Daniel 12:8-10 “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things. And he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’ Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

It’s that most wonderful time of the year for many people. As many enjoy time off from work to spend with families and friends, go see movies and attractions and what not, much has happened really within the last four months alone that sets the stage for a very interesting 2016.

For starters just before Christmas, the Pope himself made a very provocativestatement which was precededby an even more provocative statement made during a mass in Casa Santa Maria earlier in the month.

“We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes – all decked out – while the world continues to wage war.”

“It’s all a charade. The world has not understood the way of peace. The whole world is at war,” he said grimly.

Interestingly enough, the Pope said that the current chaotic state of the world marks the beginning of the “end times” and that this time next year the world is likely to be unrecognizable.

“We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes – all decked out – while the world continues to wage war,” he said earlier in December.

“While the world starves, burns, and descends further into chaos, we should realize that this year’s Christmas celebrations for those who choose to celebrate it may be their last.”

Any student of Bible prophecy knows very well that the return of the Lord is getting closer. The truth is that not many people read their Bibles and not many Christians understand Bible prophecy. Now a leading global religious authority figure has spoken. Should the world take notice?

As tension between Russia and Turkey escalates due to amilitary confrontation over Russia’s intervention in Syria, and the Turkish shoot-down of a Russian bomber in Turkish airspace for just 17 seconds, the stages for the prophesied war of Ezekiel 38-39 are being set as we speak. If this war as many believe is Pre-Trib, or prior to the seven-year Tribulation period, then we truly need to look up for our redemption draweth nigh!

Keep in mind that Turkey currently is a militarily reinforced member of NATO, whereasRussia is siding with the Shi’a Twelver theocracy ruling Iran and its Lebanese Hezbollah proxy.

The next year brings elections in the United States. Many Bible scholars have mentioned the possibility that the United States may well be destroyed. Many have been concerned about the Spiritual “shift” in this country. Will there be a revival or is judgment looming?

Today America is in transition. The American dream is fast becoming a nightmare. The U.S. may soon be facinga very soon-coming economic nightmare. The reality of the American dream was really what called and drew the multitude of nations including the Jews to the US. With the recent shootings in California and an uptick in anti-Semitism, will there soon be reasons for Jews to go back to Israel as prophesied?

Isaiah 43:1-7 “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Currently, theglobalJewish population is just about near 16.5 million. (Some estimates are 14 million). Of this 8.4 million live in Israel. This leaves about 8 million eligible for return. Out of the 8 million approximately, 5 million reside in the USA. According to the Scriptures, a great majority will be saved after suffering much persecution. We must understand that the return of Jesus Christ is predicated by the regathering of Israel. He returns to save them. We as the Church accompany His return.

Much is unfolding in the coming days: the Jewish expectation for the Messiah, in this case the wrong one ((Antichrist), the rebuilding of the third temple in Jerusalem, the war inSyria, the Iranian Nuclear Weapons controversy, an upcoming election in one of the most powerful nations in the world, continued advancements in technology and artificial intelligence andand you don’t want to forget the possible soon to be declared UFO disclosure.

Now more than ever you must endeavor to do the following:

· Know your Bible, begin to diligently study the Scriptures.

· Find a good church that teaches and expounds on solid Biblical doctrine.

· Pray to God.

· Be quick to repent.

· Be quick to forgive and not get easily offended.

· Trust in the LORD and do not fear.

MARANATHA!

How does a person really grasp the reality that Jesus is our Savior? How does the mind reason Jesus, actually equating Him to a real actual and specific Savior? If Jesus is the Savior it means He is saving us from something. The word savior defined expresses a person who saves a person or a group of people from some kind of danger or actual harm.

So the actual expression of saving a person means that without direct intervention, calamity and doom are the real end results. I think for clarification and a logical mental conclusion, examples of an earthly savior might help us grasp an actual observed savior to bridge the idea of Jesus as Savior.

