A Microscopic Picture of End-Time Reality

A Microscopic Picture of End-Time Reality - By Gene Lawley - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/01/08/a-microscopic-picture-of-end-time-reality-by-gene-lawley/ Jesus painted a word picture of how conditions will be in economic, social and spiritual terms when He is “revealed” in the last days, according to Luke’s report in Luke17:26-30: “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the daythat Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstonefrom heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” A parallel passage in Matthew 24:36-44 deals only with conditions in Noah’s time, but for the purpose of this article, the passage in Luke that tells of Lot’s situationmore closely aligns with today’s end-time scenario. In Genesis 18-19, the account of Lot and his situation in Sodom are told. In Genesis 18, three men show up at Abraham’s tent whom he recognizes as angels from heaven. Twoof them are on their way to Sodom, a city that has attracted God’s attention because its citizens have become saturated with sexual immorality. Homosexuality ran rampant in the city, and God had come to judge its people. The one who stayed behind with Abraham was the pre-historic Christ, the Son of God in the form of a human being. Abraham and the Lord “bargained” over the number of righteouspeople in the city that it would take for the Lord to hold back His judgment. They stopped at ten, but there were only four—Lot, his wife and two daughters. Even the daughters’ betrothed husbands-to-be were not among the righteous. Let’s draw a comparison with the world today, and specifically, the United States, because it is the citadel of all that is left of freedom and righteousness in the publicworld today. The steady encroachment of sexual immorality of all kinds, identified by their own label, LBGTQ+P (my addition, for “pervert or perversion”). It is reported that the potential Biden administration is being demanded to allow the sexual revolutionto have full sway in his selection of leaders and regulations for his new presidency. In every direction there is compromise with ungodliness, moral degradation and pure evilness. The Bible sums up their evilness in Romans 3:10-18 with the conclusion that “there is no fear of God before their eyes.” Isaiah 5:20 defines the mindset of the unrighteous: “They call good evil and evil good….” It is not surprising, however, for Satan, who empowers the left who are in bondageto him, is said to come as a thief, “only to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10a). It is impossible for Satan and those in his camp to accomplish anything good, let alone godly, for there is not one ounce of goodness in them. Their works are of no meritin the Lord’s eyes. It is interesting how the demons that Jesus encountered dwelling in human beings pled with Him to “not send them back to the abyss, but send us into that herd of pigs” (Luke8:31). While they did not like to be back in the abyss, their place in hell, they could not be happy dwelling in the man living among the tombs, for they made him into a creature of destruction. It was the same conditions of all of the demon-indwelt peoplewhom Jesus healed. Their presence in those individuals always brought great misery to each one. Thus, the obvious conclusion is that those who do not fear God are without hope, for Solomon’s wisdom tells us that “the fear of the Lord is to hate evil,” and “the fearof the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 8:13 and 9:10a). Look at the ultimate result of the sexual revolution as it appears to God, in Romans 1:18-32: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known ofGod is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because,although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an imagemade like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, andworshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the naturaluse of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexualimmorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy,unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” The city of Sodom is a picture of the whole world, then, and the person of Lot pictures the likeness of the broad, end-time church. It is made up of a mixture of immature,uncommitted believers, dedicated followers of Christ, and even civil people who are not saved. Lot argued with the two angels, not wanting to leave the city, and they practically dragged him and his family out of Sodom. The participation of believers in the partying and business-as-usual atmosphere described in Luke 17:28-30 is apparent today, for it seems few have been “watching,” as Jesuswarned us, that the signs of the times might not take us by surprise when the trumpet sounds for His coming. The two angels represent “He who restrains” against the encroaching evil, told of in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-8, when they reach out and take Lot away from that lust-driven crowdof men, pulling him inside the house and blinding the men of the city so that they could not employ their evil intentions upon Lot and the two angels. We see in Lot the desire to compromise with those men by offering his two daughters to them instead of thetwo angels, but they would have nothing to do with it—they wanted those “men.” It tells us much of what Lot was like, and it is comparable to the broad “church” of today, as well as the civil world. Compromising the truth always diminishes its power and influence.Except for what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:7, we might not know that he was really a believer: “… and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.” When the US Supreme Court issued its opinion on a 6-3 vote recently that updated the 1965 ruling that made discrimination on the basis of sex unlawful, they ruled that sexmeant any sexual activity, not just male versus female. The obvious conclusion of that has required that morality and immorality are equal in the sight of the law, a position that will result in the destruction of society. The two opposites are totally unableto exist side-by-side, for where evil is allowed to reign, it seems righteousness is overwhelmed. Thus, the judgment of God is hovering over this nation with impending disaster. Thus, as the body of Spirit-indwelt believers today are protected as the embodiment of “He which restrains,” likewise was Lot protected until the time came for him and hisfamily to be taken completely out of the judgment to come upon the city. This compares with the account reported in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-8: “…Not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by anymeans; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showinghimself that he is God. “Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mysteryof lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 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.” It is very apparent that evil is banging on our doors, demanding to be let in, demanding recognition and equality with righteousness. Those who want to compromise with evilare ready to do so, surely knowing God hates evil. But “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” When will these things come to pass? The “times and seasons” tell us that He is coming to “take away” the redeemed from judgment, but the Scripture makes clear that “todayis the day of salvation.” When Jesus answered those who wanted Him to take control over the Roman rule, He would say, as He did in John 7:6, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.” Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM