Chosen People Ministries visited Cornerstone during this year’s missions conference. Chosen People is a ministry dedicated to bringing the gospel to the people of israel throughout the nations. Mitch Foreman (of Chosen People) came to share a two day conference (five sessions) with us regarding the histor and prophetic nature of God’s chosen people.
Here is Pt. 5: http://cornerstoneag.net/2012/10/02/middle-east-conference-part-5/
Chosen People Ministries visited Cornerstone during this year’s missions conference. Chosen People is a ministry dedicated to bringing the gospel to the people of israel throughout the nations. Mitch Foreman (of Chosen People) came to share a two day conference (five sessions) with us regarding the histor and prophetic nature of God’s chosen people.
Here is Pt. 4 : http://cornerstoneag.net/2012/10/02/middle-east-conference-part-3/
Chosen People Ministries visited Cornerstone during this year’s missions conference. Chosen People is a ministry dedicated to bringing the gospel to the people of israel throughout the nations. Mitch Foreman (of Chosen People) came to share a two day conference (five sessions) with us regarding the histor and prophetic nature of God’s chosen people.
Here is part 3: http://cornerstoneag.net/2012/10/02/middle-east-conference-part/
Chosen People Ministries visited Cornerstone during this year’s missions conference. Chosen People is a ministry dedicated to bringing the gospel to the people of israel throughout the nations. Mitch Foreman (of Chosen People) came to share a two day conference (five sessions) with us regarding the histor and prophetic nature of God’s chosen people.
Here is Pt. 2: http://cornerstoneag.net/2012/10/02/middle-east-conference-part-2/
Perception may not be everything, but it sure weighs heavily on how men live their lives in this vale of tears.
I have often wondered at the strange phenomenon, in the Christian world, we call back-sliding. How can a person who has truly experienced the love that Jesus brings leave off the walk of faith? Some of my friends say that anyone who back-slides never really knew Jesus to begin with. I am not sure I buy that.
Judas knew Jesus. People can say all they want about how Judas only had a head knowledge and not a heart knowledge of the master. Certainly, by the end that was true, but to say Judas never knew Jesus… was never a follower, that just might be supposing too much. Didn’t Judas leave everything to follow Jesus like the other disciples? Wasn’t Judas used to cast out demons and cleanse the lepers too? Now I am not saying that Judas was ever a fully devoted follower of Christ on the level of James, Peter or John, but I wager he would have given most of us a run for our money in the “intimacy with Jesus” department.
I don’t think Judas started out as a Satanic sleeper cell in Jesus organization. So what happened? How did someone who started out enamored with Jesus become the Messiah’s foil?
It’s just speculation and perhaps we will never really know but I think it might have something to do with perception. Something had to change in the way Judas viewed Jesus.
I think Judas joined the Messiah’s band of merry men because he thought he had found Israel’s Savior. As I have said before, to the Jews of the time there were certain expectations they had of the Messiah. Jesus in their understanding was to take David’s throne and build an earthly kingdom. When the displays of God’s power began to shoot forth from Jesus fingertips Judas probably revelled in the certainty that at last Israel was going to rise to the top and the rest of the world was going to get theirs.
But there were cracks in this Messiah’s castle walls at least according to Judas’ perception: Jesus wouldn’t build a political base by making nice with the political powers of Israel; His preaching was radical he said things…many things that made even his followers edgy; He flew in the face of convention and tradition; He talked with women and let them touch him; He was good to foreigners and even performed healing for the Roman oppressors at their request. We can’t be sure when it happened but with some certainty we can say there was a point when the betrayer felt betrayed. Maybe it was a “slow fade” as the song says. Maybe the feeling built up over time. Maybe Jesus’ rebuke of Judas in John 12 was the lit match that set fire Judas’ fury. Something in Judas’ perception convinced him that it was time to act. Judas decided Jesus needed to be stopped.
I have known many back-sliders. I’ve even dabbled in the art of back-sliding a bit myself. I know my own back-sliding had to do with my perception that God was unfair…that He wasn’t doing a very good job with my life. Most of the people I have known who have back-slidden have done so because they saw something else in life that looked better to them than Jesus. One man commented to me that at the time his memories of all the miracles he had seen were removed from him. He was left with a perception that God had never done anything in his life. It was only after he came back to God that the memories were restored.
