Leanna Crawford’s story behind her latest song immediately captured my attention. She related a time from her childhood when she saw fireflies light up her yard at night. Her dad responded to her amazement by asking, “How can you not see the Creator in all this?”

The song that came as a result of her father’s question, “How Can You Not See God?” has become a favorite of mine. How can people not see God in the beauty and wonders of creation?

You might guess where my mind goes when I hear this question: I wonder, “How can you not see the fulfilling of biblical prophecy everywhere you look?” I am, no doubt, taking liberties with her title.

I realize that the majority of saints reading this article agree with me regarding Bible prophecy. For you, the question is a confirmation of what you believe rather than that of expressing doubt in your convictions. It’s a matter of pointing out the obvious, just as Crawford’s father did with his question to his daughter.

For those of you that place your hope in the church rather than in Jesus’ imminent appearing, I have much for you to consider.

How Can You Not See God’s Hand in the Miraculous Reappearance of Israel as a Nation?

Dr. William Watson wrote an article called “The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.” In it, he lists forty-five writers who, from 1585 to 1800, expressed beliefs in Jesus’ millennial reign over the nations of the earth. Although the Reformers didn’t go there, it was their Bible interpretation principles of sola scripture and Scripture interprets Scripture that led to the revival of premillennialism (the belief in a literal thousand-year reign of Jesus as the Apostle John reveals in Revelation 20:1-10) in the centuries that followed the Reformation.

Perhaps the most well-known premillennialist of this era was Isaac Newton. His study of the books of Daniel and Revelation led him to conclude in 1706 that God would again restore Israel as a nation.

Early in the twentieth century, the continued prediction by premillennialists that Israel would become a nation again was met with considerable ridicule by the amillennialists (those that equate the words of Revelation 20:1-10 with either the church age or the eternal state).

Dr. David Reagan, founder of the Lion and the Lamb Ministries, wrote the following about this:

The Christian leaders of the mainline denominations laughed at these literal interpretations and boldly asserted that Israel would never exist again. Once the state of Israel became a reality in 1948, these same Christian leaders began to argue that it was just an “accident of history” and not a fulfillment of prophecy!

This is spiritual blindness, and it is very sad since it has resulted in the average Christian knowing nothing about the significance of the re-establishment of Israel as a miraculous fulfillment of Bible prophecy and a sure sign of the Lord’s soon return^{. [i]}

How can people not see God’s hand in the fulfillment of prophecy in what happened in May of 1948? There’s no other account of a people scattered and persecuted for two thousand years suddenly becoming a nation again with their same language. Isaiah 66:8 predicted that Israel would become a nation again in exactly the way it happened:

“Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?”

Sadly, those who regard the emergence of Israel as an “accident of history” are the very ones that ridicule those of us who see biblical prophecies coming to life in our day.

How Can You Not See the Multitude of Signs Pointing to the Soon Arrival of the Tribulation Period?

The “spiritual blindness” to which Dr. Reagan refers extends beyond an ignorance of the significance of Israel becoming a nation to the multitude of signs telling us we live in the last days.

How can believers today miss the multitude of warnings that the seven-year Tribulation is coming at this world like a speeding diesel locomotive? It must either be ignorance of biblical prophecy or spiritual blindness that stems from a love of the things this world has to offer.

I listed all the reasons for the lateness of the day in which we live in a post from last year, 12 Signs the World is Running Out of Normal. I also explored this matter in The Bubble of Normalcy.

Below is a list of the twelve signs pointing to the nearness of Jesus’ appearing:

1. The rebirth of Israel
2. Third temple fever in Israel
3. The four horses of Revelation 6:1-8
4. The emergence of Digital currencies
5. Digital health passports
6. Mark of the Beast technology
7. Transhumanism
8. The soon arrival of One-World governance
9. Worship of creation rather than the Creator
10. Pole shift concerns that match prophecies in Revelation 6:12-17 and Isaiah 24:19-20
11. Scoffing
12. Perilous times on steroids

All twelve of the above tell us that the Tribulation is ever so close, and with it, the Rapture of the church, which the Bible says will happen before it.

Concerning the soon arrival of the one-world government, author and speaker Pete Garcia aptly writes:

Finally, we can see the final beast system starting to take form. It is using the crisis of health and money to steer the world into a biometric digital currency that will one day be used to control all buying and selling on the planet. At this point, it’s becoming violently obvious as to where this is all heading. In fact, one would have to be intentionally ignorant of Bible prophecy to purposefully ignore what is happening and where it is headed (see Revelation 13:16-18). Even non-Christians are starting to identify much of this stuff as having prophetic importance. ^[ii]

Twenty-five years ago, it would’ve been impossible for the antichrist to control commerce in the world in the way that we read in Revelation 13:16-18. He would’ve needed a massive army of devotees to do so. Today, with the advances in Artificial Intelligence, gigantic databases, and 5G technology, it will soon be possible for one person to set the parameters of buying and selling for everyone in the world. By the midpoint of the Tribulation, he will be able to control buying and selling worldwide with the flip of a switch.

