DOOM AND GLOOM OR HOPE?

By Rick Lange
http://bibleprophecybyricklange.blogspot.com/
Posted with authors permission

As we watch global forces struggling to gain control of the entire world, we have a certain amount of apprehension. After all, Jesus Himself said that we would see a time of trouble unparalleled in human history and human history has indeed been bloody. But now we are facing a cabal of power brokers that thinks it would be best if about 90% of earth’s population was wiped out.

At the same time we face the threat of war, (undoubtedly being fomented by the same people) and seemingly quite apart from them, the entire world is enveloped in a catastrophic change in our weather systems, our geological stability and even our cosmic stability. Our sun is not performing as it should, and contrary to claims that it is because we drive big cars, these changes are solar system wide. All of the planets that circle our sun are facing similarly disturbing events.

So when we talk about Bible prophecy and the fact that all of these current events have been described in great detail in the Bible, it is a bit difficult to avoid the obvious doom and gloom that we now face.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Sanhedrin approached the two finalists for mayor of Jerusalem and told them that they must include preparations for the building of the third temple as a part of their platform. This means the Sanhedrin believes the temple will be rebuilt during the reign of the new mayor, whichever one it turns out to be.

Not only that, but there is a little known event taking place in Jordon right now. Ninety years ago, long before Israel was a nation, a group of Jewish farmers bought land in Jordon and they have been farming this land for these 90 years. But their contract with Jordon is coming up and Jordan’s king Abdul has decided not to renew the contract. Are they now going to take these family farms away from the Jews? Apparently so.

But this seemingly small event could result in a major fulfillment of Bible prophecy. We know that for the past 50 years (ever since the 6 day war of 1967) Jordon has been given control of the temple mount. But if they revoke the rights of these Jewish farmers to farm their land, it would create the perfect situation for Israel to also revoke Jordon’s control of the temple mount.

If we put that together with the massive effort going on by Jared Kushner and others to bring about a covenant of peace with the many (The surrounding nations) we could see the door opening for the Jews to build their long awaited temple.

But this rebuilding of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem is no small thing in bible prophecy. Revelation chapter 11 gives us some details about this specific point in time. It says it like this:

“And there was give me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. And leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the gentile nations; and they will tread under -foot the holy city for forty-two months.” (3 ½ years) Rev 11:1-2

Here we have a perfect description of the temple mount. The Dome of the Rock Mosque sits in a place where it makes it impossible to place the outer court around the temple, so they are going to leave it out. The temple will be built without the outer court. So apparently, rather than to cause a major war, they are going to agree to build the temple beside the Dome of the Rock.

But even more interesting to me is the fact that Revelation 11 ties the building of the third temple to the arrival of the Two Witnesses. Now there is a great deal of speculation as to who or what the Two Witnesses are. I personally believe that it will be Moses and Elijah, the same two witnesses that stood with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. Others believe that it will be Enoch and Elijah, while others believe that the two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments and still others believe that it will be the spirit of Elijah and person number two that will come upon two currently living men. They cite the fact that Jesus called John the Baptist the Elijah of his day.

I believe it is Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the prophets. They work the same miracles that Moses and Elijah worked on earth and Malachi in chapter 4 mentions both Moses and Elijah in connection with what is obviously the end of the age for he says:

“For behold the day is coming burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze says the Lord of hosts so that it will leave them neither root nor branch . But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. And you will tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing” says the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 4:1-3

This, to me, when combined with what Zechariah and Isaiah and Amos and Hosea and Jeremiah and the rest said about the last days and the coming millennium, speaks of the final destruction of the wicked and the arrival of the glorified saints with Jesus to take up their 1000 year reign on the earth. This also corresponds with Daniel 2 where a stone cut out of the mountain without hands comes down and smites the kingdoms of this world and then becomes a kingdom that fills the whole earth.

But now, within the context of this final period in the near future, Malachi mentions both Moses and Elijah saying:

“Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Behold I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.” Mal. 4:4-6.

So yes, there is some doom and gloom just ahead. The 6000 year conflict between two opposing kingdoms is going to come to a head and all of earth’s population will have decided upon which kingdom they will stand. But just think how exciting it will be to see the Two Witnesses show up to fulfil a prophecy we have been waiting on for all of our lives.

When we see the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ and His saints over the kingdoms of this world, then the bigger and brighter picture is that we will indeed reign over the earth. We will return with Jesus at the time of the battle of Armageddon, (which means that we will have gone to be with Him at some point before that. (See Rev. 19:8, 14, Zech. 14:5) where the saints return with Christ to destroy the beast and the kings of the earth, ( Rev. 19:17-21) we realize that it is a far superior position to stand with the King of kings and the ultimate victory that we share will be wonderful beyond all comprehension.

Revelation 12:11 describes the people of God (And these are Christians) saying:

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony and they did not love their life even to death.” Rev 12:11

Should we be surprised by the fact that we may actually have to give our lives for our faith? This is actually the base requirement for everyone who claims the name of the Lord. This is nothing new. History has been splattered with the blood of the saints. Throughout all time God’s chosen people, whether Jews or Christians have had to give their lives. From Daniel and his three companions to the slaughters and pogroms of the Jews to the 2000 years of Christian history, millions have given their lives for their faith. Today in many countries around the world Christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith.

