|
There is a favorite passage that Christians love to quote when they begin thinking about revival. It is very well known, but I will quote it again .
". . . and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. " 2 Chronicles 7:14 There it is. It is a call to prayer for those who need for their sin to be forgiven and their land to be healed. This was spoken to Solomon after he had dedicated the Temple that was built in Jerusalem . This temple was to be the place where God would put His name and where He was to be sought. That promise was spoken to Solomon and the nation of Israel. The temple that stood there no longer stands. The true temple today is the one where God dwells in His people. It would probably be more accurate to say we are each part of that temple, but the real temple is the corporate people of God called His church. The reason I go through all this is because I want to establish that the church (not the building but the people) are the temple where God is to be sought in our day. Some biblical purists will say this does not apply to us because it was a promise just for Israel. I usually am a biblical purist, and would agree that originally it was meant for God's covenant with Israel. But I also believe that God put things before us in principles - ways that we are to see and seek God. This would be one of those principles I believe that God would honor. Here is the principle in a nutshell. Principle: God offers to "His people who are called by His name," a call to prayer that involves humbling ourselves, praying, seeking God's face, and turning away from wicked ways. If we answer that call in truth and sincerity God will hear us, forgive us, and bring His healing to the land in which these people live. Therefore, there is an opportunity for us to hear God's call to humility, prayer, seeking His face, and repentance from wicked ways. I won't do it in this article, but there are plenty of passages in the New Testament that support such a principle. What stopped me in my tracks though, was the context of this call in 2 Chronicles 7. What shocked me was that in light of our current situation, we only had to go back 7 words to get an idea of what we should be doing today. Let me quote those 7 words for you. ". . . if I send pestilence among My people . . . " (2 Chronicles 7:13) Pestilence is defined as a sickness that spreads quickly among the people. The sickness or disease causes many to die in a short period of time. We call this event in our day a pandemic. Think about those 7 words! "If I send pestilence among My people," IS THE CONTEXT FOR A CALL FOR HUMBLING OURSELVES, PRAYING, SEEKING GOD'S FACE, AND TURNING FROM OUR WICKED WAYS! If there was ever a time to call for extraordinary prayer, it is now. If there was ever a time to not just have a day of prayer, but an extended season of prayer, it is now. Most of us have the time - we've got nothing but time. God has allowed pestilence to come among us. What He allows in His providence always has a purpose. I believe that the purpose behind the current COVID19 pandemic is to send out a clarion call to His people who are called by His name. That call is to turn off your televisions - step away from your phones and tablets, your computers and gaming devices - and do the following. HUMBLE OURSELVES - we've thought we could live without God and make it with very little time devoted to Him, and very little attention given to what He declares as righteousness. We thought we really didn't need God "that much." We were wrong. We need to humble ourselves and admit this to Him. PRAY - It is time to seek the Lord while He may be found. This pestilence is a call to pray. Will we heed it? Cry out to God for those who are sick - for our leaders - for the church - for your family and friends - for yourself. God answers prayer. When He does He often intervenes in ways that blow our minds. Are we looking to the next presidential, governor's, or mayoral briefing for our salvation? I'm appreciative for their hard work - but this is a situation where we desperately need God. We need to pray! SEEK GOD'S FACE - This is the biblical way of saying to seek God's favor. Our nation has turned away from God. We need to seek God - know Him - know His Word - know His ways - know His salvation . We need more than anything else - to see God's favor return to each of us individually and to His church corporately. Hopefully such a turn will have the affect of bringing about revival among His people - and spiritual awakening among the lost. Let's be honest, we no longer have God's favor upon the church or upon our nation. Oh how we need to seek His face for His favor to return. TURN FROM OUR WICKED WAYS - We have sinned. We don't even call what God calls sin as sin any longer. We accept that there will be heterosexual and homosexual immorality in our land. We don't cry out for the complete end of abortion , having decided that there are some levels of killing babies in the womb we will find acceptable. We don't care for the poor, the downtrodden, the afflicted, the alien, and the stranger. Our services are no longer about offering God praise and worship. Our songs are about us, our problems, our needs, and about how much God makes of us. He is supposed to be the focus of our worship and praise. His Word is to be central in our preaching. His gospel is to be boldly proclaimed from our lips. Our lives are to be given in selflessness to one another and to the lost for His sake and His glory. Oh, how we need to turn from wickedness, repent, and begin living life for His glory and honor once again. This needs to be our response in this hour. This should be what the church should be doing in these days of the plague of COVID19. We would know this if we just would go back 7 words and read the passage again. May God have mercy upon the world. May God have mercy on the United States of America. May God have mercy on His church. May God have mercy on us. May God have mercy on me, a sinner. Let us pray.
