Hispanic pastors tour border facility lambasted by AOC and say they are ‘shocked by misinformation’

By Caleb Parke | Fox News

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez: President Trump may surprise the world and succeed in passing immigration reform

The president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, who has advised Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, speaks out on the crisis at the border.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez was "full of indignation" when he saw the reports and heard from politicians about the deplorable and inhumane conditions for illegal immigrants at an El Paso County, Texas migrant detention center. But what he saw at the same facility toured by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. with a group of pastors was "drastically different."

The president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the world's largest Hispanic Christian organization, and senior pastor of New Seasons Christian Worship Center in Sacramento shared his firsthand experience touring a migrant detention center during a press briefing Monday.

AOC ALLEGEDLY SCREAMS AT FEDS DURING TEXAS VISIT, CLAIMS DETAINEES FORCED TO DRINK OUT OF TOILETS

“I read the reports, saw the news clips. I just wanted to see what was actually happening in order to better enable our efforts to find a fair and a just solution to our broken immigration system," Rodriguez, who has advised President Trump and both Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush on immigration reform, noted. “To my surprise, I saw something drastically different from the stories I’ve been hearing in our national discourse. Even as a veteran of immigration advocacy in the U.S., I was shocked at the misinformation of the crisis at the border."

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 The group of pastors saw a very different picture described by Ocasio-Cortez and other politicians and media outlets.

“We found no soiled diapers, no deplorable conditions and no lack of basic necessities,” Rodriguez remarked, adding he specifically asked border agents if they staged the facility in response to the negative press. “They unequivocally denied it — we were witnessing the identical conditions the attorneys saw when they toured the facility days earlier.

"In fact, some told him the sources from whom the negative coverage originated “never toured the areas of the facility that we toured” and speculated they might have had political motivations.

The pastors left encouraged by the commitment and dedication of America’s Border Patrol and immigration officers, “many of which are Latinos, by the way.” He said one emotional Border Patrol agent turned to him and said, referring to the vilification: “Pastor Sam, what they’re saying about us is completely false. We care about these kids and have a passion for our calling.”

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, with an accompanying delegation of pastors at the Clint Patrol Station this weekend in El Paso County, Texas. (Courtesy Rev. Samuel Rodriguez)

Pastor Carlos Moran, NHCLC board member and immigrant, said, “we, as evangelical leaders that serve in different segments, are very committed to helping children regardless of their status and we commend those officers that are trying their very best to serve and fulfill their duty at the border. However, we do call on our political leaders to set aside their personal agendas and begin focusing on resolving this immigration crisis.”

Rodriguez points blame for that broken immigration system at consecutive White House administrations and especially both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress and implored each to “address the system they created.”

“What's heart-wrenching is that we have both Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress, who can't come together for the purpose of doing the right thing and finding a solution to our immigration crisis,” he said. “Please, President Trump, please White House, work with the Republicans and the Democrats [and] please, please, please, please, Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, please come together to solve this crisis, immediately.”

Caleb Parke is an associate editor for FoxNews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @calebparke

Evil Pressure vs. Heavenly Restraint by Terry James

I’ve written elsewhere that I once heard an evangelist back in the mid-’70s preach during a city crusade that he believed the unthinkable would happen in America. It would take place just before the Rapture of the Church.

The evangelist believed that, just as the debauched society and, by then, totally anti-God governmental agencies would be about to grab Christians around their throats, the Rapture would occur.

A significant puzzlement to me is that so many who are truly born again (John 3:3) don’t seem to concern themselves with the tremendous evil that is building. They don’t seem to even notice that in the freest nation on the planet, the powers and principalities of Ephesians 6:12 are grasping to clutch and strangle believers.

Those who faithfully read articles such as those on Rapture Ready and other such forums exhibit concern for the evil pressures that are building. But God’s people in general–and I’m talking about those who are born again (and only God knows those who are in His family)– show little concern, it seems to me, while the anti-God forces do their nefarious work.

This is attributable in large part to neglect in the pulpits of America. Pastors and Bible teachers would rather not touch prophetic topics–particularly not prophecy yet future. We’ve noted before that they find those biblical areas too frightening to their flocks, too difficult to understand, or just of no importance for these modern times. Besides, such troubling messages might drive down attendance, thus dry up offerings.

