Why Would An All Good God Allow . . .

I know I’m not the only one to wonder how an all good, all powerful God could allow the kinds of evil we have seen manifested throughout the whole of human history. As utterly horrifying and heinous as the October 7th attack on Israeli villages was, it stands in a long line of human evil: Ghengis Kahn, Roman crucifixion, the Nazis, tossing babies into the fire to the God Molech, Medieval torture devices, Sudanese massacres of opposition groups, Muslim honor killings, Isis beheadings, and the list goes on. This doesn’t even begin to address the moral depravity of abortion, sex trafficking, current day child sacrifice, pedophilia . . . .

I admit there are no satisfying explanations. The theologians try. And God does sometimes intervene, but too often He seems absent. Even believing in the sovereignty of God, free will, fallen man, and all the rest, it is still something our human compassion can’t get our heads around. The Scriptures, much of human experience, and The Cross tell us that God is good. But there are times when we simply have to stand on that truth–in faith. Although He is All Powerful, and could intervene, He doesn’t always. For reasons known only to Him.

Scripture tells us in Ephesians 1:4 that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence.” God knew your name before He created the world. The next verse tells us why: “In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will . . . .” There it is. In love.

So now the questions becomes knowing what humans would do, why would an all good God create the world and humanity anyway. The answer is because His Heart is absolute Love. And that Love desired people, upon which to lavish itself. God desired friends, friendship. God looked down through history and saw all of it, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And He decided we are worth it. He had to give us free will, because love is meaningless if it isn’t freely given. That meant risking what we would do with that free will. And yep, we used it to rebel and choose our own ideas, our own way, to righteousness. Only, it’s not His way. And since He is the Creator, He gets to define and set the terms. Notice the verse in Ephesians above says He predestined us In Him. There’s the qualifier. Those who believe in Him, in Jesus, are predestined to escape the ultimate consequence of rebellion against Him and to be welcomed into His embrace, His home.

God chose to create us knowing His own Son would have to die to cleanse us from our unrighteousness and make a way for us to get to Heaven. Yet, He did it anyway. Why? Surely His heart hurts more than ours observing man’s inhumanity to man. He did it because He Loves. He looked down through the corridors of time, looked at you, looked at me, and decided we were worth it.

We aren’t God, so we can’t imagine how He somehow, in the final analysis, makes all things right. But He will. That’s what our faith does. We say, God is good, all the time–and we leave the details to Him. So now, when I’m tempted to wonder how an all good, all powerful God can allow the awful things we read about daily, I remember the Original Why: Love.

Love so great He was willing to die for it.

Having Done All Stand

While doing the homework for a study through the Book of Ephesians this week, chapter 6, the author breaks down the powers and principalities, rulers, and wicked spirits in high places into a spiritual hierarchy. Having never done that before I found this particularly helpful. 

Looking at a flow chart of Ephesians 6:12, 

(For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places), we see something like this:

1. principalities—overlords of the other entities, Grand Masters over the fallen angels of this world 

2. powers—organized forces behind evil work in this world, e.g. Globalists, especially the force behind AI, puppeteers 

3.  rulers of this world’s darkness—at work influencing politics, militaries, education, media, entertainment, science,  technology, etc. e.g.

4. wicked spirits in heavenly places—these seem to be the ones at work in individual lives on a daily basis, deceiving, attacking, e.g. These are ones we can address directly. Not that there isn’t a place for the corporate Church addressing the others, but these are the ones focused on us specifically.

We might think of 1 and 2 as strategic and 3 and 4 as tactical. Forces 1 and 2 will do what God allows them to do, regardless of our individual warfare, I’m thinking. 3 and 4 we can address specifically. I frequently pray to cast down every high and lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God in my family’s lives (2 Corinthians 10:5— casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ).

