The Lion, the Sluggard, and the Rapture

 The Lion, the Sluggard, and the Rapture – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2023/7/31/the-lion-the-sluggard-and-the-rapture One morning last week, Proverbs 26:13 caught my attention, “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!’” The “sluggard” in the book ofProverbs is more than just lazy, although he’s all that. Sluggards of the past invented the bubble of normalcy in which they imagined they were safe from the dangers outside their homes. As I watch the signs of the coming Tribulation period fall into place, I believe that one might rightly say, “There’s a lion in the street!” The perils to our wellbeing areexceedingly real and they’re not going away. What then is the difference between someone with the mindset of a sluggard and one that the book of Proverbs describes as wise? It’s where they look for wisdom. Sluggards trust their own instincts (see Proverbs 26:16) while the wise seek the understanding and insight that’s found in God’s Word. Jesus personifies the wisdom of the book of Proverbs. It’s in His words, Scripture, that we find not only His guidance for our daily lives, but genuine guidance for livesand insight into world events. As such, Bible prophecy illuminates the dangers of our day while at the same time assuring us of a joyous future regardless of the lions we face in our world. THE LION IN THE STREETS We live in perilous times on steroids; Paul’s description of the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 has never been more relevant or posed a greater threat to our livelihood. Inaddition to the rapid downward spiral of common decency around us, the coming kingdom of the antichrist is taking shape before our eyes with an ever increasing velocity and deadly fierceness. The technology that will enable the lawless one to control all buyingand selling (Revelation 13:16-18) is already here and it appears to be far more enslaving than we ever imagined. Lest you think I’m just another prophecy guy sounding the alarm for whatever reason, please pay attention to the quote below from Peter Koenig, a geopolitical analyst anda former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). Koenig recognizes the grave threats to our future wellbeing, but being outside of Christ; his only solutions is for “we, the people” to rise up and stop the beast. (Yes, inother articles he refers to the coming world government as “the beast,” just as in the books of Daniel and Revelation.) Two kinds of absolute controls are being prepared to implement The Great Reset, alias UN Agenda 2030. A potentially straitjacket and total control by programmable CentralBank Digital Currency (CBDC), and an all-oppressive health tyranny by WHO, overriding national Constitutional rights and national sovereignty as far as health measures are concerned. The former will be “managed”, coordinated and supervised for faultless implementation, by the so-called Central Bank of Central Banks, the Bank for International Settlement(BIS); the latter by the 1948 Rockefeller-created, falsely called UN-agency WHO. The emerging tyrant’s budget is to 80% pharma, Gates and otherwise privately funded. Both are criminal organizations. . . . CBDC may be upon us, humanity, rather sooner than later. Programmable CBDC is a weapon of mass destruction. The weapon has been in the planning for decades – and it fits rightinto the Bigger Picture of the Great Reset / Agenda 2030. Programmable – means the money can be programmed on how it is to be spent by an individual, or blocked, or made to expire, or made to be used for certain goods or services – or it can be totally withheld, wiped out, depending on how well you behave, according to the standards of the all-commandeering death cult elite. . . . Simultaneously, an all-controlling health tyranny is being prepared by WHO. The plan is that the new totalitarian rules – Biden Administration initiated revised InternationalHealth Regulations (IHR), including a new Pandemic Treaty – are to be ratified by the World Health Assembly, presumably by the end of May 2023. If approved by a two-thirds majority, the new rules will become effective in 2024.[i] We know from Scripture that the future one-world government, which will dominate the world during the seven-year Tribulation, aligns perfectly with the threats that PeterKoenig describes in the above quote. It will be a satanic and deadly tyranny, one that will enslave people of all nations through the use of technology. The CBDCs and Pandemic Treaty will someday trap an unsuspecting public in a web of deceit and murder. In an article entitled, “Technocrat says quiet part out loud: A Digital ‘World ID’ will soon be mandatory for anyone who wishes to partake in day-to-day functions of society,” blogger and research analyst Leo Hohmann wrote the following: I’ve been saying for nearly three years now that the beast system is based on the world’s people accepting two technological components offered up by the Luciferian globalistelites: A globally recognized digital ID to replace the cards in your wallet and a globally recognized digital money to replace the cash in your wallet. The two together will comprise the foundation of the punitive global beast system. From an article in Slay News, we learned today that the CEO of an outfit called Worldcoin has warned that a global digital ID system will be ushered in for citizens aroundthe world whether they “like it or not.”