Esther Lesson 14: When the Lord Is on Your Side, Pt 2 :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles, Sean Gooding

Chapter 9:1-5

“Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. 2 The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people.

3 And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. 5 Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.“

We looked last week at the beginning of the end for the attack on the Jews in the 127 provinces in the kingdom of Persia, reaching from India to Ethiopia. Esther, with the encouragement of Mordecai and the power of the Lord, sent out a letter allowing the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies. And as we read this chapter, we find that Haman did not have a hard time finding people to try to carry out his original decree.

The Jews have had and continue to have enemies all over the world. Countries like Iran and other Muslim nations constantly call for the annihilation of Israel. In many of their schools, the nation of Israel is not included in their geographical maps. Many liberal leaders here in the West, including the current President of the US and our PM in Canada, are not fans of Israel. They support the enemies of Israel and open us here in the West to the wrath of God.

Today we will explore the actual day of the battle; we will jump ahead a few months as to what happened on that day – the day that Haman had appointed to eliminate the Jews.

  • The Jews were ready, verses 1-2

They had been warned by Esther’s letters, and they were ready to defend themselves. This is all that Esther wanted was that her people would not be caught off guard and slaughtered. God blessed her efforts, and a great victory was accomplished. We will explore more of this later in the lesson, but here we want to simply look at what happens when we step out in faith. Esther trusted that God could help her people, and she simply put herself and her life on the line. I was at a conference once, and the speaker talked about how we all want to stand out, but to do so, we must first stand up. Esther stood up. God honored her standing up, and there is an eternal record of her actions and what God did as a result.

Today is April 8th, 2021, and as I sit here writing, there is a church in Alberta that has been barricaded by the health authorities to try and prevent them from assembling for their church service this coming Sunday as a response to the COVID mess. Their pastor had recently spent 35 days in jail for leading a worship service. He was unable to get bail and get out. If he had been a rapist or murderer, he would have been able to post bail; but for the crime of worshipping the Lord Jesus, they kept him in jail for 35 days. There will always be enemies of the Lord’s people. Some will say that he is disobeying the laws of man, and he was, but those laws violated the laws of God.

I do not know this pastor personally, but I am sure that this coming Sunday, whether in the parking lot or in a field, this local church will have a worship service with the 600+ persons that are normally present. Like Esther, it may be that the Lord has him here for a time like this. The news coverage on this and the political fallout is already happening to the leaders in Alberta. Somewhere along the line, people need to stand and be counted. Esther stood, and God used her bravery and obedience to change the world around her. If you take the time to read the book of Nehemiah, it would appear that the favor for the Jews lasted long after Esther was dead and gone. What a legacy she and Mordecai left!

What will be your legacy here for the generations that follow? Will it be one of cowardice and compliance, or will you be one who stands for the truth and sets a tone of obedience no matter the cost? This is what I wrestle with in this time; I suspect that many more pastors are in the same fight. We know that the need to assemble is essential to the life of a church. It is commanded in Hebrews 10:25 that as we see the last days approaching, we are to make an even greater effort to assemble. Yet the power around us, in the name of safety, wants us to disobey God. We can distance, we can wear masks if they like, but we must assemble; this is God’s command.

We know from current studies that about one-third of all practicing Christians, according to an article from Barna published in July 2020, have stopped attending church completely, even the online versions. There will always be reasons for people not to attend church, but when a government determines that the liquor store is more ‘essential’ than the local church, we need to stand up and show that is a lie.

God’s people have not had to fight for a long time; we have enjoyed relative peace and tranquility here in the West for decades. But the fight is coming; make no mistake. The fight on the homosexual agenda and the Rainbow agenda is real; the fight to thwart or limit speech, thus making parts of the Bible, if not most of it illegal, is real; and the threat to shut down the local church as a response to the pandemic is just as real. Many will say that others have been affected, and you are right. The economic costs are staggering, the human costs in areas like suicide, depression and many other mental issues are staggering, and the spiritual costs are staggering. The division in churches for those who only see the COVID and don’t see any other things is real.

We were blindsided by this mess and caught off guard. Just a couple of weeks, they said, then a few months, and now it has been a year, and they project even more time. But somewhere along the line, God’s people need to stand and stop being afraid. You and I will die when God wants us to die and not a moment sooner. But too many of us have stopped living; we might as well be dead.

  • The leadership of Mordecai verses 3-5

We have spent a lot of time talking about Esther, and rightly so, God did name the book after her. But in the shadows and long before Esther was the queen, there was Mordecai. He loved the Lord and loved Esther and taught her the truth. He taught her how to be obedient, loyal and brave. He taught her the history of her people and the truth about who she was as a Jew.