And the evil pressures build…
Again, all we have to do is to look at the political scene in the nation. One party has all but publicly committed to abandoning anything to do with the God of the Bible. As a matter of fact, that party is seeking to totally debauch our society and culture. This is obvious, yet the pulpits for the most part remain silent on the fact that this very condition for the end of the Church Age was prophesied. God’s Word, through the Apostle Paul, forewarned and instructed those responsible for overseeing God’s people in the last days:

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
Evil pressure builds within the church itself. Just a cursory glance at what’s going on in some areas of a growing number of religious bodies that claim to be Christian lays bare the truth of Satan’s assault.

One such organization claiming Christianity as its belief system shows the lateness of this Laodicean hour:

The Vision Church of Atlanta, Georgia, a progressive congregation, has added a psychic medium who claims to commune with the dead to their staff.

Lakara Foster, who holds a doctorate of ministry from the Interdenominational Theological Center, is now a licensed minister at the Vision Church of Atlanta, Rolling Out reported. She is also the creator and star of the YouTube series “The Gift,” which she argues God told her to do. It follows her life as a medium, minister, and spiritual teacher.

“God told me to do the show. Honestly, I was reluctant at first because I felt very vulnerable and thought I would get a lot of pushback and negative feedback being a minister and a medium. I thought people wouldn’t understand but I knew I still had to do it. I knew I had been called to do it. When I asked God, ‘Why this gift? Why not singing?’ God said, ‘I promised my people eternal life. How will my people know that I’ve kept promise if you don’t demonstrate your gift?’” she told Rolling Out. (“Vision Church of Atlanta adds psychic medium to ministerial staff,” By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post reporter , Friday, May 24, 2019)

That the church medium is surprised she has received little to no pushback is itself surprising. The changes taking place within various denominations are becoming a ho-hum part of the quickly evolving reality. It would be a good bet, if a gambler, to wager that most Christians in the pews today would see little to nothing wrong with what this “psychic” said.

Pastors in the pews of Bible-believing churches are silent for the most part, for example. They just don’t want to get involved in these extrabiblical machinations–only they’re not extrabiblical. Read 2 Timothy 4:1-4 above once again. It is the minister’s God-ordained commission to fight against such heresy, especially as the last days of the Church Age manifest.

After considering the evil pressures and actions assaulting this generation, it is true that there is opposite and equal reaction. This comes from God, Himself, it is obvious and provable through watching things going on, particularly within the American political war being waged. To my way of thinking, the fact that this president remains alive–that is, not assassinated because of the hatred cast his way–much less that he continues to work hard for the American people–is nothing short of miraculous. Every evil influence has been brought to bear in trying to destroy Mr. Trump and his family. The mainstream media, the entire entertainment industry, the increasingly reprobate opposition party, America’s top intelligence agency heads, nearly half of the American populace, and even members of his own party who hate him spend 24/7 feverishly trying to remove him from office in whatsoever way possible.

The spiritual war going on is made obvious, too, by the fact that Christian leaders like Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and many others have called for prayer for the president and for the nation. This call is as desperately needed as at any time in human history.

God, alone, is holding back the evil that is assaulting. This is undeniable to the Christian who believes in God’s Word and applies himself or herself to study of the Word.

Why more Christians are comporting themselves as if in a stupor is extremely troubling. Don’t be one of those who refuse to look up from your life’s routine in order to see that Christ’s promised redemption is drawing near (Luke 21: 28). Take part in the Lord’s heavenly restraint through prayer and study, in order to discern the signs that Christ is about to return.
–Terry

How Far Will the Falling Away Go?

By Gene Lawley

Published on: March 23, 2019 by RRadmin7 Category:Gene Lawley, General Articles

 

When I first began to pay attention to the Scriptures where Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, saying, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), I assumed it meant a “falling away” from the faith, a denial of Christ and rejection of church affiliation. Yes, but much more, as current events and trends are showing. It is a turning away from morality and lawfulness, and that includes many in the “Christian” category, no less. 

How many mainline churches and high-level clergy are embracing with welcoming arms the raging sexuality movement? The gender manipulation frenzy, the clamor for acceptance of homosexuality as a normal lifestyle, the hard-driven demand that abortion of babies in the womb, even partially born, is fully acceptable and legal—these trends have grown exponentially like a brushfire in these past few years. It is indeed like a frenzy.

The abortion issue ties in with this sexual revolution, for it has all the markings of nothing more than a major birth-control method. How to have all the sex experiences possible without any responsibility, that seems to be the hidden reason. How many of the 61 million abortions recorded in America since 1973 (Roe v Wade) were actually due to the health of the mother?

Oaths of office to uphold the Constitution mean nothing anymore. Gangs in streets opposing lawmen, destroying property and human lives, demanding open borders for illegals and providing safe cities for killers—the signs of a dying society are enormous.

