THE COMING DESOLATIONS

THE COMING DESOLATIONS

The events currently happening in our world today are so terrifying that the hearts of men are beginning to fail both believers and unbelievers alike. Every nation of the world seem to be fulfilling bible prophecies. We see the scriptures been played out before our very eyes daily. The actors on stage earth do not realise that they are acting the scripts exactly as it was written by the hand of the Almighty. The whole of heaven is focused on earth watching the events unfolding as divinely orchestrated. 

The majority of earth’s population wish these terrible events are not happening. A certain percentage of the church wish they could pray away these times. Only a few understand that these events must need come to pass so that the scriptures might be fulfilled. If God be God and his word be true then the earth should be ready for the greatest disaster of all times.

If these days of vengeance must of necessity come to pass just as God’s word said, what then is the hope of the church at these times? Many are already losing faith, doubting the existence of God and this is just the beginning of sorrow. The gravity of terror coming upon the earth is such that the hearts of men will fail because of fear. In the very words of Jesus you will see how He described the coming woes.

⁷ “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

⁸ He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

¹⁰ Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³ And so you will bear testimony to me. ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ Everyone will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ Stand firm, and you will win life.

²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. ²² For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. ²³ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Mancoming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”{Luke 21:7-28 NIV}

                                                                                         

A careful look at this prophecy will reveal that Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to pray to stop the wars but said to them not to be afraid because these things must happen first. He went further to say to them that the end is not yet.

He told them to stand up and lift up their heads when they see these things begin to happen because their redemption draws near. I know that a lot more terrible events will happen in the coming year. A lot of our brethren have been killed and many more people will be killed. Many more nations will rise against nations and many more military alliances will be formed. Strange things will happen that will shake nations and the Church will wonder why God should allow such events to happen. 

Many will lose faith and some of the very elect will be deceived but this is what I want the Church to know “STAND UP AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR.

If these events do not happen in the coming years, then God’s word would cease to be true. If we could pray these events away, preventing them from happening, then God’s word could be doubted but we all know that God’s word is true and never lies. If these prophecies about the times must of necessity come to pass, what then should be the disposition of the church?

³ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

⁴ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

⁹ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

¹⁰ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

¹¹ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

¹² And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

¹³ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. {Matthew 24:3-14}

Jesus said in verse 14 above that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations before the end will come. This is where the church should stand. Yes the gospel of the kingdom must be preached unto all nations. This suggests to me that in the years to come, God will be raising an army of preachers who will evangelize the world. There shall be great salvation like never before. Many will be turned unto the Lord. World evangelists will emerge and stand up to proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus fearlessly even in the face of persecution.

Satan is also raising a demonic horde, an army of possessed tyrants who will further the course of Satan. They will persecute the believers in Christ and kill many. His agenda will be propagated so quickly because he knows that he has but a short time. He will possess political leaders and the military and use them to cause havoc in every nation. All their plans will be to exterminate the people of God. What they wouldn’t know is that they are been used to fulfil the scriptures just as God had planned it.

⁹ Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing. ¹⁰ They shouted in a loud voice, “Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?” ¹¹ Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been.{Rev 6:9-11 GNT}

 Amidst all these, the Lord’s fearless army will be ready to die for the course of the gospel and many people all over the world shall come to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the earth. The most intriguing part of the prophecy is that all of these events are a pointer to the fact that OUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR. How should the Church prepare for this redemption? What is expected of her?.........to be continued in my next article 

SAVED FROM THE WRATH TO COME

SAVED FROM the WRATH to come

⁹ Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

¹⁰ For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. {Romans 5:9-10}

My greatest surprise for the Church is the ignorance of the truth that we have been saved from wrath. Most believers are still looking forward to God’s wrath to come upon the church and hence to escape the wrath they struggle to keep the laws of Moses in order to look righteous before God. They claim to believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection but fail to believe that He is the only one who can save them from God’s wrath. The bible says “being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” To be justified means to be declared not guilty, to be judged innocent. It is by His blood that we are justified not by our works. It is by his blood that we are saved from the wrath to come.

²⁵ For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath.^[g] In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. ²⁶ And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins.

But isn’t this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins. {Romans 3:25-26 TLB}

God sees our sins, looks at His blood and says “you are not guilty”. He declares us innocent even though we are actually guilty of sin. He does this because of the blood of Jesus that was shed for the remission and forgiveness of sins. When God sees the blood, He passes over our sins.

⁷ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; {Ephesians 1:7}

¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: {Colossians 1:13-14}

We receive forgiveness instead of wrath because of His blood. Thanks be to the Father who has translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear son. In this kingdom of His dear son, we are saved from wrath because of His blood. No one in this kingdom faces God’s wrath, because where there is forgiveness wrath is silenced. We are saved from wrath through Christ Jesus. He is the propitiation for our sins. He is our mercy seat. God looks at His blood and His anger is averted.

