I am hearing more and more from believers who say they are among the last days’ remnant, trying to tell the truth and be watchmen on the wall. They are paying a price. They are facing rejection and scorn, even from fellow believers.

I hurt for many of these fine Christians. They are watching the signs of the times. They are connecting dots that say time is running out. They are warning others that so much of what the Bible prophesied for the tumultuous last days is beginning to play out, but they are finding few have ears to hear.

Thus, I have resurrected an older e-newsletter that I wanted to re-send, as we have thousands of new readers. I hope you find it helpful. I open my thoughts with an e-mail I got that speaks for many!

“If I did not have access to you and a few others online, I would be so isolated! I try to talk to people about issues that are important, including end-times, and they look at me like I am an alien. A few of you help me celebrate my alien status. I feel like a lonely goldfish in a bowl. Prophecy is coming true right before our eyes. You and a few others are making a huge difference with all of us aliens in the world.” — Karen

Karen spurred me on to write some rules for remnant survival. I hope they will help you survive what can be a lonely road!

>Remnant believers will travel across town and across country to be with like-minded. Sometimes they even cross oceans. And when they find one another, it is like discovering a gold mine.

>Though almost always in vain, these believers have talked to church leadership about their concerns, including topics missing from the pulpit, but they are generally blown off. Some are asked to leave the church. They only wanted their church to major in the majors–topics and issues that would equip the saints.

>We should expect mockery and worse, as it is predicted (II Peter 3:3,4). Watchmen are going to be seen as troublemakers, for we are studying and keeping alert. We understand the times as did the sons of Issachar (I Chronicles 12:32). The tragedy is that our critics are the clueless ones.

>Nonetheless, when it comes to charting our times and the lateness of the hour, stick to the Bible. Trendy new “signs” and theologies come along frequently. Some are intriguing and thus become an Internet sensation, but they are not sound.

>Understand that the end-time church is racing towards Laodicea and is more interested in conforming than transforming. Many churches and leaders will focus on “your best life now.” You might long to be in Eternity with the Lord and with loved ones and escape a sin-wracked earth. You will not be understood.

>But we cannot survive alone. Seek out a Bible study or small group fellowship where you can relate with the like-minded if your church is lacking. Even an online group is better than no fellowship. As you encourage there, you will be encouraged.

>Things are going to grow darker, and we must shine brighter! News of the day can be shocking and disheartening. God is trying to wake us up and shake us up so we will look up. A few will awaken, and some will listen, so we must not unplug from news and information because you might be someone’s “early warning system.”

>Resist being disillusioned. The prophets of old longed to see and live in our day. We are privileged (and challenged) to be here for such a time as this.

>Remember the warning to the “watchmen” in Ezekiel 33:6. If we are silent when we should speak up, the blood is on our hands.

>The Bible suggests an end-time church will be small. In Luke 18:8, Jesus asks if He will find any of faith when He returns. Many will have fallen by the wayside. Thank God for the remnant that holds to truth and spreads truth. I have recently read where only 6% of the U.K. is Christian, and this could include denominations that are not totally solid.

>Remember that God has everything under control. Things are lining up; they are falling into place. Nothing is falling apart. We get to watch the stage being set! In the end, we win. So does Jesus Christ. The world will bow their knee to Him.

>Anticipate your crown for those who “long for His appearing” (II Timothy 4:8)

>Get your focus off of self and onto others. Everyone has a challenge: health, family, finances, career, isolation, and more. Encourage at least one person a day. That will make your day and theirs.

Many of today’s churches—and thankfully not all of them—are following the church-growth formula that will never include issues remnant believers love to hear about. This was predicted. The rise of apostasy, wolves, false teachers, and more may be the most prominent end-time warning in the Bible. Finding the right church sometimes takes years for remnant believers.

If you’re going to be a remnant survivor, you need to figure out how to be a part of the solution to this sad state of church affairs. Bouncing from church to church is likely not the best idea. But sitting multiple times a week under bad theology, music with spiritually unhealthy lyrics, or leadership that is just dysfunctional is also not an option. Cutting yourself off from fellowship is no better.

