From 2 Timothy 4:3-4; “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (all emphasis mine)

“Religion” is thriving, and some mega-churches are filled to capacity during regular “services.” The biggest issue is that true Bible teaching is getting hard to find. For some of these churches, the Sunday after the Rapture will not see any change in attendance. They’ll still be putting on light shows, have heart-thumping music, and be giving “ear-tickling” messages for those itching ears. However, Jesus will be conveniently left out. The newer generation doesn’t want to be told they are sinners in need of a Savior but that their earthly lifestyle is just fine.

The one to three hours a week “Christians” are content to be present and support their organized evangelical churches; just don’t expect anything else the rest of the week. Besides, all religions worship the same god, and Jesus was a good person, but not really necessary for us to go to heaven – right? The need here is to read John 14:6.

While true believers’ numbers are declining in America, the places that are seeing increases are in countries that persecute and martyr Christians. Iran, China, North Korea, parts of Africa and other Middle East nations are a few that seek out anyone who calls on Jesus to be their Savior. There have been reports of people being given a chance to renounce Jesus and turn back to the religion of that area, yet many choose death rather than change.

Several countries around the world today are making it a crime for anyone to speak out against lifestyles that God calls abominations. Canada is one of these countries where there are pastors and educators facing prison for calling the “alphabet” lifestyles sinful. Cases of arrests are also being reported in Europe and Scandinavia, and America is just a breath away from this same action.

Luke 21:16:17; “You will be delivered up, even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.”

Matthew 24:10-13; “And then many will fall away and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Next, Paul’s prophecy about the end of this age in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “But understand this, that in the last days will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

The last line is good advice, but how is one to avoid such people when they are all around and growing daily in number?

In 2 Peter 2:1-3, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed, they will exploit you with their false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Going to 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life – is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Continuing to 1 John 2:18-19, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain they all are not of us.”

The antichrists and false prophets that have been around since the time of John’s writings are not the ultimate evil ones of Daniel and Revelation. All that have come, and all that are here now, are a prelude to the era of the 7-year Wrath/Tribulation.

The ultimate antichrist and false prophet most likely are alive today. They may or may not know the role that they are about to play, but they are in Satan’s grip. However, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 explains why the beast hasn’t come forth yet. “And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only He who now restrains it will do so until He is out of the way.”

All true believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. For the antichrist to appear, that influence will be removed; and in doing so, the Rapture has to occur first to keep God’s promise to keep us from that coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; Revelation 3:10).

Anyone who truly focuses on the world today should be able to see that all the signs are here right now. There have always been evil people and unspeakable, horrible deeds that have been done, but the sheer magnitude today of satanic activity is overwhelming.

Our government, along with the liberal faux news media, are “programming” people to follow whatever they say without question, and sadly, they are gaining a majority of followers. The new world order is rapidly coming together, and eventually, there will be a one-world government just as God said there would be. Prior to this, there will be a coalition that will attack Israel (Ezekiel 38), believing that they will be able to plunder the wealth which that small nation has.

Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars near the end of the age. We are seeing a lot of “saber-rattling” from the coalition of Russia, Iran and Turkey that formed just within the last decade. Ezekiel 38:4 states that God will “put hooks into your jaws” and convince them to attack Israel. The “hook” would be the massive gas and oil deposits that Israel has, as all three members of the coalition are financially strapped.

Nothing that is taking place today surprises our Heavenly Father. All prophecy leading up to these times has been fulfilled with 100% accuracy. Why would anyone think this would be any different?

Knowing what the Bible says about end-time events, one might think this would be warning enough to possibly change the outcome. However, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

Also, 2 Thessalonians 2:11, “Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.” I believe that delusion has already started.

The best scenario of all this is Luke 21:28, where Jesus tells us to look up when all this starts to take place because our redemption is near. All who have truly received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will not be here for the worst 7-year period of time this world has ever seen.

The mechanics (ABCs) of redemption are found in Romans 10:9-13, which ends by saying that “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” God will force no one to accept His Son, but He will not turn anyone away who truly calls on Jesus. The event known as the Rapture could take place at any moment of any day now.

