Satan's Blank Check
by Terry James
September 6th, 2004
Throughout history the spiritual health of society has been in a constant state of flux. The struggle between the forces of good and evil has caused the moral compass to rise and fall as nations have shifted between times of revival and times of apostasy.
Because the ascent of Israel's moral record is so well documented in the Bible, it provides us with a detailed example of this endless cycle. The children of Israel started off on the straight and narrow. Then the devil would deceive them, God would punish the nation, and the Israelites would turn back to God.
England and America also have a rich history of revival and apostasy. There have been many revivals in both these nations. Here are just a few that have had a far-reaching impact:
THE FIRST GREAT AWAKENING (1740-1745)
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING (1798-1832)
THE WELSH REVIVAL OF 1859
THE GREAT WELSH REVIVAL OF 1904
THE ASUZA STREET REVIVAL OF 1906 (The beginning of the Pentecostal Church Age)
THE JESUS MOVEMENT (1967-1973)
The periods when people have fallen away from the faith generally have not been named. This is because revival is generally traced to the efforts of a single person or group. Apostasy has many causes that may not be related to each other.
In all cases of spiritual rebellion, the devil plays an active role in spreading deception. The choice is man's to make, but Satan is the one who tempts him into making the wrong decision. He is described by Peter as a hungry lion that eagerly looks for anyone he can devour:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
In recent years I've noticed a stunning collapse in the willingness of believers to stand for righteousness. Even the hot-button issue of gay marriage is only getting token opposition from Christians.
With little to oppose the devil, it seems a bit odd that he has failed to act in a more aggressive way on a growing number of issues. It is simply uncharacteristic of Satan not to utilize what appears to be a blank-check opportunity to do as he pleases.
Because very few people care about the distribution of pornography, it is a wonder we don't see more flesh in theaters or on network television. With apologetics on life support, it is equally strange that the counterfeit preachers are not promoting doctrine that strays further from biblical truth.
I think the reason we appear to be in a holding pattern is the nearness of the end times. Because the rapture will be a surprise, there is a limit to what can happen before the tribulation begins.
God is in total control of the timeline of events, and Satan can only act on the Lord's cue. The fact that the devil is suddenly being restricted in a time when moral leadership is crumbling is a strong indication that the "as one thinketh not" hour is in play.
"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 24:44)
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." (Matthew 24:42)
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 25:13)
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36)
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (Mark 13:32)
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you." (1 Thessalonians 5:1)
-------
THE PERFECT PROPHETIC STORM
A movie called "The Perfect Storm" recently depicted a weather phenomenon that in 1991 began as three separate storm fronts, then merged to produce one great storm that did tremendous damage to shipping and to the land in New England. It was termed "the perfect storm" by meteorologists because the elements came together in just the right combination to cause one monumental blow.
When speaking on prophecy and in writing on prophetic topics, I often like to use analogies involving current issues and events that are developing in our world. I equate these portentous matters to being like elements on the horizon of near history that appear like an approaching storm front. It is the perfect apocalyptic storm that confronts us. All the elements to create the last seven years of tribulation are whirling and mixing in precisely the way God's prophetic Word predicts.
We can see, when we look out across the horizon of the troubled geopolitical landscape of our time, boiling black clouds and wicked-looking, jagged flickers while the lightning fractures the on-storming mass. We see the terrible storm approaching; we can sense the danger within its immense power. But we aren't yet within the maelstrom itself.
It is time to again switch on our Bible prophecy weather computer and peer into the center of that tempest. Let's look at the Revelation radar. The windshears of destruction can be clearly discerned while we gaze into that prophetic radar screen. The violent vortex created by on-going, end-time dynamics grows by the minute. Three specific ingredients making up the oncoming storm at present are most clearly in view.
Israel, God's (prophetic) timepiece for prophetic history, as usual, sits at the center of unfolding end-time events. The key current news to bring into focus the approaching storm of apocalypse comes from reports involving Iran and Lebanon. The following excerpt is one such report:
NICOSIA -- Hizbullah said it is better prepared than ever for a military confrontation with Israel. The Iranian-sponsored insurgency group has built a formidable array of defenses and gathered an arsenal in southern Lebanon for an attack on Israel. Hizbullah said its forces have been trained for war with Israel along its border with Lebanon... (Special to World Tribune.com, MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE, Friday, August 20, 2004).
