“Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)
We live in very precarious times in the history of the world. To the true child of God however, these are the days of the greater imminence of Christ. The coming of Jesus coinciding with the rapture of the church can happen anytime. The Imminence of Jesus in the rapture is a fundamental doctrine that counters certain beliefs that the true church will have to undergo the Great Tribulation. It is because the known preceding “Kingdom of God” events that have to take place before the Great Tribulation will diminish the imminence of Jesus’ coming. For example, we know for a fact that scripture says that the Antichrist will have to rise first, that he will enter into a treaty with Israel, that there will be a global rule before the tribulation. Therefore, if all these events will have to transpire before the return of Jesus, the imminence of Jesus’ return is therefore diminished. Jesus said clearly in Matthew 24 that the Son of Man will come at an hour when we least expect Him. Thus the teaching of imminence is established in both the gospels and the writings of the Apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians being the clearest on the subject. “We are not appointed to wrath”, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says.
While no one knows the exact day and hour, Jesus said that we will know that His coming is near by the signs. He said lawlessness will abound. We as His church in our generation should be faithful in preaching the gospel. We should also call out the rampant lawlessness perpetuated at the highest levels. We should pray for a mighty revival that will sweep this land and change the hearts of its leaders toward righteousness. When we see edicts being enacted that further enable the killing of the unborn, redefine marriage and family, advances globalism, threatens Israel and champions such acts through a lying media - the woes described in Isaiah 5:20 fall on this nation. The Bible says God will “give them up” to their debased minds (Romans 1:28) so that man will further self destruct. They call evil good and good evil. They call the murder of babies a woman’s choice for her health. Homosexuality is qualified as merely a “sexual orientation”. Marriage between a man and a woman has been relegated to a mere “alternative lifestyle” choice among other forms of marriage. We are further downhill as a nation in the slippery slope of moral devastation that God’s purple fury of judgement is long overdue. We hear Isaiah’s words resound as a final warning: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)
This is God’s wake up call to the church and the world and it may be the final one. We, the church of Jesus possess the glorious hope that “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”(Luke 21:28) While our rapture is closer than ever before, let us stand against evil and bravely call it out. Let us warn against the coming persecution and attacks on our religious freedoms. Let us pray harder than ever before for God to send a mighty revival that will berth the next Great Awakening before He comes. And let us share the love of Jesus with urgency to this lost and dying world. This is the call of the hour for the church of Jesus Christ before we “meet the Lord in the air, and so we will ever be with the Lord!” (1 Thessalonians 4:17) Come quickly Lord Jesus and when You do, may You find faith in us!
Maranatha!
Pastor Ramon
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