Category: antichrist / man of sin / son of perdition

The Key to Be Happy! #5

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” (Proverbs 3:13 KJV).

What is the key to happiness?

Chapter 1 of Proverbs begins: “[1] The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; [2] To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; [3] To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; [4] To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. [5] A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: [6] To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. [7] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

The first chapter of Proverbs sets the Book’s tone: the wisdom contained therein will keep Israel in God’s will, especially concerning Christ’s earthly ministry (which is 1,000 years into the future). Unfortunately, very few realize this prophetic significance of Proverbs. For example, did you know, dear friend, that, had Israel been walking by faith in Proverbs, they would have received Jesus Christ? Instead, they rejected Him, plotted to destroy Him, and crucified Him. Read Proverbs 1:10-19, compared to Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, and Luke 20:9-19. Proverbs is quite clear that they should have never conspired to do away with the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, notice the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts chapter 2, Pentecost) in Proverbs 1:23, and the outpouring of God’s wrath (Daniel’s 70th Week) in Proverbs 1:24-33 (cf. Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:16-21).

Ecclesiastes 12:13, the second to last verse of the Book, is Solomon’s deduction: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” This “fear of God” and these “commandments” are laid out in the Book of Proverbs. Had Solomon applied by faith what he knew in Proverbs (what the Holy Spirit had already used him to write), he would have never fallen into the spiritual trap of Ecclesiastes (what he wrote later). Israel, in the ages to come, is to learn these lessons so as to guard against the Antichrist’s lie program….

Give Me Another Day to Think About It

Monday, March 20, 2023

“The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity” (Psalm 94:11 KJV).

Dear friends, are we so silly as to want another day to think about more folly?

Once, a police officer patrolling his neighborhood noticed a prostitute hobbling on crutches and wearing a conspicuous cast on her leg. He stopped his car and began talking with her. She explained how one of her “clients” had recently shot her in the foot and disabled her. In fact, she refused to name the perpetrator so the police could arrest him, fearing he would have her “coworkers” retaliate. At this point, the officer asked her if she wanted to leave her line of work and find a more respectable job. She hesitated and then replied, “Give me another day to think about it.” What ultimately happened to that poor woman is unknown.

As sinners, we engage in self-destructive behavior because it is fun. That woman working the streets was having a “good time,” and she was making a lot of money in the process, but her profession was indecent, hazardous, and even life-threatening. She wanted to wallow in sin just a little longer—knowing full well she was not acting in her best interests. There is pleasure in sin for a season, Hebrews 11:25 tells us. Read today’s Scripture in context (all of Psalm 94). The wicked are persecuting Israel’s believing remnant during Daniel’s 70th Week. With the Antichrist in office, crime abounds and no one is there to deliver the righteous. The saints suffer while the evildoers prosper; the evildoers believe they can continue in their sin and not reap the bitter consequences (see their empty thoughts in today’s Scripture).

The Psalmist asks God to “shew thyself” and take vengeance (verse 1). Here is one of the many “imprecatory psalms” of Scripture, the believers praying for the LORD to punish sinners and rescue saints. Psalm 94 summarizes the Second Coming of Christ, when He deals with such sinners in wrath (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9). If we are sinners without Jesus Christ today, may we come to Him by faith in His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4), while we still have opportunity. May we not say, “give me another day to think about it!”

Looking Unto Jesus

Saturday, March 4, 2023

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1,2 KJV).

An artist once drew a night scene in which a man was rowing a boat across a large body of water. The waves were rough and the winds were strong. Storm clouds veiled the moon and all the stars except one. Focused on that solitary point of light, the man paddled on and on. The artist added a caption at the bottom: “If I lose that, I am lost!” Here is an extremely simple application of today’s Scripture.

In Matthew 14:22-27, the Lord Jesus Christ was delayed in meeting His disciples in the ship on the Sea of Galilee. Eventually, they no longer expected Him. When He finally showed up, they supposed He was a spirit or ghost. Keep reading: “[28] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. [29] And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. [31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? [32] And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.”