A remnant of fabric is a discarded piece of cloth that no longer has a purpose—until someone comes along and makes a beautiful quilt out of it. You may be that quilt. You will ultimately shine brightly, certainly in eternity, but perhaps before. So don’t despair.

The hour is so very late. Someone must warn the world. God may be calling you to be the one to do that!

Watchmen have a lonely assignment.

“On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent…” (Isaiah 62:6).

www.olivetreeviews.org

 

 

 

Can We Resist the Green Dragon in the Coming Year?

To the secular left, climate is king. Maybe I should say it is a god. Environmentalism has become a religion. People enthusiastically worship mother earth and scoff at God the Father. This has been a fifty-year process that officially began in the early 1970s with Earth Day. The left decided that anyone who disrespected the earth was suspect. So, how far will they go? Many voices are warning of climate lockdowns coming in 2023.

I am quoting online journalist Michael Snyder who writes, “Climate change lockdowns are here, and if people don’t respond very strongly to this, it is likely that we will soon see similar measures implemented all over the western world. The elite have always promised to do ‘whatever it takes’ to fight climate change, and now we are finding out that they weren’t kidding.”

He says, “Over in the UK, residents of Oxfordshire will now need a special permit to go from one ‘zone’ of the city to another. But, even if you have the permit, you will still only be allowed to go from one zone to another ‘a maximum of 100 days per year.'”

He concludes, “Oxfordshire County Council yesterday approved plans to lock residents into one of six zones to ‘save the planet’ from global warming. The latest stage in the agenda is to place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, confining residents to their own neighborhoods.”

Covid lockdowns set the gold standard. Many felt they could trust government to be for the people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Government is for advancing a control agenda. Now the lockdown mentality resurfaces for the green dragon.

Criticizing today’s green agenda does not make one anti-environment and in favor of dirty air and water! Because mankind was created in His image, God gave men and women a privileged place among all creatures and commanded them to exercise stewardship of the earth (Gen. 1:26-28; Psalm 8:6-8).

How has the church responded? Some 25 years ago, they jumped on the climate change bandwagon. Articles on the website of the National Association of Evangelicals feature a push to recycle and an emphasis on what the Bible says about environmentalism, which they claim suggests we are “killing the planet.” They state that “loving the least of these” (Matthew 25:40) has climate implications.

What happened to emphasizing winning the lost while there is still time? This has been the message of evangelicalism my entire life. Social justice and climate issues are pushing this aside. I would think that the evangelical pulpit would be stating the obvious: God controls the weather, and man has nothing to do with it!

The recent climate conference in Egypt much of November 2022, called COP 27, revealed the cultish agenda. The conference called for a new ten commandments for climate justice and repenting from climate sins. They called for a new covenant—a covenant between man and creation. If they could only understand that God plans a new heaven and new earth.

Yet 120 nations were in attendance doing their due diligence for the earth. The media downplayed the event, so only a few outlets gave it serious attention. Fortunately, many online sources revealed the bizarre behavior the world thinks is normal.

Stewardship implies caretaking, not abusing. We are to intelligently manage the resources God has given us, using all diligent care to preserve and protect them.

But now this has become a green dragon! And this, just like Covid, could change our way of life and cause us the loss of even more freedoms. Are people going to roll over and cave to new rules and regulations, and even be immobilized with new forms of lockdowns? Many caved for Covid and went along with school closings and businesses closing their doors. But government doesn’t know best!

I believe this will be the left’s big push in the new year. You can be persecuted for your carbon footprint, for not heating with solar panels, and for the kind of car you drive.

These are Covid policies re-born. Yes, it is leftist lunacy, but it also falls under the references in the Bible to end-time strong delusion (2 Thess. 2:8-12). And some churches will go along with this! I encourage them to be about the business of winning souls while there is time and spending very little time worrying about carbon footprints. Satan has masterfully gotten our churches to get their focus off of eternal issues and onto a hundred distractions.

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