So how does weak man combat these powerful forces? Paul gives us the answer in 2 Corinthians 10:4, “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” What are these weapons? Paul lists them in Ephesians 6:10-18, The Armor of God, and prayer. Paul tells us to take up, put on

1. The belt of Truth, this is the Word of God, Jesus. All else hangs/hinges upon knowing the Word of God, the Truth of Scripture. We must know the Word to be effectual.
2. The breastplate of righteous. We must remember that we wear/are the righteousness of Christ Himself. Nothing of us. In that, no accusation to the contrary can shake our confidence in the face of the Accuser of the Brethren.
3. Shoes of the gospel, the preparation to be ready in season and out to share the good news as God presents the opportunity. Our combat boots, sturdy, secure, stable, protective so that we may move forward when called.
4. Shield of  faith,  again based on the Word of God. It is our faith, that saves us and upon which our confidence rests, with which we can extinguish all those fiery accusations of the evil one against us. Our faith grants us entrance to the very Kingdom of God Himself.
5. Helmet of Salvation, our protection over our minds. The guarantee from Jesus Himself that our place with Him is secure.
6. The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Both offensive and defense weapons. Mighty for the tearing down of strongholds.

Notice that three of the pieces of armor directly address the Word of God: truth, faith, sword—although all are essentially resting on the Word, Who is Jesus. He is our confidence, our defender, our shield, our protection, our salvation. If God be for us, who can be against us?

As the spiritual matriarch of my family, I frequently bring my family, metaphorically, into my spiritual tent/under the canopy of the Blood of Jesus which covers me. While I am still alive on planet earth, I plead the Blood of Jesus, and the protection afforded to me, over them.

We must know our place in Christ, in His Kingdom. He imputes His spiritual authority to do His work here on planet earth. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Do you get that? A royal priesthood, holy nation, people set apart by and for God, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Beloved, we have more power than we realize to have victory in our daily lives.

There was a time many years ago when I had had enough of being yelled and screamed at by someone in my household. Knowing the true source of this attack, I finally left the room, went to another, pointed to the air (spiritual realm) around me and declared: you can rage at me all you like BUT I AM STANDING ON THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION.

Yes, STANDING. We can’t change someone else’s behavior, and God may or may not as a result of our prayers, but we can take authority over our own lives and our own responses. Though we get knocked down, in the power of His might we get back up. May we always be found standing firm in Jesus, confident of our place in Him, giving thanks for all things to God the Father of Lights.

Selah

The Right Time

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, (Gal. 4:4 a)

We know that God does all things according to His will and His time, but I wonder if we truly appreciate the significance of that. Am I the only one who seems to just blow right by many of the things we take for granted when we read the Word? While doing my daily homework assignment for a Bible Study in Ephesians this morning, it occurred to me (lightening bolt, actually) that not only did He pre-determine the timing of my salvation, but the place.

Even as a child, though not raised in a Christian home, I was open to the things of God. I alone went to a local Methodist church in middle school (draw: the choir), but if the Gospel were preached there I didn’t hear it. As the years went by, I got wrapped up in all the daily living kinds of things. Eventually, marriage, children. But I think I would have been open to the gospel at any point, if it had come to me. Married 10 years–to an unbeliever–and 2 children in elementary school later, God showed up. I often wondered why now? Why at this point when I sure could have used Him sooner! Yet, and here is the reference point: I was saved through the witness of Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth, not published until the late 70’s, and we had just moved to a small but growing golf course/bedroom community east of Sacramento (population 200 then, over 5000 today). It was there that God revealed Himself to me, there that I was privileged to be part of a church start-up that is thriving today (not without countless stumbles along the way, mind you), there that I made deep lasting Christian friendships that provided fellowship/support/encouragement/growth along the way. Because we were a “village” removed from the nearby distractions of city life, we truly had to depend on one another. God gave me 35 richly blessed years there. Years and Christian life I knew when we left I’d never have again. Not because God isn’t faithful, but because it truly was a unique time. and a unique place.

As I pondered God’s providence–and as Paul says, the indescribable gift of His grace in that–I want to encourage you this morning, Beloved. If you are wondering why God doesn’t/hasn’t answered a particular prayer–maybe even one you don’t know to pray, such as when you walked in the ignorance of His Truth–Know that God is perfect in His timing, in the location of those answers, in accomplishing the most good for the most Glory to Himself, and gratitude from us! We don’t understand. But we don’t have too, for He is faithful to accomplish all His good plans and purposes for, in, and through us!

Selah and Hallelujah

Spirit And Truth

I feel as if this is one of those “late to the party,” Captain Obvious moments. I have always wondered what Jesus meant by God is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. My question is not just about the outward expressions of worship, nor the internal. Those are different considerations, certainly involving right doctrine and a right heart. But what does it mean to worship in spirit and truth?

Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The context of this story is the Samaritan woman at the well, in midday to avoid the society that shunned her for unrighteous living. Jesus, of course, knew she had had five husbands and she was not married to the man she was currently living with. Changing the subject of her personal life, she asks Him which mountain (the ones the Samaritans went to, or the one the Jews–Temple–went to) was the proper place to worship. Neither. Worship is no longer about prescribed locations/rituals. It’s about spirit and truth. As post Resurrection Christians, we understand this and it informs our theology, our worship today. But how could this woman understand?

Jesus’ answer to her is given prior to His death, burial, resurrection. Why would He tell her that when she could not possibly make sense of it, in the way we do today. It is a foreshadow of what was to come. She was not “saved” in the sense of faith in Christ, so she couldn’t possibly put that admonition to practice. Her thinking was in terms of geographical locations.

I tried to search out what others have said about worshipping in spirit and truth, several articles. But none of them said what I had always missed. They focused on form/heart/function, (no doubt taking the indwelling presence of The Spirit as a given). All of which is fine, but they missed stating the foundational point to my mind: no one can worship in spirit and in truth without having The Spirit and The Truth indwelling. This had not been revealed at the time of the conversation with the Samaritan woman, but Jesus was laying the groundwork. After His resurrection John tells us speaking of the disciples, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.'”

Due to original sin we are born with spirits that are dead. It is only upon believing in the death/burial/resurrection of Jesus, saving faith in His atoning offering, that our spirits are made alive. Then Jesus sends us His Spirit to live in us–what John calls being born again. Now we can worship in spirit and truth, because The Spirit and The Truth have come to live in us. And They enable our worship. Do we have a part? Certainly. Our hearts and beliefs as we engage in worship matter. But it is only due to the Indwelling presence of God, that we can hope to worship rightly, or at all. In this sense it is not something we could ever do without God’s having first done it for us, in us.

The Samaritan woman couldn’t possibly know this, nor could Jesus explain it then. But He knew what was coming, and He spoke to this truth when He revealed to her He is the Messiah: Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Imagine, Jesus reveals His identity and hints at the amazing reality of the indwelling Spirit of God, to a fallen woman of a scorned people. The entire reality of the gospel is presented in John chapter 4. Jesus Messiah, God Emmanuel, not only with but in us.

Selah

God is in His Heavens, And He Does as He Pleases

While praying for one of my son’s dogs, who is in the last weeks/months/days of her life, I asked God to take her quietly in her sleep–to spare my son having to make the difficult decision of when to let go and instruct the vet to euthanize her. Pet lovers will understand the angst and heartbreak of these decisions.

My prayer for God to take her in her sleep (which I prayed for all of my dogs, and He didn’t do) is, of course, actually a prayer to spare us. Spare us the pain of deciding to end the life of a beloved pet who has depended on us to care for and to preserve that very life for years. As I thought about the desired answer being a yes to my request, it occurred to me that God would not say yes to me because I asked Him to, but rather because it would be right. In fact, all God’s answers, whether they are what we desire or not, are the right ones. He does what is right. Because He is right. Occasionally, I get to be on the same side of that answer. Isn’t this freeing? God always does what is right. I would never want Him to simply accommodate me.

Let us let that embolden us in prayer. Let us be freed in knowing God is in His heavens, and He does as He pleases (Psalm 115:3). And what He pleases is always right.

Bring On The Glory

While doing the Bible Study homework on the book of James this past week, a line stood out in living color: “God desires for us to get into an alignment with Him where we start praying for the things that will bring glory to His name.” (emphasis added)

Thunderbolt. Many times I, as I’m sure you do as well, include “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” at the conclusion of my prayers. And we mean it. Don’t we? But do we not still want what we want: healing, deliverance, provision, that special relationship, that job, that school? And when we dont get the answer we desire, we say God hasn’t answered our prayers. Yes, He has.

James tells us that motives are key in bringing our prayers to God. We ask, but we ask amiss, wanting what we want, the outcome we desire in a given situation. What if our prayers instead were stated, “Lord, I pray for the answer that will bring You the greatest glory, and result in Your greatest good out of this situation!” Now we’re into the realm of total relinquishment, a level deeper, to my thinking, than His Kingdom come and His will be done. Not that those don’t summarize it all, but somehow for me praying for His glory and His greatest good, allows me to submerge and submit myself into the prayer in ways I didn’t before.

