Perilous Times

I so want to talk about the events happening in Israel these past several days, but if you’re like me, you’ve been keeping up with it and are as sickened and saddened as I am. As I write this, I cannot help but have to wipe away the tears that I don’t seem able to hold back. The pro-evil people wreaking evil in Israel plus the pro-evil people demonstrating against Israel – even members of our own government. It’s hard to be both angry and sad at the same time. I will let the scripture say more; I will not.

Yesterday evening, I was having dinner with a close friend, sitting at a bar next to a woman I had never met, but eventually did. She had difficulty speaking seemingly almost drunk but not so. A brain aneurysm had impacted her speech and both my friend and I had a good time in conversation with her. Before leaving, I laid hands on her head and prayed for her, even though that is a bar “no-no”.

I later wrote to my friend saying:-

“Encounters like this drain me. [xxxxx] is a beautiful spirit – but I am not the son of God. I am only His servant. It drains me. Beware of this and don’t get sucked into something you don’t want”, giving her an “out” if she felt embarrassed by me. She wrote back saying:-

“the things you worry about me being able to handle are the things I love about you”.

I wish I could carry that to everyone, because it’s how I feel about Jesus – the things I love about Him.

The passages that follow are from what is known as the Olivet Discourse – when Jesus is talking with His disciples as they are reclining on the Mount of Olives. The Olivet Discourse has been debated among biblical scholars for as long as The Bible has been available, and I don’t want to get into a debate about whether or not there will be a rapture, and I am not an expert, but I think by presenting in the way I have, you, the reader, will understand.

The first passage is from The Message

“They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.

“In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

“Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come. Matthew 24:9-14 [The Message]

The next is from the New American Standard Bible [NASB].
A few things first:

1. the phrase “- let the reader understand –“, must have been inserted later as it does not fit in the conversational language.
2. Judea is what we now know as the West Bank of Israel.
3. an abomination is “something that causes disgust or hatred”;
4. desolation is “a state of complete emptiness or destruction.”

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place – let the reader understand – then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! Moreover, pray that when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Matthew 24:15-28 [NASB]

Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved.

Lord Jesus. Give me the courage to speak of You boldly. Give me the strength to stand against strongholds. Give me the discernment to know false prophets. I pray this in Your name. Amen.