What is to become of America? What is to become of the world?
In the “rat race” of this world, the rats seem to be winning. But when God shows up, the rats will race for the darkness, just as they have been for centuries. When Peter wrote these words in his second epistle, he revealed a great truth that holds up, and has held up for these centuries, of God’s purpose over all that time:

“…Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’
“For this they willfully forget, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:3-9).

In spite of scoffers and naysayers, God is fixed in His patient desire that all can be saved who would be saved, that is, willing to repent and be saved. The current question, then, is how long will He wait in these days for that final one to be born again before He returns for all those whom He has bought with His own blood? 

In the days of Noah, all of the world except Noah and his family were in rebellion against God. And in the days of Lot, the whole city of Sodom was totally saturated with evil when Lot went out of the city and sudden destruction came upon it and its inhabitants. Luke 17:26-30 tells us that the Son of Man will come for His own, just like in the times of Noah and Lot, but during a time of economic and social revival or seemingly “well off” times, especially in America.
When Noah and his family entered the ark and God closed the door on them (Genesis 7:16), there was no more representation of righteousness left among physical mankind. Evil had won its final and ultimate conclusion. God’s judgment had also arrived, for the flood came and took away all evil in a cleansing of the whole earth. In 2 Thessalonians 2 we have looked at the compounding of a “falling away” comparable to, so Jesus said in Luke 17:26, “as it was in the days of Noah.” Further in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, verses 5-8, he writes this:
“Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

The born-again believer is described and identified in this way in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” Thus, the “One who restrains, the restrainer” is the believer in Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Lord has said to those who have accepted Him into their lives, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). (I quote these references to assert more forcefully that this passage, presenting the fact of the Rapture of the saints, is clearly the taking out of the earth the true body of Christ.)

It is comparable to the time of Noah in that, following that exit, there is no more representation of righteousness left on earth. Only left behind is the conclusion of evil—God’s judgment in the sudden destruction to follow, and then, seven years of tribulation judgment.

 In this Trump administration we have seen a reversal of the deceptive plan to destroy the sovereignty of the United States and initiate a New World Order that would front for a one-world government. That is clearly the underlying plan subtly pointed to when President Obama spoke at the 2016 DC Correspondents’ Dinner on April 30, 2016. In the video produced by C-Span and online on YouTube, he greeted the guests with, “You are all looking great…the end of the Republic has never looked better!”

Perhaps the guests, all news correspondents, thought this was a joke since that was somewhat the format of the evening. Yet, throughout his talk, he revealed his certainty of the coming results of the 2016 election…as he was so sure who would win it. One of those references went like this: “I don’t know who the next president will be, but I’m sure she will be a good one!”

But God had other plans, according to His long-suffering for those who would become born-again believers before His Appointed Time for that 7^th head of the Beast of Revelation, the one-world government. He said, in action if not words, “Barack Obama, you will get your one-world government, but it will be in My timing, not that of mankind.”

Take a look again at Luke 17:26-30 and see what happened, apparently, because the raging fight against the reversal of their intentions has never been so intense anytime in recent decades. The “falling away” from lawfulness is so deeply embedded in our governmental bodies, in society, in every corner of life that it is beginning to look like those days of Noah and of Lot and their surrounding conditions. The bowing down to the demands of pro-abortionists and their determined ally, Planned Parenthood, and the perverted sexual and gender manipulation frenzy is nothing short of astounding. As Romans 3:18 declares, “There is no fear of God before their eyes!” 

It is not likely that God will come to earth and bargain with anyone, like He did before the judgment of Sodom (see Genesis 18). He will come like a thief in the night, and sudden destruction will follow immediately, according to 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3. 

The remaining question, again, is “how full must the cup of God’s judgment be before the Son of Man comes?”
Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com 

Noah and the Flood: Part 1 – The X-Men

Republished from gracethrufaith.com

Monday, June 30th, 2003

• Grace
• Israel
• Old Testament

When men began to increase in number on the Earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Sprit will not contend with Man forever for he is mortal. His days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days – and also afterward – when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them (Gen. 6:1-4).

Take this literally, as we always do, and it’s one of the scariest verses in the Bible. The Hebrew phrase translated “sons of God” refers to beings who are direct creations of God, normally angels, and distinguishes the origin of the males in the passage from that of the females. Only two human males are ever described this way; Adam (Luke 3:38) and the Lord Jesus. In Psalm 82:6 the rulers of Israel are called children of the Most High but the context refers to their role as judges of the people, responsible for dispensing both justice and mercy. In John 1:12 we who have received the Lord into our hearts are given the authority to become children of God. There the notion is that of being born again as a spiritual child of God, a concept amplified in John 3:3-21.

