Look for blessings in plain, brown paper packages

Anne Graham Lotz, who lost her father, her husband,

and was diagnosed with cancer in the space of two years,

said at the Texas Governor’s Prayer Breakfast to look
for blessings in “plain, brown, ordinary packages”. 

“Then Job said: ​​‘No doubt you are the wisest of all people, and wisdom will die with you!’ (Job 12:1-2).

 This verse made me laugh out loud today.

Context: Job had suffered so much, and his friends came to “comfort” him. He gets a little annoyed with them (a little? He DOES have the patience of Job!) and says, “when you die, wow, all of wisdom will leave the earth, since you are sooo smart.”

But it’s not just his friends who think that they are all that! Consider the pundits, the evolutionists who believe that LIFE came from nothing.

Job 12 continues, “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ​​Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. ​​Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, ​In whose hand is the life of every living thing, ​​and the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:7-10)

Now obviously you can’t ask a bear or a bird or a big-mouthed bass to teach you about the Creator, but just look at them and ask yourself, “Did this just happen to happen?” Does life come from lifelessness? Look around you, Job is saying, there is a God, and He is in charge. “What you know, I also know. I am not inferior to you,” Job says in 13:2.

Most people who reject God give a reason for their unbelief. Somehow, their view of God did not line up with what they thought God should be or do, so they rejected Him.

Not Job. Life was certainly not turning out like he wanted or how he planned things to go. He lost his job. He lost his 401K. He lost his family. His wife tells him to drop dead.

In the middle of it all, Job still says, ​​“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” (Job 13:15). He only asks two things: “don’t leave me, and don’t let me be horribly afraid of You,” (13:22).  

Anne Graham Lotz, who lost her father, her husband, and was diagnosed with cancer in the space of two years, said at the Texas Governor’s Prayer Breakfast to look for blessings in “plain, brown, ordinary packages”.

“For my birthday one year, my mother sent me a package wrapped in plain brown paper. When I opened it, there was a gaudy, multicolored straw basket inside, stuffed with tissue paper. I actually thought my mother had totally lost her good senses! I tossed out the tissue paper, wondered what in the world I was going to do with the basket, then called to thank her for her ‘gift.’ Mother laughed when I thanked her for the basket then asked what I thought about what was inside it. I told her that nothing was inside except tissue paper and I had thrown that out. She responded urgently, ‘Oh, no, Anne! INSIDE that tissue paper is your real birthday gift!’
“I ran outside, opened up the trashcan and went through the garbage piece by piece until I came up with the wad of tissue paper. Inside was a small gold ring with a lapis lazuli stone that had been taken from the flooring of the Shushan Palace where Queen Esther had lived with King Xerxes!

“I had thrown out a priceless treasure simply because of the way it was wrapped!”

Can you trust God, even in horrible times? Job says yes, even if it is wrapped in the plain brown paper packaging of pain and suffering.

The Big Angel and the Little Bitter-Sweet Book

Think about something that is bitter-sweet. In Revelation chapter 10, we see a big angel with a little book that is sweet and sour to John. And even though the little book is opened and unsealed, we can only guess how bitter-sweet its contents will be.

The Big Angel

¹I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

The “mighty angel” coming down from heaven has characteristics and descriptions similar to Jesus, but this is not Christ. A rainbow was around God’s throne (Revelation 4:3), Jesus’s face at the transfiguration shined like the sun (Matthew 17:2), and Jesus’s feet were like bronze glowing in a fiery furnace (Revelation 1:15). Jesus Christ, however, does not return to the earth until later so this angel is not Jesus.

If this mighty angel were Christ, the question would arise, why wouldn’t John specifically identify Him as Christ? Many believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the godhead, appeared in Old Testament times as “the Angel of the Lord.” However, after His incarnation, He was never referred to as such again, and certainly not as merely “another … angel.” Instead, this mighty angel has the attributes and power of heaven, but he is still a messenger and a representative of God.

This vision is spiritually seen by John and it is for John’s benefit. This mighty angel is the second of three “mighty” or “strong” (Greek: ischuros) angels whom John sees in this apocalyptic book (the first is in Revelation 5:2, the second is recorded here in chapter 10, and the third is in Revelation 18:21). In another trilogy of angelic beings, this is the first of three angels who come down from heaven (see also Revelation 18:1 and 20:1).

