Are struggling with your writing or with taking captive your thoughts?
Writing is very interesting… I feel like I am trying to expose the dragon for what it is – sometimes the dragon that is in the air, but other times the dragon that seems to hide in our minds. That brings up the best struggle that is actually a blessing — the defeat of the dragon that wants to seek us out like that roaring lion. That is why we must take captive every thought to the Glory of God.
The following is a copy of Chapter 3 in my new book “The Dark Sky of Prophecy: What Have They Done?“
Chapter 3: God is Near
In the sixty-six books of the Bible, God gives more than 8,000 promises and over 3,000 prophecies. Other passages reveal who God is through His Name. For instance, the Word reveals that Jesus is Creator of everything:
“For by Him all things in the heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether they are kings, lords, rulers or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. He himself existed before anything else did, and he holds all things together,” Col. 1:16-17.
Since Jesus Christ created everything, it would make sense that he has control over the deep mysteries of both science and non-science. Does this include control of time and events? The Word has two good examples: When King Hezekiah was sick, God gave him 15 extra years of life and at the battle in Gibeon, Joshua needed more daylight to secure the victory and so after he boldly prayed, God commanded the sun to stand still.
These miraculous responses, divine proclamations, and other deeply profound messages in the living Word portrays a broad and beautiful picture of who God is. He is beyond words and knowledge, for we still cannot fully explain the Trinity or the idea that God is three persons in one. Jesus said, “I and the Father are One.” The Sovereign God is full of grace, steadfast in his love, open to conversation as he takes interest in us, a lover and upholder of justice, and abundant in forgiveness and mercy.
When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. God did not want them to live forever in their state of sin. Tempted by the Serpent they doubted God’s Word choosing to follow the Serpent’s lie and their own will and desires.
In Genesis 3:15, God tells the Serpent and Eve that their seed will be at war, and the seed of the Serpent will strike her Seed, but her Seed will crush the head of the seed of the Serpent. This first prophecy introduces the central theme of God’s Word: redemption through Jesus Christ, the defeat of Satan, and God’s final judgment upon sin.
Genesis continues by revealing a series of covenants and promises that God made through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Then eight hundred years later during the fall of Israel God’s prophets receive more detail about God’s plan to save the Jewish nation and the world. Eight hundred years later Jesus Christ fulfills almost all those promises and covenants. On the Cross, He defeats the “seed of the serpent.” He declares, “It is finished.” The Temple veil is torn from top to bottom and Heaven’s Door is opened to all who place their trust in Him. Jesus the “Door,” is the Lamb of God that gives access to God’s throne at any time, Hebrews 4:16.
John the Apostle, adds to Jesus Christ’s divine biography by stating, “In the beginning the Word existed, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God,” John 1:1-2. Yes, this boggles the mind but in essence the Word of God which “is living and active” is Jesus Christ. He, the Word, was with God the Father in the beginning. This powerful verse illustrates why the Bible is hard for the unbelieving mind and heart to grasp. Jehovah’s Witnesses change this verse to say, “In the beginning the Word existed, the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” They have changed it because they do not believe Jesus is God.
Jesus Christ is not just a “divine recording” of the past but is living and active now in both the Word and in the third person of the Trinity. In the prophetic book of Revelation 1:8, he declares, “I AM the Alpha and Omega, who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.” In the Gospels Jesus states, “The Father and I are One,” and comforts his disciples by promising that the Holy Spirit will come upon them when he leaves.
The mystery and power of the Trinity carry into the mystery and power of the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit is sealed in the heart of all confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe that He rose from the dead. The two thousand Church Age as an extension of God’s planned kingdom.
Genesis 1:2 reminds us that from the beginning the Trinity involves the Father, the Son Jesus, and “the Spirit of God who hovered over the waters of the earth”- while the “earth was desolate, unformed, and shrouded in darkness. God’s Spirit generated the life that formed in water and later the land. The divine parallel is Jesus who was desolate and shrouded in darkness on the Cross. He conquered death and sin so that we might live.