No one has sinned so greatly that they cannot be forgiven. The absolute unforgivable sin is to take your last breath on this earth without having Jesus as your Savior. All He asks is that you acknowledge you have sinned and ask His forgiveness; He has already paid in full the price God requires – a pure, sinless blood sacrifice. Then, have the faith that God raised Him from the dead to conquer sin and death for us. When you call on Him, the Holy Spirit will come and reside in you until you are with Jesus, either by death or by Rapture.

Call on Him today, right now, and you will be assured of an eternal home with Him in paradise. It will be the best decision you will have ever made.

Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

Recently there was an amazing post in Rapture Ready that is one of the most balanced and factual exposés I have seen for a long time. It is called “America in the Crosshairs” by Jonathan Brentner. My own thoughts were paralleling a lot of what Jonathan expressed, so I don’t wish to write something so similar. But I will change tack and take some of Jonathan’s ideas and elaborate on those. If you have not read “America in the Crosshairs,” then I recommend you do so. https://www.raptureready.com/2021/08/11/america-in-the-crosshairs-by-jonathan-brentner

POINT 1. Jonathan wrote, “Wickedness in the U.S. has grown exponentially in the decades since then.” I think I mentioned in my last post, “Dark and Darker,” that I was surprised at the speed at which wickedness has progressed. “Exponentially” is the correct word because, almost daily, we hear of some new proposal for evil, and it is moving like an express train.

In my nation, Australia (especially my State Queensland), just in the last year, we have had put into legislation full homosexual rights over Christians, including marriage perverted by homosexuality; abortion up to the very day of birth; the sexual and gender destruction of children; increasing prohibitions and restrictions for Christians; and a trashing of all our culture and heritage. Nearly all these moves have come from Marxist Governments and organizations.

Jonathan’s descriptions of the U.S. parallel mine here almost perfectly. We always used to say that Australia was about 15 or more years behind the U.S. when it came to trends and fashions, but I am astounded that the two nations are now in sync. I tend to dismiss that envoys are running from one nation to another with these novel trends carrying with them what they term “enlightened views.”

Now I actually think that demonic activity is such that these programs of evil are surfacing in all nations (of the western world at least) all about the same time.

What I think is essential is that we realize what is happening and not be perturbed about it, distasteful as it is. We continue to be lights for the Lord, the Light of the World, but we will not set the world ablaze anymore, I do believe. The mystery of wickedness/lawlessness is at work and increasing. One other aspect I find of great interest is that there are many all over the world whom God is witnessing to, so they understand the signs of the time; this is expressed in some of the writers on Rapture Ready. Parallel to this is that there is an imminent awareness of the Lord’s coming for the Church.

POINT 2. Jonathan asked the question, “Has the Lord already begun to take action against the U.S.?” This is quite a debatable question, as you have one side that says, “Yes,” and the other side that says, “God does not take action until the Tribulation.” Jonathan quoted Isaiah 3:4-5, a remarkable passage that applied to apostate Judah. Although that is the Jewish prophecy, I think it can also have applications outside that.

I was thinking of the ways God could intervene in the affairs of the world to express His displeasure at the deepening wickedness. We know that evil gets worse and will come to maturity for our age/generation on the eve of the Rapture. Evil men will grow from bad to worse. It is then, and straight after that, the axe of Jehovah will fall. After following all the massive floods in China in the last two years (from an exceptionally good channel on YouTube – “China in Focus”), I began to think on this more seriously. In the Old Testament, God’s instruments of judgment were flood, fire, famine, and invasion by enemies.

China has had great floods; Germany and parts of Europe have had huge flooding. As for fires, the ones currently in the USA and other places in the world, especially Europe, are quite severe. Is God sending these or allowing them? Whatever that answer may be, I think one thing is certain; God’s hand is on these “acts of Nature.” It is a wake-up call to the world, which is now so evil that God must begin to “rattle the cage” a little.

I am amazed at the cretin level of Australian politics, especially those who belong to the ALP and Greens. These people are so wicked they cannot judge rightly. They lead the nation into greater darkness. They have no ability to turn to the truth. They are a perverse stick that cannot be straightened. Jonathan expanded on the state of American politics under Biden. Australians think he is a “joke,” in case you wanted to know. Rare News commentators who don’t belong to the socialist left say, “It is tragic that this man can be the leader of the free world.”

I wrote something (fictional) for a News site that I will repeat here, and I hope people don’t mind, touching on my estimate of the cognitive syntax of the President. Set in the White House:

“Mr Biden, I’d like you to meet the President of Turkey.”

“President …. of ahh Turkey, you say … said. Yes, we had a turkey for thanksgiving.”

“No, sir, this is the President of Turkey.”

“Ahh, um, so you are the turkey farmer. You look after the turkeys, do you? Thank you for the ahhh, what was it? Yes, turkey we had for … for Christmas, I think it was.”

POINT 3. Jonathan raised the matters of Immature Leadership and Division and dealt with them very well. One leads to the other, and it is because of the standard of those entering political life. I don’t know about the USA, but in Australia, to get endorsement for a particular Party to contest an election, you have to sell your soul to the highest bidder and pull all sorts of dirty tricks to disable your rivals and sacrifice any values you had to get pre-selection. No longer do you get good men/women who enter for the genuine “good” of the people. So much of it is agenda-driven.

Jonathan quoted from Habakkuk 1:1-4, and I want to repeat that, as it is so relevant.

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, / and you will not hear? / Or cry to you, ‘Violence!’ / and you will not save? / Why do you make me see iniquity, / and why do you idly look at wrong? / Destruction and violence are before me; / strife and contention arise. / So the law is paralyzed, / and justice never goes forth. / For the wicked surround the righteous; / so justice goes forth perverted.”

What he has noticed in the U.S., and I have seen here, is that so much injustice is not being addressed while proper justice is swept aside. It is a castle of hypocrisy. Queensland was hosting a big interstate rugby league game, and the State was going to be put into virus lockdown; but that was held up for 2 days until hours after the football game ended, and then it was implemented.

Meanwhile, some people got fined for being outside their homes without a mask.

There is an expression people use, which is, “People get the government they deserve.” I don’t like that and prefer to say, “People elect a government that best reflects themselves.” Wicked people elect wicked governments. Why did the USA elect the Democrats? It is because the moral fiber and Christian ethics in the USA (and exactly the same here) are now so eroded that people want what is wrong and reject what is good (and by that, I am not saying the Republicans are good as such). Put up two candidates, one a Christian and the other a definite non-Christian, and what do you hear in the media? – “We don’t want a wowser/Bible basher,” so the Christian would be defeated.

I don’t think it is as bad as that in the U.S., and I understand you have some good Christians in power. Consider that in light of the fact that the born-again Christians in Australia would not get past about 1% of the population. That makes this a pagan country, more pagan than China (6% Christian).

Jonathan made reference to church pastors – “Far too many pastors today follow the example of King Rehoboam by shunning the wisdom of those older and more mature in the faith than they themselves, and thus cause added divisions in their churches.” Why would this be, I wonder? If you watch the News on television channels (I tend to avoid it because so much is socialism except from Sky news in Australia), then what you notice is that News programs and current affairs programs are compered [hosted] usually by young people often in their twenties. There used to be a time when mature men, and women to a lesser extent, were the News readers. No longer; and older people are not required in the workforce either. Those over 40 who apply for jobs know how difficult it is.

Pastors who shun the wisdom of their elders are merely following the world’s example. We have such a worldly church today. We have imported the world’s singing and singing style into the church; we have allowed concert-like performance to replace proper congregational singing; we have made personality cults of pastors, or they have taken that role themselves; we think the church should be run as a business! Many churches function like a democracy. The church is not a democracy where the majority vote for this or that; it should be a flock over which the Lord is the Shepherd. Last December, I wrote a poem called “Zebra Matters,” and it touches on these things. I think I will put it on Rapture Ready soon, maybe.

POINT 4. In the examination of “Violence,” and “Destruction and Violence,” Jonathan wrote, “The carnage in America extends far beyond the river of blood that flows from our abortion death mills. The violence propagated against children via sex trafficking is mind-boggling; it’s horrific! The Lord will surely judge all those involved in this abomination, which the Biden administration has made far worse with their open border policy.”