We see that he was a man of integrity and one to not tolerate fools like Haman nor bow to him. He did his job faithfully, serving the king but never forgetting that he was a Jew. Well, the Lord was always noticing, and when the time came, God elevated Mordecai and destroyed Haman. God promoted Mordecai and killed Haman. God did it at the right time. We have a hard time waiting on the Lord. I do; Lord, help me. But Mordecai became the leader in the palace, and his influence empowered the Persians to stand for the Jews as well.

“And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.”

In everywhere that Persia had an embassy or an office, the leaders there banded with the Jews to defeat their enemies because of the influence of Mordecai. What influence do you have in your world? Do you inspire people to be more obedient to the Lord? I am always astonished that people will come and ask me to pray for them; even Muslim people will come and ask me to pray for them. The leaders feared Mordecai; maybe some were afraid of him, but the fear here is more of reverence, not fear like they had with Haman. He was a cruel man, but Mordecai was a godly leader and a good man. Now that he had the power, he was not going to change; what you saw was what you got. Nevertheless, because of his influence, the political leaders sided with the Jews and helped them to prevail.

What is your influence? What are you and I like when we are endued with power? Do we become mean and let the power go to our heads, or are we humbled by God’s grace and become better servants?

Mordecai got even better; he could now influence the people in the ways of Jehovah. In Proverbs 29:2, we are told that the people rejoice when the righteous are in charge. The king did not have to worry about Mordecai trying to subvert him or take his power or steal from him. Mordecai is a godly leader, and so should we be. We should be godly fathers and mentors, godly workers and the best servants, even when we are in charge.

I pray that we will stand up and stand out like Esther and Mordecai. May we fight and encourage others to stand when needed, and may we influence others to do what is right as we lead.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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13 Reasons Why It’s the Last Hour…: Pt 2 :: By Jonathan Brentner

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Because many believers reject the idea that we live in the last days before the events of the seven-year tribulation sweep over the earth, they fail to identify the many ways that make today radically different than any previous time in history. The purpose of this series is to present evidence of why we live in the last moments of human history as we know it.

In part 1, I discussed how the rebirth of Israel is the key to identifying this day as the last moments in human history as we know it. This is so key to understanding our day, yet so many miss the significance of Israel’s miraculous rebirth as a nation and deny its significance to their everyday life.

In addition to Israel’s existence today, the abundance of signs that we see everywhere in our world tells us the tribulation period is ever so near and with that our departure, which happens before it.

  1. The Magog-Gog War of Ezekiel 38-39

The prophecy of the Magog-Gog invasion of Israel in Ezekiel 38-39 not only tells us that Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia will merely protest the greed of the invaders rather than join with them (as we saw in part 1), but it also predicts two other realities that have not existed until recent years.

  1. Russia, Iran, and Turkey will form a close alliance that will lead the future invasion of Israel (see 38:1-6; it’s based on ancient names for these nations).
  2. The prosperity of Israel will cause this group to invade (38:10-13).

Today, Russia, Iran, and Turkey not only have significant military forces in Syria, a country that borders Israel on its northern Golan Heights, but they’ve formed a close alliance. An article on the Harbinger’s Daily website, Iran, Russia and Turkey Signal Growing Alliance, goes into detail on how the coalition of these nations continues to strengthen in 2021.[i] Ten years ago, Turkey was a close ally of Israel; now, however, they have aligned with Russia and Iran exactly as the prophet Ezekiel said would happen in the last days.

The wealth of Israel has significantly increased over the past decade. The nation possesses a huge reservoir of natural gas off its shore and is in the process of building a pipeline under the Mediterranean Sea in order to sell this natural gas to Europe (much to the dismay of Putin, who also sells natural gas to these nations). Recent discoveries indicate that a very large oil field also exists in Israel. Besides these things, rumors abound that a significant vein of gold also exists there, which they plan to use to finance the construction of the temple. Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would use Israel’s wealth to lure Russia into leading the invasion of the Land. Now, as never before, this is reality.

  1. Technology that Makes the Mark of the Beast Possible

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) during the past few years also makes today much different than any other time since the time of Christ. AI technology makes it possible for the antichrist to control all the buying and selling worldwide and is a sign that the tribulation is exceedingly close.

Unlike any other previous time, the technology now exists for the enforcement of the mark of the beast as described in Revelation 13:15-17:

“And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

I recently watched a video on Tom Hughes’ YouTube channel where he and Billy Crone discussed how AI, along with the 5G network, makes it possible for one person, the antichrist, to control the world’s buying and selling. Billy Crone, who has done extensive research on AI, likened the development of AI to the rebirth of Israel in terms of prophetic significance because now, as never before, we see the means for the antichrist and false prophet to fulfill what John wrote in Revelation 13:15-18 concerning the mark of the beast.