America has been blessed by God with a freedom never known to any nation in all of history. But now, as the spirit of antichrist rises in our midst, we see these freedoms being eroded away. Piece by piece, our rights to life, to religion and to the pursuit of happiness are being both despised and removed.

First they rewrote American history, removing from it all of the principles that made this nation the great and free nation that it was. Next they begin to pick away at the laws and amendments that guarantee our freedoms. Next they begin to pass laws in defiance of God and of righteousness. Then they created an extreme prejudice against anyone who stands for Biblical truth.

In other words, our foundations have been removed and without foundations no building or nation can stand. God has given us a momentary reprieve in our nation’s out of control downward slide. He had to choose a “Bull in the China closet” so to speak because Christianity has become soft and theoretical and philosophical. We have largely laid our bibles aside as relics of the past. We try to be politically correct in a world that is diametrically opposed to God’s Word. We are being squeezed into a position… a choice between compromise and death and though it hasn’t quite reached that point yet, we are beginning to see it. Preachers and teachers of righteousness, and those who expose Satan’s agenda are routinely being kicked off of You Tube and Twitter and such. Freedom of speech is all but gone.

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39.

However, in the midst of our freedom and prosperity, we managed to create a marshmallow Christianity… a spectator religion that expects to be entertained… unable to endure sound doctrine… above any sort of persecution… having a form of godliness, but denying the power… and even partf of what we see in Christianity today has been infiltrated by seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. (1Tim. 4:1)

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”

Paul warns us saying: “Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” 2 Tim. 1:14 “This treasure we have in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” 2 Cor. 4:7-10

Like I said; times of ease have made us into a much softer brand of Christians than those who came before us. We have been lulled to sleep by our freedom. We have even given up much of our commission to preach the Gospel to the entire world, making disciples of all nations. We have become silent on issues, standing by while 60 million babies have been slaughtered and the Bible and Prayer removed from our schools and laws were passed in favor of homosexual marriage and countless other infringements upon the Word of God.

We don’t understand it, but our silence has lost us our freedom. The trap has been set and the Mark of the Beast made ready… and we presume that we will not be here to face it, even though we have been warned not to take it. But Paul expressly tells us that the rapture (Day of the Lord) “will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction (perdition) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

So regardless of when the Rapture takes place (pre, mid, or post) we will be here to see a great falling away from the faith (which I believe is happening right now) and we will see the rise of the antichrist and we will see him sitting in the temple (that is soon to be built) claiming that he is God.

That much we can nail down because it is written in black and white. So much of Christianity needs to toughen up. We need to prepare ourselves to stand even if it means losing our lives. Our brothers and sisters in other lands are being forced to do this right now… and for this reason; they are often much stronger Christians than we are.

We DO need to know and understand Bible prophecy. We need the discernment to know the difference between God’s agenda and Satan’s agenda… God’s Spirit and Satan’s spirit… God’s truth from Satan’s lies.

I recently learned that about 1100 spies and false teachers infiltrated Catholic seminaries and the result has been the overthrow of sound doctrine and the introduction of gross sins such as pedophilia and sodomy and such. Catholicism has been taken over by Jesuits, Masons and other globalists organizations that were once kicked out of the Catholic Church. Now their pope is himself a Jesuit and the Vatican is run by a black operation of satanic worship and child sacrifice and such.

You may ask why they would do this, but think about it. If the world begins to see the church as being just as evil in if not more so than the world, they will turn from it and the name of Christ will be dishonored and despised.(This is precipitating the falling away we see happening right now) But don’t think that the Catholic Church is alone in this. Such infiltration has been rampant in all denominations over the past 50 years so that there has been a massive changing of sound doctrines and a specific turning away from the foundations of the Gospel and Bible prophecy.

We have traded sound doctrine for manmade self- help manuals and bible-esque sound bites, even as we are being infiltrated with false religion.

This is why God has to shake the heavens and the earth so that only that which belongs to Him remains. (Hebrews 12:26-29) and this is why we need to continue to ask Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire… and we need to remember Jesus’ instructions to worship God in Spirit and in truth. Either one is not enough. We must have both the Spirit and the Truth.

“But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit and those that worship Him, must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24.

We do live in fearsome times, but we often fear the wrong things. More than persecution we should fear being deceived for deception is rampant in our world today and infiltration is the name of the game. Belong to whatever church you chose, but YOU, must study to show yourself approved unto God and YOU must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. You alone will stand before God… not your pastor or your friends… and when that time comes you need to make sure that Jesus is able to be your Advocate and that your sins are under His blood, and that you have fully repented and turned to Him and that through His cross you have entered into His death and been born again into the power of His resurrection. You had better make sure that you have been eating the whole Lamb and not just the parts your flesh likes… and last but not least, you must bear the fruit of the Spirit in your life, for against such there is no law and if there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit then you will not be judged.

What we know to be truth, we must put into practice always dying to the flesh and living unto Christ. We have been crucified with Christ nevertheless we live, but not us, but Christ lives in us and the life that we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave His life for us.” Gal. 2:20

There is nothing casual about true Christianity. It is a kingdom and we are either in it or out of it, but never both. This is not doom and gloom, but the reality of our current situation and we can overwhelmingly conquer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our future is glorious!