The coming of the messiah was missed the first time:
Matthew 16: 1-4 “And the Pharisees and Sadducees having approached testing Him, asked Him to show them a sign out of heaven. And answering He said to them, “Evening having come, you say, ‘Fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today a storm, for the sky is red, being overcast.’ Indeed, you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but the signs of the times you are not able! An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” And having left them, He went away.”
Will we miss the coming of the messiah a second time?
In 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 (BSB) “But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!”
Does that sound like today?
Civil discourse is disappearing. People want their former way of life back. COVID-19 has altered how we interact with one another. Governments are demanding people get vaccinated or lose privileges such as working, shopping, eating at your favorite restaurant, attending a Sunday service at church, or even entering a financial institution and medical facility. People sense that we will never get back to the way it was, and that their future isn’t looking good either.
What is witnessed in today’s culture is the consequence of a world under the control of spiritual forces. We see escalated violence all around the world, governments attempting to control the daily lives of their citizens using COVID-19 as their vehicle to accomplish that. It really does seem as if societies around the world are falling apart. The very fabric of humanity has been worn thin, and today, those who do not believe in God have become emboldened. We are in a desperate war to save our societies from collapsing into anarchy. Let every believer understand that in this war “we are not fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. ”
And during this war there will be others that try to stop any movement of the Lord. They will all sorts of persuasive speech, and even violence to squash the Word of the Lord from getting out.
In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk 2:6-19 we see five woes that may reflect a time shortly after the death of Josiah (609 B.C.), days in which the godly king’s reforms (cf. 2Ki 23) were quickly overturned by his successor, Jehoiakim (Jer 22:13–19). Does this sound familiar. These same woes are being seen today as a harbinger to all nations who fall for the deceptions of the adversary–the devil. As the warnings of Paul in 2nd Timothy 3rd and 2 Peter 3 Habakkuk is included. Habakkuk speaks toward the nation while Paul and Peter speak toward the congregations.
These woes are:
- Woe against aggression: Who do you think you are—getting rich by stealing and extortion? How long do you think you can get away with this?’ Indeed, how long before your victims wake up, stand up and make you the victim? You’ve plundered nation after nation. Now you’ll get a taste of your own medicine. All the survivors are out to plunder you, a payback for all your murders and massacres. (MSG)
- Woe against covetousness: “Who do you think you are—recklessly grabbing and looting, celebrating, acting like king of the mountain, acting above it all, above trials and troubles? You’ve engineered the ruin of your own house. In ruining others you’ve ruined yourself. You’ve undermined your foundations, rotted out your own soul. The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you. The woodwork will step forward with evidence. (MSG)
- Woe against violence: “Who do you think you are—building a town by murder, a city with crime? Don’t you know that GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes, makes sure the harder you work at that kind of thing, the less you are? Meanwhile the earth fills up with awareness of GOD’s glory as the waters cover the sea. (MSG)
- Woe against inhumanity: “Who do you think you are—inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties, giving them too much to drink, roping them into your sexual orgies? You thought you were having the time of your life. Wrong! It’s a time of disgrace. All the time you were drinking, you were drinking from the cup of God’s wrath. You’ll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—hung over from Lebanon violence, hung over from animal massacres, hung over from murder and mayhem, from multiple violations of place and people. (MSG)
- Woe against idolatry: “What’s the use of a carved god so skillfully carved by its sculptor? What good is a fancy cast god when all it tells is lies? What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker who makes gods that can’t even talk? Who do you think you are— saying to a stick of wood, ‘Wake up,’ or to a dumb stone, ‘Get up’? Can they teach you anything about anything? There’s nothing to them but surface. There’s nothing on the inside. (MSG)
Can you see a parallel with these woes, the warning in Timothy chapter 3, and 2 Peter 3? As followers of Christ, it does not matter if the Messiah arrives in the next few seconds, or not until sometime in the future–we must be prepared, and we must take Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 24:4-12 very seriously.
“…Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming. “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other. “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes. (MSG)
2 Peter 3: 3-7 The Coming Judgment:
“Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed, and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world of that time perished in the flood. And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
What is the warning for today? Prepare. Prepare to receive the messiah. Another warning comes to us from 2 Peter 2:1-2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And those who follow them.
I would suggest reading all of 2 Peter because we have everything he is taking about today in our churches, on our TV broadcast, on the Internet, media, podcasts, etc… These were not just warnings for the period of the scriptures. These are meant for all time, and to all the nations as a warning to be on your guard and prepared for things to come.
Keep in mind the words in Ephesians chapter 6:13-18
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. (MSG)
If you do not know Jesus and would like to, please say the following prayer with a contrite heart and He will touch your heart.
Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in the bible that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now, I confess Jesus as my Lord. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Amen.
Mike Kovach
August 2021
Views: 9