The Testimony of Two Witnesses

To make sure we get the point of Genesis 6:1-4, the distinction appears twice. The males were direct creations of God while the females were the offspring of human parents. The passage clearly states that fallen angels somehow took on the form of human males and married human females who bore their children. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 mention the fallen angels as having been rounded up and bound in chains awaiting the Judgment Day, and In 1 Cor. 6:3 Paul hinted that the church will judge them for their actions. These children were called Nephilim (gigantes in Greek … origin of our word giant) a Hebrew word that translates “fallen ones.”

But Nephilim also appeared after the flood as foretold in Gen 6:4 (“and also afterward”). Returning from their first view of the Promised Land, the 12 spies reported seeing them among the local people (Numbers 13:33). This is one reason the Lord instructed the Israelites to wipe out the entire population of Caanan (Deut. 20:16-18) including their animals before settling down in their new land. Like Nephilim, the Rephaim were also called giants and are mentioned throughout the Old Testament. Goliath was from the Rephaim. We would call these people aliens today, being of extra-terrestrial origin.

And now research of documented alien encounters shows a consistent interest in and inspection of the human reproductive system. Are aliens using humans to grow and harvest offspring creating a super race among us as some have claimed? Does the apparent increase in alien contact signal another return of the Nephilim? In the KJV translation of Daniel 2:43 there’s an obscure reference to someone from the 4th kingdom “mingling themselves with the seed of men” in the last days. Is the antichrist part alien, or in command of alien forces? In Matt 24:37 the Lord spoke of the Last Days being “as it was in the days of Noah.” Think about it.

Back To Genesis

The mixed marriages of Gen. 6 contaminated the human gene pool. This was an attempt by Satan to thwart the plan of God by preventing the birth of a Redeemer, since a direct descendant of Adam was required, a man without sin. Fossil evidence reveals that Satan was also tinkering with animal genetics before the flood since the various strains of dinosaurs and such couldn’t have been created that way. What little we understand of God’s creative capability tells us He wouldn’t have made an animal with a body too big for its skeleton, and a brain too small to effectively control it. Nor would He have created birds too heavy to fly or fish that couldn’t swim. His creation was perfect and He pronounced it all “very good.” Fossils were formed at one time and one time only, during the Great Flood, and were left as evidence of pre flood disobedience. Man sinned, allowing Evil into the world, and God had to destroy His creation and begin again. It’s a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebr. 10:31).

But Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time (Gen. 6:8-9). The Hebrew here means perfect in his generations, not sinless. Within the above context it’s clear that Noah was chosen for two reasons. First, his genealogy was not contaminated by intermarriage so a direct line to Adam could be preserved, and second, he was faithful. Even in the worst of times the Lord has always preserved a faithful remnant to begin again and Noah, though a sinner, had walked with God all his life.

Genesis 6:5-6 says that every intention of man’s mind was evil and God saw no alternative to destroying them all. Having given mankind 10 generations, great teachers like Enoch, a living reminder in Methuselah (the name means his death shall bring) and a 120 year count down (Gen. 6:3), in the year Methuselah died the Great Flood came, 1656 years after Adam’s creation. And the record shows that not one of the world’s inhabitants joined Noah on the Ark. Just like the people of our time, they didn’t believe God would ever judge them. Like the man said, “The only thing we learn from history is that we never learn anything from history.”
More next time.

The Olivet Discourse … Luke’s Version

 

 Republished from gracethrufaith.com

Saturday, February 14th, 2015

• Featured
• Israel
• Old Testament
• Prophecy
• Rapture

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley



Students of prophecy often pay more attention to Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse because of its greater length and detail. But when we bypass Luke’s account, we miss one third of the Lord’s message. That’s because the disciples asked the Lord three questions and in Matthew 24 He only answered the last two. Also, it’s Luke’s answer to their first question that confirms the whole message as it relates to the End Times.


