This
is not a
TEST!

Remember the radio test where they would interrupt normal broadcasting with those annoying blasts to gain everyone’s attention, and then report that “This is only a test. If it had been an actual emergency, you would be notified where to dial your radio for further information.” Those were the good old days when we were thankful that they were at least setting up some sort of a system that we [believed] would prepare us in advance of some potential danger,

even though the past couple of generations had not experienced any danger first hand, at least not on our own soil. Then 9/11 happened. The tide turned. The world became global, engulfing nations and economies. It happened so fast. There are enough distractions in the wars of nations and politics, that we don’t focus for very long on the big picture. But then, very few can keep up with all that is being thrown at us from every angle imaginable.

The Sky is Falling!

If somebody of importance were to stand up today and proclaim that the 'Sky is Falling!' would anyone care? Well I am not an important person in the public annuls of history, but I have been given a job by a very important person, the person of the Holy Spirit. Back in November of 2005, during my devotion time the Holy Spirit impressed on me Colossians 1.28 " To proclaim [Jesus Christ], warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man full-grown in Christ Jesus...". But more about this important verse later.

THE SKY FELL ONCE BEFORE  - in the form of rain...

The warning signs are all around, but who's looking? I was driving into town the other day thinking about all of the events that are taking place in our world today and the soon return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Lord directed my thoughts to all the activity going on around me. Cars everywhere. People going to and fro, busy with work, family chores, kids activities, shopping, meeting friends for coffee, and He asked me "Who is watching for my return?" [Matt 24.42; Rev 16.15] The most important event in history is about to converge on man and we are passionately about the cares of life. Jesus said that in the last days just prior to His return, life would resemble the time of Noah just before the flood. The door to the ark was still open to all who would pay attention to the warnings of Noah and his family. Noah warned for over one hundred years that the 'sky was going to fall' in the form of rain. Rain was something that had never happened before. That was preposterous. Rain? But one day God closed the door and "...the flood came and took them all away [those outside the ark], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matthew 24.40)

Warning signs are only visible to someone who is alert and paying attention. Distraction happens to all of us. Missed exits from the freeway, missed appointments, missed investment opportunities, all because we weren't paying attention. How many times have we heard of people saying that they didn't pay attention to signs of deteriorating health until it was too late.

The Bible is full of warnings. God never leaves His people without warnings and instructions. But who is paying attention? History was repeated when Jesus was here on earth two thousand years ago. The Old Testament is replete with prophecies that the Messiah was going to come as a Savior and a final Sacrifice for the sins of mankind. But the Jews had predetermined how His appearance should take place. Their focus was on the events of the day, the Roman Empire had control of Jerusalem and they were being oppressed. Israel had it's attention distracted, and when Jesus showed up, they did not recognize Him. They wanted someone who would defeat the Roman government and re-establish the Land of Israel. Jesus had setup a special time to reveal Himself as the Savior. John the Baptist had heralded His coming. Jesus spent the last three years of His time here on earth, preaching the gospel, debating in the Synagogues and declaring that He is God's Son, sent by God to bring peace and salvation. On that day, the day of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus wept. On that day when the mob was waving palm branches and laying down robes for Him and hailing Him as the Messiah but Jesus wept. Jesus wept because that day Israel rejected Him and within the week they would all abandon Him and crucify Him as a fraud. And Jesus said, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. (Luke 19:42 NASB)

It was not because the religious leaders did not know about His coming as the Messiah, because His entrance into Jerusalem was perfectly predicted centuries before in the Scriptures. But they were focused elsewhere. They wanted a different kind of Messiah. They missed their time of blessing. So Jesus temporarily closed the eyes of the nation of Israel and turned His focus of salvation to the Gentiles. [For more study on this see Romans chapters 9-11 plus many other references]. Thus we have the Church age, or, the Age of Grace. But, this Age of Grace is not going to last forever. Jesus said that "Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21.24). Our age of grace is going to end. I don't know what you can do with this bit of trivia, but it is interesting to me that there was approximately 2,000 years (I am not trying to be precise in rounding out the time periods) from creation to the time that God called Abraham to father the nation of Israel. Then from the call of Abraham to the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, mention above, was approximately 2,000 more years. Then from the start of the Church Age to today is approximately another 2,000 years. That is a total of about 6,000 years. Many prophecy scholars think that that is significant and it will make for a very interesting study for the Bereans of the Word.

