4 October 2015
Dear Phyllis,
A month ago I said it will be interesting to see what the world looks like when October 1st gets here. It is now the 4thand I am genuinely surprised. Both John Hagee and Jonathan Cahn warned that, according to the Four Blood Moons and the Jewish year of Shemitah, dire events were likely to happen in September. I said, “I am keeping my money off the table but I strongly suspect that they are right”. Wrong. That one really bewilders me. I am utterly astounded at how the Lord withholds His hand of judgment against America.
But one minor event did happen last week. The mass shooting at Umpqua College in Roseburg Ore. has traumatized America. Everyone is searching, why is this happening and how can we stop it? To me the answer to this is crystal clear. In Ezek. 14:21 the Lord said, “I will send My four sore judgments... the SWORD, FAMINE, BEASTS, andPESTILENCE”. We see these four judgments mentioned in more places in Jeremiah and Ezekiel than I can list. It is highly significant that these are exactly the same as the Four Horses that we see in Revelation 6:1-8. White Horse (beast [anti-Christ]), Red Horse (war), Black Horse (economic), Pale Horse (pestilence). In case there is any doubt, in verse 8 the Bible clearly explains that these four horses are the SWORD, HUNGER, DEATH, and BEASTS. In Lev. 26:22 the Lord warned, “I will send wild beasts among you and they will rob you of your children.” On the other side of the coin, in times of blessing, the Lord promised to “rid wild beast from the land” (Lev. 26:6). I see absolutely no room for argument. For a hundred years America was a very safe country to live in. It wasn't that there were no robbers or murderers but they were extremely rare. When I was a boy we never locked the door on our house or took the keys out of the ignition of the car. Most Americans my age relate the same thing. In most towns it was perfectly safe to walk any street at night. Mass shooting in schools simply never happened. I never heard of such a thing. But from 1960 on these atrocities have escalated. Now they are regular occurrences. How can you stop them? You can't. God is filling the land with beasts. That is undeniable.
But what we are seeing today is just the piter-pater of a few drops of rains that will soon be Noah's flood. I strongly believe the next event on the Apocalyptic calendar will be the Sword. With the exception of the Civil War, America has been uniquely blessed in the Lord keeping the Sword off American soil. We have prided ourselves in that millions of American young men have gone over seas to fight wars on other soil but until 9-11 the Sword had never touched our land. I strongly believe this is soon about to change. It is incontestable that the Lord has raised up a man who has decimated Americas military power. In commenting on Obama's remark that Putin has moved into Syria out of a position of weakness, Charles Krauthammer said, “You cannot argue with this. This is a delusion that must be treated chemically”. And he said, “Putin is the luckiest Russian ever to be dealt a man who has the mentality of a man living in the faculty lounge of a fantasy world”. At the invitation of Assad last week Putin established his army and air force in Syria and told the Americans to get out. Last week Putin has reestablished Russia as the dominant power in the Middle east as it is now the super power in Iran, Syria, and Iraq. Krauthammer further said,“Americas former allies of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan are now in panic mode as the umbrella of protection that was over them for the past five decades has now been folded”. A blind man with one glass eye can clearly see where the world is headed. Obama has weakened America at an astonishing pace and Russia and Islam are surging forward. On paper, America still has worlds strongest military. You might have worlds fastest car, but if a frightened child is at the wheel, that car would go no faster than a motor scooter. With Obama as commander-in-chief it might be accurately said America is now a third world power. This can be nothing but an invitation for a serious attack on American soil. I believe the Sword is the next event coming to America. And wild beasts will continue to fill the land.
Fifty years ago my eschatology was fairly tight, but in recent years the order of events has become very clouded. We all know the big picture of what will happen but when things will happen, and in what order, may not be so black and white. One doctrine I will not move from is the imminent return of Christ. I see that as one of the major corner stones of the NT. Obviously Paul and the 1st century church expected Christ to return at any moment. And I see that exactly the way that Jesus taught it. He could come at any time. We know the Five Seals of Revelation 6:1-8. They will happen. They are the Beast, Sword (war), Famine (economic) and Pestilence (disease). The 5th Seal is unmistakable persecution. The souls under the altar were told to wait until their brethren were killed (Rev. 6:11). To what degree we will be exempt from that I am not certain. Nor am I sure the Five Seals will come in that sequence or manner. The world has a dread of the word Armageddon (Rev. 16:16), but for Christians this will be the greatest event since the resurrection of Christ. This is the moment all heaven is cheering for in Rev. 19. This is when Jesus gets on his White Horse and we come back to take out the Anti-Christ and all his forces. This will be V-E (victory over Earth) Day. Oh hallelujah!
Historically there have usually been major moving of the Spirit before big wars. We are encouraged that the tide does seem to be rising somewhat here in Chiang Mai. The moving of the Spirit seems to be continuing in Rumpahkun church here in our village. A church where I occasionally go, The New Creation, had their 5th anniversary last Sunday. Two years ago they were running 30 or 40 in a service. Recently their numbers have gone up to 120. They have 150 chairs and last Sunday, at their 5th anniversary, somewhere between 250 and 300 showed up. A wonderful American brother who works there told me, a college student from Mae Jo University accepted Christ in his house Tuesday night. She came back the next night bringing her friend with her. When that happens the system is working just like it should.
I don't know. Maybe Russia moving in to take over Syria and Iraq last week was one of the events of the Blood Moon. But Jesus is the chess Master and He is moving the pieces. It's time to look up.
bill
No comments:
Post a Comment