Something HUGE is Coming

Something huge is coming. I don’t know what it is, but I got this gut feeling something is on the horizon. 

Now I am not someone who navigates off of feelings.  It is assuredly the Word of God that must hold our focus and determine our beliefs.   I know that the Rapture is coming, but I do not know when.  I know that after Rapture comes the seven year Tribulation Period mentioned in Revelation chapters 6-18.  During the Tribulation Period the antichrist or Beast will rule for a season. I know that during the Tribulation, scores of Christians and Jews will be martyred.  Toward the end of the Tribulation Period comes a series of war campaigns known as Armageddon.   After this Jesus comes to set up His kingdom.  I get this!

But somewhere between now and the Rapture of the Church, something huge seems to be on the horizon.   There are multiplicity of signs that point is this direction.  The military appears to be engaged in crazy things making preparation for something.  The country we know as the U.S. is slipping down the moral landscape big time. Our leaders are only thinking about themselves and there are no check and balances to keep them accountable.  People in this country are at war with themselves over race, patriotism, and the fulfillment of greed. There is this overwhelming desire to live for pleasure at all cost. We have the presidential elections coming up and there are no leaders worth noticing.  It is all politics as usual. Families are being torn apart. Kids are in rebellion. Marriage has lost its appeal.  And most sadly, the church is weak. We look to the government and the courts to legislate morality.   

When I read the Book of Jeremiah, I am reminded of what God says about both the prophet and priest.

God says that both are polluted (Jer. 23:11).  Both prophesied by Baal (a Satanic deity, v. 13).  Both strengthen the hands of evil doers (v. 14).

Something huge is coming from the hand of God.

It is a dire warning from the Lord when He says:  “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷ They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” (vv. 16-17).

God says that there will be two kinds of preachers (prophets): Those who tell you what you want to hear (a positive message that is not based on the truth), and those who tell you what you need to hear (a truthful message that is designed to bring people to repentance). 

What kind of people will these preachers be preaching to?  

“And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ ¹¹ then you shall say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law,¹² and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. ¹³ Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’” (Jer. 16:10-12). 

These are people who will respond to the truth of a message on judgment by saying, “What have we done? Why is God so mad at us? What sin have we committed against the Lord to make Him so angry with us?”   

Something huge is coming. What comes between now and the Rapture of the Church is anyone’s guess.    What is coming, we do not know, only that something huge is coming.

Prepare now and do not wait until it is too late. This is the church’s finest hour for making personal, spiritual and practical preparations. 

The Great Divide

I’ve been a Christian since the age of 12.  I’ve been to college and seminary and served in various churches throughout the years.  Each church God put me in was for me a learning experience and filled with teachable moments.

As I reflect back on some of those teachable moments, I’ve noticed that the average Christian church is divided into two parts:  Those who are strong on teaching bible doctrine / theology, and those who are not.  They are more into teaching practical Christian living or things that center in pragmatism. One group values doctrine and the other values practicality.

In some churches, you’ll hear a seven part sermon series on God’s Eternal Decrees.  In other churches you’ll hear a seven part sermon series on how to have a more joyful marriage. 

It is important, of course, to have a sound and biblical understanding of God’s sovereignty over all things, to at least have a beginning understanding of His decrees. One way to get there might be a seven part sermons on His decrees. It is also important, however, to have a joyful marriage. One way to get there might be a seven part sermons on joyful marriages. We can talk about and be preached to about both of these precisely because the Bible speaks to both of these issues. These two approaches need not be at war with each other. Both have their place.

What becomes an issue and a great concern is the dichotomy we create when we talk about doctrine and practical matters in this way. That is, it is a profoundly practical matter to understand God’s decrees. And how we have joyful marriages is deeply connected with sound doctrine.   The theology of having a joyful marriage is doctrinally connected to understanding Christ’s relationship with His bride, the church (Eph. 5).

Not only, however, are doctrine and practical matters inextricably bound together, but there is another element we would do well not to forget. The Christian faith touches not just on what we think, not just on what we do, but also on how we feel. We are called to doctrinal orthodoxy (right thinking), to practical orthopraxy (right doing), and to emotional orthopathos (right feelings).

The world, of course, has a different perspective. Just as epistemological relativism affirms, “I can have my own truth and will have no one rule over my mind,” and ethical relativism affirms, “I can affirm my own right and wrong and no one shall rule over my conscience,” so emotional relativism affirms, “I can feel whatever my heart desires, and no one will rule over my feelings.” Indeed, in the world, feelings have no need for any justification. Whatever we feel, we feel. It is what it is.

We as Christians, however, are not of this world. We have another calling. The great commandment demands that we love the Lord our God not just with all our minds and with all our strength, but with all our hearts as well. Love encompasses knowing who He is. It encompasses obeying His commands. But it also is genuine emotion. A failure to love Him with all our hearts isn’t something that happens to us but is instead something of which we are guilty. Love is the only right and fitting response to His glory, for He is altogether lovely.

These three, however—our heads, our hands, and our hearts—are not just three pillars standing side by side. Rather, they are three strands of one strong cord. They are intertwined with each other, strengthening each other. The more we know about who God is, the more our heart resounds with joy.

Doctrine matters. Practice matters. Feeling matters. For all that we are is His. There is nothing more practical than doctrine. There is nothing more true than obedience. And there is nothing more moving than a growing and vibrant relationship with God.