[ii] Please know that we are not decades away from the lethal regime of the globalists seizing control of the all nations, but rather a few short years. The UN and WEF (World EconomicForum) have 2030 as their goal for worldwide implementation of their empire. The elite from these organizations are meeting in September of 2023 to ensure that they are on target for the full implementation of their worldwide regime by 2030, if not before. THE SLUGGARD HIDES In today’s world, those that copy the behavior of the ancient sluggards hide from the dangers they see believing they will pass and the streets will return to normal. Theyfind confirmation of their hopes in the mainstream media that disguises the long-term threats to their long-term wellbeing. What they often hear in churches, if they attend, is an exclusive emphasis on how the Gospel relates to this life. The silence about biblical prophecy confirms their perceptionthat all is well, at least for the foreseeable future. If not, surely those who know the Bible would warn them. The wise place a high value on understanding, which in turn leads them to a diligent search for wisdom such as those that that seek after precious and expensive jewels (Proverbs2:1-6). Such dependence on the words of Scripture is especially needed with biblical prophecy. Unless one is willing to do the hard work of thoroughly examining God’s Word and lettingthe words of the text speak for themselves, one is likely to wander down an erroneous path that leads to the drowsiness found in the bubble of normalcy. The prevalence of beliefs in Jesus’ thousand-year reign and the pre-Tribulation Rapture in Bible-believing churches during the last century resulted from Bible students vigorouslyapplying two principles of Bible interpretation that came from the Reformers. The first was sola scriptura, which signifies that the Bible must be the sole source for our beliefs. What we believe must come from its words and their meanings. Other resourceshelp us understand the text of God’s Word, but it’s the words on the pages of the Bible that matter for faith and practice. The second was “Scripture interprets Scripture.” God’s Word doesn’t contradict itself, but some texts are difficult to understand. One must always give way to the clear passagesand let those interpret the ones that seem less clear. Because they performed the difficult task of applying these precepts to Bible prophecy, these students of God’s Word from the past opened the door for the revival of premillennialism(the belief in a literal Tribulation and thousand year reign of Jesus), which had dominated the early centuries of the church. Yes, books can aid in our understanding of future things. I’m an author myself. However, there’s no substitute for doing the hard work of studying the Bible for oneself andletting the words speak for themselves. THE RAPTURE IS IMMINENT The awareness that the world is rapidly moving toward the events described in Revelation 6 and 13 gives all of us hope because it signals the nearness of Jesus’ appearingto take us home. Such an anticipation relieves any fears that might arise from the deadly perils around us and encourages us to press forward in serving our Lord. In the meantime, however, we sometimes wonder aloud, “How much longer can it be before our Savior comes for us?” One the one hand, we see a multitude of signs telling us we live in the shadow of the Tribulation. There’s never been a day like this one when so many things from biblicalprophecy are coming into clearer focus with vibrant colors. On the other hand, we also recognize God’s restraining power, holding back the full onslaught of evil that will come when the antichrist steps onto the world scene. So we wait. The good news it that with the myriad of signs converging, against the backdrop of Israel’s miraculous existence as a nation, we have a valid expectation of being alive whenJesus comes for His church. THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE VALIDATE OUR HOPE IN THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him” (KJV). The word for “pure” denotes something that is tested and foundto be genuine. The verse tells us that the words of Scripture have been refined like precious metals and as a result proven to be true. Proverbs 2:6 states, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul repeats this same concept when he says, “All Scriptureis breathed out by God.” The words of wisdom come directly from the Lord’s mouth via the inspired words of Scripture. Of key importance for our day, this truth applies to passages that describe the event we now refer to as the “Rapture.” 1 Corinthians 15:48-54, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11,Romans 8:23-24 and Philippians 3:20-21 refer to this still future occurrence. This signifies our imminent and “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14). How is it possible for anyone who has carefully examined Scripture not to recognize the nearness of the Day of the Lord and hence our homegoing? The signs cry aloud with themessage that we live in the last moments of the last days! The dangers for those outside of Christ arise from a much different Lion. Revelation 5:5 refers to Him as “the lion of the tribe of Judah” and during the Tribulation, Hisroar will signify destruction and death for many. Although today’s perils are more deadly than ever before, our confidence as New Testament saints rests in Jesus who is coming to rescue us before executing His wrath on thiswicked world. Because so many mock our hope in Jesus’ appearing, I wrote: TheTriumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times to provide a comprehensive defense of the pre-Tribulation Rapture In this book, I sharethe results from a lifetime of studying Bible prophecy. The same truths that gave me hope in the midst of tragedy at age ten, are even more precious to me at age seventy. And guess what? After decades of study, I’m still learning more about what God’s Wordpromises us in the future, beginning with our joyous hope in Jesus’ appearing to take us home to glory. Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the homepage of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. Thanks! [i] Peter Koenig, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): The Weaponization of Money? WHO’s Health Tyranny: Towards a Totalitarian World Government? No Way! July 15, 2023 at: https://www.globalresearch.ca/central-bank-digital-currency-cbdc-weapon-of-mass-destruction-and-whos-health-tyranny-towards-a-totalitarian-world-government-no-way/5814122 [ii] Leo Hohmann, Technocrat says quiet part out loud: A Digital ‘World ID’ will soon be mandatory for anyone who wishes to partake in day-to-day functions of society, July20, 2023, at: https://leohohmann.com/2023/07/20/technocrat-says-quiet-part-out-loud-a-digital-world-id-will-soon-be-mandatory-for-anyone-who-wishes-to-partake-in-day-to-day-functions-of-society/#more-15107