This type of preparation for warmaking by Israel's enemies is nothing new. Arab forces united to attack the tiny Jewish state in the mid-1980s. They used Syrian-controlled Lebanon to stockpile tremendous amounts of weaponry that could be easily accessible once the assault began. Israel preemptively struck the areas where the weapons were stored, thwarting their enemies' ability to carry through on their aggression.
Israeli intelligence again knows that the Arab-Islamic haters of Israel are preparing to launch a strike. This, plus Iran proceeding full speed with Russian help to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials, has the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on high alert. And, this has put the entire international community on alert. So much so that Kofe Annan, UN Secretary General, has called for Iran to allow weapons inspectors into their country in order to check whether Iran's aspirations for nuclear development are, as they claim, peaceful in nature.
Iran reportedly now has missile technology, sold to them by China -- technology which reportedly, was stolen from the US during the previous presidential administration's watch. Many fear that the nation that sits in the middle of the territory where the Persian Empire once sat will marry nuclear warheads to missiles that can reach not only Israel, but nations beyond the Mideast as well.
The prophet Ezekiel foretold a future attack from Israel’s enemies. Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 lay out the scenario of forces from Israel's north that will assault the Jewish state with the full intention of obliterating it. That enemy coalition will, many prophecy students, scholars and theologians believe, be led by a Russian leader the Bible calls "Gog".
Isaiah the prophet foretells in Chapter 17/Verse 1 that the Syrian capital, Damascus, will suffer a destructive blow that will leave it a heap of rubble. It will never again rise from its ashes. It's more than merely interesting that Damascus is headquarters for Hezbollah and most all other terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It's more than just interesting also, that Israel possesses weapons that could easily do the destructive job on Damascus predicted in Isaiah 17:1. God's omniscient computer depicting end-time foul weather is, of course, perfectly accurate. We can thereby discern our times, if we but apply ourselves to study, prayer and observation.
A second report brings even sharper focus to the apocalyptic storm displayed on the Bible's prophetic radar screen. From "Prophetic Update", August 27th, 2004, comes the following assessment about another profound indicator that the apocalyptic storm is almost upon this generation:
The United States and European Union nations, who were once part of the ancient Roman Empire, are conducting experiments with high-tech identification systems that will make it more convenient to travel and to acquire health care, food purchases and other services. These systems are so technologically advanced that they can be administered to millions of people and make services so convenient that people will not think twice about taking the Mark of the Beast.
The European Union and its member countries are testing new human identification technologies that can be massively distributed and are the key to open a wide variety of convenient services to those who would accept the IDs (now called RFID [Radio Frequency Identification]). The United States, using the war on terrorism as its reason, is also testing new forms of identification that will make it easier to track people and provide services. These tests run headfirst into the prophecies of Daniel and John in that the former Roman Empire would become the one world government of the anti-Christ who would rise to power and require everyone to worship him by receiving his mark in order to buy, sell, travel, trade, receive medical care and to eat...
A third news release of recent vintage makes it crystal clear that the storm is almost upon us, and that Antichrist’s all-controlling capability delineated in Revelation 13:16-18 is already in place. I just received the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) release from a friend who keeps up to date on US government satellite and other technologies development. An excerpt follows:
(Washington D.C. - August 17th, 2004): EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Michael O. Leavitt and Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today discussed the potential benefits to states of the planned Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The proposed world-wide network could help predict natural disasters and save lives.
In April, Administrators Leavitt and Lautenbacher visited Tokyo to participate in the Earth Observation Summit II, where ministers and ambassadors from 44 nations and 26 international groups agreed to work together to create the global monitoring system... an unprecedented international collaboration, GEOSS will link data across the world, thereby providing each U.S. state with a more complete picture of global climatic occurrences that impact their area.
Once operational, GEOSS would be capable of continuously monitoring the land, sea and air by linking data from satellites, ocean buoys, and ground-based air and water quality monitors.
The United States is scheduled to outline its draft plan by the end of August. In February 2005, the project's international coalition plans to unveil a 10-year plan to accomplish its mission.
The United States government is well known to release for use only technologies that are at least 7 to 10 years behind the most advanced technologies. With plans to monitor every square inch of planet Earth with lenses that can read postage stamps from thousands of miles in space, it isn’t far-fetched to think that Satan's superman could have at his disposal Revelation 13-type control devices in our day!
The tribulation typhoon is almost here. The prophetic winds are increasing. But, before it hits the shores of present history, Christians will be taken to safety found only in God's perfect storm shelter -- (salvation in) the Lord Jesus Christ.
