Morning Moments

War is a Terrible Thing!

Today is what we in the United States cal Memorial Day, which is a day set aside to honor the memory and service of all Service men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country, but not only them but for all who have served in the Military through all the years.

When Jesus spoke of the "Last Days", He said that nation would rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and that there would be wars and rumors of wars, BUT THESES THINGS MUST BE". But why MUST these things be? Certainly it is not what God wants for humanity! God knows that the longer man goes unrestrained, the more ungodly man becomes, until "He who now restrains is taken out of the way".

We must then ask, What or more properly Who is this Restrainer or Restraing Force which will be taken out of the way and How will this occur? To discover the answer, we must go back to the words of Jesus in two places: 1) Jesus tells His disciples that they (we) are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Quite obviously, that means that as followers, students, learners of Jesus, WE are the preservative that keeps humanity from COMPLETELY rotting, and that, in this world of spiritual DARKNESS, we are the ONLY means of reflecting His light and expelling the darkness, 2) According to Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit IN us that enables us to do those two things.

With that in mind, and as a backdrop for our thoughts, WE (true disciples, followers, learners) who are ALONE the possessors of the Holy Spirit, for the world cannot know HIM, must be "taken out of the way, or removed" before two things can happen: 1) The nation of Israel will come to repentance, and 2) the rule of the Gentiles come to an end. These are two of the thing that we learn by comparing Daniel's seventieth week prophecy, Jesus' discourse in Matthew 24, and Paul' letters to the Thessalonians, as well as Revelation 6-19.

It is the difference between the "harpadzo" (the rapture of the Church) and the "parousia" (the second coming of Jesus to establish His Kingdom. The Old Testament gives us clear examples of this if we are but willing to look and learn. The Old Testament gives us in type what the New Testament gives us in clarity, unless we simply WILL NOT pay attention. Perhaps the best OT example is that of Enoch who was TAKEN before the FLOOD came upon ALL the earth. Noah and his family (a type of Israel remained safe IN THE ARK). It was Enoch who preached of the coming of the Lord to bring judgment, which came when Methuselah died. How much clearer can the Scripture be?

All of the terrible wars of man with man shall ultimately culminate in man and Satan's final war against God! But neither humans nor hell shall ever prevail against Heaven and the Host of Saints and angels, for HE shall destroy His enemies with the "brightness" of His coming and ultimately cast the devil and ALL unbelievers into the Lake of Fire.

Throw yourself on the mercy of God while there is yet time and give Jesus your life as you receive HIS!

BLESSINGS!