2 Comments
 Well folks, it’s over. According to a well-known televangelist on TV - he, as a prophet of God, commanded that the COVID19 virus was healed and that its authority in America was over. According to him - that night - at his pronouncement and demand - the COVID19 virus was cast out of the USA. (Kenneth Copeland Ministries - telecast on March 29, 2020)
Why am I writing about such a things? Because it is dangerous and false doctrine like this that will cause great shame and reproach to come upon the church in these difficult days. Unfortunately, there will be those who will hear this, who will “name it and claim it” for themselves, and who will then take no precautions in the future. We’ve already seen what this kind of stuff can do in Arkansas. Now it has a greater likeliness of happening elsewhere among those who hold to such terrible doctrine as this. Am I saying that God cannot heal the COVID19 virus and eradicate it from the entire United States? He can. Do I believe that this false prophet’s declaration did it? Nope. The reality is that false prophecy uttered by a false prophet has not come true - because today there continues to be new cases found, and people will die of it by tomorrow. That means that this individual is a false prophet. No one should listen to him or fear or follow anything he says. He needs to repent and stop teaching and following a false doctrine that says he can make pronouncements using Jesus’ name - and they have to come to pass. The truly sad thing about this false doctrine is that when people don’t experience healing - and when, as it did, the coronavirus continues to spread in our nation - this false prophet will say it is only because those who get sick and die did not have enough faith. So, in the end, the problem is not with the prophet - it is with the terrible person who did not believe enough. Let’s take a look at Scripture for a few moments. God spoke of those He would send as prophets to Israel. But in the process God revealed that some might say, “How will we know?” Look at the passage below: "You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' 22 "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Deut. 18:21-22 God’s answer was very simple. When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if what he says does not come true - the Lord has not spoken. It is that simple. Now, if the pronouncement made - or honestly, the demand that was shouted - does not come to pass, then the ones making it are not prophets and the Lord has not spoken through them. The mark for a true prophets of God is 100% accuracy in his or her prophecies. There is no room for fudging on this. There was a false teaching out at a supposed school of prophets that we learn how to prophesy. If we get a few wrong, we will learn from it and prophesy better next time. Sadly, that does not square with God’s Word. Note what is said happened when both Samuel and Agabus prophesied below. Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. 20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 1 Samuel 3:19-20 As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" Acts 21:10-11 There we see an Old Testament and a New Testament prophet. Both had their prophecies come to pass. Agabus even prophesied of a famine that would come - and it came. Here is the danger in such false doctrine as that which happened on March 29th of this year. People who follow these two men will ignore any wisdom in going out into the world and taking precautions against catching this virus. As a result some will most likely contract it - and sadly some may even die as a result. The shame and disgrace and ill will that will come upon Christians for this will be great. We are already seeing where those in the media are mocking things like this - and who lump all Christian’s together. They say we are dangerous - and should be treated accordingly. Saints, please be wise when it comes to televangelists and supposed prophets who claim to speak for God. If their pronouncements do not come true - they are charlatans who are deceived at least, and dangerous at worst. God does want us to pray in faith - but the faith we have is in His Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. Our faith is not in what we decide to shout in demands of God. Our faith is in coming humbly before Him - even boldly to the throne of grace to find help in our time of need. It is interesting that we don’t find one instance in the New Testament of any apostle or believer commanding God to do something. Our place is not to put our DEMANDS before Him - shouting things like this: "In the name of Jesus, standing in the office of the profit of God, I execute judgment on you COVID-19...I call you gone...No more...And the United States of America is healed and well again...It's dead. At exactly 12 noon on the 29th day of March. It's over. It's over." These are the demands of a false prophet - not the humble requests of a servant of God. Just remember saints, the next day, and today the 31st COVID19 isn’t gone - it isn’t no more. It is NOT over. If anything, these two false prophets are making declarations contrary to God’s will. Consider these words of Scripture. "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, 