Skip to main content

We're not Going Anywhere Yet!

Well today was supposed to be the day that Jesus returned. It's not going to happen! He is coming back, but this is not the season.

A lot of folks are concerned about who is going to Heaven at the rapture, and according to Family Radio today is the day. I suppose by tomorrow, you'll know. The Bible says there is a great and mighty day of the Lord. However; before that day comes, Jesus said the following would take place and that these events are only birth pangs.

Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.


Forget the fact that Jesus said the day and the hour are unknown!

There are some that think that Christianity is hoax because Jesus never really lived. Others are fine with Jesus the man, Jesus the prophet, but not with Jesus the God - and that's OK with me. However; in the last year or so we've had some really devastating quakes, and it wasn't because that Democrats lost the House. Let's take a look at earthquakes, famines and wars.

Earthquakes:
Here is a list of quakes for 2009 and another for 2010. Except for 1 in Illinois; a 3.8, they were all over 6 on the Richter Scale with Haiti being a 7.0. Then there was the quake in Japan and a pretty sizable list of others in 2011. As Jerry Lee Lewis once said, there's whole lotta shakin' going' on.

Famine:
According to Bread.org an estimated 1.02 billion, 1/6 of the world's population, goes hungry and 16,000 a day are dying of starvation daily.

Wars:
We have a few going on besides Iraq and Afghanistan. HERE are the details. Rumors of war? Let's see, North Korea, Pakistan, Libya, Syria along with both China and the former Soviet Union doing some saber rattling as well.

Without trying to decipher the symbolism in Revelations, there is some more plain talk about the last days in the Bible. See if any of it resonates with you.

2 Timothy 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Here are a couple of sites that are bolder than I am in interpreting the season for the End Times if you care to look. 28 Signs and 26 Signs.

Armed with the potential knowledge that Jesus is really coming back - and soon, I have some real issues with the following articles on Yahoo News. (And you thought Pat Robertson was off his rocker!)

Below is a remix of what I wrote at the time of the Haiti Earthquake. The same sort of stupidity prevailed after the Japan earth earthquake. HERE is one pretty sharp article on judgement.

If I am going today, I want to make sure that I have clean underwear, and dang it, I hope I don''t sucked into a jet engine on the way up, and have to spend the eternity in the Hudson.


It is wrong on so many levels, I don't know where to start - but I'll try:

"Praying and singing, the group was trying to conjure spirits to guide lost souls when a crowd of Evangelicals started shouting." (and throwing rocks)

Are you kidding me? Flesh against flesh - what a horror show. When Elijah confronted evil (1 Kings 18), he called on God to prove himself - sure, he did a bit taunting, but really rocks and shouting?

"Religious tension has also increased: Baptists, Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientologists, Mormons and other missionaries have flocked to Haiti in droves since the earthquake to feed the homeless, treat the injured and jockey for souls. Some Voodoo practitioners have said they've converted to Christianity for fear they will lose out on aid or a belief that the earthquake was a warning from God."

Ah yes, the every religion melting pot. It really bothers me that the writer of this article lumped them all together - but as Christians we should take note. If all we have to offer is a different deal devoid of power, maybe it's best we are lumped together.

"Many missionaries oppose Voodoo. I hope this does not start a war of religions because many of our practitioners are being harassed now unlike any other time that I remember."

Where in the Bible does it say we should harass people? I'm just asking.

"We would give food to the needy in the short term but if they refused to give up Voodoo, I'm not sure we would continue to support them in the long term because we wouldn't want to perpetuate that practice. We equate it with witchcraft, which is contrary to the Gospel."
-Pastor Frank Amedia

Help me out here Frank, where in the Bible does it say that we should not feed the poor if they participate in voodoo or any other sin for that matter. Isn't the point of ministry to show the love of Jesus and go beyond that which the world would do? When we are different, it is easier for them to see what they are doing as futile, no? Even Paul let the slave girl be - well, for a little while. (Acts 16:15-20)

Carnal weapons can only be used in a carnal war.
2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I think it's time for a revival, how about you?

Comments

Arny said…
Wow...great Post!!!!

Maranatha!!!!

"Jesus is Coming Soon"!!!

hopefully before my daughter becomes a teenager!!!!!lmbo!!!!
photogr said…
Things do look bad in the world today but not exactly the actual time of peril yet. Still many prophesies to be fufilled yet. All we can do is be patient and be ready.

Yep! We are over due for a good revival. Maybe even a world revival.
So many souls that have not yet rewceived salvation or eperienced God's love.
The formula was simplistic. The notion (nailing the day) was presumptuous. The baggage (trinity and hellfire) was typical. And he sure did flummox a lot of followers. But he is 'keeping on the watch.' No one can say he's not doing that. As so many before him have done. As you pointed out.

Popular posts from this blog

Mad Libs: An Unforgettable Church Service

Hopefully you have heard of Mad Libs (R) ! They are stories that you blindly fill in the blanks for articles of grammar and then read the completed story. Since I was a kid, these have always been a hoot. I decided to make up my own. Just fill in the blanks next time you are at small group and then read it back. It is sure to shake up a few religious spirits. An Unforgettable Church Service We arrived at _________ ( time of day ) at the Church of the Holy _________ ( noun ). It was ___________ ( day of week ) and we got out of the _________ ( mode of transportation ). We were dressed in our __________ ( day of week ) best. We all held _________ ( plural body part ) as we crossed the street. Today was special because it was ___________ (holiday) and the kids look forward to receiving _________ ( noun ) as part of the celebration. Pastor _________ ( name ) was there to greet us and shake our ________ ( body part ). He welcomed my __________ ( family member ) with a big _________ ( bodil...

Touchdown Jesus! - Vessels of Grace and Channels of Power

My blog title is grammatically correct. Jesus did not get a touchdown, that was the nickname a 62 foot tall, upper torso sculpture, of Jesus was given. The sculpture, off I-75 in southern Ohio, was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. HERE  is the Yahoo News story. I an not going to segue into some prophetic sign of how the End Times are upon is. Much more interesting, and relevant, are the comments on the article by some 3,500+ readers. Here is one by Joshua - "God and Jesus was just made up in a book too. Same with Lucifer and every other angel. Anyone who says Zues is just made up cant prove it. Nor can anyone prove Jesus or God is too. Anyone can write a book and make up some higher being and some poor fools will buy into it." This is one of my favorites from What122: "I wonder if their insurance will cover it, or will the insurance company say it was an act of God?" One commenter characterizes Christianity by using the Bible against itself. Be...

God is Great, Beer is Good, and People are Crazy

There was a discussion on Facebook today about how some people think Christians are "whack jobs." Regardless, God is still great. I don't really know much about beer. I haven't had one in just about 30 years. There are a lot of folks that consider themselves to be Christian. Some because they do good, and others because they have faith in God or are born again-- and others because they grew up in a Christian denomination. Far be it from me to decide who is in, and who is out. Some say we'll be surprised at who is going to be there, and others say who think they are in will be surprised when they are rejected at the Pearly Gates. Hmmm... But let's say you are a real Christian who is feeling passionate about doing something for God. You know something beyond throwing a few bucks in the offering plate and trying to be a good person. The church calls it service or ministry, which could include such things as: reading scriptures on Sunday morning, planning a harves...