Here’s why. When a prophet revealed events that would take place beyond the lifetimes of the people he was speaking to, the Lord often provided a short term partial fulfillment to validate the distant prophecy. This is because He had told the people that if what a prophet said didn’t come true, then the people were not to fear him, for he hadn’t spoken for the Lord. (Deut 18:21-22)

There are numerous partial fulfillments in Scripture that would serve as good examples of this, but perhaps the clearest one comes from John 5:43. Speaking to Israel, Jesus said, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.”  He was referring to the anti-Christ, who many in Israel will believe to be the Messiah when he comes on the scene at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week. But just before Jesus was handed over to be executed, Pilate offered to free Him as a sign of Roman mercy, traditionally expressed on Passover. He gave the people a choice, the innocent Jesus who came in His Father’s name, or a convicted killer named Barabbas who came in his own name. The people chose Barabbas. It was the partial fulfillment that validated the Lord’s prophecy of Israel and the anti-Christ in the 70th Week.
And as we’ll see, the destruction of Jerusalem in 69AD was the partial fulfillment that validated the Lord’s prophecy of the End Times. Let’s take a look.

Luke 21:5-36

Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God.  But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (Luke 21:5-7)

According to Mark 13:3, it was Peter, James, John and Andrew who asked. And in Matt. 24:3 we can read their complete question. “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
This is our first hint that things will be different in Luke’s account. He only has the disciples asking the first question, the one about their immediate future.

As we get started, it’s important to understand that none of the gospel writers thought of themselves strictly as historians. Had the Lord only wanted to document history, one gospel account would have been sufficient. Instead, each writer was assigned a different audience, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tailored his account to meet the needs of that audience. Each also portrayed Jesus a little differently to show a particular side of Him. Matthew wrote to the Jews showing them that Jesus was their Messiah-King, the Lion of Judah.  Mark wrote to the Romans, describing Jesus as the humble Servant of the Lord.  Luke wrote to the Greeks, portraying Jesus as the Son of Man, and John wrote to the Church identifying Jesus as the Son of God.

Among other things, this was the fulfillment of four Old Testament prophecies of a figure God called “The Branch”, a messianic reference. In Jeremiah 23:5 the Branch is called the King. In Zechariah 3:8 He’s the Servant. In Zechariah 6:12 He’s the Man and in Isaiah 4:2 He’s the Branch of the Lord. In each case the word Branch is capitalized.  OK, now let’s get to the Lord’s answer.
He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:8-11)
In the beginning, His answer sounds a lot like those in Matthew 24:4-7 and Mark 13:5-8. But that’s about to change.

“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.  All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.” (Luke 21:12-19)

These verses clearly describe the lives of the Apostles in the earliest days of the Church. Peter and John testified before the Sanhedrin. Paul was on both sides of this prophecy, first attacking Christians with a vengeance and after his conversion bearing witness to leaders like Felix, Festus, and Herod Agrippa. Of the original 12 disciples, only John died of natural causes, and all of them suffered through the most terrifying forms of torture without ever recanting a single word of their testimony.
“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24)

Once again, the bulk of this passage is identical to Matthew’s account, but there are two striking differences showing us that they’re not describing the same event. First, in Matthew 24:15 the warning sign that it’s time to flee is the Abomination of Desolation standing in the Holy Place. Here it’s the positioning of the Roman army around Jerusalem.
Normally it would be too late to flee when a besieging army could be seen encircling a city. But in 68-69AD the political situation in Rome was unstable to say the least. The former general of the Roman armies in the Middle East was a man named Titus Vespasian. He had recently turned his command over to his son, also named Titus, so he could position himself to become the next Emperor. (This came to pass upon the death of Nero in 68, and Vespasian was named Emperor on July 1, 69.)  He had been concerned that he would need more military backing to make his claim good, so even though the legions now under his son’s command had already begun their siege of Jerusalem, Vespasian ordered them to disengage and return to Rome. When they began pulling back to prepare for the journey, the believers in Jerusalem who had been taught the Lord’s warning hastened to escape the city.

But before the Romans could leave entirely, Titus Vespasian sent word to his son that the troops wouldn’t be needed after all and ordered them to resume their siege of Jerusalem. By then all the believers had escaped.
In the month we call August of 69 AD the walls were breached and the Temple was captured. The interior furnishings caught fire and the heat caused the gold plating on the wooden ceiling beams to melt. As the liquid gold ran down the walls it flowed into the cracks between the stones. When the fire had gone out and the stones had cooled, the Roman soldiers tore the ruins apart stone by stone to get the gold that had flowed between them and solidified. Not one stone was left standing on another, in fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy (also in Luke 19:43-44).

In 70 AD the Roman army completed its conquest of the Holy Land in the siege of Masada. Although over one million Jews had perished, according to tradition not a single believer died in the destruction of Jerusalem. (Some historical accounts place the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple one year earlier in 68AD but the general consensus is that it happened as I’ve described it.)

