None of the Wicked Will Understand

"When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory." Psalm 102:16 Tucked away in the Old Testament is this prophecy for our day. The Scripture gives us a time-frame for the events of "the last days." Imagine - in a passage written 3,000 years ago, the Lord tells us about the end of this age. We are told the end will come "when the Lord shall build up Zion." Zion is another name for Israel, used repeatedly as such throughout the Bible. Because of their rebellion against God, and after many warnings, God brought judgment upon Israel. In 70 AD, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. There is no nation on earth where the Jews weren't scattered to, and there they remained for almost 2,000 years. And during that 2,000 years the land of Israel remained desolate. It didn't rain there. No one who went in and tried to make it livable was able. The land lay desolate. But throughout the Bible the Lord repeats many times that "the last days" will be signaled by the return of the nation of Israel. Furthermore, he says, it will be in that time period when Israel is being built up, that HE, the Lord, will come. God signals that that is the last generation of the age - in the days of the restoration of Israel, which is happening now, in our generation. vs 18: "This will be written FOR THE LAST GENERATION, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord." "Ha'dor ha'acharon" - literally, "the generation, the last." A hundred years ago there was little interest in the events of the "last days." The time hadn't come. The nation of Israel didn't exist. The Jews were scattered throughout the world. Bible teachers, when they came to passages about the restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel - they taught that this must be symbolic because the idea of gathering Israel back to that land was all but impossible. But in "ha'dor ha'acharon," the last generation, God did the impossible. He fulfilled his Word literally, not symbolically. He started bringing them back to the land they left almost 2,000 years prior, and in May of 1948 the nation of Israel was reborn in her own land, the land of her forefathers, the land they left in 70 A.D. The impossible took place. And today, the nation of Israel has surely been restored, today she is among the most modern and successful nations on earth, even rivaling America. And she is also the most hated. "The wicked" despise Israel. We of this generation have watched as the Lord has built up Zion, and those who understand are watching for the rest of that passage to be fulfilled, namely, "HE shall appear in his glory." Those who study the prophecies of "the last days" know that one of the greatest of those prophets was the prophet Daniel, who wrote the Bible's "Book of Daniel." That's far too extensive a subject to delve into here; suffice it to say that he was given the keys to understanding "the last days" and was told that the prophecy wouldn't be understood until then, but that when the time comes, then the prophecy will be revealed. God said to Daniel: "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed UNTIL THE TIME OF THE END." Daniel 12:9 UNTIL the time of the end ...Yes! It is in THIS, our day, that the Book of Daniel, having been sealed throughout all those generations, has been opened to us. It is a fascinating subject and along with what Jesus filled in later, it has become the very foundation for all "last days" understanding. "Many shall be purified, made white, and refined. But the wicked shall do wickedly, AND NONE OF THE WICKED SHALL UNDERSTAND, but the wise shall understand." Daniel 12:10 Truly this is an exceedingly wicked generation, and how precisely did Daniel foretell that NONE of the wicked shall understand. The kings of the earth, the leaders in high places, the ambassadors, the media moguls, the professors, the experts - none of them understand. It's so plain to see, yet they do not see. They do not CARE to see. They scorn the Word of God, to follow their own agenda - which, as it turns out, is Satan's agenda for "the last days." Friends, the Lord has built up Zion and the time of his appearing is near. Much has been said about this generation, and much has been revealed to the teachers God has raised up. The Great Tribulation is soon to begin, and if you've read what Jesus said about those days, recorded in Matthew 24, as well as what is presented in the Book of Revelation - you don't want to be here for that. Jesus said that the time of the tribulation will be worse than anything the world has ever known since the very beginning. And it's nearly upon us. "For then there will be great tribulation, SUCH AS HAS NOT BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD until this time, no, nor ever shall be." Matthew 24:21 God is merciful and he has raised up men to bring this message to whoever will receive it. The word has been spoken far and wide. Friends, we know what's coming. We've seen the "blood moons," which are total eclipses of the moon that made the moon look red. Each of them fell on Biblical feast days, and ONLY on Biblical feast days, how much clearer could the Lord make it? We've seen the total eclipse of the sun. We've seen the Revelation 12 "great sign" in the heavens. And coinciding with the last signs, the Pope of Rome, who many believe is the "false prophet" of the Book of Revelation, is well on his way in uniting all religions in his program of "ecumenism," to fulfill the prophecy of a global religion. False gods rising, Islam taking over large parts of the world, beheadings as spoken of in the Book of Revelation are practiced widely. We had an illegal “president,” a man of lawlessness with no birth certificate, a man who bypassed Congress and defied the Supreme Court issuing evil by "executive order," and he changed the course of America. Sodomy (homosexuality) has been made legal. Babies murdered by the millions. And even now, another false “president,” sitting in the highest position in the land, a con man put up by the world's evil agenda whose goal is to reduce earth's population to 500 million, and they're well on their way with the program which most don't understand. Terrorists have flooded in through our borders. CERN is unleashing inconceivable things upon the earth, more scary than most people would be able to handle. If you can't see it, you fit right into Daniel's statement, "NONE of the wicked will understand." All these things have taken place publicly and no one can say they were not warned. The Lord has covered the earth with men of God who have made all these things clear - clear, that is, to those who want to know. The rest will not understand and will go into perdition. "But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." This Scripture divides mankind into two classes: those who understand, and those who don't care to. The wise and the wicked. Do not be found among the wicked. In the end - they're not going to make it. There is salvation only in Jesus Christ. His Word has revealed these things to us at the right time, and his mercy awaits all who turn to him - until that door is forever closed. In Noah's day, they didn't "get it" until the door was closed on the Ark. And the very same thing is happening now. None of the wicked understand. As Jesus said, the last days will be "as in the days of Noah."