59 then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.” Deut. 28:58-59 "If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, if there is locust or grasshopper, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is, 29 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house, 30 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men, 31 that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers. 2 Chronicles 6:28-31 By biblical terminology what we are experiencing is a plague. It is honestly nothing like the Beubonic plague or the Great Plague of the Spanish Flue of 1918. Nevertheless it is a plague that has come upon the world - and upon the United States. Honestly, if you want to look at a biblical response to this, it would be that we should do the following:
So, we’ve seen 3,580 since February 29th, when the first man died of Coronavirus in the state of Washington. The numbers we have reflect deaths in 30 days due to COVID19. Since February 29th, a rough estimate of the abortions in the United States has been around 2300 per day (that is a low number because it does not take into account abortions induced by medicines - that number would be more like 3000 per day). That would mean that since COVID19 began taking lives in the United States, we’ve taken the lives of 69,000 babies in the womb. We’ve seen 65,420 more deaths by abortion than by COVID19 since it started. Worldwide, the abortion rate is conservatively said to be 125,000 per day (Other reliable estimates say it is as high as 170,000 per day - but we will go with the Guttmacher Institute’s numbers). That means that while COVID19 has resulted in roughly 41,660 deaths since the first reported death in Wuhan, China on January 9th, abortion in that time (82 days) has resulted in 10,250,000 babies being aborted. So, we’ve seen 10,208,340 more deaths due to abortion than COVID19. Why did I go through all that morbid math above? It is because our nation and our world is deep red in the death of the unborn. 10,208,340 more dead from it than even from the dreaded COVID19. Please stay with me because there is a reason I went through all this. Our false prophets (remember them) made a declaration that COVID19 was over on the evening of March 29th. It was a false prophecy. But do you think for one moment that God is willing to cut us free from this plague, or any other plague, when during the same amount of time we’ve killed 65,000 more babies in the United States, and over 10,000,000 more worldwide? I am neither a prophet or a son of a prophet. But I am a student of the Scriptures. Oh, and by the way, I am writing this to speak to the biblically orthodox, conservative Christians in America, not those who do not know Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ - we are in God’s crosshairs. It is not time to embrace false doctrines or false teachers who would dare proclaim COVID19 over and done - while the blood of 69,000 babies in the U.S. still remains. We’re responsible for 60 million plus babies aborted since 1973. Do you really think that we are not under God’s discipline for this - if not His judgment? Now is the time for serious, deeply repentant, broken-hearted prayer in our nation. We don’t need false prophets to declare false prophecies to ease our burden in this time. We need a greater burden. We need for prayer to begin to grow at a rate far more exponential than what we are seeing with COVID19. We’ve now had 2 weeks with more time on our hands than usual. Unfortunately, too many have decided that the purpose for this time is to binge-watch old TV shows and movies. I have to honestly say I’ve watched too much on TV - and spent too little time crying out to God for my own heart, as well as the hearts of those in God’s church. If there was ever a time for prayer meetings to be flooded with the concerned (albeit through platforms like Zoom instead of in person) who are praying for a reviving among God’s people and awakening in our nation it is now. If there was ever a time to cry out to God that deaths due to abortion would cease, it is now! My prayer is that we would not listen to false prophets, but that God would raise up true ones to speak to His people. Prophets who would write down our sin with an iron stylus and call us to repent and return to God. Those who prophesy only good things, according to God’s Word - will have plenty who flock to them. They will find in the end that they will be disappointed because of the lies they believed. But may God grant us true prophets who will remind us of the following. "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (emphasis mine) Think about it. We quote this verse over and over again and yet, are unwilling to go back 7 words and see that the context for this kind of prayer is NOW. And what is said seven words earlier? God says, ". . . if I send pestilence among My people". That is an astounding thing to read, isn't it? My hope then is now that we have read it - we would respond. Let us pray. (Photo used by permission, CDC via Unsplash - cdc-L0jLHqF7Q94-unsplash.jpg)  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!  Ebola: The Pestilence of the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse?
