Matthew 24:15-28, “So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
There is a significant amount of talk these days about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In a like manner there is a considerable discussion about false messiahs and the anti-Christ. Matthew and Mark both bear witness to Jesus’ warnings about these times. We have a president who did not deny or refute a messianic accolade during his campaigning. Remember this well, “if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out.” So many people want to believe in hope that they will leap to the first person who seems to epitomize and envisage hope. Being faithful in our study of God’s Holy Word and constant in our vigilance through prayer and Christian conference we can discern true hope and promise.
Prayer: Father help us discern Your Presence among us. We get so caught up with celebrity that we fail in our duty to You. Fill us with Your discerning Spirit and guide us to our eternal promise. In Jesus’ redeeming Name we pray. AMEN.
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2 comments:
Hi Rev! Got your blog link from Milli.
You know what I actually, personally believe, but I also personally believe, and this event makes clearer than ever to me, that religion and worship of something greater than human is absolutely necessary for healthy societies to stay healthy. This nightmarish, newest dear leader footage is, I must admit, more than an argument against Obama and all his cronies' fascist plans and schemes; it's an argument for more true religion--and I mean Christianity and Judaism, I won't mince words, Islam is simply incompatible with both the West and modernity--in, yes, the public schools. At the least, students and teachers should be able to organize clubs that can use open rooms, in free periods, for prayer activities, same as any other club in school. And of course after school, on school grounds.
My other, large chunk of evidence for the truth of this--that healthy societies need HEALTHY religions to remain healthy--is the fairly directly linear relationshop between the rise of ultrasecularism in Europe and the rise of suicidal moral relatavism on that now 2/3 mad continent.
In other words, the majority of people simply cannot handle being atheists without having to grab on to some other creed, as they often do in these cults of personality, or lose any internal sense of right and wrong (as in so much of Europe) and any earthly creed they choose, whether it be cult of personality, with its extreme danger in its worship of completely fallible men and women, or junk science in the face of stupendous amounts of contrary, evidence (ie, the global warming/climate change hoax), or modern feminists' obsession with abortion, or faith in utterly disproven economic doctrines, any earthly, non-evidence-based belief, will be both extremely dangerous because its objects of devotion are not transcendent and unapproachable but earthly and corruptible, and lacking greatly in any capacity to maintain an ethical society.
And the substitute creeds, even the personality cults, don't last long anyway (unless they appeal to the most savage of impulses, as with Islam). Then comes the moral relatavism.
Very well said Godot. The temporal and temporary nature of personal, cultic practices do not reach beyond the now. Their terrible heritage is the personal and spiritual destruction caused through the allure. Thank you Godot! And so good to see you!
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