Date of message: 23 March 2003
Subject: The Sign Of The Times - The Gauntlet Had
Been Thrown Down
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
Gulf War 2 had started on Thursday morning 20 March Singapore time, barely
two hours after the expiry of the ultimatum from President George W Bush
for President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq within 48 hours
or face war. The first stealth bomber flew over Baghdad and unleashed
some of the most dangerous bombs - the bunker duster bomb that could penetrate
at least three floors below ground.
It looked as if President Bush was tired of Saddam's game of 'show and
tell'. Each time the US intelligence showed something, Saddam would mysteriously
come up with some 'forgotten' document. Under that sort of environment,
the US, UK and Spanish governments felt that war would have been unavoidable.
On Monday evening Washington DC time (Tuesday morning Singapore time),
President Bush made an address to the US people laying down his reasons
for wanting to go ahead with the war and he also offered an olive branch
to President Saddam to leave the country peacefully or face the consequences.
Soon after he gave that ultimatum, all governments gave notice to their
nationals present in Iraq to evacuate immediately for their own safety.
Two thousand years ago, God did something similar to the devil. God also
threw the gauntlet down and gave notice to the devil that his end is near.
The sand in the sand clock had been flowing overtime since and the devil
knows that he is now on borrowed time.
When Jesus died on the cross on that Friday, he took all our sins and
paid the price for it. The devil did not realize the significance of that
death yet. He was elated on that Friday and I am sure he must have celebrated
with his merry band. However, on Sunday morning when our Lord Jesus rose
form the grave and came back alive, his countenance fell. He had not gambled
on the resurrection of Jesus. He had thought he had covered all grounds;
it was a fool-proof plan and he was most pleased with himself for his
'brilliant' plan - until Sunday morning.
When the Lord came back to life, it was testimony to everyone that the
Father was well pleased with what Jesus had accomplished for us on the
cross. If God were not satisfied with the death of Jesus on the cross,
He would not have raised our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back to life.
He would have remained dead and then there would not have been hope for
the whole world.
But thanks to the Lord, Jesus did rise from the dead and He is now in
heaven seated on the right hand of the Father. He will return for his
own and then the End would be ascertained. The prophet Daniel prophesied
in Daniel 9: 27: -
27. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for a week; but in the
middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And
on the wings of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until
consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.
One thing we know for sure is that there will be seven years of Tribulation
and this is confirmed by Jesus in Revelation 11: 1 - 14 in which He describes
how, in the second half of the seven-year period, for 42 months (1260
days to be exact) the two witnesses will torment the anti-Christ and remind
him of his end and how the enemy would attempt to kill them but they have
supernatural powers and could not be killed.
The Bible goes further and tells us how, four days from the end, God would
allow the two witnesses to be killed but their bodies would lie on the
streets in public view. Their bodies would not decay but will be intact
and after three and one half days, they will come back alive again and
rise up to heaven at the command of our Lord Jesus. Subsequently, the
whole Earth will be shaken and there will be a great earthquake and then
Jesus will return to Jerusalem and reign from there.
Those seven years of Tribulation will be terrible times to live in with
God pouring forth His judgement on the whole world and the anti-Christ
will have his full control over the events of the world. I am sure most
people in their right minds would not want to be part of it if they can
help it.
I have good news! All believers in Christ Jesus will not have to go through
the Tribulation but they will be taken up into heaven to be with the Lord
for a Wedding Feast and then we shall return with Him to rule this Earth
for a thousand years (read Revelations chapter 21). We have been redeemed
by the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and hence we will be spared the
judgement; instead we will rise up in the clouds when Jesus appears in
mid-air and calls us home. We will all be changed into our eternal bodies
and we will be raised up into heaven just like Jesus when He ascended
into heaven forty days after He rose from the dead. The apostle Paul described
this phenomenon in 1Thessalonians 4: 16 -17: -
16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ
will rise first.
17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always
be with the Lord.
The Rapture, as it is known among Christian circles, will be so spectacular
that the devil cannot ignore it. Vast numbers will disappear all of a
sudden and the devil has been preparing the world for that day to explain
it away. Have you ever wondered why there had been so many movies and
TV serials produced on extra-terrestrials beings visiting the Earth and
snatching people away into their spaceships or humans being beamed away
to some far away planet in some obscure part of the universe? We have
movies like 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', "Body Snatchers',
'Invaders from Outer Space' just to name a few. And we have television
series like 'X-Files', 'The Twilight Zone', etc.
The devil is preparing an alibi to explain away our disappearance that
we were taken away by space creatures and frighten away those who want
to believe the good news of Jesus but are timid and can be easily swayed.
He wants to have as many people as possible to remain ignorant of the
fact that Jesus died for all and that salvation is available to all. He
is simply jealous of our positions because there is no longer any hope
for him and his company of fallen angels.
God is gracious to us in that He has extended the time for us to repent
and believe in Him and be saved. He could have closed the book and declared
the End a long time ago but He did not. He is merciful because He wants
every single person to have an opportunity to hear of His love for him/
her. (2Peter 3: 9). Unlike President Bush, our God is merciful and had
extended the deadline for two thousand years now. But He will not wait
any longer as world events seem to be pointing. His imminent return may
be just round the corner. He may come tonight while we are asleep or He
may come next month or maybe next year? One thing is certain; when He
comes for His own, some of your friends will walk and talk with you no
more for they will have gone up to heaven to be with Jesus forever. I
know I will be joining that party in heaven and I will be enjoying every
moment of it.
Will you be there in heaven at the party with Jesus celebrating His wedding
with His Bride, the Church? The invitation to join in with the celebration
has been extended to everyone. All that is needed is for you to believe
in Jesus, the One Who had died for you and taken away your sin and He
will come into your heart and give you eternal life. By believing in Jesus
and receiving His Holy Spirit into our lives, God confers on us the position
of sons and daughters in His Family, special positions reserved for those
whom He loves dearly. (John 1: 12)
The Lord does not lie. For Him, whatever He speaks come to pass and He
had promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him
will not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8:
1).
Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite Him into your heart and immediately
you will experience the peace coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that You love us so much You sent Your
only Beloved Son Jesus into this world to take our place and to die for
all our sins.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You came, You obeyed the Father, You died for
all on the cross, You conquered death and You rose again on the third
day. And now, because of Your death and resurrection, we, who believe
in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive
Your eternal life. Thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart
Your home.
Thank you that what You have accomplished for us on the cross has qualified
me to become a child of God the Father. Thank you that I am now eternally
forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely
protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Meshiah,
I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain
good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local
Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will
be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for
fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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