Many times this kind of prayer is very difficult; after all, who of us wouldn’t pray for healing, provision, deliverance, protection of someone in need. And I think that is fine, and God expects it of us. The kindness in our nature compels us to do so. Yet, what did Jesus tell Peter, when Peter wanted to spare Him suffering: Get thee behind me, Satan! Who of us would have wanted Jesus to suffer the way He did on the way to and on the Cross! Who of us would not have prayed He be spared. However. Without that suffering we would all be doomed. Hard truth, but truth nevertheless. We simply don’t know the mind and purposes of God in all things.

There is a suffering that is redemptive in nature, but that’s a topic for another day. The Old Testament is filled with examples of the discipline of God’s people when they were in rebellion to Him. But better that than eternal separation. I’m not saying every negative circumstance in a person’s or a nation’s life is due to God’s discipline. We live in a fallen and Satanically controlled world; we live in the midst of multiple forces against us. But in every circumstance I’m convinced that God wants to bring redemption–including to our character. That’s why we can safely ask Him to do what brings Him the greatest glory, and us the greatest good. May not look the way we want it to, but we can trust God to be doing all things well–including fulfilling a far grander purpose than we can imagine.

Am I alone in having difficulty discerning the heart/will of God in the things I pray for? I take great comfort in Romans 8:26-27, The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition:

²⁶ So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

²⁷ And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.

Oh my: “but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf,” (emphasis added). Think about that! The Holy Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplications and pleads for us to make them perfect before the Throne. The Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete in the Greek, one who is a helper. Here we see Him being the Paraclete to our prayers. I can hardly get my mind around that!

Truly, Beloved, we can trust that our prayers will be perfected by the Holy Spirit–and when we pray for God’s greatest glory and His greatest good, maybe He doesn’t have to work as hard.

The Sacrifice of Praise

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (Ps 50: 23, ESV)

“He who offers a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him], I shall show the salvation of God.” (Ps 50:23, TAB)

What is a sacrifice but that which costs us something? So how can praise and thanksgiving be sacrifices? By offering them to God when it hurts us to do so–i.e. when we wouldn’t normally praise or thank God for a thing. The Apostle Paul tells us in two places the will of God regarding thanksgiving:

Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1Thess. 5:18)

And then when giving instructions on how we should live Paul says . . . “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 5:20)
[emphasis added]

Notice the prepositions. How in the world can we give thanks in and for all things when those things are harmful, oppressing, devastating? We can because of God’s promise in Romans 8:28: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [again, emphasis added]

Is this easy? Do I even have to ask? It’s easy to give praise and thanksgiving for the blessings, the obviously good things in our lives. But just imagine the glory and pleasure it gives our Holy and Triune God when we trust Him enough to know He will bring good out of even the hurtful experiences of our lives–in the end. We may not see it today, or tomorrow, but God is either trustworthy, His Word is either true, or not.

Beside the Armor of God (Ephesians 6), consider praise and thanksgiving a truly powerful spiritual weapon. Where is God enthroned? God is enthroned, He inhabits, the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). Want to invite the Holy One of Israel into your situation? Praise. Thank Him.

Imagine the Enemy agents attacking, dragging you down, and instead of crying out in fear and worry, we say Thank You God for this opportunity for You to show Yourself mighty on my behalf! Thank You God for this opportunity to grow in faith and trust in You. Thank You God for the opportunity to share the love of Christ in another person’s life–someone You want to draw to Your kingdom as You desire no man should perish (even when they are hurtful to us). Imagine the enemy agents going “huh?” and scattering.

Is this easy? Ha. That’s why it’s called a sacrifice.

Selah

Pebbles

The daughter sat at the Father’s feet. “Lord, it’s been years. Over and over. It never changes. Why does that one get by with it. Why must I always be the one to forgive? The Cross covers that one, and those sins are/will be all absolved.”

As are yours.

But, Lord, is there no justice?

My daughter, that one may get away with each new offense, but you get another pebble in your jar.

Pebble?

Yes, each act of obedience, each act of forgiveness done out of love for Me, accrues another pebble in your jar. And when the judgment comes, those pebbles will become jewels in My crown, glory that has been brought to Me, your sacrifice of praise, a holy offering.