The mystery of the Trinity is the mystery of the Church and what separates Christianity from all the gods, cults, and religions of the world. History clearly shows that the Bible or Word of God is the only book that gives a trustworthy account of historical events, people, and places in the past, present, and future. And it reveals an incredible cosmic rescue plan:
“God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves, through whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” Col. 1:13.
Sin condemns mankind and death is its consequence. God created man and gave him the opportunity to choose good from evil and placed a spirit, soul, and conscience in his heart. Adam, however, chose to disobey God opening the pathway to the Knowledge of Good and Evil and a permanent separation from God called “sin.” So, God became “man” to reverse what Adam did and Redeem His Creation. This is a true Cosmic rescue story.
The seven-day Creation message reveals a historic event, a wonder of science, and a series of promises from God’s heart. Those promises are both physical and spiritual and involve both Laws of Thermodynamics and the “law” that God placed in the heart of all Creation. God’s power holds atoms together and each layer above was divinely designed for life and our enjoyment. Despite our great progress in biology, physics, and astronomy we are still unable to generate the “spark of life.” And we still do not know how light from distant stars fits the constraints of the historical Creation timeline.
Day 4 of Genesis reveals the purpose of God’s design for the heavenly lights was:
“To separate day from night and as signs (Moedim) for appointed times.”
Moedim means “Signs” and not seasons, yet most Bibles prefer “seasons” instead of “signs.” Yes, the sun was used for seasons but most lights, the stars and planets, were set in place as Signs for appointed times. The light from stars, moon, and wandering planets would announce the birth of Christ and the Great Sign of Revelation 12. This is Prophecy Alert # 4
This alert is of critical importance because most Bibles include the word “seasons” but omit “Signs for appointed times.” This is an example of omitting the correct Hebrew translation and it blinds people to the fact that God puts signs in our path to get out attention and “rescue us.”
The sun and moon were used for Signs in the sky during eclipses, blood moons, and dark suns. The Great Sign of Revelation 12 is a warning sign of a time or paradigm where Satan is cast down from heaven and will try to destroy the “Woman” or Jewish nation fleeing from Judah. He will fail as God provides the “wings of an eagle” to carry Jews to safety in the wilderness of Jordan. God protects these “saved Jews” during the entire 3.5 years of His Wrath. Again, this is a reminder that God still loves and cares for Israel’s people. This fact is a centerpiece of God’s Promise.
God declares Day 7 as a “day of rest” and sanctified for worship and to recharge the soul. Those 7 Creation days also reflect seven thousand years of His cosmic timeline fulfilling 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord one day is as one thousand years.” Each Day of Creation is declared “good” by God, sealing His stamp of approval. It is a sampling of his sovereign power and will help us receive his “Good” plan and the goodness of his creation in our lives and share it with others. These are promises for all time.
God appointed faithful people to record, teach, and declare His promises and prophecy. This included scribes, priests, soldiers, and even zealots, fishermen, and a tax collector. At Pentecost God’s Spirit came alive in us. The Holy Spirit acts as our guide, helper, and revealer. And He convicts us of our sin. He reminds us that Jesus is:
To find Truth one must go to God for he is our Rest and Refuge and is Near to those who love him. God promised Abraham that his seed would bless all the nations and it is happening right now through high tech, television, and supernatural intervention. This promise echoes throughout scripture from Abel’s sacrifice and death to the Lamb of God on the Cross. Isaac was a type of Christ 2000 years later, and then another 2000 years beyond that to the Cross. All this was God’s provision or promise for the remission of sin. Figure # 1 on the next page explains this historical time line with the 70th week of Daniel and the Millennium also illustrated.
After the 2000-year Church Age, the rapture will happen, ushering in a three-and-a-half-year period of Wrath followed by the Millennium. Jesus will return in all His Glory at the end of the Wrath to defeat Satan and the Anti-Christ. Our present “Church Age” is the mystery that is sealed up. When will it end?
