Today is the Day!

NOW IS THE TIME!!! 

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War and Rumors of War Matthew 24:6

So many people, including many Christians, cannot make sense of what is happening in Ukraine. They cannot believe in 2022 something like this could occur and nothing or no one seems to be able to stop it. After all, we are a civilized world now with the voice of reason and we all want peace. Ah, wait a minute . . . . open the Bible, God's Word . . .  start reading.  Almost one third of the Bible is prophecy - some already fulfilled and some to be fulfilled. And because so much of past prophecy has already been fulfilled, we can rely on future prophecies to also come true. God actually tells us in His word the world will become increasingly evil and dark (Matt 24:12).

Man loves to believe that he is inherently good, but the Bible tells us how man's heart is corrupt and selfish (Gen 6:5). Humanists prefer to believe that we will eventually weed out evil and good will remain. Yes, there are stories of compassion coming from the war and we can thank God for those acts of kindness. His Holy Spirit and Angels are working to keep complete darkness from taking over. But the day will come when that very thing will take place and darkness will overtake the world (Joel 3:15). And what is happening today will seem like child's play. God help us.

Yes, God help us - and He does. He has provided a way out and that Way is Jesus Christ. Jesus came to reconcile us with the God who created all of us. Jesus who is God incarnate, took all of our sins upon himself and died a sinner's death in our place - my place and your place. He rose after 3 days, alive and victorious, so that we, too, may have eternal life with him. He defeated Satan and his demons, whose day of judgement is coming. Satan and his demons will be thrown into a lake of fire where they belong. Those who have chosen to repent and surrender their lives to the Lord will be forever with him, joyful and holy. There will no longer be any tears. (Rev 21:4).

So when you read on social media, "whatever your religion or belief," know that isn't true. There is only ONE WAY to the God of eternity - the true God - and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ. ALL other ways will fail and only take you to a destiny separated from God - an eternity in hell. We ALL have an eternal life. Make your choice to believe and surrender to Jesus today. The way things are going, the end could be closer than you think.

As Russia Invades Ukraine, Pastors Stay to Serve, Pray … and Resist

JAYSON CASPER|FEBRUARY 24, 2022 

“In our churches—whether it is Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, or Evangelical churches—there are more new people. Not only on Sundays or Saturdays, but also during the week,” he told the Australian Bible Society news service. “On evenings when we have a Bible study, new people are coming. They want to pray, to hear something that brings hope or comfort.”

Rick Perhai, director of advanced degrees at KTS, said the international church he pastors in Kyiv has several leaders recommending the congregation continue its worship this coming Sunday. Some of their expat members have fled; others want to stay and join the fight.

He laments that the enemy is seeking to destroy Ukraine as its Christians grow more and more poised to carry the gospel to surrounding nations. Nonetheless, he is praying for the Russians, asking for God to grant them repentance.

But his petition is also imprecatory.

“Pray that the nation of Russia would tire of their tyrant’s rantings at home and abroad,” Perhai said, “and that they would remove him.”

Dyatlik also requested prayer for “the truth,” citing all the “perspectives” in the media.

“We did not invite the war. The Kremlin and Vladimir Putin brought it to Ukraine. … There is moral evaluation of the acts of aggression like this,” wrote the theological educator. “These acts have biblical definition and biblical evaluation. Please pray for the spiritual discernment about these things.”

Dyatlik closed his prayer letter with requests for believers on both sides of the conflict:

Please pray about Russian Christians that they would raise their prayers and voice toward Russian government to stop the aggression; [that they] would not keep silent; please pray for the Western governments, of the US and European Union.

Finally, please pray about Ukrainian Christians, that we will serve and live as the community of hope in a full sense of this term; that during these terrible times we would invite more and more people to the relationships with God and His children, to the relationships of love, hope, encouragement, support; that our minds and characters would continue to transform into the character of Jesus Christ.

Western nations have roundly condemned Putin, and readied sanctions. Reports circulated of Russians lining up at ATMs to withdraw their cash, fearful the nation would be cut off from the international banking system.

Meanwhile in Donetsk, where 25 missionary teams have been working to establish churches, gas lines require a wait of hours for a rationed supply of five gallons. Grocery stories suffer empty shelves, as Ukrainians stock up on emergency food and water.

Bandura conveys his supervisor’s two main prayer requests.

“First, to stop the aggressor,” he said. “But then for peace of mind, to respond with Christian character and not from human hate.”

5 SIGNS YOU MIGHT SEE CHRIST

by David Jeremiah

Sitting like giant golf balls on the bleak Yorkshire moors of northern England are dozens of strange globes protected by sophisticated security fences. Known as Project Echelon, this is one of the world’s most secret intelligence operations. It’s located at Menwith Hill, a Royal Air Force station eight miles from the English town of Harrogate, and it is the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. Within its 560 acres is an extensive network of spherical domes, satellite dishes, radio masts, computer centers, and processing stations. 

During the Cold War, Menwith Hill intercepted Communist messages, and it broke codes from the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations. Now it’s thought that this RAF base is capable of the world’s most advanced global electronic surveillance, including the interception and content inspection of telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, and broadcasting signals. Project Echelon is the key link in a worldwide eavesdropping network operated by America’s National Security Agency, and it is linked to the spy agencies of several other nations.