In the book of Revelation we read in the 6th chapter about the fourth “seal judgment.” When that seal is broken and the judgment is released, what is known as the fourth horseman of the apocalypse is released upon the earth. He rides an ashen horse and has the terrifying name, “Death.” We read in this passage that following this rider is the place of the dead, also known as Hades. Authority was given to him over one-fourth of the entire population of the earth. His ride on the earth would result with four types of killing. There would be warfare represented by the sword. There would also be death because of famine and due to the wild beasts of the earth attacking humans in an unprecedented way. The fourth means by which Death would kill twenty-five percent of the earth would be through pestilence. That fourth means is what I want to address in this article. Before I continue you may want to read Revelation 6:7-8 below. “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:7-8) The word “pestilence” is the Greek word “thanatos” which is the word “death.” So we have Death killing with death. The reason this is translated as pestilence is because this same word is used in the Greek Old Testament translation (called the Septuagint) in Exodus, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel where it is clear in the Hebrew that a plague or pestilence is meant. This is also why the term “the black death” was used often in the 14th and 15th centuries to name horrific plagues of sickness that came upon China and Europe. Therefore what we have before us in Revelation 6 is an apocalyptic outbreak of pestilence or plague that aids in killing 25% of the population. To give you a sense of what God is saying here we can look at current population totals on earth today – which roughly can be estimated at around 7 billion people. That would mean that 2,250,000,000 people would die during this time. Locally, the population of Jonesboro, Arkansas, which is currently around 76,000, would see one in four dies, which are 24,000 people dead. What could do this kind of thing? One of the four listed here is pestilence – and – we are watching what pestilence can do right now in West Africa. This is especially true in Liberia, where that country has seen the largest outbreak of Ebola in history – last count by the CDC is 2710 cases. Of these cases already 1459 have died. A regional outbreak in five West African counties now totals 5,350 cases with a death rate of around 50%. This sounds terrible enough, but recently the WHO (World Health Organization) ran numbers on what a normal outbreak looks like. The results were that if we do not get very serious about this current outbreak, it is nothing to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 plus cases of Ebola in West Africa alone. When the virus reaches this kind of proliferation – and begins to show up in increasing numbers in nations like Nigeria – some very bad things begin to happen. Let me expound on that thought – actually, not a thought, but rather a reality. Most of the nations currently affected in West Africa are small enough that it is easier to monitor whether the risk of the virus getting out of that country into the larger world population. Nigeria, on the other hand, is a nation that has airline service on a much wider scale. It also has people travelling to and from it in vastly larger numbers because of general trade traffic – with oil trade traffic requiring much larger numbers to travel in and out of the country. Two ports of call that could be quickly affected with disastrous results are the airports in Nairobi, Kenya, and in Entebbe, Uganda. Both of these airports have numerous regular flights into Europe. If the virus is carried into either of these airports – and from there into European airports – it will be loosed in ways that will dwarf what is happening in West Africa. We would be talking about millions instead of hundreds of thousands. This is why President Obama recently made a speech in which he used strong military rhetoric concerning our fight against the Ebola virus. If such a spread of this virus is to be contained – and hopefully driven back by modern medicine – it will take strong efforts to establish better public health systems in many African countries. The one thing, though, that is not being taken seriously – is how this works into God’s purpose and plan. Here is where some reading this article will probably take great offense at what I am about to say. Biblically – when outbreaks like this happen – God was addressing sin among His people. In the book of Numbers several plagues were loosed among God’s people Israel because of their sin and rebellion against Him. When God allows things like this to happen, we ought to be willing to step back