The Church Age is sandwiched between two 3.5-year periods that add up to Daniel’s 70th week: 3.5 + Church Age + 3.5 years = 7 years. It is a time of sanctification like the 10 Days of Awe in the Temple when a “sacred window” outside ordinary time was opened. The 10-Days-of-Awe were only 7 twenty-four hour days. So, the Church Age surrounded by this special “7-year spiritual week” reflects the supernatural quality of the 7-day spiritual week in the Temple that was 10 days long! Both in essence act to purify the “priests.” The “10” days of Awe were for purification primarily and the 2000-year Church Age is for sanctification of believers.
A Christian also has a supernatural quality in that he or she is Temple of the Holy Spirit. All believers are part of the “priesthood of God” and are being purified by God, under constraints of time yet anchored eternally.
Because God is faithful and just, the author believes Scripture teaches that believers will be removed before the outpouring of God’s Wrath. From Genesis to Revelation, from Enoch to the “obedient Church of Philadelphia,” God declares that He will “snatch away” his own before the Wrath of God comes. Below is just one of at least ten powerful “rapture” scriptures in the Bible:
“With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever,” I Thess. 4:16-17.
In the Second Coming, when Jesus Christ defeats the forces of the Anti-Christ, he sets foot on the Mount of Olives and parts it in half so that those in Jerusalem can flee to the Jordan River. In the rapture the saints “meet the Lord in the air.” Those are clearly two separate events. If you do not believe in the rapture, how can you explain this difference? Jesus Christ’s return with the raptured saints to rescue millions of Jews in Jerusalem and Judea is described in Zechariah 14:4:
“On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.”
There is no massacre of Jews. Jesus gathers the refugees from Jerusalem and leads them south towards Bosra in Jordan. This is the 2nd Coming of the Lord when the Jews see the Lord and declare, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” They Believe in their Messiah and then He defeats all the enemy forces. Jesus says to all who believe in Him,
“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:20.
Jesus may be in Heaven but there really is no separation. The book of Joshua 1:8 reminds us to meditate in God’s Word “day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.” God does not want us to ignore the writings of the prophets and especially the Books of Daniel and Revelation. These are key books revealing history and the world’s condition, God’s plan for us, and details of events that will soon happen. The Word says that if you seek Jesus with all your heart you will find Him.
Misrepresenting and misinterpreting the Word of God has set the Church on a wrong trajectory concerning prophecy. God warns, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.” Prophecy speakers and authors have invested their reputation on publications or programs predicting wars or events based on incorrect analysis of scripture. Are they willing to admit their errors and maybe lose some credibility and prestige? Are they willing to admit that some of their past sermons or writings were incorrect and warn others? God wants us to be 100% truthful, honest and humble. Store your treasure in heaven, the rewards are much greater. God exhorts:
“Do not be conformed to this world but continuously be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God’s will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect,” Romans 12:2.
God gives us a choice to follow him and His Spirit or to follow the world and its darkness. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have Life and have it more abundantly,” John 10:10. Darkness and the world system says, “My body, my Choice!” or “I feel different, I am no longer a man.” Jesus Christ says, “You were fearfully and wonderfully made” by me. Craig Laurie sums it up:
“The Bible is a package deal, it does not change, and it is not a salad bar for you to pick and choose what you like or don’t like.”
If you ignore prophecy because you do not understand it, keep reading, invite the Holy Spirit to guide you, and you will be blessed as the fog in your mind disappears. The author remembers when he could not “see” what the pastor or book was teaching until he read and studied it himself, prayed about it, and asked the Holy Spirit to give discernment and insight.
God is not distant. He wants to meet with you and interact with your thoughts and ideas. He is not merely the God of prophecy, history, and Creation. He is near to those who seek Him. The same God who created the stars, fulfilled thousands of promises, and revealed the future through His prophets invites us into a personal relationship through Jesus Christ. His Word is near. His Spirit is near. His promises are near. And soon, He will return.