The clothing of the angel with a cloud identifies power and judgment. The rainbow signifies God’s promise, his face shining like the sun signifies the glory of the Lord and God’s purity. His feet being like pillars of fire indicates the solid foundation of God’s holy judgment.

Being on the sea and on the land signifies God’s total and final judgment which will permeate the entire earth. Artists frequently paint this angel as being huge in stature, but other than the angel standing on both land and sea, John does not indicate this. These descriptions however are secondary to the fact of what the angel holds in his hand: the little book.

The Little Book

²He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

The “little book” (Greek: biblaridion) is a different word than what was used in the opening of the seven seals. This one is open, not sealed. Just as we do not know the contents of the seven thunders (Revelation 10:3-4) , we do not know the contents of the little scroll. However, we do know the results of it: it is sweet to the taste, but bitter to the stomach. Christians greatly look forward to Christ’s return, which will be sweet, especially for those who become believers during the Tribulation. However, when John begins to truly digest the enormity of the upcoming “days of the voice of the seventh angel,” such calamitous and catastrophic judgment makes John nauseous.

Zephaniah 1:14 describes the noise of the Day of the Lord. Those days, which I believe are the final three and a half years of the Tribulation, will be “a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.” Because of the horrendous sins of the world, “their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.” (Zephaniah 1:15-18)

The Loud Cry

³ and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴ Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” ⁵The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, ⁷ but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

The loud cry of this angel is compared to a lion’s roar. Amos 3:8 says, “A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”

Proverbs 19:12 says, “The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.”

Isaiah 31:4 proclaims, "As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey…so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.”

This loud voice is a signal for great terror. The seven thunders, which some refer to Psalm 29:3-9 as the thunderous voice of the Lord, and its seven attributes were revealed to John, but a voice from heaven (the first of seven times that John will hear the voice from heaven as he did in John 4:1) commands John not to write them.

The Seven Thunders

The seven thunders apparently utter seven things which will be revealed in the end times but is not for us to know now. The mighty angel swears by God (again, another affirmation that this is not Jesus Christ) that there should be no more delay. (Now, in the King James version, this word “chronos” is translated as “there should be time no longer” but this does not mean that chronological time itself shall end, but rather like the phrase we use today, “time is running out.”)

Notice that the sounding of the seventh angel will take place for several days and at the sounding, God’s mystery will be finished. That mystery is said to have been “declared” to His servants. A mystery in the Bible frequently means “truth hidden to the world but revealed to His servants the prophets and to the church.”

The mystery is to be “evangelized” or declared (the Greek is “euengelisen,”; the same word from which we get the word “gospel” and “evangelism”. Thus, the mystery of salvation is not yet completed, but it is drawing to a close. The evangelistic word is used again in Revelation 14:6, when another angel flies in heaven and has the “everlasting gospel” (euangelion) to preach (euangelisai). God is still longsuffering, wanting people to be saved. 

Some, most notably Marvin Rosenthal, have used this text and other places as evidence of a supposed “pre-wrath rapture”, a recent theory which emerged in the late 1980s. In other words, some believe that the church, or God’s mystery, has been in the world through this part of the book of Revelation, but would soon be taken out, at the final trumpet judgment. If this were so, the church would only be spared of God’s final wrath or the seven bowl judgments. However, this “pre-wrath rapture” is not likely, because we see that the “sounding” will take place over several days (Revelation 10: 7). Like the seventh seal which contained the seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet will include the seven bowl judgments.

 

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” ¹⁰ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.
¹¹ And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

                                                            

The same voice, presumably God’s voice since it speaks from heaven, which he heard in verse 4 speaks again. Up until this point, John has apparently been observing these events from the perspective of heaven, but now he is on the earth as he goes to the angel who is standing on the land and sea. John later states in chapter 13 that he was standing on the sand of the sea. These two passages are significant when John measures of the temple, which strongly indicates he is measuring the earthly temple and not a heavenly temple.

The example of eating a scroll was also used in Ezekiel 2:8-3:14. In Ezekiel’s case, the scroll was filled with lamentations, expressions of mourning and woe and though it was sweet to the taste, it resulted in Ezekiel’s bitter prophecy against his own people of Israel.