THE SKY IS GOING TO FALL AGAIN

The Bible does not give a precise time for the end of this Age of Grace that we live in, but we do know that Jesus is going to come in the clouds and catch up to Himself those Saints who have truly repented of their sins and made Jesus Christ the Lord of their life. That will be the end of the Church Age. And soon after the rapture, the 70th week of Daniel, or the Seven year Tribulation period will begin, and will culminate in the Second Return of Christ, through the clouds, as Victor over satan and all his evils that he has borne on this world. The Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has always been 100% accurate in all prophecies, and there is no reason to believe that the accuracies of future events will stop anytime soon. It is curious to note that there are more prophecies concerning the Second Return of Christ, which is yet future, than there was of His First coming.

There are hundreds of scriptures depicting the events of the 70th week of Daniel (a still future event). But who's watching? I have asked many people what they think about the rapture of the Church and the Tribulation period, and if one in ten have an interest I am shocked. They say that "If that is going to happen, it will happen and I am not going to worry about. I have too much to think about without confusing life with that." But Jesus said to watch! Be ready! It is quite a gamble to not do everything you can to be ready for the moment He calls you home. Jesus is not coming for those who are lukewarm. He is not coming for those who claim salvation but have no fruit, no change in their life styles. 1 John 2.4 says "He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him."

You must Choose life (John 14.6). Eternal death is already the default for every person. We must choose life through Jesus Christ. Christ is the only way to eternal life. Only He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Only He, God incarnate, could pay the great price of redemption for us to have the privilege of being restored back into fellowship with Him. Out of His extreme love for His creation, Christ came and became the sacrifice that no other entity could perform just so we can spend eternity with Him. But He gave us a choice, and we have to choose whom we will serve, either Jesus Christ, or this world. We cannot have both.

In Luke 18.8 Jesus asked this poignant question, "...when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" To the attentive bible student that question will make him stop and examine himself to see if he has 'the faith' that is spoken of here. The word faith is the Greek word 'pistis' which is interchangeably for both 'belief' and 'faith' used throughout the New Testament. (I have an expanded study on the definition of our 'Belief/Faith system' in a seperate article titled 'Belief/Faith') Faith is the proof and action of what you believe. But today many people want to rely only on their 'belief' that Jesus is going to rapture those who 'claim' Christianity but have no real commitment or life change. Jesus said to 'watch' and prepare for His return. 1 John 3.2-3 says "... We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." Throughout the New Testament we are admonished and encouraged to be ready and prepared for the 'time will come as a thief' and many will be caught unprepared. The book of James goes into great detail showing that we cannot rely on what we believe only. We must have a working faith that acts on our belief of the Word. Faith without works, or preparation and obedience to the Word, is dead. Jesus is not coming for dead faith. He is coming for those who are prepared, not in word alone, but in his deeds of obedience.

The Sky is going to Fall again - this time with fire!

Sin has been devastating to God's creation which He claimed in Genesis chapter 1 that it "was good". Everything we see today has been corrupted by sin. The whole makeup of the earth was changed during the flood. Every health issue, every social issue, every sickness and disease has been a result of that original sin that entered into the nature of man. We have a tendency to think that our little white lies have no effect, but every act of unrighteousness effects not only ourselves, but those around us. They not only affect the moment the act of sin was committed, but can affect generations after us. The very first act of sin has affected every generation since Adam and Eve and our only hope is in Christ Jesus. God cannot look on sin. And one day, the heavens and earth will be destroyed with intense heat [2 Peter 3.7]. This is the way that God is going to totally annihilate sin for eternity. God takes acts of sin and disobedience very seriously and we must take the price of redemption very seriously also. God promised us who are washed by the blood of the Cross, that we would have a new heaven and a new earth. and God said in 2 Peter 3.13-18, that "since we look for these things, that we should be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless..." and that "... we are to be on guard so that we are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from our own steadfastness."

