Is Sodom On Hiatus?
One senses that the LGBTQ collective is in remission of a sort. But we can be assured it is only of a temporary sort. I think it is safe to predict that it will soon emerge again in full-flood mode. The reason it is safe to predict such is that Jesus Himself said it will be just like it was in the days of Lot in Sodom when the Lord next Intervenes catastrophically into the wicked affairs of mankind.
That next Intervention will be the Rapture of all believers in Christ into the Clouds of Glory –the Rapture of the Church.
Heaven’s Reach into our present time seems to me a powerful move to restrain the evil that was raging before the woke wickedness was dealt a setback. The Restrainer, I’m convinced, has that Romans 1:28 reprobate insanity in Psalms chapter 2-type derision.
The homosexual movement grew, seemingly unstoppable, with mainstream media, both news and entertainment, giving full support to each and every demand made by their organization. Any opposition raised against the moral bankruptcy of the LGBTQ movement was considered by mainstream press as not a legitimate reason for concern but rather a hate crime against gays. Time and time again, as the Sodom-like movement became more forceful throughout the nation, the rants became ever more vehement in screaming the media pundits’ almost unanimous view: the crime of bigotry against those who are gay.
The journalistic mantra seemed, to me at least, to be aimed at attempting to raise a groundswell of opinion against those who believe God’s Word condemns homosexuality.
Let me state up front that Christians are not supposed to condemn anyone. We are, however, if we truly follow what the Bible teaches, expected to agree totally with the God of heaven in His condemnation of sin. We, likewise, are to hold fast against any sin which overtly and adversely affects the moral values of the society and culture in which we conduct our lives, raise our children, etc. When morally degrading activity is thrust into our public lives and we are forced to experience that activity’s cesspool-like goings-on—right in front of our and our children’s eyes— we must speak up. We must object to and oppose that sinful activity.
There are numerous scriptural condemnations of homosexuality. They have been put forward so many times that I see no need to list them all. One such edict by the Living God against homosexuality is the following: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them” (Lev. 20:13).
For those who might think that this condemnation applied only to the time of the Mosaic Law, I remind them that the Scriptures teach that God does not change. He continues to view homosexuality as an “abominable” sin. The sin of homosexuality is indeed an abomination. We cannot ignore that it is a growing part of our national and world societies.
There is no vacation, it seems, from its morality-infecting invasiveness.
My now deceased friend and colleague from Ireland, Patrick Heron, once experienced firsthand how wicked and debauched the LGBTQ sort can be. His troubling “holiday,” as they call vacations in Europe, as he reported some years ago, drives home the point that, like in Lot’s day of vexation with the homosexuality of Sodom, there is no holiday from the debased activities of this fallen world.
“Myself and Catherine just returned from five days in northern Spain, where my nephew married a Spanish girl. We stayed in Madrid last Saturday night on our way back to Dublin. Madrid was hosting a huge Gay Pride Day when we arrived Saturday evening.
Unfortunately, our hotel was right on the main street of Madrid. There were thousands of men, women, and children lining the Gran Via leading to a huge park, which was packed full. Bus load after bus load of homosexual men and lesbians waved and cheered amid loud music, and the crowds that lined the streets waved back.
Men kissing men, women kissing women—and all [were] cheered on by the onlookers. Transvestites [were] parading boldly down the streets having their pictures taken with couples and their children. Many of the transvestites had red horns on their heads.
One man was painted in rainbow colours all over his body. He walked slowly and deliberately down the center of the street as folks jumped in front of him to take his photo. We saw him from behind, and he was naked.
At 11:30 at night, Catherine and I walked up the main street amid the blaring of loud music. The street was filthy dirty, with people drinking and eating and discarding their litter on the paths. Some people were urinating against the walls in side streets. As we got to the top of the street, there were several hundred people gathered in a big circle. They were banging drums and jumping up and down with their hands in the air, shouting, all in unison.
The drums and shouting and jumping went faster and faster until it reached a crescendo and exploded with a huge shout of delight and clapping by the mob.
It looked and sounded like something from Dante’s inferno but felt like a scene directly from Sodom and Gomorrah. Truly, this was a nightmarish atmosphere and a sure indication that we are indeed in a time similar to the days of Noah. There was a similar parade of gays going on in London and other cities at the same time.
The days are getting shorter, and the cracks are appearing all over the globe. If there was ever a call to reach out to the unsaved before the Lord comes to take out His Church, it is now. “Lift up your heads. Your redemption is drawing near…”
Patrick has been enjoying the Presence of our Lord in Eternity for a number of years. And the Sodom and Gomorrah-like evil he reported has only increased. There is a very tenuous lull in the homosexual determination to bring America and the world into configuration exactly as it was in the days of Lot. And the Moment of Heaven’s Judgment and Wrath that are prophetically scheduled, must be nearing while God’s Divine Patience continues to be tried by lost humanity.
Still, the Lord also continues to love the sinner, no matter the sin, and we who name the name of Christ are to love them, too. We cannot truly love our Lord if we hate those He loved so much that He came to die on the cross at Calvary so that they who will believe on Him and turn from their sin can be saved. We are nonetheless to stand against evil that would bring humanity down to the base, cesspool level to which Satan and his minions want to bring God’s creation called man. The only remedy that is left when mankind reaches such a level is God’s wrath and judgment.