The second difference in the two accounts is that while Matthew’s version ends with the 2nd Coming and is world wide in its focus, Luke describes the Jewish diaspora and the ensuing control of Jerusalem by the Gentiles. In short, Luke’s account has so far been confined to describing events concerning the fall of Jerusalem. He was describing the short term partial fulfillment within the lifetimes of the Lord’s audience that validates the ultimate fulfillment at the End of the Age.
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:25-28)

Suddenly the Lord expanded His answer to include the whole world and the End of the Age. Those who are alive on Earth when the signs He described begin to happen are to understand that the culminating event will be the Lord’s return, just like Matthew and Mark said.  And believers are told that when we first begin to see the signs, we should start looking at the sky in expectation, because the Lord will be on His way for us. Notice how the narrative changes from the third person, “men will faint from terror” and “they will see the Son of Man coming” to the second person, “lift up your heads” and “your redemption is drawing near“.  He was distinguishing between believers and the rest of the world.

And pay particular attention to how the focus changes from the end of the sequence, “they will see the Son of Man coming“, to its beginning “when these things begin to happen“. If you didn’t already know it from Paul’s teaching you wouldn’t recognize that He’s hinting at two separate events, the Rapture and the 2nd Coming. But since you do, you can.  And you can also see that the second coming is at the end of the sequence, but our redemption (rapture) will take place at its beginning.

He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:29-36)
As in Matthew’s account, the fig tree parable is not meant to signify Israel, but the speed with which these events will unfold once they begin. The fig tree was the last one to get its leaves in the spring, so they knew when they saw leaves sprouting on the fig trees, that summer was really close.  In the same way, the span of time between the beginning of the End Times signs and the Lord’s return will be relatively short.

I think this summary was meant both for the generation alive during the fall of Jerusalem and the one that’s here at the End of the Age. Thirty five years after the Lord spoke these words, the Romans began their three year campaign to complete the overthrow of the Jewish nation. Many who were taught this prophecy by the very men who got it straight from the Lord’s mouth were still alive when this happened.  And at the End of the Age many who are alive as these signs begin to appear will still be alive at their conclusion.

The last sentence is especially meaningful. “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” By watching for the sign of the Roman armies encircling Jerusalem and praying for deliverance (from all that was about to happen), believers on Earth at the time were able to escape the death and destruction of Jerusalem’s judgment.  Just so, by watching for the End Times signs and praying for deliverance, the  believers on Earth in our time will be able to escape from the death and destruction of Earth’s judgment (to stand before the Son of Man).

As you know, I don’t believe the Lord ever gave a clear teaching on the Rapture of the Church. But with two brief mentions, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28) and “pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man ” (Luke 21:36) He gave the clearest hints of His entire earthly ministry that the Church will be delivered from the end times judgments. (60 years later, when He visited John on the Isle of Patmos, He confirmed this, saying, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Rev. 3:10). Before the end times judgments begin we’ll be standing before the Son of Man, having met Him in the air (1 Thes. 4:16-17).

The King James version of Luke 21:36 reads “pray that you may be counted worthy to escape” and there are those who use this verse to justify a partial rapture, saying only those believers who are worthy will be taken.  But it’s important to remember that just as it was then, so it is now.   No one will be counted worthy based on his or her own merits.  We pray for our salvation and are made worthy by accepting the Lord’s death as payment for our sins and believing in His resurrection, because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebr. 10:14). 

Now you can see that the partial fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy, found in the first century destruction of Jerusalem, confirmed the ultimate fulfillment of all that He said would happen soon to the entire world.  You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.  (This is an expansion of a study I originally posted on 08-24-13).

End Times Teaching - Arnold Fruchtenbaum

Welcome to Laodicea

Reblogged from: concerningthetimes.com

Posted by: Howard Green

 

What is it about Bible prophecy and end times dialogue that sets some Christian’s teeth on edge? The reason I’m asking the question is because I can’t remember a time when apathy regarding the Lord’s return has been so widespread. If we were talking about a pagan view of the last days…the previous statement wouldn’t seem so provocative. We are discussing apathy of so many in the Church…..that is why the matter is of deep concern. A few months ago, I defended the importance of Bible prophecy and it’s not my intent to review the subject. What I want to bring to our attention today is a ‘heart’ issue. I want to make a clear distinction between those who ‘love His appearing’ and those who to be blunt…..couldn’t care less.

