 Prophecy/News Update 2016
Falling Apart or Falling Together? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! As this New Year begins I want to begin it by saying, maranatha! For those of you who are not familiar with this word, it means, “O Lord, come!” in Aramaic. It was a phrase that was used by the early church – and was used by Paul in the New Testament. The word or phrase was used to speak of a strong desire for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mention this because like never before I want to pray daily, maranatha! Next Sunday I will be sharing the 2016 Prophecy/News Update message. This year has been filled with events that involve Israel, and that possibly foreshadow the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. World events are definitely heating up and many, even in the secular world, are predicting that we may be on the verge of World War III. It was also a year in which the United States Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriage. This decision has set up a monumental battle between the newly fashioned erotic rights of our age with the constitutional right to religious liberty. That battle will be fought right before our eyes in the courts of our land and the court of public opinion. In light of how scary this can be – I want to begin this week with an encouraging word to the saints. Things that are going in our world can be very frightening. We are definitely watching our world become more and more volatile before our very eyes. Things in the Middle East continue to degenerate almost daily. The ongoing Syrian civil war is a flashpoint for the entire world as superpowers like Russia, China, and the United States get involved in that conflict. The rise of ISIS (The Islamic State in Iran and Syria) and the ongoing fight to remove them from large portions of Syria and Iraq are causing a destabilization of the entire region. The daily rocket fire on Israel continues (those it is a situation almost completely ignored by the mainstream news media) – as does the daily threat to Israel from Hezbollah, ISIS, Hamas, and Iran. Add to this the uptick in terrorist activity in Europe, Africa, and the United States – and we have a world that is ready to blow up in a worldwide war between various factions and nations. In the midst of all this it would be easy to want to throw your hands up and say, “The world is falling apart!” Things are also scary when it comes to the changes in our nation. The battle between religious liberty and erotic liberty is heating up every day. It is no surprise that the world system is standing firmly behind erotic liberty. What we were told was a quest for tolerance has become a very intolerant attack on the church for holding to a biblical view of sexuality and marriage. Close on the heels of the recent victories for gay marriage we watched as the next battle began concerning gender confusion. The speed at which the sexual revolution is happening is dizzying – and frightening. It is as if nothing is either sacred or stable in our culture any longer. On top of all this there is a growing racial tension in our nation as we watch police shootings being questioned and riots erupting that engulf entire cities in flames and lawlessness. In light of all that is happening around us it would be easy to say, “Our nation is falling apart!” Those with a Christian/Biblical worldview understand this differently. First of all we know that the world has been falling apart ever since the “fall.” When man chose to sin against the Lord – everything began to fall apart. The descent into chaos and destruction began in that moment – and for those who forget the narrative of Genesis – resulted in the whole earth being flooded to address the wickedness of man just 10 chapters later. Shortly after Noah and his family departed from the ark – Noah got drunk – and the whole process started all over again. Our current situation is not any more wicked than others in history – it is just that we are given vastly more information about the results of godlessness in our day. Sin has always been destructive – wars and devastation have always either been ongoing – or on the horizon as mankind continues to reject God and live according to their own sinful nature and inclinations. A Biblical understanding of the chaos that happens as a nation turns away from God is also nothing radically new. The history of nations recorded for us in Scripture makes it clear that when a nation rejects God and godly principles bad things happen. The history of Israel and Judah’s kings as recorded by the historical record as well as the prophecies spoken against them for their rejection of God is clear. Just as a nation is blessed when it submits to God – it will be under a curse when it rejects and turns from Him. Our nation is rejecting not only godly principles – but God Himself as it rebels against what the Scriptures say. When we take a few minutes to refocus our thinking with Scripture, we may come to a different realization about the current state of affairs in the world. Things have always been falling apart due to sin – but God is working so that things are falling together for the return of Christ. Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21 are accounts of Jesus’ teaching about the last days. In this teaching Jesus presents the things that will be happening before His second coming. Many of these things match events that are taking place in our time. Jesus closes this section of both gospels with the following words, “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” (Mark 13:29, NASB) When you read through the previous verses to this one, you will see that what is happening in our day was foretold by our Lord Jesus. He spoke of wars and rumors of wars – earthquakes – famines – and a wholesale rejection of God by humanity. What is equally fascinating is that passages that speak of future prophetic events, which require a certain aligning of the nations against Israel, are being fulfilled before our eyes. Truly things are falling together just as God said – even as they fall apart because of mankind’s rejection of Him. The more they fight against Him – the more they are unwitting accomplices to do what He said would be done. Take courage saints, none of what has happened has taken God by surprise. All of it was foretold 2000 or more years ago. Anyone even remotely aware of what the Bible says about the last days knows that the return of our Lord Jesus Christ will be at a time when the world is falling apart. You cannot read of what the prophets foretold and imagine a world getting better and better. You cannot be familiar with the seal judgments of Revelation 6, the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8 and 9, and the bowl judgments of Revelation 16 and think that things will be at an all time best at the second coming of Christ. All the nations, all the prophetic predictions, all the things necessary to see all thing fulfilled just as God spoke – are falling together as if God were sovereign over the affairs of men (which, by the way, He is). Based on this knowledge, then, we need to live in reality concerning where the world is headed. This is not our home, saints – it is the place where God has been rejected. We await the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. And as that falls together the world itself will fall apart. But take courage dear ones of God – He has overcome the world – and by His grace and the power of His Spirit – He will grant to us the ability to be overcomers even in this difficult hour!
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 May God give us wisdom to see calamity and disaster as a call to Himself. May we not give in to a world defined only by what is visible - explaining the problems of our world only in humanistic terms. May God give us grace to grasp His transcendent hand behind all that is allowed on the earth.
Recent events have had us reeling in our minds when it comes to grasping what is happening in our world. One of the reasons for this is because our news reporting agencies and our governing officials have a humanistic world view. When they see the Paris attacks, the Colorado Springs and San Bernardino shooting rampages - they only see things from human perspective. They have rejected even the thought of God - and some even shame anyone who says that they are praying for those whose lives have been devastated by these events. "God is not fixing this," is their rallying cry. Therefore WE have to fix it. The inference in this is that there is no God - only human understanding and human action. Things were not always like this. There were those in our past who saw God's providential hand and dealings in all that He allowed in this world. When calamity broke loose upon a people our leaders turned to God - especially if such things came in a time of spiritual decline in the hearts of those throughout the nation. Abraham Lincoln called for a day of fasting, prayer and public humiliation (meaning humbling of oneself before God and confession of sin) in the midst of the Civil War. He spoke of things like our national pride and arrogance - and urged humbling ourselves before Him. This happened often in the early days of our nation because our leaders - and especially our pulpits were filled with men of God who did not shrink from declaring the Word of God to our nation. Today I read one of the passages that they would turn to in times of distress - and it spoke like a thundering from heaven to me. I hope it will prove helpful to you as I share it this week. “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something? Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Amos 3:2-8 | NASB Amos prophesied in Israel in a time of horrific sin and decline in the nation. The early chapters of his prophetic word from the Lord were filled with what God was going to do because of the gross sins of the nations. The pagan nations were being punished because of terrible sins that are shocking to our senses as we read of them. But when the Lord speaks of Israel and Judah - their worst sins were departing from Him and turning to other gods who led them into godless and sexually immoral living. To read of the disaster that was to come is to read of far more than shootings - it is to read of entire armies destroyed and cities demolished. Just as in our day - those in their day asked the question, "Why?" Amos starts with a statement: "I chose you among all the families of the earth - and therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." Whether we get it or not - that is a very loving promise, because the Lord disciplines those He loves. After Amos makes this statement from God - he goes into a series of easily understood analogies. All of these statements are those that no one would question until he reaches his last question. "If a calamity happens in a city