• "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." (2Peter 3:3-4)
• "...But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2Peter 3:7
• "However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?" (Rom 10:16)

This is not a TEST! God’s Word has given us every warning possible and neglect of those warnings will not be sufficient for pardon. God’s Holy Inspired Word puts everything in perspective on eternity, and He says that we are to ‘make our calling and election sure.’ [2 Peter 1.10] God also gave us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to guide and teach us all things, but He only teaches as we drink in the Word of God. As we read the Word, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit the Truth of God’s Word. We as a nation have transcended into a global economic and political system that is going to test the very fabric of Christian beliefs. We, in America, have learned to be very lax and arrogant about our Christianity because we haven’t been put to the test. And I don’t want to be labeled a pessimist, but the test is here. It’s going to very subtle to most people. It will come with distractions that will cause anyone who is not focused on God’s Word, to think that we are just going through some bad luck. You hear it everywhere, “Oh, this is just a short down turn and it will soon pass and we will be back to normal”. At the same time, the leaders of nations are saying that they do not have the required answers to solve these problems, and that they are looking for someone who does. But heed God’s warning, satan is a deceiver and God said that he would deceive even the very elect if God does not intervene on our behalf.

In the past, the problems Americans faced were more focused. The Cold War years, the Gas crisis of the 70’s, the inflation period in 1980. All warning signs, I believe, of the liberal establishment to remove prayer from schools, to relax abortion regulations, to separate government from religion so that the moral fabric of both the government entity and society is not held to a religious standard. Today, we see an all out assault on family values, political correctness when it comes to Christian values, and a government that is bending under global pressures towards socialism. On top of that, every person in America is being affected by an economic crisis that has been built on greed and profit taking in every sector of the financial world. Then we add the changes we face from intrusion into the private life of citizens from two fronts, worldwide terrorism, and identity theft. You put all this together, and it is too much to assimilate into the conscience. So most people just ignore and pretend.

There is the promise of a world leader that will bring peace, and leaders of governments and society in general are searching for that person. Only those who are in the process of making Jesus Christ the Lord of their life will recognize the deceitfulness of the soon to be revealed leader. Only those who have learned to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within each born again believer, will be able to withstand the temptation of having the promise of ‘plenty’ supplied by this world’s system. Only in the arms of Jesus can we have real genuine peace.

Where do you stand? Do you say, as many will, "Where is the promise of His coming?" If so, then there is nothing to do except eat, drink, be merry and ignore the signs of the times.

If you take the warnings of God's Word seriously, then you must be obedient to God's instructions. Run to God according to 1 John 1.9 and “confess our sins, for He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, and declare Jesus Christ as Lord, warning every man, in all wisdom, of His soon return, that you may present those, whom God places in your path, complete in Him on that day. (Colossians 1.28). Jesus isn't willing that any should perish – and neither should we.

I want to urge you to find a small group of like-minded people who want to grow spiritually.

Would you like to grow spiritually?

Are you interested in living a vibrant life in Jesus Christ? Living a mediocre Christian life is way below what Christ called us to. It’s mundane and not exciting. But Jesus has more for us. All we have to do is transfer our dependence on ‘things’ and governments, to dependence on Him. He wants us to ‘fix our eyes upon Jesus’, the author and finisher of our faith. He wants to be ambassadors and light to a dark world. He wants us to be overcomers of this worlds system. He wants us to effectively war against the forces of darkness and the powers and principalities that are ruling governments today. He has given us the authority and the power to be victors, but it only comes through submission to His Word and by walking in the Spirit. And it comes by growing as the body of Christ having one goal and that is the Gospel of Jesus. Too many today are islands unto themselves, and this stunts our personal growth and our corporate growth as the body Christ. Jesus said that where two or more are gathered together in His Name, He is in our midst, teaching us all things, and giving us power ‘collectively’ over those that are against us.

Please consider joining a small group today. Jesus wants you involved, and other people need your support. If you have questions about this article or small groups please email at the address below or call the church office to talk to somebody.

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We invite you to visit our website for additional articles on preserving the Definitions of the Word of God. These articles are written for small group leaders as a foundation for Biblical Truth.
For further reading on this subject we recommend two books by John MacArthur: Hard to Believe – Thomas Nelson Pub – 2003 Truth War – Nelson Books – 2007 __________________________________

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Comments are welcome

• Unbelief is when God has spoken and you do nothing.
• Presumption is when you act when God has not spoken.
• Faith is when you act upon God’s instructions.

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