My mind imagines a setting of actual war; two people groups in a setting firing weapons at each other, with one group having superior fire power and logistically more resources moving on a fixed enemy position with no ammo or hope.

The savior is depicted by helicopters landing and picking up the doomed soldiers and flying them to safety. The saved soldiers look in disbelief as their position is overrun and firebombed into oblivion—realizing had the helicopters not been there, death would have been unavoidable.

Another idea is this: A house catches on fire; its nighttime and smoke is so thick upon awakening that the person can’t breathe or contemplate a way of escape. The fire and smoke is overcoming his capacity to reach safety. He is crawling around in blackness choking for breath. A window breaks above him and some light is seen.

A firefighter scoops up the person and they both escape onto the ladder when immediately, a flashover occurs in the room and it is fully engulfed in flames. The saved person looks up in disbelief as flames are rolling out the window with intense heat realizing had the fireman been even one second later his life would have been doomed.

Now let’s together conclude how Jesus is our helicopter of salvation. Jesus decided in His infinite existence to create us in His image, so now we actually exist. By default, Man is not capable of holiness so in our unavoidable incapacity to be holy, we sinned. God by character demands judgment of lawlessness equaling doom for any lawbreaker.

Let’s skip forward here and be the person that God has allowed to be saved and is aware of sin and its implications. That person, before he was saved had never been tempted per se, as earthly laws can still allow sin to be lawful in a society. Yet in God’s eyes its capital murder.

So here you have, a created being touched by the Spirit of God who now has received the knowledge of the Truth. This person now perceives two worlds; one of worldly descent and the other of the Lord of life.

This person who is now saved and after the dust settles from the explosion of God’s initial born-again miracle, now begins to experience true temptation. This person is saved but not expedited directly to Jesus but commanded to live for a time in this fallen world.

This person may hold the capability to minimize the sin pattern, but as each day passes from week to month to year, the sins keep piling up. Temptation is actually realized and the tempter is actually revealed because the person, still in the flesh has to battle the sin nature.

The mind aware of God and His holiness and His actual hatred of sin allows the person to begin working their salvation out with fear and trembling. The sinner, although saved, finally contemplates his inability to not sin, moreover remove themselves above the danger of God’s justice towards sin as they finally realize they are stuck finitely as a sinner.

This person is overrun by the enemy; doomed to God’s wrath because of the sinner’s incapacity to neutralize the power of sin, death and hell. Therefore the sinner is absolutely helpless in his future capacity to be holy and sinless, while already saved waiting on Jesus’ actual return or death unfolding before His return.

If Jesus did not die on the cross for mankind, taking the place of the sinner and accepting death and God’s justice for the lost, they would live in actual horror and be doomed. The realization of this idea of sin and its implications of hell everlasting creates real horror in a saved soul’s heart.

Jesus is saving us because He is the actual real time literal Savior. Jesus saves us from God’s unavoidable justice toward sin. Man hides in the shadow of the cross of Christ because without the cross, his doom is realized.

No Christian can look the Lord Himself in the eye without awe and thanksgiving because the perfect blood of God releases us from wrath. The ultimate sacrifice of Jesus neutralizes the sinner’s debt, as Jesus flies in His helicopter of salvation releasing us from the flashover of fire.

We only exist because God wanted a family, nothing more. God has already made provision for our sins and believe me, Jesus wants to save you. In all of your sins and all of your fears of the sinner status, realize that Jesus is so very serious about saving you He was tortured, shamed, and then killed very painfully. So the cross was designed for the sinner and Jesus literally saves us from the literal hell.

In my comparison of the earthly savior and the Lord, our eternal Savior, we see one real difference. The earthly savior just saves in the worldly finite realm, while Jesus saves from actual infinite justice.

Jesus is the only and ultimate Savior! Jesus is literally saving you when He died on the cross years ago. We are sinners and just imagine the sinners who fly out with Jesus compared to those who don’t. They will be begging for the Savior and we will be in awe in realization of how He saved us because Jesus is the literal Savior.

McReynoldsdon@ymail.com