5-22-19 Discernment All-Important

Nearing Midnight: Discernment All-Important - Terry James - https://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/

 

This world has gone crazy-completely nuts!

 

How many times lately have you thought or said that, or heard someone else make such an observation? I, myself, make it on an almost daily basis these days. I discern that these are the most out-of-control times I've observed in 76 years of life. I really mean that. There are things happening today within this nation the likes of which I've never witnessed.

 

• Things like a former pediatrician, now governor of a state, approving and even pushing that babies scheduled for abortion be legally murdered if they survive the procedure and are born.
• Things like men marrying men and women marrying women, with approval and even smiles of elation by many in the nation.
• Things like grown men being allowed to use public toilet facilities at the same time little girls and women are using the same facilities-all because the man supposedly is conflicted about his gender.
• Things like an 18-year-old young man with his underage transgender friend who is trying to turn into being a male shooting up a public elementary school because he hates Christians and President Trump.
• Things like the mainstream media that totally ignores this hate-filled act against Christians, yet engages in 24/7 coverage if such murderous hate is directed at Muslims.
• Things like sanctuary cities giving every amenity through tax dollars to illegal aliens, even those who murder citizens of those cities.
• Things like people, because of political ideology, who are so-called comedians or entertainers being allowed to talk about wanting to assassinate a president and not being arrested.
• Things like drug users and others being allowed to defecate and urinate on public streets in San Francisco and strew used drug needles in children's playgrounds, all the while receiving protection from those cities' governments that allow them to do so.
• Things like allowing a few Millennials who think America is the cause of all the world's problems, because they have been taught this insanity through a now-perverted educational system, to change a major political party from one merely liberal to completely reprobate and anti-God.
• Things like a congressional committee chairman who hates the president demanding that the attorney general of the United States break the law and give him information that the law forbids him receiving-else holding the AG in contempt of Congress.
• Things like the Democrat speaker of the house being at the head of the party who has broken constitutional law at every juncture as part of the Trump Derangement Syndrome and yet accusing the president as being one who acts contrary to the Constitution of the United States.
• Things like the entire mainstream media, both news and entertainment, being totally against a president based only on the fact that he beat the candidate they wanted to be president.
• Things like that same media, the Democrat Party and even a number of those who claim to be part of the president's party so hating him that they supported, and continue to do so, outright lies and a vile, fake dossier they themselves cooked up to try to ruin his presidency.
• Things like the top echelon of America's FBI, CIA, and others of the intelligence services going along and even being complicit in these efforts to try a coup against a president who has inarguably lifted the nation economically, militarily, and, I'm of the opinion, in other ways.
• Things like those who mention the name of Jesus Christ and the need for the lost of the world to receive the grace of His redemptive act on the cross being called "haters"-and even being prosecuted for hate speech.
• Things like the tiny nation of Israel being assaulted by enemies all around, yet world opinion blaming the Jewish state for the hatred against it.
• Things like today's rise of anti-Semitism, with the Holocaust and the anti-Semitism that spawned the Nazi regime not far back in the world's collective memory.

 

I'm sure you can think of even more egregious examples of the madness of this strange age.

 

All of this is to make the point that we are at a time where those who name the name of Christ should strive to appropriate discernment as never before. This generation is observably bumping up against the very end of the Age of Grace-the Church Age.

 

Jesus said the following to the Judaizers-the Pharisees and Sadducees who mocked Him and asked for "a sign" that He was the Messiah even though Jesus had performed and was even then performing miracles and wonders prophesied by Israel's prophets long before Christ's time on earth.

 

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 lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2-3)

 

All Christians have within themselves the ability to discern the signals of Christ's soon bringing an end to this world system. This is a gift from the Creator to those who love Him. It is a distinguishing mark that separates the believer from the nonbeliever. Again, Paul wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit who indwells each and every believer.

 

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

 

This is why Bible prophecy-eschatology, the study of end things-is so important. God has provided a road map of generally what to look for as we travel the course toward the end of the age. The Christian-the spiritually-attuned believer-can discern these weird, troubling times unfolding around us.

 

It is with this preface that I herein announce my next book. The title will be Discerners: Analyzing Converging Prophetic Signs for the End of Days.

 

We are working hard to produce this volume. It will be what I believe-based upon the brilliantly written chapters by the authors I've read so far-a book that has been given us by the Lord to present at this crucial time. I'm greatly inspired by what the sixteen authors-some of the best known writers, broadcasters, teachers, and ministers-have to say about discerning these times in which we are privileged to live.

 

We hope to have the book ready by July and will keep you informed. We will ask for as many preorders as possible. We want to get this book into the hands of many, many pastors and teachers as well as into the hands of each of you who want to be discerners like the Lord Jesus Himself obviously exhorts us to be.