Thursday, February 4, 2016

WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?

Let me begin by saying that the Bible, God's Word, has proven to be 100% accurate, being proven by fulfilled prophecy.  Of the hundreds of prophecies concerning Christ's First Coming or Advent, those which described His life, death, burial, and resurrection (for example, Ps. 22, Isa. 53, Mt. 12), were fulfilled literally!  He was recognized as Israel's King by demonic spirits (Mk. 5), by Gentiles (Mt. 8), by Samaritans (Jn. 4), and by Israel as well (Lk. 19)!  Just as with His Incarnation, so too will the passages describing His Coronation be literally fulfilled (Rev. 19)!  In light of all the evidence of the Bible's accuracy, it is safe to say that the prophecies describing the end times must also be taken literally.  There will be two kinds of people populating the world just prior to the Tribulation:  those who live by the lusts of the flesh, and those who are led by the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle Paul described both in Galatians 5:16-23 (KJV & NLT):

       "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the Law.  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

       "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.  But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the Law of Moses.  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear:  sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.  Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"
 
Is there any doubt that Paul was describing our world as it is today?
Obviously, time is short!  We need to guard our thoughts, words, and actions,
so that we do not hinder God's call to reach as many souls as possible!

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