Selah

Via Dolorosa Tapestry

We know from Scripture that God chooses those in Him from before creation: Ephesians 1:4, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

We also know from Psalm 139 that all our days are all written in God’s book before we are even born. We know from elsewhere in Scripture that God has a plan and purpose not only for the world, nations, and people groups, but also for us as individuals.

What those plans are, and how they look, are as varied as we are. Perhaps that is why some people seem to have an easy road and some do not. We don’t know why that is, other than God is God and we are not. What we do know is that God is eternally faithful, He is eternally just, He is eternally sovereign, He is eternally good. Because of that we can trust Him when He says He works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, Romans 8:28.

A woman in prayer to the Lord heard the words:

My child, encourage My people with My words: 

I see your journey from a perspective that you are not able to completely understand now. But, very, very soon you will understand the suffering in this life. I have given you parts of the bigger picture, a glimpse into the reason and meaning behind why there must be suffering while you are here. But, as My Spirit comes to pour out in full measure, your spiritual eyes will see clearly, and you will rejoice in that you suffered well. For those who have suffered much, I am here. I have always been here. I have not only walked beside you through this life, but I go before you. I am your Rear Guard. I hedge you in on all sides, but most importantly, I am within. 

There is a price to pay, yes, for following Me and for walking in obedience. Suffering in this life may not seem to bring a desirable outcome from your perspective, but it is the heart in the suffering that I see. I see all of you who are My hidden but fierce warriors. You who are no one to the world. You who suffer alone and without physical comfort from another. You who suffer long, hard, and much. Let Me assure you My beautiful ones. I see every tear. I hear every thought. I hold you and I comfort you from within. It is I who gives you the inner strength to go one more minute, one more hour, one more day, not giving in to despair, doubt or fear, but rather praising Me all the more that you are chosen. 

I was with you from your beginning, as I chose you for this reason, because I saw you would suffer well. I saw your fierce faithfulness and your stedfast endurance, your quiet obedience in the suffering, and I said yes, you are My beloved. You will glorify Me much in your suffering and the reward will far outweigh the cost for the short time that you are here. 

You trust Me for the outcome, and you believe that I will heal you at the appointed time. Even without the full understanding, you accept what I allow for you, and you don’t complain or become bitter. Your testimony will be so powerful for others, and I will manifest Myself to them through you. 

I am coming for you sooner than you think.. 

Continue to seek Me in every moment, pray and talk to Me without ceasing. 

I love you My beloved ones. I love you,

YAHUSHUA

Additionally:

My love is eternal, and as an expression of My love manifested in and through My children, I have created an interwoven tapestry of  My children’s journeys, as they go through this life and the fires of affliction that I allow to greater intimacy in Me. It is made up of all of your struggles, sufferings, and triumphs, and it highlights the heart motive of each life decision you have made in the depth of color and brilliance displayed. Each decision a person makes to walk in greater faith and obedience and what I have called them to do produces an outcome in the spirit. This in turn affects how each thread is added and how all are connected to display the beauty and brilliance of My design. It is a wonder to behold! 

My beloved ones, you are precious in My sight, and this life is filled with so much that you don’t fully understand. But, the time is coming when you will and great will be your reward in heaven! Hold on to My truths and My promises and rejoice! I am always with you in your sufferings, and I sit with you in the ashes. Will you praise Me and continue to walk in greater faith, even in affliction? Let not bitterness take root, but give me your sufferings, as you have given Me your hearts and your lives. I am always with you. You are loved beyond measure My precious ones. Hold fast ’til I come. 

YAHUSHUA

https://iamcallingyounow.blogspot.com/2023/04/fiercely-faithful.html

You may have heard the analogy of our lives looking like a tapestry from below. All we see are the loose threads hanging down, in total disarray, making no sense whatever. But what God sees from the top is a beautiful picture of what He’s fashioning of your life. With the words above, another image comes to mind. One, frankly, I had never thought of. A larger tapestry, one composed of the lives and choices of hundreds, thousands, of saints. Thinking in these terms, for me, sheds a whole new light on suffering. We will never understand the need for suffering in this life, nor why some seem to suffer so much more than others. But, what if all our sorrows, and our choices to love and obey and praise Him anyway, contribute to a tapestry of glory we can only dream of. What if this cosmic tapestry is similar to a quilt wherein the sections depict different portions of God’s grand design and callings for those who comprise His Bride?

