God must love surprises. He seems to always break in on the human race when we least expect Him. Maybe we’re just not paying attention.
I find it very curious that God often calls it a mystery, yet He sends a myriad of warning signals. “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark,39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away … “ (Matt. 24:38-39).
How can that be? Noah preached to them and warned them for 120 years. Every day they were watching the progress of the ark being built? How could they miss the arrival of all those animals on the Noah estate? Yet, surprise! Here comes the water.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way … ” (Matt. 1:18). Think about all the things that led up to His arrival on planet Earth.
Zacharias had an encounter with an angel that left him speechless until the birth of his son, John. Mary’s divine conception and Joseph’s encounter with Gabriel. The shepherds spread their story of encountering angels and a heavenly choir throughout the community of Bethlehem. News of the prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna encountering the baby Messiah when He was eight days old was told over and over. Two years later, the city of Jerusalem was again filled with reports about this baby born in Bethlehem. This time, Magi from the east followed a miracle star to very place the child was living. The wise men said, ‘He is born King of the Jews.” The baby was raised in Nazareth and encountered the priests and theologians at age twelve; leaving them in wonder, surprised at His wisdom and understanding of the Word of God.
They missed it!
These same spiritual leaders were surprised time and again during His ministry; only a handful got it right.
When Jesus stood before the High Priest and the full Sanhedrin, they were surprised and angry when He confessed to being the Son of God. They were surprised even more three days later when news arrived of the empty tomb.
What about you and me and the Christian church today? Jesus said, “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).
Do we have cotton in our ears or spiritual cataracts?
For decades God was whispering to His church, “My Son is coming soon.”
May 14, 1948: Israel became a nation again after 1,900 years.
June 7, 1967: For the first time in 1,900 years the Jewish people had full control of their capitol city and the times of the Gentiles came to a close. Decade after decade, God’s voice has been getting louder and louder.
January 22, 1973: Roe v Wade decision; natural disasters coming one upon another; record economic collapse; rise of the Muslim caliphate;
Sept. 11, 2001: Terror attacks followed by the worst weekly decline in the New York Stock Exchange history.
2014: God’s voice began shouting. Many have spoken and written disparagingly, even mocking, about the emphasis given to the tetrad blood moons of 2014-2015. The question remains, “Was God speaking to the human race?” What cannot be denied is each of the four blood moons were on major Jewish holidays. A full solar eclipse took place exactly in the middle of the four blood moons, March 20, 2015, It was also on a Jewish holiday. Is that God’s voice we hear?
June 26, 2015: Between the third and fourth blood moons, the United States Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states and the decision was celebrated by lighting the outside of the White House in rainbow colors.
June 30–July 1, 2015: A conjunction of Jupiter and Venus took place, visible to the naked eye, and appearing so close they seemed to be as one. This was the first such conjunction of these two planets since the Magi saw them when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem’s stable. Can you hear Him now?
Aug. 10, 2015: the Hindu goddess, Kali, shown brightly from the Empire State Building covering the city of New York with the image of the idol of destruction. These are only a few of the many messages God has been sending, calling for His church to awaken from her Laodicean slumber. God is not whispering now. He is literally shouting. My mystery is being revealed. “When these things begin to happen … ,” the Second Coming of My Son is almost upon you. Lift up your heads. Your redemption is near.”
Oh I know, many will say, “Blood moons and solar eclipses have happened all through history. There have been many market declines and we are in another one now. You are just exaggerating the significance of these things.”
The Scripture speaks about such people of the last days in 2 Peter 3:1-4. Jesus will appear in the sky, in a moment, when you least expect.
Just like the days of Noah. Just like the religious leaders of Jerusalem.
He will come, and you will be caught by surprise. {eoa}
Dr. F. Dean Hackett has served in full-time Christian ministry since October 1971. He has ministered throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, serving as pastor, conference speaker and mentor. He has planted four churches, assisted in planting 15 others, and currently serves as lead pastor of Living Faith Church in Hermiston, Oregon. Dr. Hackett founded Spirit Life Ministries International in 2001 to facilitate ministries in Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina and to open a training center for workers in those nations. You can find him at F. Dean Hackett – Foundational, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
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