Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 22 (Apocalypse NOW! Part 13: “The Signs of the Times?”)

By admin On February 9th, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 22

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Apocalypse NOW!

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Part 13:

“The Signs of the Times?”

To read Part 1, click here…AUGUST 3 (Apocalypse Now! Part 1: Silencing the Gospel!)

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“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came,

and tempting desired Him that He would show them a sign from heaven.

He answered and said unto them,

‘When it is evening, ye say,

‘It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day:

for the sky is red and lowering.’

O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky;

but can ye not discern the signs of the times?'”

Matthew 6:1-3  

Jesus Teaching – Luke 4:31-32 – jesus talks about heaven – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – public-domain

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Jesus, in this above passage, was upbraiding the Pharisees and Sadducees for their lack of discernment in asking Him for a sign from Heaven.

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And then He plainly told them…O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matthew 6:3

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And so, Christ called out their hypocrisy in being able to discern the weather signs in the sky, but not able to discern the “signs of the times”.

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Jesus – James Tissot – US Public Domain – Brooklyn Museum – Wikimedia

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ARE WE ALSO GUILTY?

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Now before we indignantly scorn their unbelief and spiritual blindness, we must consider if we are not repeating this same biblical account, in today’s Christian world.

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Are we discerning the signs of the times in this current world? Are we really awake to the fearfulness of the present hour?

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Or instead, are we like the inhabitants of the wicked cities of old…“They married wives, they were given in marriage…they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Luke 17:27-30

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Yes, as this above passage reveals, this very same error of Sodom will be repeated in these Last Days…both in the world and in the churches too! 

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WORLD IN BLINDNESS 

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Now, nobody denies that the lost multitudes around the world are not seeing the signs of the times.

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Yes, the peoples of the world are in spiritual darkness and unbelief!

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There’s no debate concerning that!

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Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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FOR OUR ADMONITION!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inkwazi_Shopping_Centre,_Malelane_Superspar.jpg

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But let’s not forget our opening passage, in which Jesus was rebuking His very own professed people, when He said…O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matthew 6:3

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But we must not forget what Paul tells us concerning the various Old Testament accounts… “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1st Corinthians 10:11

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So, these Old Testament stories happened to them for our benefit. Yes, all those supposed, “dusty, old, and irrelevant Old Testament stories”, are as current as today’s newspapers!

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Even more so, since today’s newspapers completely miss the real news!

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Mall – Inkwazi Shopping Centre, Malelane Superspar – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

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NEWS REVEALS HORROR!

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Oh yes, today’s news organizations reveal just how sin-sick and abjectly evil this current-day world really is!

.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABC_-_Good_Morning_America.jpg

And the horrific atrocities which are now occurring around the world are sounding a clear and present trumpet blast, that we have reached the end!

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But the Bible is the real “newspaper” we should be reading! It reveals the true condition of the world today!

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It goes beyond the mere surface of the news and gets to the very heart of today’s world issues!

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TV – ABC-Good Morning America – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

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HOW DARE THEY CONDEMN US!

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But just like the church-leaders in Jesus’ day, today’s churches are heading for judgment and perdition!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burning_Man_2013_Church_Trap,_Burning_down_(9660393320).jpg

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And how could this possibly be true?

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Why-in-the-world would anyone dare claim that today’s churches are heading for judgment and destruction?

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Simple! While many church-attendees have a head-knowledge that the “signs of the times”, are being witnessed all around us, yet we do not have a HEART-KNOWLEDGE that the end is here!

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Church Burning – Burning Man – 2013 – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter!”

James 5:5

.PICTURE: companys-coming - revised

And what evidence is there that God’s people are not taking these signs of the times to heart?

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As James 5:5 so aptly says…“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter!”

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Yes, God’s professed people are mostly trying to squeeze as much out of this world as we possibly can!

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We’re eating, drinking, planting, building, marrying, buying and selling, as in the Great Day of Slaughter!

