The last days prophesied pestilences are now upon us, & the Bible says they will only continue to increase as we draw ever nearer to the end of this present age. .. Does this mean that we are to give up, to ‘throw in the towel’ because all appears to be totally hopeless? .. Absolutely not! .. God promised the prophet Zechariah that in the last days he would put a protective ‘wall of fire’ around His people .. In vs.5 of chapter 2, he says, “And I myself will be a wall of fire around it .. and I will be its glory within.” .. Isaiah also testifies to this … “You have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat .. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall. (25:4)
These are the messages that are to comfort us as ‘prior warnings’ concerning the great storm prophesied as coming in the final days. .. Jesus Himself said the coming storm will be so frightful & overwhelming that people’s hearts will fail them as they see it forming .. (see Luke 21:26) ..
Now if Jesus says this storm is going to be ferocious, we can be sure that it will be an awesome moment in time .. Yet the Bible assures us that God NEVER sends judgement on any society without first revealing to His prophets what He plans to do .. “Surely the sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants and prophets.” (Amos 3:7) .. Just prior to any impending storm of judgement, the Lord always commands His prophets to warn the people to return to Him .. “I have also spoken by My prophets, and I have multiplied visions .. by the ministry of the prophets. (Hosea 12:10) ..
So why is God telling us these things? .. Simply, it is His love for us & His way of lovingly calling us back to Himself to protect us from in such times .. Yet often in biblical history when He gave these warnings, the people refused to listen .. “Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to Him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.” .. (2 Chronicles 24:19) .. Almost always, God’s people grew weary of these warnings .. This is especially true if these warnings of impending disaster go on for a period of years .. The warnings kept coming but nothing really happened .. Things seemed to go on as before, & over time, the people began to ‘switch off’ the prophet’s voice .. They simply didn’t want to hear it anymore ..
Sound & look familiar? .. “They say to the seers, ‘see no more visions!’ and said to the prophets, ‘give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.’ “ (Isaiah 30:10) ..
Can we see ourselves falling for such a condition? .. These people knew Isaiah was telling the truth, & that a great storm was coming, but they got tired of hearing about it! .. Instead they preferred to hear ‘illusions’ (smooth things – KJV) .. In short, they were telling Isaiah to ‘not preach’ anything to us that will upset the status quo or make us nervous .. again,sound familiar? ..
Sadly, it would seem that we have learned absolutely nothing from these prior examples .. This very condition has crept into the Church of Jesus Christ today! .. Believers who have been devoted to Jesus for years now turn to the media only to see more horrible reports of violence, disasters, famine & hunger, exploding crime & civil unrest, & rampant immorality .. After awhile, their minds become saturated with all the negative news & their hearts become hardened to it .. To them, even the most vile news reports become ‘just another news story .. I look at this stuff every day, & often wonder if anything can move us anymore .. It seems we’ve already heard the worst .. What calamity or disasters are left to shock us? .. “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words, but do not put them into practice. When this comes true – and it will – then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 33:31-33) ..
The majority of churchgoers today soundly reject all prophetic warnings of the growing storm, that is if they hear them at all! .. Sadly, the Laodicean American Church is the most blatant ‘feel good’ church in history! .. And like Israel before us, we are now experiencing the ‘calm before the storm’ .. Likewise today, Christians by the multitudes are casting off the ‘yoke of Christ, tossing aside ALL limits & restrictions .. This attitude is prevalent in many forms .. books .. magazines .. from the pulpits themselves .. It’s like our teachers & leaders are saying, ‘relax, God isn’t hard .. He’s our big papa in the sky .. we’re His kids & we are meant to have a good time .. don’t let anyone disturb your fun’ .. Somehow I don’t think this is the work of the Holy Spirit .. “The days are coming’, declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11) ..
Isn’t it interesting that we see a famine of preaching of God’s truth? .. God will NEVER hold back His warnings for the Church .. & that is because it is the ONLY thing that will set us free! .. No, Amos’s prophecy is not about all the shallow, light preaching we hear today .. Rather, what the Church is experiencing is a famine of ‘hearing’ .. There seems to be a prevalent unwillingness to hear the TRUE Word of God .. Instead, people are closing their eyes & ears, hardening their hearts& saying ‘I don’t want to hear it anymore.’ ..
The Apostle Peter predicted that many ‘last day’ scoffers, including many believers, would have this dangerous attitude in these final tumultuous times .. “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own desires. They will say, ‘where is this coming He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ ” (2 Peter 3:3-4) .. This is the very reason God tells His prophets & watchmen to shout their warnings from the rooftops! .. He wants to warn His people .. to stir them up .. to seek HIM before it’s too late! .. He wants to ‘convict’ us of our attempts to cast off Christ’s yoke & cozying up to the world .. He wants us to keep our eyes on Jesus, to seek heavenly things, because those are the ONLY THINGS that will stand when the winds of the ever-growing storm begin to blow ..
We know that Jesus was the very embodiment of God’s love .. And yet He warned, prophesied & wept because He saw what was coming .. “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there will no flesh be saved.” (Matthew 24:21-22) ..
With each passing day, the warning signs are growing more ominous & more severe .. The prophets & Jesus saw it .. & now we see it & therefore have no excuse if we choose to ignore them, & also God’s watchmen ..
Back to the title .. ‘The Only Shelter in the Growing Storm’, is what? .. JESUS CHRIST AND ONLY HIM! .. Those of us who have listened to His warnings know exactly what to do! .. We can run into the presence of our Father & He can, & will, lift us out of any despair or worry we may have .. He has shown us the ultimate outcome of it all .. joy, hope, eternal peace .. Hallelujah! ..
“I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at My right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also live in hope, because You have not abandoned me to the grave, nor will You let me your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life: and You will fill me with joy in Your presence. (Acts 2:25-28) ..
Time is short .. Please, for the assurance of your eternal destination, turn your heart to Jesus, & RIGHT NOW! .. Believe me when I say, time is extremely short …. Know that I am praying for you, & will continue to share with you all that is given to me as long as I can .. so ..
Until next time,
Red