¹⁴ And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

¹⁵ Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

¹⁶ And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. {Leviticus 16:14-16}

In the old tabernacle, the high priest was asked to enter the holy place and to sprinkle the blood of the bullock with his finger upon the mercy seat and before it seven times. He then will kill a goat as a sin offering for the people and take the blood within the veil and repeat the same sprinkling procedures. This was to make atonement for the sins of the children of Israel so that God would forgive them and not destroy them with His wrath.

If God’s wrath was averted in the time of old by the blood of bulls and goats that could not take away sins, how much more now shall the sinless blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ grant us forgiveness and pardon from God’s wrath.

¹¹ But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

¹² Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. {Hebrews 9:11-12}

He has obtained eternal redemption for us and we are eternally redeemed. A people who are eternally redeemed are eternally forgiven and saved from God’s wrath. He is our atonement and we are saved from wrath through Him.

¹¹ And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. {Romans 5:11}

He made peace between us and God and freed us from God’s wrath. He took the wrath for our sake. He stood in our place and God poured out His wrath upon Him for our sake. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him and wound Him sore just so that we will be saved from wrath.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

¹¹ He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.{Isaiah 53:3-12}

His soul was made an offering for sin, not the life of a goat as in the old tabernacle. The very soul of Christ Jesus was made to suffer travail. He was put to grief and wounded for our transgressions. If anyone would just know Him and accept Him today, such a one is justified and declared innocent. He poured out His soul unto death to save us from wrath. We cannot be saved by our own life. It is by His life that we are saved.

¹⁰ For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. {Romans 5}

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into this wicked world to bring to us eternal life through his death. 10 In this act we see what real love is: it is not our love for God but his love for us when he sent his Son to satisfy God’s anger against our sins.{1John 4:9-10 TLB}

He didn’t reconcile us to God by His death so that we can face God’s wrath. He took the wrath so that we will be saved from it. He died to justify us not to condemn us to wrath. What awaits us is therefore not wrath but glory. For Christ in us is our hope of glory. We hope for glory not wrath. What we look forward to is not fearful judgement but salvation of our souls. 

In the words of CH. Spurgeon, the truth I have been trying to communicate to you could be buttressed:

God never punishes his children in the sense of avenging justice: he chastens as a father does his child, but he never punishes his redeemed as a judge does a criminal. It would be unjust to exact punishment from redeemed souls since Christ has been punished in their place. How can the Lord punish twice for one offense? If Christ took my sins and stood as my substitute, then there is no wrath of God for me; and though my cup may be bitter, yet there cannot be a single drop of Almighty wrath in it…

Oh! what a mercy that Sinai has ceased to thunder! Lord, let Jesus say what he will so long as Moses is quieted forever.

~CH Spurgeon, Sermon: Why Do Bad Things Happen? 1864

By faith we believe that we have been saved from wrath through Christ. He is not coming back again to punish our sins but to save our souls. We look forward in eager expectation to His return

²⁸ In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him. {Hebrews 9:28GNT}

⁹ For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, {1Thess 5:9}

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and have an unwavering faith that He is your righteousness and the propitiation for your sin, then I am glad to announce to you that you have an appointment with God and it is for SALVATION not for WRATH.

¹⁰ And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. 

{1Thess 1:10}

THE PASSOVER LAMB

THE PASSOVER LAMB

In an instance, God was about to destroy the first born sons in the land of Egypt and judge the gods of the land. He was furious and determine to smite the first sons of the Egyptians but His own people were also in the land of Egypt. The angel of death was visiting the land that night and God will have to make a distinction between His people and the wicked people of Egypt else He will destroy the righteous with the wicked.

 ⁴ So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, ⁵ and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who isbehind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. ⁶ There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. ⁷ But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel{Exodus 11:4-7 ESV}

Far be it from God that He should do such a thing as destroying His people with the people of the world. He always has a plan of salvation for His people. God had to speak to Moses on how to secure the people’s lives so that the angel of death will not kill God’s own people with the Egyptians.

³ Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

⁴ And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

⁶ And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

⁷ And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. {Exodus 12:3-7}

The escape from God’s wrath was a lamb that was slain and whose blood was to be placed on the side post of the house and upper door post. Every house shall slay a lamb that is without blemish and it must be a male and one year old. Note that God didn’t say the children of Israel must be without blemish, He wasn’t going to examine them but their lamb. Once the lamb is spotless then its blood will be accepted and the people’s lives are spared. Jesus Christ is that Passover lamb that was slain. He is the lamb that was slain from the foundations of the world for the remission of sins

¹⁸ God paid a ransom to save you from the impossible road to heaven which your fathers tried to take, and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver as you very well know. ¹⁹ But he paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. ²⁰ God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but only recently was he brought into public view, in these last days, as a blessing to you.{1Peter 1:18-20 TLB}

⁷ You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover Festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.{1Corinthians 5:7 GNT}

Christ Jesus is our Passover. When God sees His blood, He passes by us and the angel of death does not touch us. He alone is spotless and without blemish. All we need to do is identify with Him and His blood serves as our escape from God’s wrath. God examines Him and He is always pure and hence we are accepted by God through Him. If God decides to examine us we would all die because sin will always be found in us. God hates sin and cannot behold iniquity, hence to spare our lives, He has decided not to examine us but our lamb Jesus Christ. Once our lamb is spotless then we also are spotless. If you O Lord should mark iniquity, who can stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be revered. The blood of our lamb Jesus was shed for the forgiveness of sins.

¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

¹³ And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. {Exodus 12:12-13]

God said “when I see the blood, I will Passover you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt” All God is looking out for is the blood of the lamb. He didn’t come that night to search out their sins or scrutinize their self-righteousness. No he was looking for just one thing; the blood of the lamb. He didn’t go into their houses to search if there was any Egyptian inside. All He needed to see to pass by was the Blood of the lamb.

 If peradventure an Egyptian first born son was in the house of an Israelite, I believe He would be spared as long as the blood of the lamb was on that doorpost. The death angel didn’t go into the houses, he needed to just see the blood on the outside and he would pass over. I also think that if an Israelite first born son was in the house of an Egyptian, he would die if the blood was not placed on the doorpost. Anyone who had a relationship with the blood of the lamb was spared. Anyone who had faith enough to use the blood of the lamb that night was saved from death.

²¹ Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

²² And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

²³ For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

God will never allow the destroyer to come into our houses as long as we identify with the blood of the lamb. He will never smite us in His anger once we accept Jesus Christ and have faith in His blood to take away our sins. He will keep examining our lamb not us. Because our lamb is always accepted, we also are always accepted. We live, move and have our being in Him. He was revealed to take away our sins and stands as a token for us to avert God’s anger from us.

²⁹ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.{John 1:29}

The Lamb has been sacrificed for sins over two thousand years ago. There remains no more sacrifice for sins. Sins have been done away with for good. What is available to us now is forgiveness and for the world remission of sins. If any sinner would repent today there will be remission for such a one. Where sin increases, grace increases much more and where grace increases, God’s wrath is quenched. Iniquity and sins are no longer remembered. They are blotted out like a thick cloud. He blots it out for His name sake. Now the slate is wiped clean and God doesn’t keep record of sins. When He sees the blood He passes over.

                                                                                     

²⁶ And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

²⁷ That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

²⁸ And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

²⁹ And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

³⁰ And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

Yes, He will smite the earth in anger and vex the wicked in His sore displeasure. He shall destroy the heathen in His wrath and make them drink the cup of His fury but the righteous shall escape His wrath and not one of them will be destroyed with the wicked. God will protect them.  The righteous will possess the land forever but the wicked will perish in God’s wrath.

²⁸ for the Lord loves what is right
    and does not abandon his faithful people.
He protects them forever,
    but the descendants of the wicked will be driven out.
²⁹ The righteous will possess the land
    and live in it forever. {Psalms 37:28-29 GNT}

Our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed already and we have been made righteous by His blood because we believe in Him. We will live in the land prepared for us forever. We will not be moved neither shall any plague come near our dwelling. Only with our eyes we shall see the reward of the wicked. A thousand shall fall by our side and ten thousand by our right hand but it shall not come near us. We have taken refuge in Christ and His blood covers us.

We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods.

² This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. ³ For he rescues you from every trap and protects you from the fatal plague. ⁴ He will shield you with his wings! They will shelter you. His faithful promises are your armor. ⁵ Now you don’t need to be afraid of the dark anymore, nor fear the dangers of the day; ⁶ nor dread the plagues of darkness, nor disasters in the morning.^[a]

⁷ Though a thousand fall at my side, though ten thousand are dying around me, the evil will not touch me. ⁸ I will see how the wicked are punished, but I will not share it. ⁹ For Jehovah is my refuge! I choose the God above all gods to shelter me. ¹⁰ How then can evil overtake me or any plague come near? ¹¹ For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go.

 ¹² They will steady you with their hands to keep you from stumbling against the rocks on the trail.¹³ You can safely meet a lion or step on poisonous snakes, yes, even trample them beneath your feet!

¹⁴ For the Lord says, “Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will make him great because he trusts in my name. ¹⁵ When he calls on me, I will answer; I will be with him in trouble and rescue him and honor him. ¹⁶ I will satisfy him with a full life^[b] and give him my salvation.”{Psalm 91:1-16 TLB}