Peter took his eyes off the Lord, looked at his perilous circumstances, and began to sink! Likewise, in today’s Scripture, the Holy Spirit reminds believing Israel suffering the troubles of Daniel’s 70th Week to keep watching Jesus, not the evil Antichrist or his followers. Saints, we would do well to remember to firmly fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and not our difficulties (Romans 8:31-39)!

Hearing is Not Enough #10

Saturday, January 14, 2023

“And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word” (Luke 10:39 KJV).

Is hearing the Word of God enough? (NO!)

As numerous people in history heard the Word of God but placed no faith in it, as myriads today hear the Holy Bible yet refuse to trust it, so many souls in the future will hear the Word of God and persist in unbelief.

Hebrews 3:15 speaks of the ages to come: “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” See Psalm 95:7,8: “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.” Psalms recalls Israel’s unbelief during the 40-year wilderness wanderings under Moses. Hebrews looks to the future, when countless Jewish unbelievers support the Antichrist. Having heard substantial information about Jesus being Christ, but not trusting Him as personal Saviour, their callous or unfeeling heart thus inclines toward the Antichrist (thereby leading to their eternal doom)!

As much sound Bible doctrine as we have heard, we should not only have believed it in our head but, more importantly, trusted it in our heart. If we believe in our heart less than what we have learned, the Lord is never (!) to blame for any resultant confusion, heartache, misery, or apostasy.

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe [not simply ‘hear,’ but ‘believe!’]” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

“And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47,48).

God’s Battle #9

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

“And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15 KJV).

Indeed, “for the battle is not yours, but God’s!”

Remember, Zechariah 14:1-4 is Christ’s future return in power and great glory. Keep reading: “[12] And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. [13] And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. [14] And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.” (See Christ’s earthly kingdom founded in verse 9.)

Again, verses 13 and 14 remind us of the war of today’s Scripture. Whether history or prophecy, Israel’s enemies destroy each other, leaving their material riches behind for the Jewish people to enjoy (re-read 2 Chronicles 20:23,25). Furthermore, how interesting it is that the Gentile armies who sought to besiege Jerusalem during Jehoshaphat’s lifetime match those Gentile nations united with the Antichrist against Jerusalem and Israel in the ages to come. Compare Psalm 83:1-8 with 2 Chronicles 20:1,22,23—noting especially the Moabites and Ammonites.

In both past and future, Gentiles want the Promised Land that God gave Israel forever (see 2 Chronicles 20:7,10,11), and are determined to annihilate the Jewish people to achieve that end (Psalm 83:4,5). Read Psalm 83:9-18, believing Israel praying for Christ’s Second Coming to deliver them as He did with Deborah, Gideon, David, Jehoshaphat, and so on. The prosperity, fear, and peace of Jehoshaphat’s reign that followed the war of today’s Scripture (see verses 25-30) foreshadow Christ’s Millennial Kingdom (Isaiah 61:6; Zechariah 9:10; Zechariah 14:11).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Psalm 110:1 #6

Saturday, June 25, 2022

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1 KJV).

How does today’s Scripture, this Psalm of David, explain the Bible timeline for us?

One key incident in the prophetic program concerns God the Father directing God the Son to sit at His right hand in Heaven. The Son would remain seated there until it was time for His enemies to be made His footstool. A “footstool,” as the name implies, is furniture on which someone’s feet rests. Therefore, to be made a “footstool” meant utterly defeated, the victor placing his foot on the loser’s neck. Such imagery is violent and indicative of war.

As we now know, Psalm 110:1 was partially fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry ended and He returned to His Heavenly Father in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:9-12. “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19). The next event on the prophetic calendar, according to today’s Scripture, was for Jesus Christ to rise from His seated position. Peter proclaimed that in Acts 2:34-36, and Stephen witnessed it unfolding in Acts 7:55,56. Yet, the Lord paused prophecy so it was not completely fulfilled. He initiated that drastic dispensational change with Saul of Tarsus.

“Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee” (Numbers 10:35). Psalms repeats the vocative, “Arise, O LORD” (Psalm 3:7; Psalm 7:6; Psalm 9:19; Psalm 10:12; Psalm 17:13; Psalm 44:23; Psalm 132:8); here is believing Israel in the ages to come, pleading for JEHOVAH God to return and save them from the Antichrist. Isaiah 2:19-21 depicts the LORD arising to “shake terribly the earth.” Also, Isaiah 3:13: “The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.” Finally, “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence [return, Second Coming!!!] of God” (Psalm 68:1,2).

Today, Christ is once again sitting… for now….

Superfluous #3

Saturday, June 11, 2022

“For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many” (2 Corinthians 9:1,2 KJV).

What does “superfluous” mean?

To prepare them for the Antichrist’s satanic religious-economic system (Revelation 13:15-18), Christ directed His disciples to relinquish and sell their material goods (Matthew 19:21-30; Mark 10:21-31; Luke 18:22-30). Guarding against Satan’s distractions, they were not to be attached to this world’s riches (Matthew 6:19-34; Luke 12:13-34). In Acts 2:44,45 and Acts 4:32-37, Israel’s believing remnant obeyed Christ: they literally sold their personal possessions and lived off a common fund.

Of course, our dispensation introduced in Acts chapter 9 postponed the prophetic program, so the Antichrist is still future and their common fund went bankrupt. In Acts 11:27-30, a “dearth” or famine struck Judaea (the neighborhood of Jerusalem), further compounding the Little Flock’s dire financial straits: “Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul [another name for the Apostle Paul].” Hence, in some of Paul’s “Acts” epistles, we read such verses as the following.

“But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things” (Romans 15:25-27). “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality [kind donations] unto Jerusalem” (1 Corinthians 16:1-3).

Here is “the ministering to the saints” of today’s Scripture….

Labour for the More Important Meat #4

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

“Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (John 6:26,27 KJV).

Where is our interest—in “the meat which perisheth” or in “that meat which endureth unto everlasting life?”

Our five senses allow us to experience the natural world in which we live, so we are frequently pressured to pay attention only to what we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Nevertheless, through the eyes of faith, we appreciate the fact that this world is passing away—a fleeting arrangement of time and space.

The Apostle John advised Israel’s Little Flock undergoing the difficulties due to the Antichrist’s brutal regime and satanic religion: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).

In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, the Apostle Paul recommended: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Relentlessly hanging on to the material world and its pleasures is to ignore their short-lived status (see today’s Scripture). Far better it is to seek to obtain spiritual truth, that which will span the endless ages of eternity future….

The Burning Fiery Furnace #10

Saturday, March 12, 2022

“Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:4-6 KJV).

Is today’s Scripture “dead history?” Or, could there be any relevance to something in “the ages to come?”

Dear friends, the evil world system of which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was a part some six centuries before Christ, is the evil world system present with us at this very moment, and is the same evil world system from which the Antichrist will arise when the prophetic program resumes. As Israel’s believing remnant in history chose to separate from it—at whatever cost—so Israel’s believing remnant in the future will decide to keep away from it—at whatever cost. With them before us and after us, we are in the middle on the Bible timeline.

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul exhorts us to also isolate ourselves from false religion: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

Of course, if we must face capital punishment for the LORD’S sake as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did long ago, so be it! “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

The Burning Fiery Furnace #9

Friday, March 11, 2022

“Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:4-6 KJV).

Is today’s Scripture “dead history?” Or, could there be any relevance to something in “the ages to come?”

We recall chapter 32 of Exodus, when Israel had music as they sang and danced naked around a golden calf idol: “[18] And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. [19] And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.”

How significant it is that, 900 years later, musical instruments greatly contributed to another “moving” religious service out in a broad plain of Babylon (today’s Scripture). Those hypnotic melodies, those songs, stirred the hearers to become so enthralled they just spontaneously fell down to the ground before a blasphemous heathen statue: “Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up” (verse 7). This event, from 26 centuries ago, looks to the future.

In the ages to come, with respect to Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar’s city!), certain doom is announced: “And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee…” (Revelation 18:22). Musical instruments will literally play an integral part in the Antichrist’s religious system—until the Lord returns to silence them once and for all as He brings His believing remnant through the fire alive.

Let us conclude this devotionals arc….