Our nation and world are swiftly approaching the proverbial bottom of the barrel. As my great friend Patrick wrote, when we see the end coming, we are to look up, and lift up our heads, for our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28).
–Terry
Jesus’ Preeminence Dispels False Views of His Return
The Lord was already talking about it many centuries before the Noahic flood (Jude 14-15). The Psalms often prophesy about the joy that it will bring to the earth. The Old Testament prophets wrote about the day the Messiah would come to reign over a gloriously restored Israel (as well as over all the nations). The grandeur of John’s description of the Second Coming in Revelation 19:11-20:4 stretches the limits of our imagination. It will be the most spectacular and earth-shattering event that the world has ever seen.
Even though I have studied Bible prophecy for decades, I’m increasingly caught up in the wonder of how God’s Word describes Jesus’ dazzling return to planet Earth. And to think that we will be there, riding behind Him on white horses. How can we even begin to imagine what we will feel?
John’s description of Jesus’ exaltation in Revelation chapters 19-20 is the high point of the book that magnifies the Savior from beginning to end. It’s a visual portrayal of what Paul wrote about in Colossians 1:15-20.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
During the past couple of years, I have become increasingly aware of how Jesus’ preeminence, especially as the apostle highlighted in these verses, dispels today’s popular beliefs of Jesus’ Second Coming and brings us back to a literal understanding of Revelation chapters 19-20.
A Distant End-of-the-Age Return Doesn’t Even Come Close
I have heard many pastors voice the belief that the next prophetic event is Jesus’ end-of-the-age return to judge sinners, wrap up human history, and inaugurate the eternal state. This view of Bible prophecy, Replacement Theology, teaches that God rejected Israel after Jesus’ crucifixion and transferred its kingdom promises to the church, albeit spiritually. John’s narrative of the last days mysteriously changes from an allegory to an eyewitness account with the White Throne judgment in Revelation 20:11.
I believe this teaching dishonors the Lord Jesus in at least two ways. First, it falls far short of the victorious return John describes in Revelation 19:11 20:10. Jesus will do so much more than simply wrap up human history; He will forever change it. Christ doesn’t end the story of mankind; He visibly inserts Himself into it and rules over all the earth for one thousand years.
Second, Replacement Theology changes the focus of believers from the Savior’s return to his or her future in this life. Jesus’ instruction for His followers to watch for His return is meaningless if nothing related to Bible prophecy can happen before one dies, which its proponents say. Where’s the hope in that? Does this not also negate the expectancy that Paul wrote about in Philippians 3:20-21?
He’s So Much More Than a Distant Observer
It’s perhaps the fastest growing teaching of Bible prophecy in the church today. This movement, often referred to as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) or Dominion Theology, teaches that the church will eventually triumph over the evil of our day and bring in a time of unprecedented peace, security, and prosperity for the world during which time it will reign, not the Lord.
As for Jesus, He will observe the church’s rule from a distance and return to the earth after its millennial rule.
Do you see how teachings of this group blatantly contradict what Paul wrote about Jesus’ preeminence in Colossians 1:15-20? Its proponents exalt the church’s role by making it the primary mover in Bible prophecy rather than Jesus. Such teaching greatly dishonors the Savior.
Jesus is the One who alone will destroy Satan’s stranglehold on the nations, triumphantly return to the earth in a dazzling display of splendor and power, and establish His thousand-year rule over the nations. 1 Peter 5:11 says, “To him [Christ] be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” The Bible never ascribes “dominion” to the church.
An AD 70 Return? I Don’t Think So!
Preterists claim that John wrote the book of Revelation in AD 65 and place the Second Coming way back in AD 70. Some of them say it was a spiritual return, while others attribute the Lord’s return to a vision that a few people saw in the sky while Titus attacked and destroyed Jerusalem that same year.
This group severely undermines Paul’s description of Jesus’ preeminence by teaching that the Second Coming was a nondescript event that happened long ago. They fail to consider the way Scripture clearly describes His return as an earth-shattering display of triumphant power and glory that everyone in the world will see. Everyone.
The words of Colossians 1:15-20 alone blow away the claims of the Preterists. In addition, their beliefs are light years away from how God’s Word describes the last days as well as Jesus’ return.
My growing realization of how Paul’s description of Jesus’ preeminence negates today’s most popular views of the Second Coming became one of the driving forces behind the writing of my latest book, Invitation to a Lavish Feast – Following Wisdom’s Path to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Of course, I emphasize how the words of Scripture lead us to a literal understanding of Bible prophecy. But as I have learned in recent years, Jesus’ preeminence also leaves us with no other alternative than to accept that John wrote Revelation chapters 19-20 as an eyewitness of Jesus’ future return.
Furthermore, all the views of the end times that deny the futuristic interpretation of the entire book of Revelation in some way or another fail to exalt the Savior as Paul describes in Colossians 1:15-20 and as what we also see in Philippians 2:9-11 and Hebrews chapter 1.
-Jonathan