SOURCE, http://www.raptureready.com/nm/5.html
September 6th, 2004
Throughout history the spiritual health of society has been in a constant state of flux. The struggle between the forces of good and evil has caused the moral compass to rise and fall as nations have shifted between times of revival and times of apostasy.
Because the ascent of Israel's moral record is so well documented in the Bible, it provides us with a detailed example of this endless cycle. The children of Israel started off on the straight and narrow. Then the devil would deceive them, God would punish the nation, and the Israelites would turn back to God.
England and America also have a rich history of revival and apostasy. There have been many revivals in both these nations. Here are just a few that have had a far-reaching impact:
THE FIRST GREAT AWAKENING (1740-1745)
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING (1798-1832)
THE WELSH REVIVAL OF 1859
THE GREAT WELSH REVIVAL OF 1904
THE ASUZA STREET REVIVAL OF 1906 (The beginning of the Pentecostal Church Age)
THE JESUS MOVEMENT (1967-1973)
The periods when people have fallen away from the faith generally have not been named. This is because revival is generally traced to the efforts of a single person or group. Apostasy has many causes that may not be related to each other.
In all cases of spiritual rebellion, the devil plays an active role in spreading deception. The choice is man's to make, but Satan is the one who tempts him into making the wrong decision. He is described by Peter as a hungry lion that eagerly looks for anyone he can devour:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
In recent years I've noticed a stunning collapse in the willingness of believers to stand for righteousness. Even the hot-button issue of gay marriage is only getting token opposition from Christians.
With little to oppose the devil, it seems a bit odd that he has failed to act in a more aggressive way on a growing number of issues. It is simply uncharacteristic of Satan not to utilize what appears to be a blank-check opportunity to do as he pleases.
Because very few people care about the distribution of pornography, it is a wonder we don't see more flesh in theaters or on network television. With apologetics on life support, it is equally strange that the counterfeit preachers are not promoting doctrine that strays further from biblical truth.
I think the reason we appear to be in a holding pattern is the nearness of the end times. Because the rapture will be a surprise, there is a limit to what can happen before the tribulation begins.
God is in total control of the timeline of events, and Satan can only act on the Lord's cue. The fact that the devil is suddenly being restricted in a time when moral leadership is crumbling is a strong indication that the "as one thinketh not" hour is in play.
"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 24:44)
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." (Matthew 24:42)
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 25:13)
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36)
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (Mark 13:32)
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you." (1 Thessalonians 5:1)
THE PERFECT PROPHETIC STORM
A movie called "The Perfect Storm" recently depicted a weather phenomenon that in 1991 began as three separate storm fronts, then merged to produce one great storm that did tremendous damage to shipping and to the land in New England. It was termed "the perfect storm" by meteorologists because the elements came together in just the right combination to cause one monumental blow.
When speaking on prophecy and in writing on prophetic topics, I often like to use analogies involving current issues and events that are developing in our world. I equate these portentous matters to being like elements on the horizon of near history that appear like an approaching storm front. It is the perfect apocalyptic storm that confronts us. All the elements to create the last seven years of tribulation are whirling and mixing in precisely the way God's prophetic Word predicts.
We can see, when we look out across the horizon of the troubled geopolitical landscape of our time, boiling black clouds and wicked-looking, jagged flickers while the lightning fractures the on-storming mass. We see the terrible storm approaching; we can sense the danger within its immense power. But we aren't yet within the maelstrom itself.
It is time to again switch on our Bible prophecy weather computer and peer into the center of that tempest. Let's look at the Revelation radar. The windshears of destruction can be clearly discerned while we gaze into that prophetic radar screen. The violent vortex created by on-going, end-time dynamics grows by the minute. Three specific ingredients making up the oncoming storm at present are most clearly in view.
Israel, God's (prophetic) timepiece for prophetic history, as usual, sits at the center of unfolding end-time events. The key current news to bring into focus the approaching storm of apocalypse comes from reports involving Iran and Lebanon. The following excerpt is one such report:
NICOSIA -- Hizbullah said it is better prepared than ever for a military confrontation with Israel. The Iranian-sponsored insurgency group has built a formidable array of defenses and gathered an arsenal in southern Lebanon for an attack on Israel. Hizbullah said its forces have been trained for war with Israel along its border with Lebanon... (Special to World Tribune.com, MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE, Friday, August 20, 2004).