When we give room to the feelings of bitterness against God that Satan would inspire within us we are walking a slippery slope. Look, there are moments all of us feel abandoned or hurt by God. Feelings aren’t sin. They are indicators of internal struggle. Judas’ feelings of betrayal or anger or hurt weren’t sin. They were indicators of his internal faith struggle. The decisions, mind-sets, and actions he based off those feelings, those were sin. Judas should have turned to the word of God to lead him. Anyone struggling with their mind-set towards God needs to turn to the Bible for guidance rather than their feelings. We have to live by principle these days not by “how we feel” about things. Judas chose to live by his feelings. In the end the betrayer betrayed himself as well as the Savior. Jesus recovered in case you don’t remember the end of the story. Judas never did.
What struggles do you have with your perception of God? What are you doing about it?
For those of you who thought you’d escape politics once Jesus came, guess again. There will be a government and it will be upon “his shoulders”. Jesus will put democracy under his feet along with every other idea of men. Maybe it is the best governmental idea fallen men can come up with but as Isaiah reminds us “His ways are higher than our ways”. Isaiah 55:9
Zechariah, among other prophets gives us a glimpse into the rule and reign of Jesus during the Millenium.
“the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past.On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the LORD knows how this could happen! There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light. On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in summer and in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD–his name alone will be worshiped. All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed. …In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. And any nation anywhere in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, will have no rain….On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: SET APART AS HOLY TO THE LORD. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the LORD will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar. In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be set apart as holy to the LORD Almighty. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices. And on that day there will no longer be traders in the Temple of the LORD Almighty.” Zech. 14:3-21 NLT
After the Battle of Armageddon the Lord will institute his reign on the Earth. He will be the King of Earth. He will not ask for a vote of the people. Nor will he seek the permission of a parliament. He will not rule to please men but out of His divine right to rule.
Freedom of religion will be a thing of the past. Jesus alone will be worshipped and shall bring glory thereby to the Father. Further he will dictate how He is to be worshipped. It seems that the Jewish system of festivals (at least Tabernacles) is instated for the nations.
All of Jerusalem will become dedicated to the worship of God, Everything in it will be used for worshipping Him by sacrifice. Yes the Jewish system of sacrifice is reinstated in the Thousand Year Reign! Why we do not know. The writer to the Hebrews indicates that the need for sacrifice was done away with when Jesus gave His life on the cross. Yet need it or not Ezekiel 40-42 and Zechariah 14 indicate that the sacrificial system is very much a part of the worship which is to come.
I believe that King Jesus will rule his world and his nations through the group of immortals who return with him at the Battle of Armageddon. It is an awesome thought that I would ever be considered worthy of such an honor, me a man of so many failings and foibles, me!
Oh as I think of it I have to speak the words of Paul, ” I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us!” Romans 8:18 NIV
How about you?
The final act has well begun. The characters strut about the stage playing out the parts God wrote for them in the beginning. Meanwhile waiting in the wings is the shadowy figure of the arch-villain waiting to be revealed.
Who is Antichrist? Until the final events are set in motion, I am convinced we shall not know. Daniel does reveal that he is heavily involved in Middle Eastern and Eastern European politics (Daniel 11). The prophet also reveals that this “king” will worship a god of fortresses and will even believe himself to be god. He will trust in superior military might and will honor no god above himself.
“He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.” Daniel 11:37-39
In ancient times the idea that someone would not believe in God or gods was patently ridiculous. The idea of a spirit realm was universally accepted and everyone was tied to some spirit being. So the thought that a king would appear on the world stage and say that he worshipped only himself and that all other gods were not worth honoring was pretty radical.
Today though we live in a culture that is ripe for a king who will not serve any god. Religious pluralism and even the rise of humanism and atheism have made the world stage a veritable hot-house for the Antichrist mentality. The religious scene is well set for Antichrist to walk on stage. No one doubts that. The political blocking is almost complete. His entrance is prepared.
But I have something to say to Christians who realize that hour is late and the entr’acte is about to begin. If Antichrist serves a god of fortresses, so do we. In fact “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run into it and they are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 NIV
Our fortress is secure and the name of the Lord is our defense in every situation. Even as the world stage gets set for the coming of the man of lawlessness the power of prayer in the name of Jesus will never fail. When Jesus comes he will find a church that is operating still in the power of the Holy Spirit and seeing prayers answered supernaturally where no natural means of answer exist!
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14: 12,13 KJV
You see Antichrist may serve a god of fortresses. But we serve our God who is himself a Fortress!