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POSSESSED BY AN “ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT”

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mall_culture_jakarta75.jpg

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Listen to Paul’s exhortation to each and every one of us, concerning the times we now live in…“men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” 1st Timothy 6:5-8

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“Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content!?!” Are you kidding!?!

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Does anyone really suppose that today’s churches are heeding this admonition by Paul!?! Not hardly!

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No, but just the opposite! So many Christians are possessed by a spirit!

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An “entrepreneurial spirit”!

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We have been deceived by our leaders into believing that “gain is godliness! and gone headlong after the so-called “American Dream”!

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Mall Market culture – Jakarta – Wikimedia – share-alike-lic.

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IMMERSED IN WORLDLY PLEASURES & PURSUITS

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And instead of immersing ourselves in a 24/7 contemplation of the Bible and in unceasing prayer, we are rather immersing ourselves in television, radio, secular Internet surfing, clubs, parties, sports, costly vacation resorts, needlessly expensive vehicles, lavish home and garden adornments, time-consuming and energy-sapping careers, etc…!

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And if the world wants to pursue these things, that’s fine!

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But God’s Church? No!

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New York Times Square – terabass – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

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SATAN HAS DISTRACTED THE CHURCH

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No, the signs of the times are all around us!

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But the Devil has successfully distracted God’s people with all the glittering treasures and selfish pleasures and faithless cares of Lucifer’s soon-to-be-burned kingdom: this antichrist world-system!

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Oh yes, we may attend church each week, and pay lip-service to God on a daily basis.

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Of these it is written…“for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” Ezekiel 33:31

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But the Lord looks sadly down on a people who attempt to worship Him one day of the week, and yet whole-heartedly pursue the many modern-day gods and idols the other six days!

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ABOVE PICTURE: The False Prophet

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“FLEE TO THE MOUNTAINS!”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genesis19-17.jpg

Mark 13:14 & Luke 21:21

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So let every man, woman, and child who claims to love the Lord’s appearing, cease from our leisurely pre-occupation with the world, and flee to the spiritual mountain which is our stronghold and our hiding-place of refuge…Go ye forth out of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans…Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.” Isaiah 48:20 & Jeremiah 48:6

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Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wax_Museum_Plus_%286344771051%29.jpgTO READ PART 14, GO HERE…

April 3 (Apocalypse NOW! Part 14: “Has The King Left The Building?”)

Elvis – Wax Museum – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rezando.jpg

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to see the signs all around, that declare that we are at the Last Hour. And help me to prepare for the hour just ahead…

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…JANUARY 7 (TIME TO GET OUT OF DODGE!), or you can also read this shorter article…August 11th (Habakkuk Says “Run!”)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

.picture - soldiers of the cross - armor up!

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

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LOOSING THE BANDS OF ORION 

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God spoke several times of Orion, in Scripture. His question to Job was a very mystifying question, to say the least… “Canst thou…loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31. Such a strange question, indeed! How could a constellation have its bands loosed, much less, even have bands? Puzzling, puzzling!

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But now, He is revealing this bright and beautiful constellation in a way that has never before been seen. God Himself is loosing Orion’s bands, as He is just now unraveling this age-old mystery. And we are beginning to understand that this most infamous of all constellations is nothing less than a remarkable metaphor concerning Jesus.   

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MICHAEL, THE SOLDIER

star chart orion & dragon

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Last is Michael the Soldier, who battles against the Dragon: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” Revelation 12:7, 8.

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Contrary to popular opinion, Michael here represents Christ as He battles this dragon. This will be adequately proven in this article and in various other sections of this website. No, Christ is not merely an angel. Christ is very eternal God. But Christ is often represented as various entities, such as a rose, or a burning bush, as well as many others things in the Bible.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Flood Waters of Satan-Introduction

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Camp_Worship.JPGTOMORROW

DECEMBER 23 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 32: “What Good Is Church, If The Holy Spirit Has Been Removed?”)

Girls celebrate at Camp Worship Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons lic.

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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this is small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50 year-long series of 90 minute nightly talk shows…This is Open Forum Show #39

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.

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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc.. Most Images cropped & reduced in size.

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