has not the Lord done it?" We find ourselves nodding in agreement without question until we read over this last and most important statement. Well - we do in our day. But that is because we've bought into the lie that we are the masters of our own fate. God, through Amos, presents a different view of things. First of all - calamity - is from the Lord. This is especially the case when it is calamity in a nation that has rejected Him and run after wickedness. God brings calamity to turn us from our godlessness. That is the kindest thing He can do considering the facts of eternity and His final judgment that is coming. But Amos gives us more to think about here. God also does nothing unless He first reveals His secret counsel to His prophets. You see a loving God also warns us when He is about to do something. He does so through His prophets as He reveals Himself to them. It is their responsibility to announce His Word to the people. The way that Amos refers to this is by saying the following, "A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord has spoken but who can but prophesy?" Maybe we should take a look at this. When God speaks in this situation, it is as a lion roaring. That is a figure of speech that is meant to incite a sense of fear and trembling. God acts in allowing calamity in a nation to bring it to a point where it fears God and turns to Him. But this is only known when God's prophets speak - and do so boldly. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks America seemed to turn to God - at least the churches were much more full than they were before the attacks. But for the majority there was no prophetic message coming from the men of God. After our current string of attacks we find rather than a turning to God that there is a mocking of Him. Prayer is considered by many as a useless platitude that changes nothing. Those who would pray are shamed for doing so. But in all honesty - who can blame them when what passes for prophecy lately is the words of the false prophets who say that all is well. When prophets steal their words from one another saying that God is going to bless you with health, wealth, and prosperity even as you act wickedly and spend your faith-obtained riches on yourself and your pleasures, there is not a true prophet in the whole lot of them. They are blind guides leading the blind - and both will fall into a pit as things continue to turn worse in our nation. We need a true prophet of God who will speak boldly against sin - first his own in broken repentance before God in his personal times with Him - and then that of a church and nation that has turned far from God. He needs to speak without reservation about what IS happening in our nation - and where God is acting to bring us back to Himself. He must speak as the roaring of a lion publicly - and yet have the heart of a Jeremiah who weeps over the wound of his people. We desperately need such men in this hour. Dear saints of God - here is the truth. What has happened in San Bernardino - and in many other places is only indicative of what IS going to be happening in the days ahead. The shootings and rampages will get worse - and no law passed by government will be able to stop them. What is happening with the growing unrest and discontent over race relations is only going to increase to the point of riots that cause smoke to rise from our cities as they burn in the throes of raging protests. What happened in 2008 where we saw the stock market plunge with trillions being lost and fortunes being lost - is only a drop in the bucket of what is on our horizon. In addition to this we are going to begin watching as our military is decimated in future encounters as they no longer have the blessing of God upon their endeavors. I fear worst of all is the specter of a mushroom cloud billowing over one or more of our cities as the discipline of God reaches its peak. Fear and trembling will grip our nation as it reacts in horror to these things. And yet - as long as there is the possibility of repentance and return to God - there is hope. Recently a young man asked me whether there is any hope for America. My answer to him was that Nineveh was 3 days from being destroyed - and when the people repented - God showed them mercy and relented from the evil that was coming. Therefore there is hope - but not a hope in government (on either side of the aisle). There is hope - but not in manmade solutions of no guns or more guns. There is hope - but not in our bank accounts - fancy new cars - massive homes - or even new jets for a television false prophet. Our hope is in the mercies of God. Our hope is in people turning to Him in prayer - in repentance - and in humbling themselves and turning from wicked ways. I do not say this lightly saints - but outside of this - there is no hope nor is there any future for our nation. God is disciplining and punishing our cities. God is speaking through His prophets. He is roaring in our land. Are we listening? Have we heard? Will we respond? |
 What is the Prophecy/News Update?At Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro, we believe that history is moving toward fulfilling God's plans and purposes. In an effort to help us be prepared for His appearing - and also to chronicle news items you just won't see in the national media - this page is devoted to sharing those items and their possible significance to 
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