Just like some people in the the 1st century church, we also have people inside the church now who are lukewarm, complacent, and slumbering. Welcome to Laodicea:  Many inside of our churches today aren’t watching and waiting…….they are scoffing.
Is it just me, or have you also noticed a growing disconnect between some professing believers and those of us who are longing for the Lord’s return as well? I know spiritual apathy has always been around, bu the level and fervor of the scoffers inside the church is reaching a fevered pitch. This lukewarm condition inside the church captured my full attention after I read an article on the Christian Post that was about prophetic events and our time. While I found the article interesting, it wasn’t what captured my attention. It was all of the comments following it that stunned me. I understand just because a media outlet has the word ‘Christian’ in it’s name, it doesn’t necessarily make every article biblical. I’m simply highlighting the fact that a majority of the readers of these publications would most likely call themselves a Christian.

I rarely look at the comments at the end of articles in secular media because it is there where you will find the most vitriolic, hateful, crass, and demeaning words one person could ever write to another. It is just the sad reality of our day and a clear lens into the condition of the unregenerate human heart. Occasionally I do read some of the comments that follow a piece in so called ‘Christian media’ simply to get the pulse of where we are as the body of Christ.

As I started reading the comments referring to the end time article, I was stunned. I decided to research other very recent articles written about Bible prophecy in recent weeks and what I found was the same complacent, slumbering, faithless mindset that I found comments below the original article. It wasn’t necessarily the apathetic nature of the comments that stuck me….as much as the sheer numbers of self professing ‘Christians’ and their animosity toward other believers that was so sad.

I believe the growing disconnect among a growing number of some ‘Christians’ toward those of us who love His appearing is a direct result of being lukewarm. Remember who the Lord is addressing…..the church in Laodicea, these weren’t outsiders. These were people who named the name of Jesus, stood during the same worship time, and perhaps prayed alongside other believers.

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

Revelation 3:14   ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Can you hear the tenderness in Jesus’ words? Isn’t it just like our Lord to reprove us with stern words of warning just as any loving Father would? The point is that He is telling those in the 1st century Laodicean church the same thing He is telling people today:  I’m standing at the door now. I want you to know Me and I want all of you….not just on one day a week. You are smug in your prosperity and self reliance……not even aware that you have nothing apart from Me. My return is near…..are you ready? Can’t you see the Lord reaching out to those He loves with mercy and asking them to repent and turn to Him?

Our God is a jealous God and He won’t compete for attention. Lukewarmness is a symptom of a heart that may be content with ‘religious activity’ and all this life has to offer. True lasting contentment is found in Christ alone.  That is why Jesus is imploring the lukewarm of John’s day and now in our day to get off of the fence and throw open the door to Him. What is on the other side of the door? Nothing less than the fullness of God through the person of Jesus and His presence. He promises the repentant lukewarm ‘believer’,  I will be with you, I will know you, and you will be with me on My throne. How do we conquer and overcome? It’s not by religious activity, piety, or human effort. It can only be done by the work of the Holy Spirit of God living in and through us. His mercy and grace extends to us even now……he is ready to answer anyone who calls on His name by faith.

Now let’s look at how different the heart that’s been regenerated and sanctified by the grace of God differs from the heart of the lukewarm person who claims to be a believer. Some of these are statements I’ve read by ‘professing Christians’ and I’m paraphrasing:

“This is nightly news or newspaper eschatology!” “This Great Tribulation stuff is silly…..it all happened in the 1st century.” Every time something happens….the doom & gloomers come out of the woodwork.”  These things have been going on for years….here they go again trying to sell books and get rich.”  “It’s been 2,000 years & people are still falling for this tripe.” “People have been saying we are in the end times for 100s of years…..when haven’t we not been?” “Funny how many people believed the end times would be in THEIR lifetime…..it’s terribly egocentric.”

Far from being edifying……the previous statements are clearly indicative of a lukewarm heart focused on the here & now instead of the will of God. These are not the railings of a worldly person who thinks Christians are out of touch, but the railings from the heart’s abundance of of a lukewarm Christian.

By contrast, the heart that’s centered in God’s will and walking by His Spirit will be known by it’s fruit. it is the heart that prays:  Come quickly Lord Jesus. It is this kind of believer that is in this world, but not of it. It is this kind of believer that can look at the world news headlines and know…….surely His coming is at the door.

