Posts

Showing posts from March, 2022

Breaking News! Things are worse than yesterday.

Image
  Each day I go online to find various articles or videos for the social media accounts associated with this blog. Each day it is easier to find more bad news. You can always find bad news, of course, but it's so much easier now because of the convergence of events and the ease of access to information on the internet. Some days, there are so many news stories with connections to end times signs of Jesus' second coming that it's almost paralyzing to figure out which ones to share. Plus, there are lots of end-times ministries or social accounts sharing the same things (some to excess, perhaps). Today I went to my RSS reader and began working through the many news articles. It was exasperating. There were too many, really. How to choose? Which ones were the most important? Which were just fear porn to get clicks? At one point, all I could think is this: Things are just getting worse. But then that thought was immediately followed by: God is still on the throne. I will still

If you think you won't be deceived, you are in a place to be deceived.

Image
I want to say something about deception. We talk about the concept of end times "birth pangs," how things that will be grow in frequency and intensity. Amidst the earthquakes and wars and famine is the trickiest sign of all: deception. It's a sign you can see, but also may not realize you're a part of. In Matthew 24 and 25, we read about the tribulation. But in 24:4 , we see Jesus telling his disciples not to be deceived. Over and over, we are reminded in the Bible to be careful about deception. It's easy enough to tally up the earthquakes, wars and bombings, pestilence, the volcanic eruptions, the near-miss asteroids, the rising push for digital currency, the growing globalism, WEF—but you can't do the same with deception. Deception catches all of us, even the most astute and aware, off guard. At some point, in some way, to some degree, it takes our breath away. Fallen leaders. Self-proclaimed prophets whose predictions don't come true but still have a pu

What happens when the church doesn't understand Israel?

Image
One of the most concerning things I see today in the church is a confusion or misunderstanding of Israel.  It's gotten worse over time as the church starts sliding all over the place in belief. While it might not seem like a big deal, and nothing to argue over between two believers, I wanted to do a quick listing of what I see as the outcome of this confusion and the paths that lead from it. As you can see, some are concerning and, if someone goes far enough down the path, there is real destructive potential. Did the Church replace Israel? No. Absolutely not. According to theologian Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, if we look in the book of Acts, the term Israel is used 29 times, and the term church is used 19 times. The two groups are always noted as separate and distinct. This is seen in many other places, too. The book of Romans makes so clear the distinction between Israel and the church, and how there is grafting in instead of replacement. The church was a mystery, not seen in the Old