Tag: End of Days

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Deal or no deal.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Gather all the people— the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room. Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’” ‭‭Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God’s spokesperson, Joel, previously said, “try saying your sorry and changing your ways!” In previous verses, he writes, “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.” Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬. What a line! Don’t tear your clothes, tear your hearts! You never know, maybe God will listen to a broken, contrite heart instead of an arrogant, angry one?

The book of Joel was written just before the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel had fallen to foreigners. The leaders, priests and people had wandered so far off God’s plan, and so spurned their promises to keep God’s rules that literally- all hell was going to break lose! Enter the plagues and total destruction of the locusts.

However, Joel, gives Israel an out, an escape – try repentance! It’s in the verses that Joel emphasizes not just WHO should join in this national contrition, but also the urgency of which they should do it. First, gather EVERYONE. Call the people; elders to babies. Second, do it immediately. The husband and wife from their intimate honeymoon suite and the priests from their quarters to their post. Third, just pray one prayer in UNITY – spare us! Get with it – NOW! And, quit embarrassing your God and yourselves by your own stubbornness and stupidity! Then…. maybe, just maybe God will forgive and relent from his just judgement and have mercy.

Lesson: when I sin, as an individual, I should recognize it and repent. I should not justify it, excuse it or pretend it will not have consequences. I should be quick to confess and admit my sin and turn from it. However, as a group, a people, a community or a church – it is even more imperative and urgent that we follow Joel’s Spirit inspired advice (warning). Call the group together- everyone of them. Quickly prioritize the gathering. And pray one unified prayer – spare us! In other words, admit, commit and confess TOGETHER.

Chances are really good that God will not only forgive, not only pour out his mercy but also FIX STUFF. Kick out the enemy, establish justice, and send new, fresh supplies of grain (to satisfy our needs), new wine (celebrating a second chance) and oil (fuel for our future) Joel‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬. Our repentance means that God may repair the breech (covenant/contract) and restore the supply lines to our souls! What do we say? Deal or no deal?

Prayer

Dad,
I can absolutely understand trying to hold on to our personal, even national autonomy. But when it has gone so bad for so long because of our self-determined will? It just starts sounding ridiculous. To think that I would ride my will/my way off the cliff, to complete and utter destruction is just insanity. Oh, I could see myself doing it. And, sadly, I see our country doing it right now, every single day. Our little arrogant protests and parades. Our cancel culture, boycotts and incivility is ridiculous. I confess. I repent. I ask that you would help us unite in contrition and release our control back to you. Lord, hear our prayer!

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Check the expiration date.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land. They threw dice to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.” Joel‬ ‭3:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We have all sorts of foods, mostly spices, that made two or three “house moves” with us. My son in law pointed out that we have a lot of expired foods still stored in our kitchen. One, I had no idea spices even had an expiration date. Two, I though sealed cans and dry goods were, ya know, eternal. Everything here on earth has “best by” date on it.

Joel is the book of “final days,” when justice and judgment are fully realized on the earth. The people that have not only done their own thing and had their own way, but have done so in horrible, ways have an expiration date. Humans that ultimately pursue the darkest, dirtiest deeds to bring them pleasure through power over others, will come to an end.

It is a fact, humanity is not getting better, we just cycle in and out of horrendously selfish behavior. We are getting worse. In ancient times they had whole industries for abusing children for their own pleasures. Today we have local and global gangs and underground businesses that traffic children – human trafficking is more lucrative than drugs. It’s more sophisticated today, but runs as a constant sub-current of our society.

What would happen if all the vices of human pleasure were to suddenly be shut down? These are things we call “freedoms,” and personal rights. My body, my money, my right, my autonomy… my my my. Each one has alluring, even innocent edges. “It’s just gaming,” not gambling. It’s “recreational,” not additive, nor destructive to family, especially children. “It’s occasional,” infrequent, I can’t quit anytime I want. The worst lie we tell ourselves, “I’m not hurting anyone.”