Have you seen the ads on television sponsored by the Masons? Ben Franklin is depicted encouraging young people to consider joining the order as many famous folk throughout history have. Apparently the Masonic Order is doing a membership drive. I’m assuming this means that membership is down. How would we know really? I mean, do secret societies publish their rosters?
My son had an interesting experience with this a few weeks ago which rattled him enough to make him call for my advice.
He works at Radio Shack in a town near his college. He wears a name tag and being fairly gregarious he is known by most of the merchants in the strip mall where he is located; So when the first Mason came in and said “Joe you would make a great addition to our chapter.” He didn’t think much about it.
When the second Mason approached him at work the next day using the same words and buying the same item as the first guy Joe thought it a little strange.
However, when the third guy visited the next day buying a third like item and suggesting the same thing, my son was beginning to get freaked out.
On the fourth day another Mason came in buying again the same item as his predecessors. This time though he said , “it seems some of your family members were good Masons. You should consider joining.”
Joe was on the phone with me as soon as the guy left.
Both my father and grandfather were members of the society. I think my grandmother was Order of the Eastern Star. My father was a member of the Masonic order in West Berlin and my grandfather haled from the chapter in Winchendon MA, How the Masonic Chapter of Philadelphia became privy to that information, how they tracked down the great-grandson of one of their former members four states away or even why they would is beyond me.
Frankly secret societies like the Mason’s have always hovered in my imagination somewhere between the mysterious and the darkly creepy. The situation my son was involved in bordered more on the latter than the former.
The Book of Daniel talks about a power more dark, sinister and hidden than any other secret society on the face of the planet ever dreamed of being.
“”After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler.” Dan: 9:26,27 NLT
This king is anti-Christ who is coming. Many believe that he is coming to power in the aftermath of the Battle of Gog and Magog. Some think it will be that battle that will launch him into the position of world leader he so craves. But here is the secret and hidden part. He is already in the world, has been for millenia. He has been jumping leader to leader for countless centuries.
John wrote this about him, “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the end of the world has come.” I John 2:18 NLT
Daniel indicated that this demonic power would be manifest first in an individual who would lay low the city of Jerusalem shortly after the death of Messiah. This happened in 70 A.D. under the leadership of the Emperor Nero. A likelier character for antichrist was never found during the time. However Nero did not accomplish the other items on the Daniel 9 list.
AntiChrist moved on after Nero and he has been working behind the scenes of world politics moving his agenda forward ever since. Who knows where he has rested his head in the last two Millenia? Dracula? The Borgia Popes? Hitler? Stalin?
Wherever he has been, wherever he is, we know what he is looking for. He is awaiting the event which will launch him to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the world, a position he has never come close to before now. A world war fought over Israel from which he will broker a peace treaty will bring him that prize he has so longed for.
What do you think the governments of Earth would give to the man who could bring peace to the Middle East? I bet his secret society wouldn’t need to run television ads to get members.
So much has been written about what the next step is for Earth. Israel is now a sovereign nation, meaning the world has now crossed the line definitively into the “last days”. But what comes next?
source kingdom engineers.com
A war approaches on the horizon like the first fingers of the sun gripping the edge of the Eastern seas. Perhaps in Ezekiel’s time the battle partners seemed unlikely; But today we would not only say such a war was possible, most would say such a war is probable. The battle lines are to be drawn between a unified
nation of Israel against Turkey and certain portions of Mother Russia along with Iran, Libya and Sudan. Now I don’t know about you, but such a battle to me seems imminent. We have but to stray a little with the flame of diplomacy and such a powder keg will be lit as will set these nations to unstoppable war. In this regard it can be seen Scriptural prophecy seems far from fantastic but wholly credible.
Ezekiel 38:13 indicates that certain nations will oppose this war. Possible dissenters are: Saudi Arabia, Spain, Crete, Greece, England, America, Canada, Australia, even Japan, China and India. Any of these seem likely and plausible according to our current world picture.
Ezekiel indicates that the enemies of Israel will experience a resounding defeat at the hands of God (not Israel). The devastation will be so severe that it will take the Jews seven months to bury all the dead. The work of burying will be so great, in fact, that a whole town will spring up around the industry of grave-digging (see Ezek 39:15-16). Further, enough enemy weapons will be collected that Israel will be able to heat their homes for seven years by the burning of them (Ezek. 39:9,10).