The literal interpretation of Revelation 13, accepted by faith in previous generations, has become a reality in today’s world. Not only that, but China has also already implemented a remarkably similar system that makes the buying and selling of many things dependent on one’s social score.

  1. Deception

When the disciples asked Jesus about “the sign of your coming and of the end of the age,” His first words were these, “See that no one leads you astray” (Matt. 24:3-4). In the same discourse, Jesus also warns about “false teachers” seeking to lead others “astray” (Matt. 24:11, 24). In 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12, the apostle Paul writes about the deception that will characterize the antichrist and his time.

Do we not see this happening everywhere in our world today? In just the past year, we have seen “big tech” censor truth on social media as never before. Never before has it been so difficult to decipher the truth from the abundance of lies and misinformation that confront us on a daily basis.

Yes, there have been other times of mass deception, such as we see today in the United States and throughout our world. The disinformation campaign in Germany that led to the rise of Hitler is very much like what I see happening today in the United States.

The difference between Germany in the past century and today is three-fold. First, we have all the other signs of the last days converging at this time. Second, the deception is happening worldwide, rather than in just one country. And third, with the advances in technology, those who stamp out the truth have more effective means of doing so than existed in the lead up to WW II.

  1. The Matthew 24 Signs

The additional signs Jesus gave us, as recorded in Matthew 24:4-14, also tell us that we live in the last days.

One might look at the list of signs in Matthew 24 and say that these things have been true for many centuries; and that is true. In verse 8, however, Jesus compared these signs to “birth pains,” and this tells us all we need to know about why today is unique in terms of biblical prophecy. Like “birth pains,” the closer we get to the tribulation and to Christ’s return, we should expect these signs to increase in frequency and intensity, which is exactly what we see today.

Let’s look at a few examples of this.

  1. Wars and rumors of wars

In verse 6, Jesus said, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” The world today is on the edge of war. There’s mounting friction between China and America over Taiwan, which many believe could result in a war between the two in the near future.

The Gateway Pundit website tells of a massive buildup of military forces near the Ukraine border. Complete with pictures and videos, it reports the movement of many tanks and soldiers on both sides.[ii] If war breaks out, will America come to the aid of its NATO ally? Could this lead to an all-out war between the U.S. and Russia? For now, this qualifies as a significant “rumor” of war that the mainstream media is ignoring. The tensions continue to grow here as I write.

As the world teeters on the brink of war in many other hotspots around the globe, the rider of the red horse, signifying war, waits in the wings (Rev. 6:3-4). His deadly ride through the world near the beginning of the tribulation seems closer than ever before (see Rev. 6:8). And if the tribulation is so very close, how more so our departure that happens before it?

  1. Ethnic Strife

Jesus added these words in verse 7, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”

The word for “nation” in this verse is literally ethnos in the Greek. The tension Jesus predicts for the end times arises from strife and battles between ethnic groups as well as among nations. Does anyone doubt that this is happening today and continuing to grow worse in our world seemingly by the day?

  1. Lawlessness

Jesus said that increased lawlessness would also characterize the last days. “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul refers to the antichrist as “the man of lawlessness” and in verse 7 says that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.”

If any one word describes our day from the standpoint of God’s Word, it is “lawlessness.” Almost every day, news of increasing ungodliness in the United States saddens me. We have gone from the most pro-life president in our history to Biden, who from day one has proven to be a fierce advocate of this brutality here and everywhere else in the world. This is just one of many examples where “lawlessness” characterizes our world, causing “the love of many” to “grow cold.”

Biblical prophecy is alive and well in the spring of 2021; we see so many things predicted long ago coming to life before our eyes as never before since the time of Christ.

Why are so many believers so unaware of these things as an abundance of signs converges as never before in history?

In part 3, we will look at how the push for a one-world government also indicates that our time remaining before the rapture is exceedingly short.

Jonathan Brentner

Website: Our Journey Home

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E-mail: Jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com

[i] Harbinger’s Daily, Iran, Russia and Turkey Signal Growing Alliance, March 21. 2021, @ https://harbingersdaily.com/iran-russia-and-turkey-signal-growing-alliance/

[ii] Joe Hoft, Russia Mounting Massive Show of Force in Russian-Occupied Crimea and Ukraine (VIDEO), April 1, 2021, on the Gateway Pundit website @ https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/russia-mounting-massive-show-force-russian-occupied-crimea-ukraine-video/