20 December 2016

Now Is The Winter of Our Discontent: Political Unrest

(with apologies to fans of Olde Bill)
 
 
The world is undergoing a shaking, right in front of our eyes, as played out on the 24-hour news cycle. Governments and political powers which previously seemed unmovable are trembling. Kings, prime ministers, presidents and rulers who were untouchable in the past are being removed from their places. Aside from unrest from different parts of the world, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis are getting stronger, and more frequent. It's time to read the signs of the time and check the historical map. Where are we, according to God’s master plan?

"Shaking of the earth" is not something that should surprise any reader of the Bible. God's Word records that it has already happened, and predicts that it will happen again.

Heb 12:26 ~ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also."

Heb 12:27 ~ This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.

Heb 12:28 ~ Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

Heb 12:29 ~ For our God is a consuming fire.

Paul, the author of the book of Hebrews, summarized the above text from the book of Haggai, chapter 2:6-7.
 
That book adds the following prophecy in preparation for the glorious temple and heavenly kingdom:
“I will overthrow royal thrones, destroying the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overturn their chariots and charioteers. The horses will fall, and their riders will kill each other.” Hag 2:22

Today, more turmoil is shaking the Middle East and central Europe, as those who are termed refugees turn on their hosts. From there, they slaughter innocents by the dozens and sometimes hundreds. The heat of Islamic revolution has spread or is now spreading to other countries.

The world as it was has been shaken, which once again reminds us of three fundamental truths.


THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL SOMEDAY SLIP AWAY

Heb 12:26 ~ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also."
No government or person, no matter how powerful they are, has the power to remain. The world is changing as it revolves.

Again, this shaking of world powers is not new to history. Daniel, chapter two, dramatically described it in prophetic way through the dream of the Babylonian king, and through it, the future transitions of the world powers were revealed.

You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-- an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Dan 2:31-35
 
Historians and Bible scholars generally agree that those symbols match these world powers:

1. The Babylonian Empire by Nebuchadnezzar - the head of gold
2. The Medo-Persian Empire: by Darius and Cyrus - the arm of silver
3. The Grecian Empire by Alexander the  Great - the belly and thighs of bronze
4. The Roman Empire by Caesars - Legs of iron and clay

Daniel 2:44 ~ In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.
Matthew 21:42 ~ "Then Jesus asked them, "Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ’The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see.’ "
Matthew 21:44 ~ "Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."
This present world and all its governments will someday pass away. We have to put our hope and trust in someone who will remain forever.

Our relationship with God is the only thing that we can keep forever.

Matthew 16:26 ~ "And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?"

All things may pass away; the world as we know it may be uprooted; life as we experience it may come to an end; but one thing stands eternally sure--the relationship of the Christian to God.
 
If you want to have a closer relationship with Jesus, you can pray this prayer and make that promise your own:

Dear God,
I can't manage my own life without you. I invite Jesus to come into my heart today and be the King and Lord of my life from this time on. I surrender my life to you today and I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
 
What then? Then you need to find a church which teaches the Bible, not feel-good messages from the Reader's Digest, and can help you find your way.
 
In the meantime, I would suggest you read a modern translation of the Gospel of John (fourth book of the New Testament). It explains who Jesus is, what He did, and why - and more importantly, what that means to you.
 
 
h/t Randy Bataanon

4 comments:

griz said...

Rev. Paul,
This is wonderful!
Would it be alright, if I shared this with others?

Take care, be safe.
God bless.
Griz

Rev. Paul said...

Griz, please do, sir. And thank you for the kind words. Blessings!

Sandy Livesay said...

Rev. Paul,

The world is in for major changes, and most just don't want to understand what's going on. I'll continue to pray for those who fail to understand.

Rev. Paul said...

Sandy, the Word says that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. That means that only those whose personal spirits are alive to God will be able to discern what THE Spirit wants to show them. The lost cannot fathom anything of God. That leaves them lost, confused, and unable to understand why things are the way they are.