Terry lays out in this weeks Nearing Midnight article something I have been feeling as well. It is strange how what he wrote is almost exactly the conversation my wife and I had late last night.
There is just a feeling of something big looming, accompanied by a sense of anxiousness. The looming thing/event is also preceded by a feeling of a blanket of evil that is enveloping this world. Everywhere you turn, it feels like evil is wrapping its tentacles throughout every inch of our public lives and in some cases appears to be winning the battle.
Worst yet, those of this world seem to be supporting it and promoting it. To them what should be wrong is right. I call it the “1984” effect. What’s up is down and whats good is evil, 2+2=5.
I don’t know how anyone that has their eyes open, could not see we are living in the end times. The signs are so vivid and numerous.
The part of Terry’s commentary that really struck a chord with me was the last 4-5 paragraphs.
He talks about the restrainer and how it will be removed in the last days. Paul addresses it in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-10 – (NKJV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He[a] who now restrains will do so until He[b] is taken out of the way. 8 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. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Then he posed the questions that really hit home for me:
” How can God be ‘taken out of the way’ so evil and Antichrist can take over for a time?”
God promised us that once sealed with the Holy Spirit that it could not be removed from us. So if the Holy Spirit has to be removed, then so do we (the church).
The church must be raptured as Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 5:1-11.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – (NKJV)
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – (NKJV) – The Day of the Lord
5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
Yet another proof point on the Rapture of the church and a message of joy in this time of anxiousness. Could that anxiousness really be the Holy Spirit prodding us, preparing us, to look up for our redemption draws near?
It’s almost time to go home!!!
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Rapture Ready – Nearing Midnight Commentary 2/27/12
Restraining Sudden Destruction
There is a sense among many at this moment in history that impending disaster presses against the fabric of life on planet earth from every side. This is not mere paranoia pushing against the collective anxiety-ridden psyche of a world uncertain about its future. The threat is real, and it is in Bible prophecy. A quick scan of issues, events, and anticipated actions testify to the reality of the threat and validates the angst.
Israel is ground zero for much of the fear pressing upon a world full of dread. The Jewish state is considered the trigger point for possible nuclear conflict in the Middle East–conflict that is sure to spread globally once unleashed. Iran is the antagonist that is the cause of the most immediate threat to regional and world peace–although the world diplomatic community seems intent on making Israel responsible for keeping war from erupting. This is the way it is, despite the fact that the Iranian regime’s leaders threaten to wipe Israel off the map.
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