 Advocates claim that Echelon will help the West win the war against terrorism. Critics warn that it represents a dangerous invasion of privacy and a grave threat to personal liberties. Some alarmists claim that Echelon has the power to potentially monitor the conversations of everyone anywhere on earth at any time. That may be far fetched, but only a few super-secret souls know the true reach of Echelon, and even fewer know what new technologies are just within the reach of specialists. 

While Echelon may serve a vital role in our national security, think of this tool as one day being in the hands of the Antichrist. Think of Echelon in terms of Eschatology (the biblical study of the End Times). 

And think of this. Project Echelon can never—regardless of technological advances—eavesdrop on the secret counsels of the Trinity. It can never penetrate God’s mind. But the Lord has already revealed to us vital secrets about the future, and He has declassified and released important data about great events soon to engulf the world. We have a source of secret intelligence that no spy agency on earth can duplicate.

Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost wrote in his book, Things to Come: “God, the architect of the ages, has seen fit to take us into His confidence concerning His plan for the future, and has revealed His purpose and program in detail in the Word. A greater body of Scripture is given to prophecy than any other one subject, for approximately one-fourth of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was written.” 

When we study biblical prophecy, we’re investigating the case of current events with secret intelligence provided by the God of time and eternity. 

“24” 

Some of that data is contained in our Lord’s sermon in Matthew 24. In the final week of His life, prior to His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus left the complex of buildings on Temple Mount, hiked down the Kidron Valley and onto the slopes of the Mount of Olives. As they paused to rest on Olivet, the disciples looked back and the view was stunning—the sun setting on the temple. Jesus used the occasion to preach His premier message relating to His return, and in Matthew 24, He gave several signposts to watch for. 

• False Prophets (verses 4-5): Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah,” and will deceive many (NIV). Perhaps you’ve heard terrible statistics regarding the number of sites on the internet devoted to pornography. But did you know that according to a report some time ago on CNN, there are more sites devoted to religion than to porn? With the click of a mouse, you can suddenly summon up any one of thousands of sects and cults and religions with millions upon millions of electronic pages devoted to an ever growing number of false Christs. Never in human history has there been such proliferation of religious information.

• Wars and rumors of War (verse 6). Just since the year 2000, large portions of the world have been devastated by conflict. America sustained more than 3,000 causalities in the attacks of September 11, 2001. The 2003 War in Darfur has caused nearly 5 a half-million deaths. The death toll in Iraq amounts to many thousands. Over 7,000 died in the 2006 war in Somalia. Over 22,000 have perished in the War in Afghanistan. There are ongoing conflicts and insurgencies right now in a host of other nations. As you read these words, someone’s home is being shattered by wars and rumors of war. 

• Famines and earthquakes (verse 7). If you’ve been listening to the news recently, you’ve heard reports of food shortages in various parts of the world. The price of food is rising, and severe famines are forecast, especially for parts of Africa and portions of Asia. Regarding earthquakes, I find it fascinating that there are internet sites devoted to monitoring and reporting on the occurrences of earthquakes on an hour-by-hour basis. For example, one website has a map detailing 208 earthquakes that rattled different parts of the globe over the course of seven days. 

• Persecution (verse 9). As false religions, wars, famines, and earthquakes increase, so does the violence of persecution. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,” said Jesus, “and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” It’s a marvel to me that the news media can spend days talking about the latest celebrity outrage while ignoring the plight of 600 million Christians now suffering persecution and various forms of harassment because of their faith. Advocacy groups estimate that the twentieth century saw more Christians die (about 45 million) just for being believers than in the first 19 centuries (25 billion) after the birth of Christ. And there’s every reason to believe the twenty-first century will be just as bad or worse. There is nonstop persecution against Christians in many countries in the world. One expert, Nina Shea, wrote, “Millions of American Christians pray in their churches each week, oblivious to the fact that Christians in many parts of the world suffer brutal torture, arrest, imprisonment, and even death—their homes and communities laid waste—for no other reason than they are Christians.” 

• The Spread of the Gospel (verse 14). Nevertheless, Jesus indicated that the spread of the Gospel would accelerate. According to missionary experts, 74.5 percent of the world was unevangelized in the year 1800. That percentage had reduced to 54.3 by the year 1900. There was an explosion of evangelism in the twentieth century, and by the year 2000, only 28.3 percent of the world remained unreached. 

As He continued His discourse on the Mount of Olives, Jesus went on to say that other great and perilous events would take place—the Abomination of Desolation described by Daniel the prophet (verse 15), the Great Tribulation (verse 21), and the coming of the Son of Man (verse 27). 

THE END TIMES 

Other passages—especially in Daniel, Zechariah, 1 Thessalonians, and the book of Revelation—add vivid and fascinating layers of information about the End Times, and taken together present a reasonably clear outline of the last days. The purpose of biblical prophecy, after all, isn’t to confuse us but to inform and motivate us. In the process, it does even more. It reminds us that God was present at the beginning of history, He is superintending the progress of human history, and He Himself will be the great consummation of history. 

The God of Scripture is eternal and omniscient. He encircles time and space, and He knows the future as fully as the past. He possesses absolute and ultimate power, and He has written the script of the ages. That script is called Scripture, and studying biblical prophecy is nothing less than an investigation into God’s plan for the future. 

It appears to me that we could well be living in the last days. Alarming as this is, it has always been part of God’s plan, and there’s great comfort in knowing that His program is right on schedule. I’m excited about the future because I’m excited about Christ. In Him, we’re safe and secure from all alarm. We’re hidden in the cleft of the Rock. We’re engraved on the palm of His hand. 

And His hand is at the helm of history