Sun, Moon, Stars, the Earthquakes, Animal Die-Offs, and now this Corona Virus that He has been so graciously trying to ‘shake up our apathy and interrupt our slumber‘!
God desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, but we know most will not. Still, He orchestrates things in our lives in hopes of bringing us to that point. The thing that the world needs to know is God’s offer of Salvation in His Son Jesus Christ (Yeshua Hamashiach), which means Jesus the Messiah, neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is no other name given under heaven among men, whereby we must be saved!
1 Timothy 2:4 “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
From Gotquestions.org: “Is Yeshua Hamashiach the proper Hebrew name/title for Jesus Christ?”
Answer: Yeshua Hamashiach means “Jesus the Messiah.” The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which is the shortened form of the name Yehoshua. From this Hebrew word we also get the name Joshua (Joshua 5:15) or Hoshea (Numbers 13:8; Deuteronomy 33:44). The name means “salvation” and is found more than often throughout the Old Testament. This is the name from which we get the Greek word Iesous, pronounced “yay-sus,” or as we say it, “Jesus.”
The Hebrew term Mashiach (or Messiah in English; Cristos, or Christ, in Greek) means “anointed one” and referred to a person who was set apart to serve Yahweh. In the Old Testament, God’s mashiachs were anointed with oil to symbolize the presence and authority of the Holy Spirit (Leviticus 4:3; 1 Samuel 12:14; 2 Samuel 19:21). God had promised Israel an ultimate Mashiach, or Messiah, and gave over 300 prophecies about this Anointed One so that they would recognize Him when He came (Isaiah 53:1; Psalm 22:27; 10:1–4; Daniel 9:25; 7:13). Jesus fulfilled every one of them, thus deserving the title Yeshua Hamaschiach for the Jewish people.
However, Jesus came into the world to offer salvation and forgiveness to everyone who calls upon His name (John 3:16-18; Acts 2:21). Surrounding His throne for all eternity will be people from “every nation, tribe, and tongue” (Revelation 7:9). God is not offended by our languages or our differences.
Pray in Jesus’ name, worship in Jesus’ name, and witness in Jesus’ name. And for those who want to relate to our Messiah’s Jewishness, then refer to him by His original name Yeshua—not Yahshua and not Yahushua—remembering that the power of the name is not in its pronunciation but in the person to whom it refers, our Lord and Redeemer and King.” – Source
Many times, I have observed in our lives that God is always trying to get our attention! At first, it may be by dropping ‘proverbial pebbles’ on our heads. After a while, when that does not work, He may drop some ‘lightweight lava rocks,’ then maybe some ‘heavier gravel rocks,’ then when all of that still does not seem to work, it may take some ‘literal bricks or boulders’!
Either way, it is clear to me that He is ‘actively involved’ in everyone’s lives, and He is always trying so desperately to wake the World up and to get our attention before we step into Eternity and it is then too late! As Christians, we want Jesus to take us HOME already, but God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance! Know this, when that last Gentile becomes saved, then our time on this Earth will be up! Can. Not. Wait!
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Romans 11:25 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
From gracethrufaith.com: “Times of The Gentiles and Fullness of The Gentiles”
The fullness of the Gentiles in Romans 11:25 refers to the number of people who become believers during the Church age. When this number is reached, the Rapture will take place. Gentiles saved after the Rapture (Rev. 7:9,14) are called Tribulation Saints and don’t belong to the Church. – Source
Wake up before it is too late! Our Lord is coming soon! Hallelujah!
Until next time… Maranatha!
(JESUS = THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE!)
Jesus Will Come!