Only the Beginning
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Birth Pains
Birth Pains
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Lets read from the beginning of this section:
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Over the past few weeks we saw the setting of the stage for the last act of Human kind!
Man is heading for a destiny of judgement before his creator
It is clear that time has fulfilled all of the first conditions that will be seen indicating that the eternal watch of God is nearing His appointed time
In the midst of it all Jesus gives words of comfort to His disciples not to be troubled or intimidated by the transpiring events
We round out this opening section with the conditions of Famine, pestilences and earthquakes
History tells us that that the per-capita amount of food available per/person in the world has increased!
While the WFP reported that famine in the 20th century was all but eradicated, the 20th century has seen some of the worst famines in the history of the world
Over time, famines have become increasingly “man-made”-phenomena, becoming more clearly attributable to political causes, including non-democratic government and conflict. Paradoxically, over the course of the 20th century famine was virtually eradicated from most of the world, whilst over the same period there occurred some of the worst famines in recorded history. This is because many of the major famines of the 20th century were the outcome of wars or totalitarian regimes
And at the base of this phenomena! Wars and rumors of war!
Amartya Sen famously noted in his 1999 book Development as Freedom that “there has never been a famine in a functioning multiparty democracy”.
1 in 5 households; 30% of worlds population; 2 in 10,000 die daily from familne
The World Peace Foundation describes it as “mass intentional starvation”
WFP says about South Sudan-the largest famine on earth:
these famines weren’t caused by natural disasters like crop failures or droughts. They were man-made — the direct result of the bloody wars and insurgencies raging in all four countries.
Famine as a weapon against people”
Germany’s Hunger Plan during WWII:
The ‘Hunger Plan’ pursued by Nazi Germany as part of its attempted invasion of the Soviet Union is an example of the latter. Despite the plan only being partially executed, over 4.5 million famine deaths are attributed to the offensive,25 significantly more than have occurred globally since the turn of the 21st Century.
Health and Death during Famine:
It is important to note that, as opposed to dying from literal starvation, the vast majority of people that die during famines actually succumb to infectious disease or other illnesses, with some diseases being more directly linked to diet than others.
So we see the connection here of famine to pestilence
All of it attributed to man’s creation and not God’s provision!
Luke gives us an insight to this time also:
Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
By your patience possess your souls.
He lists “fearful” sights to his discourse. The Greek here means frightful things
A phenomena sweeping the world today is what medicine has termed “aggravated Delirium”
The drug induces a state of demonic possession the likes of which we have recorded in Luke
Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”
For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
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Now let me ask you what you would do if confronted by these demons?
The Scripture is clear - remember Jesus’ word? Don’t be intimidated!
We have been given authority through the Holy Spirit over these demonic activities!
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
My friends we are entering a time in history that the church needs to rise up and take the authority given to it, raise their swords, and bring deliverance to the captive!
In both these passages - great signs will be seen!
Signs - literally Characteristic or marks
An optical perception that makes possible a certain insight
These characteristics (signs) will be “from heaven” literally certainly from heaven
I believe that these signs are the delivering and healing power of the church which can only receive its power from heaven!
Why else would Satan begin to duplicate false miracles and powers if first the church was not demonstrating them proving the power of God?
I share all this not to discourage you but to encourage you to dig into the Word of God and understand your authority through the Holy Spirit and make it active in your life today!
WE WIN!!!!
But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
My friends there are battles to be fought NOW, there are lives to be saved, NOW, there is deliverance to be released NOW
For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
God has heard our cry and now we should hear the cry of the Father to take the gifts of the Holy Spirit that God has given us and fight the good fight for the deliverance of those who Satan has snared in his web of bondage!