Just Who Are You Following Any Way?

 

Some might say the Book of Revelation is too hard to understand, but I would challenge you to join this study and see if it doesn't make sense and you gain a clarity you didn't have before. I know I have and thus the reason for sharing it with you. Grab a Bible and a notebook and join in the fun in this study.

We have been studying the rise of the Antichrist, both in nature and character. The word Antichrist means impostor Christ or instead of Christ. Jesus provided a warning that deception would be coming just before His return. This Antichrist will become a legend so much in his own mind that he will stand in the temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself to be god.

If you don't know the Bible, you might already find yourselves being deceived, even though what someone is saying sounds correct. We need to open our Bibles and compare it to what God says in regards to what is being said and forget about what we "feel."

In the teaching and preaching of the ministry of Jesus about what the signs would be before the end times, He provides such clarity.

Matthew 24:3-5, 11, 15 ~ "As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sing of your coming and of the close of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ and they will lead many astray."  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),"

Jesus reminds us that the number one thing we need to be wary of is being deceived. Many will be deceived, both in the authority of Jesus and coming to them in His Name, but they are not. Look at the level of deception in the world today by false prophets, cults, false teachers, false gospels and even false Christs. Are there more of these in the world today than say the last 100 years? Absolutely! More than you can count and they are growing every day.

In Matthew 24:15 this is a culminating event for the Antichrist to stand in the temple and declare himself to be god. In order for that to happen, there has to be a temple built and that will happen one day on a vacant plot of land that sits waiting for that to happen.

Matthew 24:32-33 ~ "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates."

We need to understand this parable and learn the truth that is conveys. When spring comes it seems one day the trees are on the verge of budding and then the next day, it bursts forth in color and newness. This means it will be sudden. Some scholars believe that the fig tree represents Israel and that when we see events happening in Israel we should be looking up. Israel became a nation again for the second time in one day on May 14, 1948. The entire future program of God is centered around the nation of Israel and the return of Jesus Christ to that Israel.

Regarding false prophets and false teachers, the apostle Paul warned...

Galatians 1:8-9 ~ "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, 'let him be accursed.' As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, 'let him be accused."

The Antichrist has an agenda of deception. It will be a global event by political means.

Revelation 13:1-10 ~ "And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast - all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints."

Daniel 8:25 ~ "By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy man. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken - but by no human hand."

He engineers a 7 year peace treaty but he will deceive the world through this peace. He will impress the U.N. and the European Union. He will out politic the United States and the world will love him because he will be their man!

He will come by religious mockery.

Luke 21:17 ~ "You will be hated by all for my name's sake."

The moment you mention, Jesus Christ, the Bible or God, you will be hated by those who hear you and this is only going to increase. The global system of mockery of biblical Christianity and the biblical Jesus. The world hates a real Christian and the world hates a real Jesus. If we feed the homeless, the world hates us because they are not the ones doing it and they feel bad. Why is it when you curse, you'll say the name of Jesus or ask God to condemn something or someone. Because there is power in that name. No one even feels better after they do it either because there is a spirit against Jesus in the world today.

You will only hear more and more blasphemous doctrine and speech in the days ahead. Even now you hear of people being shot simply because they confess they are Christians over any other religion or that they believe in Jesus. Why is that? When you probe these people you will find out that deep inside of them, they have been hurt by someone or upset them under the premise of saying that they believe in Jesus like a church leader or teacher.

The question I have is who are you following anyway?

Is America Becoming A Post Christian Nation?

True science will always confirm the existence of God! That is great news for a believer, because we never have to worry that science will uncover something that will disprove what the Bible says, because it has never happened and it never will. In fact, it is just the opposite, what the Bible has said is now being verified by science and creates such a compelling case for Christians that what was predicted over thousands of years ago is in fact true. Did you know what one resource all archaeology departments have on hand whenever they make a discovery? The Bible because it has validated the existence and time frames of civilizations more than any other document because of its reliability. It has never been proven to be in error. He is the God who created science.

Proverbs 30:4 ~ "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and the name of his son? Tell me if you know."

In the end, it will be the LORD who will judge and His judgment will span all of history.

Revelation 11:18-19 ~ "The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth. Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of the covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm."

Verse 18 is one of the most remarkable scriptures in the Bible, because it spans from Jesus' First Coming to His Second Coming. 2000 years of history is covered in just this one verse. This one verse is a collection of many verses. Consider a mountain range. From a distance the mountain range looks like a cardboard cutout. It's just a silhouette of tall jagged peaks but as you begin to approach these mountains, you begin to see shades of color and you begin to see that there are canyons and valleys between these mountains. The same is true with some scriptures. They blend together from a distance, but the closer you get, the greater the detail and the more defined it becomes. This is an example of what is referred to as near/far fulfillment.

Isaiah 61:1-7 ~ "The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs."

But when Jesus read it out loud, listen to what He did.

Luke 4:16-21 ~ "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

 Why didn't He finish? Because your life and mine is held back by a comma. In Isaiah 61:2 is says, "to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God," this is the title of the Tribulation Period, " the day of vengeance of our God." Jesus preaches the church and salvation to the world. He told His disciples to go forth and preach the gospel to the world. When did you accept Christ? It was during a comma. He saved us by a comma.

It states that the nations were angry, they have always been angry. From the rebellion of man in the Garden of Eden to the culmination of the events in the Tribulation Period, and that the conclusion is very near. Does not the world hate God. Have you seen the news recently. They are arguing right now over Christmas and where or not Nativity scenes are allowed to be displayed. Other things are allowed to be displayed, the crescent moon of the Muslims, to the Star of David are fine, just no crosses or nativities. America is a post Christian nation. Wake Up!

When you throw the 10 Commandments out of the United States of America, it's a post Christian nation. This nation is hanging on by a thread. Thank God the Lord has hold of the other end of it. The nations hate God and they are angry. They rejected Him.

When it says that the time has come for judging the dead, it is talking about their spiritual death not their physical death. They were still alive in their physical bodies but they never had a spiritual life. Because of their rebellion against God, judgment came upon their land and homes as the rest of the scripture references. It would stay depressing if we left this chapter at that. But it doesn't. It ends at a glorious up tempo beat.

Revelation 11:19 ~ "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of the covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm."

John, a Jewish man, is now telling us that he saw into heaven and saw the temple opened up. None of us understands the magnitude of this. It also says that he saw the ark of the covenant. How did it get there? If you have read your Bible carefully, it has always been there. Hebrews 8-10, it's always been there, it's never left. The Bible says in those chapters, that the ark of the covenant was just a man made copy, it means nothing to God. The temple on earth didn't mean anything to God either. If is did, why didn't Jesus enter into it? If it meant something to Jesus, wouldn't He have taken it from Rome? He visited the temple but He never went inside. He stepped into the Outer Courts, but never inside.

If you being saved was predicated on a temple, then there would be a temple standing today. This is what John is seeing in verse 19. He saw the one true temple that would never go away or be destroyed. Not only did the door to the temple open up, and the veil was pulled back, but he also saw the ark of the covenant.

Hebrews 9:11 ~ "When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man made, that is to say, not a part of this creation."

No temple will get you into heaven that is made by human hands. Our salvation isn't in any temple, palace or church is connected to your salvation. Nothing you do or associated with your salvation. You will not go to heaven based on association with anything on this earth. Jesus said the kingdom is within you as long as you ask Him to sit in on the throne in your life. Will you respond to His invitation today? Jesus said He is The Way, there is no other way or ways. It is sad that there are so many in the world today that could care a less about their eternity and more about what is in it for them right now.

Is God speaking to you right now and let Him fix your life today? Repent now, change direction and follow Him. People view God in one of two extremes. He is either too weak with a long beard and doesn't care about anything or He sits in judgment waiting to condemn man into fire and wrath. .But we live in an age of fire and grace. He is fair and just and will bring forth judgment one day but in His love right now He is doing all He can to reach those who still have not accepted Him before it's too late. How you view God determines your actions and reactions.