An Irony of History
I do not know
when history as we know it will culminate. I do not know when Father Time will
blow his trumpet and the Shadowlands will be no more. I do know that we see the
ebb and flow of great rivers in the Bible, I do know that the headwaters of
Genesis reach to Revelation, and I do know that Jesus Christ is the River that
we ought to swim in – there is poisonous bacteria in all other rivers.
Should there be
future generations, historians will look back at the irony that those
professing Christians who made much of End Times teaching, who made much
of the Rapture and the Beast and the Mark of the Beast, were deceived by the
mystery of lawlessness into supporting and propagating the wickedness which
they once warned against; they abrogated their citizenship of heaven for an earthly
citizenship that enslaved their very own people. They brought the idols of the
world into the hearts of their people.
Eschatology
which is not centered in Jesus Christ has tragic consequences, just ask people
here and abroad. Our religious playthings kill people.
Historians will
note that whereas the early Christians stood separate from the Imperial Cult
and suffered for their confession, that these professing Christians heartily
embraced it, thereby denying the Lord who bought them with His blood. An ironic
tragedy of history.
How is it that
we think we can teach Matthew 24 without also teaching Matthew 25? How is it
that we think we can teach about His coming to us and not teach His final Word
on His coming? And what is His final Word?
“Truly I say to
you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did
not do it to Me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life” (Matthew 25:45 – 46).
“I was hungry,
and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was
thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not
invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me, sick, and in prison, and you
did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:42 – 43).
Are those
hospitality houses we’re building across our land?
When governments
use the Bible in their propaganda, when they purport to represent Christ and
the Gospel – and when they use the Bible to kill and destroy, and when they
seduce and purchase the souls of religious leaders and their followers – O
shame, shame, shame on us, on all of us for not speaking and living the truth
and standing with Jesus Christ.
“Another horn, a
little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by
the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a
man and a mouth uttering great boasts” (Daniel 7:8).
“He will speak
out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he
will intend to make alterations in times and in law, and they will be given
into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).
“Out of one of
them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great…It grew up to
the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to
the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with
the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and
the place of His sanctuary was thrown down…and it will fling truth to the
ground and perform its will and prosper” (Daniel 8:9 – 13).
“A king will
arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue, his power will be mighty, but not by
his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and
perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people, and through
his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will
magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at
ease, he will even oppose the Prince of Princes, but he will be broken without
human agency” (Daniel 8:23 – 25).
“Then the king
will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself above every god and will speak
monstrous things against the God of gods…” (Daniel 11:36).
“Let no one in
any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and
the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and
exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he
takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God (2 Thess.
2:3 – 4).
“There was given
to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies…and he opened his
mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle,
that is, those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:5 – 6).
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