and consider where we are spiritually. There should be a willingness to examine ourselves and turn back to God with all our hearts. Many of these plagues were stayed when God’s people humbled themselves and dealt in one way or another with the outbreak of sin that preceded the outbreak of plague. In light of this shouldn’t we, as God’s people, take time to examine our hearts – ask the Lord to reveal to us where we may have departed from Him – and return to Him? Many might say that we don’t have time for this – we need to address these situations medically. But even the CDC and the WHO have said that it will be very easy for this outbreak to overwhelm and drown our health systems if it continues to grow like it has. Just to give you an idea of how fast that growth can be – realize that a few cases broke out a couple of years ago and were for the most part controlled. But we have a situation were a few cases broke out a couple of months ago – followed by cases in the 10’s a few weeks later. After a month and a half these few cases grew into hundreds. After 2-3 months they were in the thousands. Now we have facts that say that these measly hundreds have grown into over 4000 cases – with a near-term potential of hundreds of thousands by Christmas this year. What should be our response as believers to this virus? I want to answer that in a couple different ways. On a health level, we need to practice good personal hygiene as well as wise health habits. We also need to support our president and our nation’s efforts to combat this through the CDC and other agencies that battle world health concerns like this. But there are also spiritual things we need to keep in mind. We need to pray for the nations of West Africa. We need to pray for the church in these areas – praying that God would protect them as well as use them in a time of tremendous need. We need to continue to send and support missionaries and relief teams like the one that was infected from Samaritan’s Purse. One of the most powerful testimonies the church of Jesus Christ can offer is that of people who will respond to this outbreak with mercy and compassion. Throughout history the church has responded this way in plague after plague. At the risk of their own lives many in the church have reacted to crises like this by taking their medical skills, much needed medicines, and most importantly the love of God (as well as the gospel into these places.) Throughout history the churches’ finest hours have often been in times like these. It is where the true selfless nature of the church should be seen. Let us pray that God would make the Ebola virus outbreak of 2014-15 one of those times. Pray for Samaritan’s Purse and other gospel-oriented aid ministries and their people as they take on such dangerous assignments for the glory of God and the advance of the gospel. Finally, let us pray and turn to God as never before. You have no idea how easy it is for a virus to enter a country and wreak havoc on its population. It is honestly pure arrogance to think that we can stop all disease through our medical efforts alone. It is also arrogance to think that our nation can sin and turn from God like it has been without some kind of action on God’s part to bring humility to such a spiritually arrogant people. May we be among those grateful for modern medicine, yet wary of elevating it to god-like, or maybe more appropriately said – God-replacing, status in our lives. May we instead be those grateful for it, but painfully aware that medicine may be able to solve the crisis in public health, but it can do little to solve the crisis of sin and rebellion against God in the human heart. May we be wise enough to realize that the providence of God has allowed this so that we might turn to Him for help in our time of need. Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. Zechariah 14:12-15
While reading through the Bible this year, I recently came upon this passage in Zechariah fourteen – a passage that brings to mind images that are horrific – but that also calls to mind a modern weapon that can actually cause the very thing that God speaks of in this passage. The weapon of which we speak is called the “neutron bomb.” Neutron bombs act on the part of an atom called the neutron. A neutron is a basic component of every atom. In general, for every atom to be a stable element it must have a proton (a positively charged particle) an electron (a negatively charged particle) and a neutron (a neutrally charged element – with no electrical charge whatsoever). Neutrons are a critical building block of every material thing in our entire universe. When these neutrons are clinging to protons in the nucleus of an atom, they are vital to the existence of matter itself. When they are freed from this