You must be aware of this, every single event that occurs in and for this world is leading up to three singular events, they have been set up by God before the foundation of the world, and they will not be stayed or diverted. There is no “getting better” when it comes to personal sin, whether it remains personal or spreads across the globe, unrepentant sin requires by a Holy God punishment for that sin, and as it was in the days of Noah, sin is disregarded as irrelevant by many today.
Every small step away from the precepts and commandments of God lead to the next step, and the further we get away from them, the easier it is to disregard them all. This is called liberalism, a designing by the mind of man as to what is right and what should be considered wrong. “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.” (Lev. 18:3) These times are nothing new, save for one thing, and that one thing is what sets them apart, sets them in the same context as the days of Noah, they are occurring on a worldwide scale, and every person on this planet is now or soon will be affected by them.
The first singular event will be the rapture, (1 Thess. 4:17) the taking away from this planet in the twinkling of an eye the chosen of God, the followers of Jesus Christ, but much must happen first. Our adversary is the father of lies, (John 8:44) a master of subtlety, and his deceptions come at a very slow and precise pace. “All these are the beginnings of sorrows.” (Matt. 24:8) What has begun to be seen as right in the eyes of the world is slowly being accepted into the hearts of those who profess the name of Christ, for many are still easily persuaded. This path will continue, for sin does not know how to stop, it is abated only by the repentant heart towards God, and those in the world who do not serve Him as Lord cannot see what is occurring. It is almost imperceptible, and it takes the wisdom of God imparted into the heart of a man to be able to see with as much clarity as he has been blessed with the path that is set before this planet, and the place on that path that each of us are to reside on. The only other possible response one could possibly give is “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:4)
The second singular event will be the rise of the anti-Christ, and this to will come with great subtlety. The first step by him to gain complete and total control of mankind was taken in the garden of Eden, he has given no thought to anything else since that day, his desire is to be worshipped, and one does not just step up to the podium and demand such a request. Servitude requires obedience, and all obedience to Satan requires fear of the consequences if that servitude is not accomplished by the individual. All who will not acquiesce to his demands must be ostracized, and there is no better way to do that than to set in place rules and regulations that, if they are not adhered to, allow the general population who do follow them to seek action against those who will not.
The fear of death is the greatest catalyst to ensure that those who will not comply to the new mandates are seen as the ones responsible for the continuation of the event, those who will not adhere to the new regulations are seen as the cause of the situation, and therefore their punishment is justifiable. You may insert the wearing of masks and the separation of individuals by a predetermined distance here if you so choose to, everything has a beginning, save for Almighty God.
“But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matt. 24:13) “Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions.” (Dan. 2:17) You may know them better as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but these were their names, as much as Daniel’s name was Daniel and not Belteshazzar. They were told that whoever would not bow down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up (Dan. 3:5) would be cast alive into the fiery furnace, not on the day that they first appeared in front of it along with everyone else in the kingdom, but months ahead of time, before construction on it even began. They knew their fate if they did not do as they were told, and they had plenty of time to think about the consequences of their actions if they refused to obey. “We are not careful to answer thee in this matter.” (Dan. 3:16) In other words, we have had plenty of time to think about this, we have prayed diligently about this matter, and we will not do as the rest of the world is doing, even if it costs us our lives.
The first, small step away is the one step that counts the most, for it leads us the furthest away, it makes every step that much more easier. Many have determined throughout the ages to not take this first step, and they have gone further than just being ostracized by the community, they have gone further than just being inconvenienced, they have died, they have been killed for His Name. The fire was not quenched, the axe was not laid aside, life did not continue, they gave their lives for Jesus Christ, they were able to see the subtle deceits of the adversary and they were prepared for the day when it arrived. “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
The golden image is being rebuilt, all those who have determined to live their lives by the faith of Christ and who will not bow to the image will be persecuted, mildly at first, admonished to “Lay aside this silly notion of not bowing, after all, it is such a little thing, everyone else is doing it. And no one will think less of you in the end. God will understand, you will be forgiven, after all, He wants you to have a long and prosperous life, free from any trouble and turmoil.” The first step is the most difficult, the decision to take it or not has been left up to each of us.
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) The image is being set up again, the Lord has determined the path of this planet, (John 1:1-5) the wise have been shown what is coming, they have been blessed by Almighty God to be able to see at least some of the signs, and they have determined their fellow man worthy of the warnings they are proclaiming for His glory.
The last singular event will be the return of the bride of Christ to this planet, to rule and reign with Him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:4) All of these things have been foretold in the Scriptures, they are plain and clear for all to see, there is none with an excuse. You are the only one that is responsible for your actions, you must determine if the immediate is more important to you than the eternal, you must be the one that makes the decision, if that time arrives, if you are going to bow or not. The pressure will be great, the lies will be incredibly difficult to discern, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matt. 24:24) There must come in the life of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ a time when they must determine within themselves if they are going to stand for Him or not, I will not say their salvation can be lost, for it cannot, but every reward can be.
God is beginning to separate the chaff from the wheat, He is at the winnowing floor, and in His great mercy He is giving us time to make a decision, no different than the months that Daniel’s friends were given, the same as He has done for man in every age, but the time is short, the signs are sure, He is calling His servants to serve. You will not be able to perform that which He may call you to do, of that you may rest assured, no man could, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that any of us will be able to stand in the days that are approaching. Your decision must be how much you are willing to submit to His leading, this has always been the path that our Lord has placed in front of all of His children, free will.
Cry aloud with the man that said, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Determine within yourself to obey, to stand firm, to be filled with the knowledge of His will, (Col. 1:9) ask Him to give you a heart that can discern between good and evil as Solomon did, (1 Kings 3:9) ask Him to bless you with the wisdom to see the evil that is approaching, to be able to see the subtle tricks and deceits of Satan as he prepares to launch his final battle. But ask Him mostly to give you the strength to stand for Him.
The days are like a barking dog who will not stop, like the planes that leave the airport directly over your house, or the trains that go by so frequently, we tend to get used to them, we tend to just allow the sins of the world to go unobserved, because they are so frequent. Now is not the time to be dull of hearing my friends, the time for action is approaching fast, and those actions will require a faith that trusts to the very end. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)