Now what catches me about this prophecy is its imminence. I am not so interested in knowing exactly who all the players are but in the fact that this prophecy could actually explode onto the world stage with tomorrow morning’s headlines.
I have said before the church of today needs to be like the “men of Issachar who understood their times and knew what to do.” In light of the unfolding of final prophecy in which we live what are we to do?
We need to be like the wise virgins of Matthew 25 who when the bridegroom (Jesus) was delayed in his coming, “were wise enough to take along extra oil” for their lamps. Matthew 25:4
How do we take along “extra oil”?
1. By being prepared for the battle ahead: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.” Eph: 6:11 NLT
We must be mentally emotionally and physically prepared for the days that lie ahead for “These are the times that try men’s souls.” (Thomas Paine, “The Crisis”). We do this by taking all our focus off the world and placing it in Christ.
2. By Praying without Ceasing: This is more than just being aware of God’s presence 24/7. It means no matter what comes against you, keep your habit of prayer and pray about everything from the loss of a nail to the threat against the nation.
3. By Staying in the word: The Bible is our source of truth and in the days ahead we are going to need to know it. Read and study it until you know it back and forth. John Milton, the blind bard who wrote “Paradise Lost”, could quote the whole Bible. When you get to that point you can probably consider a short rest from your studies.
4. By not getting involved in foolish arguments: There are plenty of things to fight about. Almost none of them are eternally important. Let it go and get back to worshipping.
4. By praising God in everything: Praise drowns out the voice of Satan and hopelessness. Thanksgiving brings peace. Every morning you should find ten things to praise Jesus for and spend some time thanking Him.
5. By getting Back to Church: I’m not just talking about going to Sunday morning service although that’s a start. You need to be active in your church body. You are a muscle of the church and every muscle that doesn’t work-out atrophies. Some Christians are as shriveled up as a paraplegic’s thigh because they refuse to be active in their church. In the days ahead such useless muscles will be amputated by God so they don’t hinder the whole body from getting into the Presence!
6. By keeping your eyes on the prize: This world isn’t our home! We have a better heavenly reward. No matter what don’t give that up!
So whose going to be President when the world blows up anyway? Will America still be in the driver’s seat of world politics? Will the United Nations still be in New York or will we take Robin Williams’ suggestion and move it to some remote island and make it a homeless shelter?
The time has come for us to discuss that part of prophecy which deals with the world order and political structures of the last days. While certain things are up for debate, the Word of God does give us a fairly clear picture of what will be going on in the world at the time when Messiah, Jesus, asserts His reign on the planet.
We should start with Ezekiel I suppose and Chapter 37 is as good a place as any to begin.
“The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. He led me around among the old, dry bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground….Then he said to me, “Speak to these bones and say, `Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD!This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to breathe into you and make you live again! …So I spoke these words, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as they had been before. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Speak to the winds and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so that they may live again.’ ” Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, `We have become old, dry bones–all hope is gone.’Now give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel…. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I am the LORD. You will see that I have done everything just as I promised. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Ezek. 37:1-14 NLT
Many people ask me how I can be so sure that we are living in the last days.
My answer is simply, “Because Israel is a nation.”
You see in order for God to accomplish all He said He would in the last days Israel has to be a sovereign nation shining in the world spotlight.
Without Israel much of what the prophets spoke could be nothing more than science/fantasy.
From 70 A.D. until 1948 A.D. Israel did not exist as a sovereign nation. The Jews survived but dispersed among the nations for over 1800 hundred years! That they survived with a national identity at all is itself a miracle. No other nation having lost its homeland has lasted more than two generations before being absorbed into the populations in which they seek refuge. Israel did survive. Then came Hitler.
In the aftermath of the Holocaust (which many today are foolishly denying ever took place) national Israel was reborn. This national rebirth and the Zionism which resulted is a direct fulfillment of Ezekiel 37. Israel’s rise as a national entity is perhaps the single most significant indication of the times we live in, because its rebirth according to Ezekiel is the precursor to the second coming of Messiah!
“give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. I will unify them into one nation in the land. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations….”My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and keep my laws….And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and multiply them, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Ezek 37:21-27 NLT
Since 1948 the creation has been holding its breath waiting for the return of Messiah and for the most part mankind has been blissfully ignorant that it could happen at any moment. Let us be ignorant no longer. Let us be like the men of Issachar who understood the times they lived in and knew what to do.
Reinventing the We'll 