Whether John and Ezekiel literally ate the scrolls is not nearly as important as the fact that they spiritually digested God’s message and then prophesied to the people. The last part of this chapter uses the phrase “peoples, nations, tongues” but adds the word “kings”. The “peoples, nations, tongues” phrase was used seven times in Revelation 5:9, 7:9, 11:9, 13:7, and 14:6, adding the word “tribes” (that is, the 12 tribes of Israel), and in Revelation 17:15, adding the  word “multitudes”.

But here, God and possibly also the angel tell John that he will prophesy again. There is no record of John ever testifying “before” kings. However, this book of Revelation has been read by peoples, nations, tongues, and kings for nearly 2,000 years.

Numerous charts like this one have been made to help diagram the events of Revelation and coincide it with Daniel’s 70^th week. Revelation 10 and 11 are seen as the mid-point of the book. 

Dominus Flevit

  The phrase means “The Lord Wept”. 

 The Daily Audio Bible on April 19 speaks about this place, based on Luke 19: a little chapel to commemorate where Jesus wept over Jerusalem because He knew the consequences that would come to those who reject the Lord's salvation. His tears extended beyond Jerusalem to all those who reject the things “that make for your peace.” (Luke 19:42)

A recent sermon spoke about emotions that may cause us to doubt God. Too often we forget that God also weeps. The Scriptures say that Jesus was a Man of Sorrows, well acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). The verse following, Isaiah 53:4, is sometimes translated as “He carried our sorrows”, and “It was our sorrows that weighed Him down”, and “He took up our pain and bore our sorrows”.

Are you disappointed, sorrowful, even in pain? Jesus weeps with you. It is not ungodly to sorrow, for Dominus Flevit; Jesus wept.

Isaiah 53 goes on and says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

In context, this well-known passage seems to indicate that His wounds were not merely to pay the penalty for our sins, but more profoundly, that His bearing of our transgressions, iniquities, and chastisement was for our peace and our healing.

Dominus Flevit, a chapel 
shaped like a teardrop, 
 is built along the descent
to Jerusalem, a memorial
to the place where
Jesus wept.

In other words, He suffers and grieves with us, not with mere sympathy, but empathy. If we hurt, He hurts, and when God Incarnate hurts, weeps, and cries, He shares and carries and lifts our hurts, our tears, our wails.

I have wailed in sorrow. I’ve been dazed by hurts. I’ve seen griefs from afar and pains so point blank it burned a forever scar. And so have you.

But Jesus never sees a hurt from afar. Every hurt, every senseless tragedy and horrifying pain is as close to Him as it is to those in humanity who are the closest to that suffering.

And if we can fathom it, He stands even closer.

He bears the sorrow of the victim and bears the blame from the mourners. He listens alongside of those who are anguished beyond being able to bear the pain. He gives breath to those who otherwise could not breathe because of the weight.

And He carries them and the weight of sorrow. Luke 19 says,

⁴¹ Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

In Hebrews 5, the writer records that Jesus offered up prayers with vehement cries and tears. The marvelous hymn of “My Savior’s Love” misses a profound point. Jesus indeed did have tears for His own griefs. Yes, He did indeed “sweat drops of blood for mine” but He very much a human. He felt pain as we do. That does not diminish His marvelous and wonderful love for us. It makes Jesus, the Son of God, more human.

⁷ who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Let the Son of God bear your sorrow and the Son of Man share and carry your grief. 

Be Like-Minded

 Early in ministry, I worked with someone that no matter what I asked, no matter how many favors I did for him, no matter the need I or someone else had, he had one stock answer:

“I’d really like to, but I just can’t.”  

It wasn’t just a time or two. And it wasn’t just me. Others would also say he was not a team player.

It was at that time, I came across Philippians 2 and committed it to memory: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others,” Philippians 2:4.

It’s not just this verse but it’s all over chapter 2. It is a great “team-building” chapter to memorize, especially in the work of the church.

The chapter begins, “Therefore, if there is…” and here Paul lists five things that should bind us together as a church. You will have to look them up for yourself. Go ahead, get your Bible, I’ll wait.

Got your Bible? As I was saying (or writing, er, typing), those five encouragements lead to three dependencies, beginning and ending with our mindset, the others being our heart and our actions.

“being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, (being) of one mind.” And then here is the kicker: “in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.”