relationship with a proton, they cause a very deadly form of radiation – in fact it is lethal. The first atomic bombs involved the splitting apart of “heavy atomic nuclei.” When this happens there is a tremendous release of power – thus the massive mushroom-clouded type of explosion results. This was the type of bomb released on Japan at the close of the second world war. The second generation of nuclear bomb is called the “thermonuclear bomb.” This involves a process where hydrogen isotopes are fused together to form even heavier atoms – which when split release almost unbelievable amounts of energy. That is why we are very careful and loathe to release one of these bombs today. The explosion and effect of a thermonuclear bomb makes the first generation of nuclear bombs look like a mere firecracker. When we consider the massive destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a firecracker, we tremble at the destruction one of these second generation bombs could cause. The Neutron bomb is a third generation nuclear device. This bomb is similar to the thermonuclear bomb except that a blanket of heavy U-238 isotopes is removed from it. What this does to the bomb is make it release only a massive number of neutrons combined with gamma radiation at its detonation. When this bomb blows the release of the neutrons are lethal to humans and any other animal life around it. If you are within the radius of a neutron bomb you will be killed almost instantly. If you are within the blast radius what will happen to you is eerily similar to what Zechariah describes in chapter 14 of his prophecy. Any kind of flesh is destroyed by a kind of melting process as all the atoms are destroyed within it. Thus Zechariah’s description of something that rots flesh, eyes, and the tongue are often compared to what happens at the detonation of a neutron bomb. The reason the military would choose one of these bombs is because they are considered to be much “cleaner” than conventional nuclear bombs. A neutron bomb blast will only kill living things. This will leave all the weapons and buildings in the area pretty much intact. If a nation were attacked by a huge army – as Israel will be attacked in the last days – the bomb will kill all the troops, but will leave all their armor and weaponry undamaged. The other important difference is that a neutron bomb will leave no radioactive fallout behind after its detonation. Unlike the first two generations of nuclear weapons, a person is safe walking in the area of the bomb blast immediately after the explosion. Even soldiers who are dug in many feet below the earth will not escape the results of a neutron bomb blast. What is fascinating is that currently only the United States, Israel, and possibly China have this kind of weaponry. That is interesting to the student of prophecy because if attacked by a huge army, Israel may choose to release such a weapon. It would effectively destroy their enemies without causing a massive ecological event that would poison the region for decades. The question though for us is whether God is going to use something like this in the Gog-Magog invasion that is coming – or whether the deliverance in this scenario is simply going to be a plague that comes from the hand of God. To be honest with you I do not have a clue which it will be, since God has worked in both ways in the past testimony of Scripture. At times His judgment and wrath fall through an army that is divinely empowered for victory. At other times He acts apart from any human involvement and brings His power to bear directly on those who oppose Him. What I get from all this is that it is foolish to stand against the apple of God’s eye – the nation of Israel. Scripture very clearly indicates that the nation of Israel will be a major focus in the last days. It also indicates that in the end, all nations will turn against Him and against His people. Yet God will use even this to accomplish His ultimate purposes and plans. Those plans have nothing to do with world domination – and everything to do with bringing salvation to the people of His own choosing. They may have rejected their Messiah at His first coming – but eventually God is going to bring Israel to Himself with the events of these last days. As I read Zechariah fourteen and realized that for the first time in history a human weapon has the capability of doing what is said here – I had another sense that we are indeed living in the last days. May such a realization cause me – and saints, cause all of us to look up, for indeed our redemption is drawing near! |
 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 
Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend.
Thank you!  Archives
July 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed