The Torah Confirms Jerusalem's Destruction

During Daniel's 70th week (Daniel 9:24), at the time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), the city of Jerusalem as we know it will be destroyed.

Isaiah 24:10 The city of chaos is shattered, every house closed up; no one can enter.

Isaiah 24:12 "In the city, only desolation, its gates are battered beyond repair."

Zechariah 14:2 2 "For I will gather all the nations against Yerushalayim for war. The city will be taken... "

Isaiah 24:3 The land will be completely stripped, completely plundered, for ADONAI has spoken this word.

A City in Ruins

Zechariah 14:4 "On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, to make a huge valley.  Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south."  A gigantic earthquake will rend the city in half, fault lines run under Jerusalem in the exact spot this prophecy foretells.

Jeremiah 4:26 "I looked, and the fertile fields were a desert, all the land's cities were razed to the ground at the presence of ADONAI, before his burning anger."

Black Blizzard Coming

"For here is what ADONAI says: "The whole land will be desolate (although I will not destroy it completely)."  Jeremiah 4:23-28 describes the condition of the Earth after the time of Jacob's trouble; the Earth is basically destroyed.  Note - This is not a pre-creation passage because there were no cities to be destroyed before Creation.

"The earth cracks and breaks open, the earth crumbles to pieces, the earth trembles and totters. The earth staggers to and fro like a drunk, sways back and forth like a watchman's shelter; its transgression weighs heavy upon it; it will fall and not rise again." Isaiah 24:19-20 confirms the utter destruction of the 70th week of Daniel.  

Utter Destruction

So is this the end of Jerusalem?  The eternal city is destroyed forever?  Oh no, far from it.  Stay tuned... We are going on a bible prophecy adventure.

Jeremiah 30:7 Oh how terrible! That time will be worse than any like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be rescued from it.

Psalm 14 - A Post Rapture Prophecy

I was researching Knowing So Much That Isn't True earlier this week and happened upon Psalm 14 and believe it to be a Psalm about the post Rapture World and the Lord looking at the retched remains of humanity.

1 Godless fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. There is no one who does good things. (There is none that does good is an indication that the church is gone, while not perfect, the church is the righteousness of Christ and we are not viewed with human eyes but through the shed blood of Christ.  It is also not likely that this is an Old Testament prophecy because God always keeps a remnant (Romans 11:4-5)).

Corrupt Minds

2 The LORD looks down from heaven on Adam's descendants to see if there is anyone who acts wisely, if there is anyone who seeks help from God. (It is significant that the Sons of Adam are who the Jehovah God is looking at, not the Sons of Abraham, again, this is a world devoid of the church.)

3 Everyone has turned away. Together they have become rotten to the core. No one, not even one person, does good things. (A world where every single righteous person has been removed and only the wicked remain, is a world described in the Judgments of God that we read of in Daniel, Revelation, and Zechariah.)

4 Are all those troublemakers, those who devour my people as if they were devouring food, so ignorant that they do not call on the LORD? (I could not help but picture John Kerry and Barack Obama in my mind as I read this passage.  Fools who do not seek counsel from the Lord and seek to devour Israel.)

Wicked World Leaders

5 There they are--panic-stricken because God is with the person who is righteous. (They begin to realize that danger they are in without God and the godly and panic.)

6 They put the advice of oppressed people to shame because the LORD is their refuge. (This speaks to the leaders of Israel not listening to those who come to faith in Messiah during the Tribulation.)

7 If only salvation for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice. Israel will be glad. (Israel was always intended to bring salvation to the Nations, only during the Millennium will this occur.)

Knowing So Much that is Not True

Ronald Reagan famously stated, "The trouble with our Liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so."

If you have engaged with anyone that is a liberal atheist, you will have first hand experience with this.  The Bible tells us:

"Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking ..." Romans 1:28.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

We are already seeing the great deception, "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:11

Truth holds no weight with them, they are wise in their own eyes (Proverbs 3:7) and can back up their positions with as many sources as you.  They are blind and ignorant and their hearts are hardened.  By rejecting God, they become foolish in all of their ways.  They have on glasses that show them a world that does not exist; they are ripe for deception, and doomed to judgement.

It is the ultimate mercy and restraint of a loving God that stays His hand, that allows evil to flourish, and does not demonstrate his infinite power in righteous anger against the wickedness and depravity that has been unleashed upon this earth.  He will not be silent forever and I pray that any whom we have loved and witnessed to will have a chance but I fear it is already too late.

Dreams of a Dying Church

I dreamed last night that I was dying.

I was in a hospital bed and the doctors told me that I could no longer live without life support and asked if I wanted to turn off the machines.  I told them I was not afraid to die and to turn off the life support.  I expected to immediately die and when I did not I complained that there was too much pain, I needed something to take the pain away.

I lay there for a while waiting to die but realized that I did not want to die in a hospital, so I went to the movies.  I sat in a chair and waited to die and while I felt my body fading, I was still alive.  I went to the restroom and it was the filthiest locker room you've ever seen, water leaking everywhere, rusted faucets, men and women together.  I did not want to die in there.

I went to the beach and after walking along the sand went to my hotel that was on the second row.  Standing in the parking lot with other people someone screamed and pointed to the sky.  There was a giant red apartment building flying through the sky and landed in the ocean.  As people screamed and cried, a large concrete hotel on the first row collapsed.  I'd been near it just moments before.  Then a small building that looked similar to the one I was at flew over our heads and landed with a thud.  The people in the building exited like commuters at a crowded subway platform.  They were safe while all around us was chaos.

Interpretation - it is the true Christian that feels like the church is dying with the world.  Many congregations are old and ineffective, many are on life support.  The body of Christ is not afraid of the Rapture but living in the Last Days hurts more than we expected.  The movie theater and the bathrooms represent the culture wars and Christian faith trying to die in those places.  The flying buildings are judgement and the tribulation to come.  The small second class hotels represent the ineffective and poor church that is Raptured by the Lord.

All Things Work Together

It is no secret that this life is hard.  People die, business fail, relationships end... the list of human misery is exhaustive.  I have always prided myself on being an optimist, my Mother calls me "Pollyanna", but I must confess I find myself cynical these days.  At least when it comes to anything of this world being just, righteous, and fair.  I have become skeptical of any snake oil this world has to offer, even the great American Dream has died in my mind.

This comes as no surprise to God and it is that assurance that makes us look deeper.  We must become more comfortable not knowing and understanding the "why's" of life.  Our faith tells us that we will not always have the answers but to trust God and recognize that all things work for the good of those who are called by God and do according to His purpose.  All things... health, financial, relational, all things....

The Kingdom of Earth vs. the Kingdom of Heaven

As the love for this world fades, believers look to the Kingdom of Heaven, where we are told to store up our treasures, where thief can not steal and rust does not destroy.  Most of us will never have our rewards here on Earth, in this lifetime, so it is with eyes to eternity that we serve a King that knows and sees all.  We write blogs that no one reads, we start businesses that fail, we pray for others for years with no results, we evangelize to the deaf and the hardhearted, we toil in soil that produces only weeds and thistles and that deer trample and eat to the ground... we sever our ties with this place and recognize that all things work together for our good.

Maranantha.