That couldn’t be right. I’m okay with “but also look out for the interests of others,” but esteem others better than myself? I looked up the word in Greek, and sure enough Paul used the same word three times in the same letter. It means “others as more supreme”. The word is “hyper-echo” with the implication that you have to say it and hear it over and over again: “esteem others higher, esteem others higher.”

As if that wasn’t enough, if you still have your Bibles open, keep reading: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Yep, he did it. He played the Christ-card. Three times in verses 2 and 3, Paul talks about mind-set, and then he mentions our mind-set should be like Christ’s.

Paul talks a lot about being one-minded. Look back at Philippians 1:27. Being one-minded makes our conduct “worthy of the gospel.” Why? Because that was the mind-set of Jesus. That was the prayer of Jesus (remember John 17:22, “may they be one, just as We are one…”)

Look also at Philippians 2:15, “…have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise…” and then in 2:16, “let us be of the same mind.”

I’m seeing a pattern here. If you don’t see it, look once more, now at verse 20: “for I have no one more like-minded,” than Timothy. Lowly Timothy, who felt inferior because of his youth. Obedient Timothy, who went to EXTREMES in his service (just read Acts 16:3). Everyone else seeks after their own, but not Timothy. He sincerely cares for your estate.

If you don’t think this applies to you, read Philippians 2 again, or do what I am doing and memorize the chapter. Maybe it will change your mind!

The VOICE of the Lord Psalm 29

From April 4, 2020...

 Are you wondering where God is in all of this Coronavirus crisis?

Read Psalm 29 (It’s short, only 11 verses).

1 Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, ​​Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
2 ​​Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; ​Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
​3 ​​The voice of the LORD is over the waters; ​​The God of glory thunders; ​​The LORD is over many waters.
4 ​​The voice of the LORD is powerful; ​​The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 ​​The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, ​​Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 ​​He makes them also skip like a calf, ​​Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 ​​The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
​8 ​​The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; ​​The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 ​​The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, ​​And strips the forests bare; ​​And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
10 ​​The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, ​​And the LORD sits as King forever.
11 ​​The LORD will give strength to His people; ​​The LORD will bless His people with peace.

Have you had silent times from God? I have.

There are times when God seemingly cannot be found.

Imagine Job when he said, “I cry to you for help and you do ...not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.” (Job 30:20).

Just a few chapters earlier than Psalm 29, Psalm 22 shows David crying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.”

You probably know this, but isn't it interesting that Jesus also had times of “silences from God,” even though He was God in the flesh.

Certainly when John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus felt the thunderous silence of God.

When he was alone in the desert and being tempted of the devil, there is no evidence that God was speaking.

When He was on the cross, we even read that He quoted Psalm 22, questioning why God would have forsaken Him.

Yet, there were also times when He also heard the Voice of the Lord, a literal voice, while others heard only thunder.

At His baptism, as well as on the mount of transfiguration. Even when the Greeks came to Him, the voice of the Lord thundered.

There also were times when He heard His Father's voice but not with physical ears, but the ears of the Spirit. We too must listen for the voice of the Lord but also for the silence of the Lord.

Both His voice and His silence can be ear-shattering, spiritually speaking.

Both the silence of the Lord and the voice of the Lord are needed for our spiritual growth. Both should be expected.

And both should be welcomed.

Is God near? Listen for His voice.

Does seem distant? He promises that He is not (Read Psalm 37:28 and Heb. 13:5).

His silences quiet us so we can then hear The Voice of the Lord.

We must just trust God for our dreams

     Challenge # 1: Today, write your own "I have a dream" speech. Where do you see God's will for you in 5 years (March, 2026)?

Challenge #2: What must you do TODAY to begin / continue the path to achieve #1?

What needs to happen by April 1? September 1? March 1, 2021?

Write it down, then MARCH toward your dream. The journey to a dream makes the dream become reality.

Every step of your journey will be one step closer to perhaps even more and even better than your dream.

Each step will be your reality.

Don't expect all to be excited for your dream: "Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more." Genesis 35:7. But it is not their dream, it is yours. Do not be discouraged. Stay on the journey.

Don't expect it to be easy: Joseph's dream led him to rejection, slavery, and prison. You may have to go alone. But every hard step is one step closer. Stay on the path.

Don't expect others to remember. "Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him." Genesis 40:23. You need to remember and rehearse it in your heart and remind others who are on the journey with you. Stay on the map.

Don't expect it right away. "For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay." Habakkuk 2:3. Sometimes God's will happens while you are waiting for God's will to happen. Life is a journey and God will walk with you along the path, not just at the destination. We don't live in the past. We don't live in the future. We live in the moment. Enjoy the scenery along the way. Stay in the moment.

Don't say, "It's too late for me. God saves the best to last, remember the water turning to wine? "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh...Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions." Remember God has put eternity on your heart, and God knows no age nor limitations of time.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11. Stay with the dream until it is reality.

Don't doubt God may have placed it on your heart. God speaks through dreams. Who put that desire in your heart? Psalm 34:7 says, "Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." Sometimes God tells you to reach for the sky, just to stretch you. No map is "as the crow flies"... sometimes the road will head east, west, and sometimes south, so that it can go eventually go north. It is never a failure to follow. Prepare and even expect and count on course adjustments. You don't need to see the destination to arrive there, you just must trust. Stay in the faith.

Finally, look to Jesus for your dreams. "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ," Galatians 1:12. Jesus knows the way, just follow your headlights. Stay with the Lord.

Is there a hell?

I recently preached a funeral message about heaven and it reminded me of a post I put on Facebook ten years ago. In 2011, Rob Bell openly questioned the existence of hell in his book Love Wins. More important than debating the reality of hell, I wrote the following about meditating on heaven!: 

After listening to a debate on whether there is a hell or not, I was impressed to ponder the realities of heaven.

 Examining the heights and marvelousness of heaven is certainly much more faith-affirming and works-inspiring than musing the travesties of hell.

  Don't get me wrong. Not even the depths of Dante's descriptions of hell, however misguided, could ever possibly begin to grasp the horrifying possibility of missing heaven, experiencing the eternal and everlasting presence of God and coexisting forever in His intimate knowledge through and in and of the Lord Jesus Christ. See John 17:3. 

  Perhaps just as Jesus said you must "hate your mother and father" (in contrast to your love toward God), the most opposite of heaven could be only described to our finite mortal minds as that which is eternal torment not because of abhorrence of hell, but rather the magnificence of an otherwise unattained heaven.

  So unfathomable is the gloriousness of heaven that missing it by comparison it would be as tortuous as hellfire and brimstone would appear in this life, just as the ever appropriate and natural love for our parents and even ourselves pales in comparison to our unmatched love for God.

  John Piper wrote about the realities of heaven and about "what eye has not seen, nor ear has heard."

  Citing the passage of Romans 8:20-23, Piper said: The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, [namely, God, since only God can subject the creation to futility in hope] in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [There will be a great renewal someday and it will happen so that creation joins the children of God in their glorious renewal.] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Piper's parenthetical commentaries)

   Piper writes the following on the implications of regeneration but I see in it further on our eternal regenerated state and how highly it would be above our present understanding of reality; therefore to miss eternal life with God could not be explained in terms vulgar enough and visions vile enough and descriptions course enough. Read:

  "So if we put it all together, the picture seems to be something like this: God’s purpose is that the entire creation be born again and to fail to be born again is unimaginably horrifying.

  "That is, the whole universe and not just humanity will replace its futility and corruption and disease and degeneration and disasters with a whole new order—a new heaven and a new earth. This will be the great, universal regeneration. The great, universal new birth.

  "When Paul uses the word regeneration in Titus 3:5, he wants us to see that our new birth is a part of that which we call heaven. The newness we have by virtue of our regeneration now is the first fruits of the greater newness we will have when our bodies are made new as a part of the entire universe made new. Romans 8:23, “We . . . who have the first fruits of the Spirit [because we have been born again by the Spirit] groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

  "Being born again is like the first installment of what is coming. Your body and the whole world will one day take part in this regeneration. God’s final purpose is not spiritually renewed souls inhabiting decrepit bodies in a disease and disaster ravaged world. His purpose is a renewed world with renewed bodies and renewed souls that take all our renewed senses and make them a means of enjoying and praising God.

  Regeneration in Titus 3:5 is big. “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” When he says in verse 7 that the aim of the new birth is “that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” he means heirs of everything included in that eternal life—new heavens, new earth, new body, new perfected relationships, new sinless sight of all that is good and glorious, and new capacities for a kind of pleasure in God that will exceed all your dreams.

  That’s the unusual signal of what the new birth is: It’s the first installment of the final, universal regeneration of the universe.

  Then there is a clear signal why we need this regeneration. It’s found in verse 3: “We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” That is not a description of the material creation. That’s a description of the human heart. Those are all moral evils, not physical evils. Foolish. Disobedient. Led astray. Slaves to sinful pleasures. Malice. Envy. Hated and hating. We are all in there somewhere. "

  The reason we need regeneration is that God will not welcome such hearts into His new creation.

  Jesus said, "unless we are born again, we will not see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). 

  This is why all of us must be born again.

See also a devotional on John 14 from The Gospel of John One Day at a Time.

Five Reasons to Prepare for Christ's Return for the Church

   If you were to ask most Christians what they would do if they knew for certain that Christ was going to return within a year, the response of most would be a blank stare. Would you do something differently if you knew for certain Jesus Christ would be returning within a year or two?

   I believe this question is a little more profound and a lot harder to answer than if you were to be asked, “What would you do differently if you only had a year or two to live.” The ramifications and consequences of Christ’s return are much more significant than if you were to suddenly die and be ushered into eternity.

   The sudden appearance of Christ in the clouds is the next Biblical point of reference on the prophetic time clock. There is not another major prophecy that needs to be made that is preventing Christ from “catching up” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) the believers into the clouds and for the seven year period of Tribulation to begin.

   Jesus’ final statement in the Bible is not the Great Commission found in the last part of Matthew, but rather it is found in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22:20 “He which testifieth these things saith, ‘Surely I come quickly.’” And it is echoed by John the Apostle with those resounding and often repeated words, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” 

    Christ repeatedly stated He would come “suddenly,” but He did not mean he was coming “immediately” (since a 2,000 year wait would not fit the definition of “quickly” in any human dictionary and He was speaking to us mortals).

   Christ will indeed come quickly. Unannounced. Imminently. At any moment. Without warning, at least without warning other than the ever increasing warning signs that we have seen in the 20th and now 21st century. He will come as He promised, as a thief in the night.

   The early disciples believed He could come at any time, yet there are numerous events prophesied (the Battle of Armageddon, the False Prophet arising, the numerous judgments of Revelation, the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple with the offering of sacrifices) that, even today, have yet to be fulfilled. So how could Christ come at any time, and yet, there be so many prophecies not yet fulfilled?

   The solution is of course what the Bible teaches as His coming in the air for the church, commonly known as the Rapture, to be followed by a time of intense Tribulation (as well as a time of tremendous salvations) detailed in the book of Revelation, chapters 4 through 21).  When reading the book of Revelation, believers should be tremendously thankful that Christ promised us that He “delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9).

• Departing from faith and from doctrine prior to the Rapture:

     Before the Rapture takes place, the Bible clearly states that there will be a falling away from the true saving faith and doctrine. Included in that falling away will be scoffers and mockers about the return of Christ at all. We are seeing that as there are many churches which shy away from teaching about Prophecy and the Second Coming of Christ.

 

     Observe the following verses about the last days and the apostasy:

    2 Thessalonians 2: 1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

    1 Timothy 4: 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

    2 Timothy 4: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

    2 Peter 3: 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."

    Jude 1: 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. 

   There are numerous reasons for the church to prepare for His return, including the following: 

    1. Jesus commanded us to be ready

    2. The early church prepared for Jesus to return

    3. The lost world demands us prepare

    4. Jesus will return for some in their death

    5. Jesus will come for all believers in His ultimate return

 

    The above is the introduction and the outline of the sermon I prepared for FBC Killeen some time back. The following is background which is foundational to understand the upcoming sequence events in prophecy and the return of Christ, including the differences between the Rapture and the Return.

• Preparation for the Rapture of Christ: Understanding.

     One of the ways to prepare is to understand what the Bible teaches about His first “appearance” or coming and the two aspects that will occur at His second “appearance” or the Second Coming of Christ.

    There are two Greek words that are translated into English for the word “appearance” or “manifestation” (there’s actually a third word, apocalypso, which is normally translated as “revelation” but we won’t discuss that word presently). The two words are synonyms and are not used absolutely as mutually exclusive, but they are mostly used separated in describing the Rapture of the church (Gr. phaneroo) in the air and the Return of Christ to the Earth (Gr. epiphanes). Both words were used in describing Christ’s first coming 2,000 years ago as seen in the following verses.