How can any believer not see the fulfillment of prophecy in this? The words of the book of Revelation are coming to life before our eyes.

How Can You Not See the Deception that Jesus Said Would Mark the Last Days?

When asked about the signs of the last days, Jesus’ first words were, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, we again see lawlessness and deception as signs that would mark the appearance of the antichrist who can’t appear on the world scene before the Rapture.

How can we not recognize the deception of our day as the fulfillment of what Jesus warned about both directly and through the Apostle Paul? For those in the U.S. Biden administration, lying comes as easy as breathing.

The mainstream media anesthetizes people, and Christians, to the truth, making them unable to recognize the dangers that lie at their doorstep. Despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, the media still proclaims the deadly lie that the COVID vaccines are safe and effective. They are neither!

How Can You Not See the Soon Arrival of God’s Wrath Upon America?

We are living on borrowed time.

God is sovereign, but from our perspective, we see His patience with a nation gone mad. He’s holding back the full explosion of evil and destruction that will happen at the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

Many expected the worldwide shortage of food to be much more severe by now. It seems strange to me that the war in Ukraine has not yet exploded into a much wider conflict with disastrous results. Years ago, many predicted that the U.S. economy was on the verge of a total collapse, but despite efforts to force such a scenario, it hasn’t yet happened.

God’s sovereign power and restraining hand is the only reason all these things haven’t occurred.

So yes, we are living on borrowed time in respect to God pouring out His wrath on the United States.

Pete Garcia, a former Major in the U.S. Army, conveys my thoughts a bit more directly:

It should be obvious to anyone with half a brain that the cracks in the American pillars are so profound by now that something (or Someone) has been supernaturally sustaining the integrity of them. ^[iii]

How can people not recognize that the end of America is ever so close? Why is it that many of those sounding the alarm don’t believe the Bible or have any faith whatsoever in God? Some from this group see the dangers that a great many church leaders refuse to recognize.

The start of June signals a time of lewd displays of wickedness, which become viler and more disgusting each year. When one also considers the blood of innocents that flow from the abortion mills in America, one has to wonder how much longer before God says, “Enough!”

I know that the majority of those reading this article agree with me, and the intent of my question is to reinforce your valid beliefs.

For the others, I agree with Pete. It takes a purposeful ignorance of biblical prophecy not to recognize that the world, and especially the U.S., rests on the edge of a cliff.

How Can You Not See the Nearness of Jesus’ Appearing?

I believe Jesus is coming soon for His church. The wildcard in the timing of the Lord’s appearing consists of both His sovereignty and restraining power.

I am also convinced that God will severely judge America, but He is exceedingly patient, waiting for more people to turn to Him before He pours out His great wrath.

If you look at world events and think the Lord should have come for us by now, it shows you understand Bible prophecy as well as the role of the Holy Spirit in restraining the full force of destruction and deception that will come with the unveiling of the antichrist.

Don’t be discouraged; the Lord will reward your confidence in His promises.

I don’t know what Leanna Crawford believes about the end times, but I love her song, and it sparked the writing of this article. For those that look at the beauty and wonders of nature and do not see the creator, her words ring with truth, “How Can You Not See God?”

For me, I can’t get past a similar question as I look at the world around me: “How can I not see that I live in the very last moments before Jesus’ appearing?”

How can pastors not see the signs of the times and, as a result, not provide those in their charge with the hope they desperately need in these perilous times?

***

My books:

My latest one is Cancel This! What Today’s Church Can Learn from the Bad Guys of the Bible. The book is all about growing to maturity in Christ. The bad examples of these characters reveal the mindset we need for living at a time when the cancel culture dominates our culture.

I provide a detailed defense of the Pretribulation viewpoint in: The Triumph of the Redeemed-An Eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times.

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com. Thanks!

Sources:

[i] David Reagan, “Accident Of History?: Why Do So Many Mainstream Denominations Get This Wrong?” on the Harbingers Daily Website at: https://harbingersdaily.com/accident-of-history-why-do-so-many-mainstream-denominations-get-this-wrong/

[ii] Pete Garcia, A Thousand Tiny Cuts, May 29, 2023, on his blog: https://www.rev310.net/post/a-thousand-tiny-cuts

[iii] Ibid.

(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)

I just returned from a four-day hiking/backpacking trip in the North Maine Woods. There was no phone service or other signal available, with the exception of the “Inreach” system one of my brothers has for emergency use only. No phone, no internet.

We were able to just enjoy God’s wonderful creation, feed some blackflies, and cook (some might say “massacre”) some “wilderness cooking” recipes, and just enjoy.

What a pleasure it was to be “cut off” and “isolated” for those few days.

When I returned late in the afternoon, I just didn’t want to “get with the program,” so I waited until the next morning to get online.

Writing articles and/or commentary requires a great deal of time spent reading about “current events” and monitoring other sources of information in order to get a sense of what is ongoing from day to day.

It can be quite a chore, and I sometimes must force myself to do it, mostly because I know I am not going to find any comfort in it.

Well… right again.

What I found within just moments was staggering in its level of debauchery, depravity, and frenetic, illogical, senseless insanity.

In just 4 days, it seemed the world had accelerated in its headlong rush to self-destruction like a jet fighter lighting the afterburner.

My recent article entitled “Prophecy, The Accelerating Rate of Acceleration” was almost an understatement or perhaps even inadequate to describe what I discovered in a period of only 4 days of being away from exposure to it!

Perhaps it was the contrast between those few hours of peace and quiet and what I found when “reconnecting” with the world that was so astonishing.

I would like to think that, but I’m not convinced that was all of it.

Not at all convinced.

I could go into a litany of the things I found, but it wouldn’t really comprise a “litany.”

“Litany,” as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary: “A repetitive recital, series, or list.”

So, why isn’t it/wasn’t it a litany?

Because it wasn’t only a “repetitive recital.”

It was a whole new series of maniacal, deviant, and insane events and behaviors that were IN ADDITION TO the “repetitive recital” I was witnessing before I left!

Over the millennia, there is a record, both in the Word of God and in secular recorded accounts of human history, of what happens when individuals, nations, and governments of nations turn away from the God of creation who has made knowledge of Himself and His precepts, laws, and decrees known to mankind.

Mankind refuses to listen; instead, they fulfill the prophecies they so hate.

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One: ‘Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords'” (Psalm 2:1-3). Emphasis added by me.

He has also made it clear what the consequences of that rejection would be, and even more important, He has made it clear that once a certain level of rebellion and sin has been attained, He executes judgment.

“But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16).

Eventually, God will give man over to his own desire to be free of His influence, Grace and Mercy.

“Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32). Emphasis added by me.

That is when they will reap the whirlwind.

It is not necessary to search news sites, blogs, etc., in order to find examples of the above-mentioned behavior.

You need only leave your home in some areas (this condition grows each day) and enter the public arena, and “arena” has become an appropriate descriptor.

Now to the crux of this article

My primary purpose for writing this is not to remind the reader of the current state of affairs, not just here in America (or what is left of it), but to point out that in just a short period of time (even just four days) it was undeniable that the rate of the sinful behavior, and the degree of depravity, had increased at an exponential rate.

It could not be missed.

The sins of the world are racing toward the point that the Amorites (see above Genesis 15:16) eventually reached.

When they reached that point, God executed judgment, and the nation that existed at that time was overthrown by Joshua and the Israelites, as commanded by God (Joshua 10).

While this “level of iniquity” is not clearly defined in (Genesis 15:16), it is clear that there is, in fact, a limit that God has set by His own authority.

History is full of examples of the carcasses of nations that have been judged and destroyed by division and conquest due to their choice to let sin and rebellion master them.

What were once countries/nations comprised of men, women, and children are now only fading ink on yellowing paper and a few crumbling ruins.

A record only of what was once a living community of people.

“He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them” (Job 12:23).

Indeed, He has, just as His Word proclaims.

So, what can be done?

God’s prophetic Word tells us that the world will be judged very harshly. Revelation 4:1 and subsequent chapters provide the substance of the consequences of rebellion that has been applied to nations as well as individuals throughout history.

Many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament as well as the New, define the reasons why God must judge sin and that He executes His judgment according to His own authority.

In the case of the present world, as God judged the entire world by flood, as recorded in Genesis, He must judge it one final time.

No nation, however strong it may once have been, can survive under the present conditions being experienced at this point in time, and that includes America.

The book of Revelation will be completed as written.

It is inevitable.

God has, in His mercy, provided a way to escape His final judgment by providing a substitute for the penalty of sin, which must be paid in blood.

Every last individual will face the reality of this verse in God’s Word, as every last individual is guilty of sin and rebellion.

“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a).

But God has provided a way to life for those who will choose to repent.

“…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, willingly paid that penalty.

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Emphasis added by me

He chose to die so that you can choose to live.

Ask yourself, “What more could He have done?”

The special message I promised you:

For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.

You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.

It requires that you come before God on His terms.

And, what are His terms according to His Word?

• Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
• Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
• That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
• To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
• Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross
• To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.

• No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
• No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
• Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.

If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.

“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).

There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.

The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Pro Salvator Vigilans

To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com