I’ve often thought of myself as no more than a stitch on the inseam of the Bride’s wedding dress. But that stitch, insignificant as it is, is still necessary and a part of the whole. 

If God has called you to be one of the suffering ones, and certainly we all suffer to some extent, know that He chose you before the foundation of the world–because He knew He could trust you to suffer well: to continue to praise Him and love Him, even in the darkness. Rejoice, Beloved. Stand fierce in your faith. When we finally get to see the topside of the Tapestry, all will make sense and we will agree that God has known what He was doing all the time. 

Simeon and Anna

At the time of Jesus’ birth, we are told of two individuals who were looking for their Messiah. In Luke 2 Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple for His formal naming and circumcision, vs 25-32:

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.’”

Simeon had been watching for the consolation of Israel, their Messiah. And because he was watching, Simeon saw Him presented at the Temple; he knew he could depart, die, in peace. Anna was there also. She was a prophetess, an eighty-four year old widow who spent her days and nights at the Temple in worship, prayer, and fasting. Because she was there, “She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.” Luke 2:38.

Simeon and Anna knew the prophecies concerning the coming of Messiah, so they were looking for Him. It is estimated the Bible is comprised of somewhere between 25-30% prophecy. Given that one fourth to one third of the verses in the Bible are prophetic in nature, wouldn’t it make sense that we believers should be alert to the times in which we live? For those who are Watchmen/women on the Wall, the signs of the times are unequivocal. There are too many to list here, but a simple Internet search will yield charts/graphs/statistics, and much helpful information.

The most important of all current-day signs began in 1948 when Israel became a nation fulfilling Isaiah 66:8. Indeed, many Watchers use this date as the beginning of the endtimes countdown. This is important because the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, also known as the Tribulation or Daniel’s 70th week is for the divinely decreed purpose of the salvation of the Jewish nation, which will include judgments on all the rebellious unbelieving people left on earth.

Since 1948, and especially the past few years, there has been an exponential increase in the warning signs Jesus gives us in Matthew 24 (and in Luke’s, Paul’s and Peter’s writings). Earthquakes and signs in the heavens (blood moon tetrads, planet parades, planetary conjunctions), wars and threats of wars, pestilences, violence, rampant immorality and perversion (including all the variations on the gender theme, including transhumanism), lawlessness, divisiveness (families/nations/racial groups even churches divided against one another), food shortages/famines, rise of a call for a one world government/leader. Technology is in place now to track every human being and control their ability to buy or sell. Pope Francis has spearheaded and promotes a one world religion. The Abrahamic House, set to open this year, is an interfaith effort of Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

The globalist elites want to reduce the population, who are considered useless eaters destroying the climate/planet, and through AI/transhumanism become gods themselves. Interestingly enough, layered over all these conditions are two more major prophetic signs to note: people (even in the Church) will mock and scoff at the idea of the last days/Rapture being near, and they will be living in a state of false normality as in the days of Noah. Despite The world’s having become so wicked, so perverse that Scripture says the thoughts and intents of every person were completely evil all the time, people will be eating and drinking (socializing), marrying and giving in marriage, (business as usual)–up until the day the flood came. Blinded by Normalcy bias.

We cannot afford to be ignorant on this topic. People’s eternal destinies are at stake. Believing in Jesus now, assures that an individual will be included in the Rapture, that supernatural event in which Jesus literally “catches up” all who believe in Him to take them to heaven during the Tribulation before the seven years of judgment begin.

Simeon and Anna lived in holy expectation. Do you? Are you a mocker, dismissive of the rapture mania, focused on planning for your career, education, retirement, next vacation? An honest look at the world around us reveals the normal we once knew is gone. Normal isn’t coming back, Jesus is. Judgment is coming; it is on the horizon. It cannot be stopped; God has decreed it.

Luke says in chapter 21 verse 28: Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Are you watching and waiting like Simeon and Anna?

There is only one way to be eligible for the Great Escape, believe in the atoning death of Jesus for your personal sin, ask His forgiveness, give Him your life–see the steps for this on the Home page of this site. Yes, it will be possible to believe in Jesus after the Rapture and be saved for eternity, even though present believers will be gone. But. Why allow yourself to go through the most horrific time in human history before Jesus physically returns at His Second Coming? Why wait?