Joel is speaking for God when he writes, “my people.” God is possessive, He is jealous over us. Many think that just goes for Israel, “God’s people.” It goes far beyond that. It extends to us, all of humanity. We were created in perfection, no vices, no sin, shame or regrets.

It was our choices to not trust God, thinking He was holding out on us, keeping us from truly knowing evil. What’s God hiding from us?, we thought. Obviously it’s something really good and God is just being mean and controlling by keeping it from us. Yeah, we STILL believe that lie, don’t we? We all have this little voice inside our head and it’s not just an American thought, “I want everything I’m due… all of it!” Joel affirms, “you can have it, but it will not end well.” Getting “all of it,” experiencing all of it, having, managing and keeping all of it – will never end well. Check the expiration date.

Prayer

Dad,
How can I ever give up this pursuit of evil and just go all in on pursuing good? The pursuit of evil, no matter how tasty it looks, always results in a bitter outcome. Cursed are these cycles we endure as humans. Maybe I ache for justice to finally and forever get that curse off my own back? I see the evils of our kind and have experienced the destruction it has caused in my life and so many others. I yearn for that final day when this world closes out and the new one is born.

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Journal entry from Ezekiel in 593 bc

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. (The Lord gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and he felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him.)” Ezekiel‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

​On a nice, warm, summer day back in 593 bc Ezekiel is out by a river in Babylon. He tells us that they had been in captivity or exile for five years at this point. We are reading a journal entry of a man that lived over 2600 years ago! He writes about this extraordinary vision as he looks over the river and up into the sky. And, he knows it’s a message and feels the hand of God on him. Chilling right? Then, for the next several verses, Ezekiel describes what he sees.

I’ve got to tell you, I read this as a new believer and could not make any sense of it AT ALL. And, I remember thinking, “who CAN make sense out of this?” It kind of blew my mind when a special speaker came through our church and asked us, “as an ancient observer, how would you have described something “futuristic,” maybe something that would not exist for thousands of years ahead.” Like a vision from someone who travels through time? Whoa. I would never have imagined something so syfi, so cool.

I mean 593 bc could not have had, would not have had any modern day equipment, especially something that could fly! This was a theory I had never thought about – and I liked it! Is it true? I have no idea. Could Ezekiel have been describing a modern Black Hawk helicopter? The guest speaker seemed to think it could have been. Ezekiel could only use words of things that existed in his time to describe what he saw – most of which are animals with a mixture of human faces or features that only the great beasts of his day had. Rotor blades back then could only be described as wings – like a giant dragonfly!

It turns out the modern helicopter may have been designed by studying the dragonfly (The world’s leading helicopter manufacturer, Sikorsky, finished the design of one of their helicopters by taking the dragonfly as a model, IBM, which assisted Sikorsky in this project, started by putting a model of a dragonfly in a computer (IBM 3081)).

Yeah, Ezekiel could have been seeing a futuristic scene of a war and God was telling him to write it down and even share it with the leaders of Israel. This was not just a fanciful dream and Ezekiel wasn’t trippin on some wild mushrooms. There was a reason for it. Many of Ezekiel’s visions were straight out of scenes from the apocalypse, the end times, the final days of the earth and its struggle against evil.

There have been so many possible interpretations and theories of these stunning visions and when they come true in real life, folks will be able to say, “oh, that’s what Ezekiel saw!” So, if you just recently turned thirty, just know this is the kind visionary of stuff you can look forward to! j/k.

Unless I’m joining God as a warrior in his army, I’m not sure I want to be there when this future scene takes place, especially if it’s some kind of global world war. Either way, I know God has got this, He’s in control.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Wow! These Ezekiel (and others) visions are so amazing. We can only wait and watch as you bring about the finality of your grand story, the epic war and peace, the ultimate love and justice of all things! It’s all there – all written out beforehand for everyone, anyone to read and see for themselves. Either folks have heard or have seen your truth and make a decision. All of us have been given ample time and opportunity to do so. I am so very grateful for your Word and the plans you have for me and the entire world.