This type of preparation for warmaking by Israel's enemies is nothing new. Arab forces united to attack the tiny Jewish state in the mid-1980s. They used Syrian-controlled Lebanon to stockpile tremendous amounts of weaponry that could be easily accessible once the assault began. Israel preemptively struck the areas where the weapons were stored, thwarting their enemies' ability to carry through on their aggression.
Israeli intelligence again knows that the Arab-Islamic haters of Israel are preparing to launch a strike. This, plus Iran proceeding full speed with Russian help to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials, has the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on high alert. And, this has put the entire international community on alert. So much so that Kofe Annan, UN Secretary General, has called for Iran to allow weapons inspectors into their country in order to check whether Iran's aspirations for nuclear development are, as they claim, peaceful in nature.
Iran reportedly now has missile technology, sold to them by China -- technology which reportedly, was stolen from the US during the previous presidential administration's watch. Many fear that the nation that sits in the middle of the territory where the Persian Empire once sat will marry nuclear warheads to missiles that can reach not only Israel, but nations beyond the Mideast as well.
The prophet Ezekiel foretold a future attack from Israel’s enemies. Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 lay out the scenario of forces from Israel's north that will assault the Jewish state with the full intention of obliterating it. That enemy coalition will, many prophecy students, scholars and theologians believe, be led by a Russian leader the Bible calls "Gog".
Isaiah the prophet foretells in Chapter 17/Verse 1 that the Syrian capital, Damascus, will suffer a destructive blow that will leave it a heap of rubble. It will never again rise from its ashes. It's more than merely interesting that Damascus is headquarters for Hezbollah and most all other terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It's more than just interesting also, that Israel possesses weapons that could easily do the destructive job on Damascus predicted in Isaiah 17:1. God's omniscient computer depicting end-time foul weather is, of course, perfectly accurate. We can thereby discern our times, if we but apply ourselves to study, prayer and observation.
A second report brings even sharper focus to the apocalyptic storm displayed on the Bible's prophetic radar screen. From "Prophetic Update", August 27th, 2004, comes the following assessment about another profound indicator that the apocalyptic storm is almost upon this generation:
The United States and European Union nations, who were once part of the ancient Roman Empire, are conducting experiments with high-tech identification systems that will make it more convenient to travel and to acquire health care, food purchases and other services. These systems are so technologically advanced that they can be administered to millions of people and make services so convenient that people will not think twice about taking the Mark of the Beast.
The European Union and its member countries are testing new human identification technologies that can be massively distributed and are the key to open a wide variety of convenient services to those who would accept the IDs (now called RFID [Radio Frequency Identification]). The United States, using the war on terrorism as its reason, is also testing new forms of identification that will make it easier to track people and provide services. These tests run headfirst into the prophecies of Daniel and John in that the former Roman Empire would become the one world government of the anti-Christ who would rise to power and require everyone to worship him by receiving his mark in order to buy, sell, travel, trade, receive medical care and to eat...
A third news release of recent vintage makes it crystal clear that the storm is almost upon us, and that Antichrist’s all-controlling capability delineated in Revelation 13:16-18 is already in place. I just received the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) release from a friend who keeps up to date on US government satellite and other technologies development. An excerpt follows:
(Washington D.C. - August 17th, 2004): EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Michael O. Leavitt and Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today discussed the potential benefits to states of the planned Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). The proposed world-wide network could help predict natural disasters and save lives.
In April, Administrators Leavitt and Lautenbacher visited Tokyo to participate in the Earth Observation Summit II, where ministers and ambassadors from 44 nations and 26 international groups agreed to work together to create the global monitoring system... an unprecedented international collaboration, GEOSS will link data across the world, thereby providing each U.S. state with a more complete picture of global climatic occurrences that impact their area.
Once operational, GEOSS would be capable of continuously monitoring the land, sea and air by linking data from satellites, ocean buoys, and ground-based air and water quality monitors.
The United States is scheduled to outline its draft plan by the end of August. In February 2005, the project's international coalition plans to unveil a 10-year plan to accomplish its mission.
The United States government is well known to release for use only technologies that are at least 7 to 10 years behind the most advanced technologies. With plans to monitor every square inch of planet Earth with lenses that can read postage stamps from thousands of miles in space, it isn’t far-fetched to think that Satan's superman could have at his disposal Revelation 13-type control devices in our day!
The tribulation typhoon is almost here. The prophetic winds are increasing. But, before it hits the shores of present history, Christians will be taken to safety found only in God's perfect storm shelter -- (salvation in) the Lord Jesus Christ.
SOURCE, http://www.raptureready.com/nm/5.html
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