A Complaining Spirit Is A Stench In God's Nostrils

The setting: Moses was leading the Jewish people through the wilderness on their way to the promised land. But they were not content. "Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and his anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp." Numbers 11:1 There are some sins that are particularly offensive to the Lord as we learn by the Lord's reaction to them, and one of them is complaining. You'd think this were a small sin, but in fact it is huge before God. Why is that? It's because it is the ultimate disrespect to the One who gives us life and provides for us all that we have. The focus of the complainer is on one's self, not on gratitude to his God. Observe in the life of one you know who is prone to complaining, and notice that that spirit is never satisfied. Regardless what is provided, that one will complain about something else. It's the very opposite of an attitude of gratitude. It's constantly looking after the lusts of the flesh and focusing on one more thing it wants. And if that one more thing is provided, the person will go on to complain about something else. This is a stench in the nostrils of God. vs 4-6: "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to lusting, so the children of Israel also wept again and said: 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!'” The Lord had provided for them the manna from heaven every single day, but they got tired of it and lusted for meat. So Moses took their complaint to the Lord and here's what the Lord said: vs 18:20 "Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, 'Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.' Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, 'Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?'” Yes, he gave them meat alright: vs 31:32 "Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea... ...all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail…" Complaining is not the way to go, it will profit you nothing. If the complainer persists, sometimes the Lord will give him quail till it comes out of his nostrils, but it will not be a blessing, it will be a curse. "They soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. AND HE GAVE THEM THEIR REQUEST BUT SENT LEANNESS INTO THEIR SOUL." Psalm 106:13-15 "...but sent leanness into their soul…" The bottom line is that God has a unique plan for every person, and he will provide ALL that person needs to succeed in his or her call, and more. Recognize that in your life. Be thankful for his particular purpose for you, and be confidant that all you need to succeed in God's plan for your life will be provided you. Confess the sin of dissatisfaction and repent. Live in an attitude of gratitude and more will be given to you, not as a curse, but as God's blessing on the appreciative.

Choose The Inner Circle

"Then they began to plead with him to depart from their region." Mark 5:17 The context: Jesus went to a town called Gadara and there was a man there totally demonized, who lived outside among the tombs. This man was known by all the residents nearby. He had been constrained in the past, but had super-human strength and broke out of any chains they put on him. So Jesus casts the demons out of the man, and the man is instantly healed. The demons fled into a herd of pigs and the pigs ran violently over the cliff and were drowned in the sea. A case in point here to anyone who doesn't believe there are such things as real demons: These were not "attitudes" or mental illnesses, they were demons. Attitudes and mental illnesses don't run violently over cliffs. When the residents of that area saw the man sitting at Jesus' feet totally healed and in his right mind, they were shaken and asked him to get out of the area. They asked Jesus to LEAVE ...!!! Many people just want the status quo. Their lives are set up, they go to work, come home and watch tv. On weekends they run errands, then do the things they like to do or maybe work around the house. They like it that way. So when anything out of the ordinary happens, they just don't want to go there. Walking with the Lord and creator of the universe is quite an adventure. You'll reach the highs and the lows in life. You'll be scared out of your wits, but on the other hand you'll be left in total awe when the Lord works his works so amazingly in your life. Don't run from him. All his works in the lives of his people are specifically and uniquely designed for each one, to grow them up to maturity and to bring about the blessings he so desires to bring to them. But that's only for those who totally sell out to him. It's for those willing to obey him in trying circumstances, no matter what. It's for those who don't ask him to leave when unusual things happen. (And they will!) Your salvation doesn't depend on walking closely with the Lord. Salvation is a free gift no matter what. But you can go deeper if you're willing to face the challenge of walking by faith. When Jesus walked this earth many followed him but there were only twelve who walked closely with him, and of that twelve there were only three, Peter, James, and John, who were in his inner circle. You can choose whether you want to just take salvation but remain on the outside, or whether you're willing to take the deeper walk and be closer to him. It will depend on your level of faith and your love for him. And it will depend on your understanding of how what we do in this life will affect our standing in eternity. At one point in my life, just before an extremely traumatic story was about to begin, the Lord came to me in my livingroom and asked, "Do you REALLY trust me?" He asked it in a tone of voice that made me really think about it before answering, and I thought about it long and hard. Then I said, "Yes, Lord, I do." And shortly afterwards that story began in which I probably wouldn't have been able to make it had he not personally spoken to me beforehand. But knowing that - gave me the courage to walk through it WITH HIM. And now when I look back, I realize that it was one of the best things that ever happened to me, because of what it created in me, and the depth of intimacy I entered into by following close to HIM. Was it worth it? Yes, a thousand times over. I learned that God is to be trusted no matter what, because he is trustworthy, he is faithful. And those are absolutes. Trust him. Dare to ask him to take you deeper, to bring you closer. You'll never regret it. And for all eternity you will be thankful that you made that choice.