•      “Appearing” (Gr: “phaneroō”) of Christ at His first coming (2,000 years ago):

    1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was MANIFESTED in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

    2 Timothy 1: 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by THE APPEARING of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

• “Appearing” (Gr: “epiphanēs”) of Christ at His first coming (2,000 years ago):

    Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has APPEARED to all men,

    Titus 3: 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man APPEARED,

 

        1. Rapture “appearance”:

    The phrase “Blessed hope” is used to describe the coming of Christ prior to the Tribulation. Most passages which use a Greek word translated as “appearance” at the Rapture (Gr: phaneroō) which is different from the Greek word used for when Christ returns to the earth after the Tribulation (Gr: “epiphanēs” “epiphaneia”), also translated into English as “appearance."

 

    Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope (Rapture in the air for the church, before the 7-year Tribulation) and glorious appearing (Return to the earth for the 1,000 year reign and after the 7-year Tribulation) of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

    Colossians 3: 4 When Christ who is our life APPEARS, then you also will APPEAR with Him in glory.

    1 Peter 5: 4 and when the Chief Shepherd APPEARS, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

    1 John 2 28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He APPEARS, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

    1 John 3: 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed (KJ APPEAR, Gr: phaneroō) what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed (KJ APPEAR, Gr: phaneroō), we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

    1 Timothy 6: 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our LORD JESUS CHRIST'S APPEARING,

• Blessed Hope:

     1 Thessalonians 4: 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no HOPE. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

    1 Corinthians 15: 19 If in this life only we have HOPE in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

    John 14: 1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

    Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

 

        2.  Return “appearance”:

    GLORIOUS APPEARING (Gr: “epiphanēs” “epiphaneia”) with His Kingdom and with the elect (the church) from heaven (those raptured seven years earlier) and from earth (those saved during the Tribulation): 

    Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope (Rapture in the air) and glorious appearing (Return to the earth) of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

    Mark 13: 24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then THEY WILL SEE the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. (Unlike the Rapture, all will see Christ when He returns to earth. Also notice He will bring believers from heaven and from those on the earth).

    Acts 2: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and AWESOME (GR: “epiphanēs”) day of the Lord.

    2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with THE BRIGHTNESS (GR: “epiphaneia” also translated as APPEARING)  of His coming.

    2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His APPEARING and His kingdom.    

What will it take for repentance? Revelation 9

Revelation 9:

The Fifth and Sixth Woeful Trumpets

Revelation 9:1-21

Timothy McKeown

The purpose of the Great Tribulation is for God’s righteous judgment to fall on the earth, bringing many to repentance, but amazingly many do not, as seen in chapter 9.

Yet God is merciful, not bringing complete judgment, but allowing for one fourth of the earth to die in the fourth seal judgment and for another third to die in the sixth trumpet judgment. With half of earth’s humanity killed by the end of the sixth trumpet, so many of the rest of the world’s population still will not repent. 

¹ Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. ² And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

The fallen star. The King James Version says “I saw a star fall from heaven,” but the word “fall” is actually better translated as “having fallen.” In other words, the “star” had already fallen, but when that star fell is not known. Because the following sentence says, “to him” was given the key to the abyss, it is likely a fallen angel, likely even the devil, to whom is given a key to release the locusts. Jesus said He saw Satan fall like lightening from the sky (Luke 10:18). Later in Revelation, it is recalled that the dragon, Satan, was cast to earth with his angels, which were a third of the stars or one third of the angels (Rev. 12:1-13). Isa. 14:12 says that Lucifer had fallen from heaven, but Job 1:6 says that he was still able to appear before God in heaven. This fallen star then opens the pit, and the spiritual realm is so thick that it affects the physical realm of the sun and the air.

God will wait for his total judgment for at least another 42 months (Rev. 11:2-3, 12:6, 13:5). As the fifth seal dealt with the souls under the altar in heaven, the fifth trumpet deals with the demons confined to the “bottomless pit” (Greek: abusso abusso; NASB, NIV: “abyss” ), a term mentioned seven times in Revelation and also in Rom. 10:7 and Luke 8:31, where the demons did not want to be sent.