I want to close with this friends:   I expect pressure from the world and in reality, isn’t that the way it’s always been for the follower of Jesus? What I am coming to expect now…….is increasing pressure from inside. The time we live in is very unique. Not only are we feeling pressure from the world, but now more and more ‘Christians’ are also turned off because we expect the rapture of the church as a real distinct possibility at any moment. Scoffers in the world wagging their fingers at the notion we believe Christ’s coming is at the door is one thing, but the fact that many of those doing the finger wagging are ‘inside’ the church is very telling.

2 Peter 3:1  This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

Since we live at a time when so many are scoffing at the fact that Jesus will return soon……it encourages me to be ready all the more. It makes me want to reach out to those who are stuck in the lukewarm mire right now. Some of you may be asking, “Isn’t that casting pearls…?” I would say no…….unless our loving admonishment is met by a continued ‘unrepentant’ life pattern by one claiming to be a Christian. Then it may be time to move on and lovingly warn others while continuing to pray for those people before. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. We have the truth of the Bible when we tell people with confidence:  In His own words….Jesus said He was coming soon three times in Revelation 22. Nothing cuts through the mire of the heart like the Bible does.

It is a loving thing to bring a brother or sister to repentance, but repeated scoffing and hard-heartedness toward the things of God is another matter all together.

I want us who love His appearing to get in the practice of encouraging one another as we see the day approaching. I value your prayers if the Lord is leading you to pray for this ministry. I’m mindful of other ministries, writers, and friends who are not welcome in Laodicea. Many in the world and inside the church don’t want to hear that Jesus is coming back for His people & judgement will follow. Keep on faithfully proclaiming the gospel and the soon return of the Lord.

All for Him,

Howard

Disturbing developments

Reblogged from: Serve him in the waiting

By STLloyd November 18, 2014 

Obama Met With Ferguson Activists – Said He’s Concerned They “Stay on Course”

President Obama met with Ferguson protest leaders on November 5th, the day after the midterm elections. The meeting was not on his daily schedule. He was concerned that the protesters “stay on course.”
What does that mean?
And why is the president meeting with the violent Mike Brown protesters before a verdict is reached in the court case? MORE

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S.T. Lloyd Commentary:

Generally, if I am late (in the day or week) getting online and catching up on the latest news, I may or may not run a post on certain “big stories” if they are already posted on most blogs or news sites of similar content, simply because I assume readers have seen them elsewhere by then.   It’s been a busy week for me, and seemingly, despite the midterms, sort of a quiet news week.  The most significant stories in my opinion, though, were the Muslim prayer on the House floor for opening of the congressional session, (though it is not as if that is the first time it has happened), and the Friday prayer session which took place at the National Cathedral Friday.  This is like sitting at the bedside of a loved one on “death watch”.   There are always those who remain in denial right up until the last gasp.

The other big “story” (though the only surprising thing about the story itself, is that people are surprised!) as to Obama’s carrying on as if he didn’t just receive the most resounding vote of “no confidence” that ever occurred in the history of this nation.

Really he is the epitome of the humanistic mindset.  “Your reality is what you choose to be true”.  Humanists call that “self actualization”.  Sane people call it delusion.  You can never appeal to a delusional person on the basis of logic.  I’m just not sure who is more deluded; the President, or those who voted for him that feel he has let them down.  It is kind of like the unfaithful husband who gets into an affair with a married woman, and then is surprised when the new relationship, built solely upon the shifting sands of self-centered duplicity, doesn’t hold together any better than the first.

The election can’t change anything.  America sprang from a revolution.  But the cause from which the revolution was ignited, a strong desire to freely worship God, does no longer drive this nation.  For the most part, what drives those running and ruling this nation, is anything but!  I think there are a great number of individuals that still hold dear, the founding principles, but the nation itself has been hijacked.

The same goes for “the church”!

For decades now, the professing Christian church has ceased being an “infirmary” where terminally ill are rescued from certain death, into some sort of resort-spa-self-improvement camp where people go to self-optimize.

This story from Before It’s News, and the accompanying video, epitomizes how, and to what (extreme) degree, the true Bride of Christ has been “driven underground” while what poses as the “Christian Church” has been entirely possessed by an entirely different (imposter) entity altogether. 

This is certainly not only in America.  These same “churches” have continued to send missionaries across the globe peddling this new “gospel”.  The “preachers” in this new “improved” version of church clearly disdain sound doctrine and the Jesus of the Holy Bible, and ultimately a Sovereign God.  They are not interested in seeing anyone get saved.  They are looking for people who cling to the misguided belief that they are capable of goodness and holiness in and of themselves.

It goes without saying that things are lined up for the arrival of the Antichrist on the world stage. All that is lacking is the “sudden destruction” of I Thessalonians 5:3.