Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Behold...the End Approaches

I see a dark sail, on the horizon
Set under a black cloud that hides the sun…

Time continues to unravel, unwilling to pause. The message of truth distills into a modern pottage that is contained in no certain bowl, and all semblance of gospel authority cascades through the kaleidoscope of human thought and not as the revealed Word of the Author. How much more thread remains on the time spool is for the Sovereign to exclusively know, but His warning of evil days goes unheeded.

The young men rejoice and the old men weep, both seeing the same metamorphosis and yet both being impacted differently. Deception runs to and fro, masquerading sometimes as truth and sometimes as error and most times as both, but all times as sincere. Carnality has been renamed relevant, Scripture as story, truth as perception, witness as food, and these names themselves continue to change seats in the expanse of the ever present dialogue. The alluring cruise ship of hedonism continues to board, ready to set sail for places already known, and promises of enlightenment upon its decks of earthly pleasures. And the intellect of man is applauded as a talisman that will lead to the spiritual mother load.

Ever learning, ever learning, ever learning, and never able to come to the truth. The training camp for hell itself, if there ever was such a place. Imagine the existence of an eternal place of punishment. Imagine souls there right now and as the rich man begging someone to warn their earthly loved ones. Lennon writes “Imagine there’s no heaven or hell” and a Christian group writes “I can only imagine” about heaven, but where are the cries that call for the Spirit to attach Himself to the imagination of people and by divine revelation bring the reality of the coming judgment to their imagination. The flesh says "hyperbole" and the Spirit cries "Watch". The fire burns in the distance ready to bring its destruction to this planet, and so unsophisticated is that truth that any who teach such a thought can only be mentally unhinged.

The end sails into this harbor as the beginning for all those who wait to leave, but for all those still in love with this world this vessel will provide an eternal nightmare. Observe how far this world has come and with the spiritual body of its Creator in tow. The assembly that should be at the end of the dock, clean and separate from the degradation they have left, are now fully engaged and reflecting the former journey they claim to have forsaken. It is impossible for someone like me to fully express how troubling and even depressing it is to see what passes for the Christian life in today’s ecclesiastical genre.

Crass speaking and even cursing coming from preacher’s mouths, and all the lemmings defend and accept it as if the Lord approves. Provocative and sexual references publicly used to describe Christian wives including the preacher’s are applauded as revealing true love. Not “my wife is Godly woman who loves Jesus”, no, she is “hot”. Yea, that is how Jesus describes His bride too. It is most disgusting but screams out to all of us that the end is upon us. Anyone who has known the Lord for over thirty years would never have ever thought we would have heard some preacher describe his wife as hot. Aren’t we all so cool and relevant? I believe the Bible says worldly.

The visible church is a worldly mess and full of its own flesh. No more sacredness, no more fear of God, and no more sacrificial seeking of God’s face. We are in the slough of carnality and like Samson we don’t even know that our power is gone. Talk, talk, talk. The only escape is through unusual prayer and a hunger for the Word that eclipses anything we’ve known thus far. And I for one have no faith for that.

And so the whirlwind that is God’s wrath steams toward mankind. Some say God cannot be that angry over mankind and their sin. Oh, you and I have no idea. The Father sacrificed His own Son and offered Him up for us all, and all those who refuse Him will suffer at the hands of an angry Father. Do not discount and minimize the wrath of Almighty God, that would be a colossal mistake. Look around, everyone here is happy and the church spends the majority of her time to make us even more happy. Tears? Forget about it. Fear? Not on your life. Elongated and beseeching prayer? God is not amused.

Flee the wrath to come and be very prescient concerning the wild donkey called the church. She dances and prances in the meadow of her own making, shunning the lush pastures of God’s Word. Playing the harlot she embraces the world and soothes her conscience saying she is showing love. She rises early to put her hands to mischief, her warm breath clouding in the new morning’s mist. Overhead the storm clouds are gathering unnoticed, and the games continue.

Go ahead and ignore the clouds of God’s warning and lay down to sleep. Oh are we not meant to enjoy every last lustful moment of our life, then have angels escort us into heaven? Sure, everything is for our pleasure and the Father delights in our enjoyment. Close your ears to any negative protestations to the contrary, the fury of the end is a fairy tale which will be swallowed up in God’s relinquishing of His justice universally.

Maybe you have placed your own soul on that hope. If you have, you will perish in an unimaginable place of everlasting judgment. Please, repent and believe the gospel, there you will find the only refuge from what is to come.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

6 comments:

Mike Ratliff said...

Well said Rick! No, we have no idea of the severity of His wrath. Look what He allowed to happen to Samaria and Jerusalem in the O.T. Wiped out and eveyone either dead or in exile, slaves to pagans. Could He do that again? Time is short, yes Repent and believe the Gospel!

In Christ

Mike Ratliff

Anonymous said...

Teach on brother. Keep calling people to keep on repenting and to keep on believing on/in Him - Him, the glorious Lord and Saviour who loves righteousness and hates wickedness; the holy One of Scripture.

Melissa said...

As bad as things are now, we know that there are dark days yet to come. The true saints must be ready to stand on the truth of God’s word; having faith in Him. You know, even at night, the darkness seems much more menacing but there is comfort knowing I am kept by the power of God. Thank you, Rick, for the warnings. We need them and the exhortations to keep our eyes focused on Christ!

This post brings to mind our Lord’s words of Matthew 24:

36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”


Watch and pray!

Anonymous said...

Well said Rick.
The day is approaching, there is so much meyham all around us. The true gospel is not being preached in many churches today and we need an awakening. The truth does not seem to be important enough anymore. The church is in a sad state. Much Prayer is needed.

Big Joe Pottle said...

In always use the true Gospel of Jesus whenever I speak to the young men at Falkenburg Juv. Acad.
It is alarming though how many Christians Do Not like to talk about Hell. Well, if Jesus talked about it, so will I.
Keep the Encouragment coming Rick. I read all your posts and share them too. YBIC, Big Joe

Anonymous said...

Keep going Rick.

You know well what the book says about perilous times --- they're here.