 ³ Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. ⁶ In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. ⁷ The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

The locusts. If these locusts are the worst of the fallen angels which God has bound since their fall, Satan will loose these very hideous demons to spread the worst havoc yet upon the earth, both physically and spiritually. The devil, though fallen, is not currently bound in the abyss, sometimes seen as Hades or hell. Some have speculated that these locusts are John’s feeble description of military helicopters, using first century terminology and identifications. While Satan will use and take control of man’s military in the Tribulation, this description is much more foreboding and menacing.

John was able to see with spiritual eyes what fallen angels would become after thousands of years trapped in a tortuous bottomless pit. They swarm and destroy as locusts. They are powerful and painful as scorpions. Shaped like horses prepared for battle indicates their organized power. That they have things like crowns of gold and faces like men may mean that they will possess the rulers of the land.

 ⁸ They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. ⁹ And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹ And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. ¹² One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.  

The hair of women may also indicate their seductive power as seen in verse 21. Aggressively, their lion-like teeth are vicious and unstoppable but their pain comes from their stinging, lightening-quick tails.

Defensively, their iron breastplates give indication that they are impenetrable to attack.  Nevertheless, they are still limited and commanded to not harm the plants or those with the seal of God on their foreheads and are limited from killing those who do not have God’s seal. They torment without killing for five months, presumably to allow for repentance. The fact that those having the seal of God would not be tormented will be a great incentive to get saved! Still, many do not.

King of the Abyss. Among those loosed will be the beast which will ascend out of the abyss (Rev. 11:7, 17:8), who is likely the king and the (fallen) angel of or in charge of the abyss. The name “Abaddon” means “destruction” and “Apollyon” means “destroyer.” Although the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire alive at the beginning of the millennium, Satan is cast into the abyss for the 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1). Still, there are two more woes left.

¹³ Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

   An interval of perhaps five months occurs between the fifth and sixth trumpets, as now angels (likely fallen) are released to kill a third of mankind. The result of this will mean that more than one half of the world’s population has died since the beginning of the Tribulation. The four angels empower the army of the 200 hundred million horsemen.

If some of the previous trumpets and seals have been thermonuclear explosions, it is possible that all modern devices using computers would be rendered obsolete. This is a result of the electromagnetic pulse which occurs with any nuclear explosion. The electromagnetic pulse (EMP) does not hurt the human body, but will fry all unprotected computer chips which are virtually all automobiles, airplanes, trains, etc. In the 1950s, relatively low level nuclear explosions resulted with EMP effects as far away as 800 miles in all directions. It is not unrealistic to see how battles will return to literally hand-to-hand combat and third world and primitive societies would clearly have the upper hand.

¹⁶ Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

It has been reported since the 1960s that China has stated that it could immediately raise an army of 200 million. Yet others believe this army is spiritual and demonic rather than physical. Unlike in other places, here John does not say it is “like” an army of horsemen, but rather that it is literally 200 million men on horseback. He didn’t have to guess, someone, likely his angel guide, told him of the number. Such a literal interpretation in John’s day would have been impossible but now is very likely to be a literal fulfillment.

¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed--by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

John resumes in using similes by saying “like” or “as” in describing the heads of the horses as being like lions. Whether these are literal horses or if they are instruments of modern-day warfare is not really relevant. What is relevant is the destruction which comes with this sixth woe and the lack of repentance.

²⁰ But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. ²¹ And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Worship of demons and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood can simply mean materialistic people or can mean literal idolatry. Also, the word for “sorceries” is the Greek word from which we get pharmaceuticals. Murders, drug use, illicit sexual acts, and thefts are sins, but they will keep in rebellion against God.

 Takeaways from Revelation 9:1-21

1)  God is ever patient for repentance, but He is not forever patient. God will bring justice to the earth. 

2) There will be "aliens" in the last days, but not from other planets, but from the spiritual dimension and realm. UFOs are consistently seen as lights and exercising remarkable movements which are impossible in our current technology. Therefore, the demons released from the abyss may not be UFOs, but ISBs: Identified Spiritual Beings.

3)  As the demons torture but do not kill, we should remember there are things worse than death for the believers. Whether we live or die, do all for the glory of Christ. "so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." Philippians 1:20

4) Sin is sin, no matter the size, big or small. God wants repentance, not for the sake of merely stopping from sinning, but to return to Him in holiness.