It is horrific to think that human beings can callously kill the unborn of their species. I have become shocked about all this. In my State, a woman can have an abortion right up to the day of delivery, where the fully functional baby is ripped apart in the uterus and taken out piece by piece, or taken out and then put to death. God said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” But man says, “Be sexual, but murder the multiplication!”

There is an interesting couple of verses I have written on (but not on Rapture Ready; not yet anyway), and they are set in the Tribulation – Revelation 9:20-21, “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; ²¹ and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their immorality, nor of their thefts.”

For a long while, I have always included murder in verse 21 as applying to abortion, among other considerations. The blood of the innocent unborn cries to God from the earth, and He will avenge. Even in the face of the Tribulation judgments, the people then will not repent. So steadfast they are in their murders that they are unshakable in their wickedness. It is so even today. In Australia, Christians are forbidden to be within 100 meters of an abortion clinic, and it is illegal to try to counsel a young woman who is at the clinic or thinking of an abortion. This is the work of Satan, a murderer from the beginning.

How stressful all this would be for Christians if we did not know the end of it all. I just love the old American gospel quartets (such as The Cathedrals), and one song that was sung is “I’ve Read the Back of the Book (and we win)” Praise God! Evil men think they are in control and dismiss Christians and persecute them, but we win! Our Lord is the Victor!

In 2018, there were 16,214 murders in the United States. 2020 was the worst on record, with the figures approaching 60 a day. There is such awful violence in the world – Africa, Middle East, China (and the USA) – that you wonder how long God will tolerate this. It has been the question even non-believers like to throw at a Christian – “If there is a God, why does he allow these bad things to happen?” It is not easy to give a satisfactory answer. How did Noah cope with it?

Genesis 6:11-13, “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.”

Noah preached and had no converts, but he knew what was around the corner, even if that corner was many decades away. We also have an earth filled with violence, but we also have a “corner,” and so many of God’s children think that corner is just around the corner! Such horrible conditions ought to outrage everyone, but most don’t care. We parallel the time of Jeremiah 5:31, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so, but what will you do at the end of it?” Everyone does what is right in his own eyes, like at the time of the Judges.

POINT 5. Another quote from Jonathan’s article: “As for America in the twenty-first century, this almost needs no comment. I never thought I would see so much evil behavior and lawlessness before the rapture. The influence of the LBGTQ agenda on our children is beyond despicable. It begs this question: Why do we as a nation continue to elect men and women who wholly support the wicked agenda of the LBGTQ and openly promote transgenderism for seven-year-old children?”

Usually, with universal practices and belief systems, they begin somewhere, and they work their way through international meetings and resolutions and visits of “experts” from country to country. What I find astounding is that the perversion of children’s sexuality and gender (the legislating perverts call it “gender fluidity”) has happened in our countries at the same time. It is gross wickedness now on a universal scale that is enslaving all countries with the same manifestation of evil at the same time. How can that be?

In Roman’s 1, Paul works through the chapter with the downward progression of the human race, dropping from platform to platform until he hits the bottom in verses 26 and 27. Four times in the chapter, Paul writes, “God gave them over,” meaning that God allowed them to pursue their sinful fall into depravity, left to their own devices because they have abandoned God.

Once a nation reaches the point of honoring homosexuality, then it has hit the bottom. We are there, and it is but one step for the depraved to then turn to destroy our children, and that is what they are doing. The gospel is the salt of the earth, but its savor has been corrupted by legislation and by traitorous speakers in pulpits. I give the same verse that Jonathan gave – Romans 1:32, “and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

I need to finish. The wrath to come à Everything is recorded on the accounts held by God. We can hardly imagine this as it is so immense. Sin will have its day of reckoning, and that day fast approaches. Praise the Lord that He has delivered us from that wrath to come. As Noah was lifted up above the waters of judgment, so too shall we be lifted up above the judgment of the Tribulation.

As Noah rested in the ark, so too we will rest in the Ark (Jesus Christ) forever with Him, removed forever from the ravages of sin and judgment. As Noah had a window near the top of the ark so he could look up and not down, so too we have a window that looks up to heaven from where our Lord will come.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au