When Babylon is Fallen

Anyone who takes even a passing glance at the world situation today will admit that things are heading in a less-than-optimal direction. Of course, it seems that the vast majority of folks are so wrapped up in their own lives that they won't see anything until they go to the grocery store and find nothing left. There is a spirit of slumber in this land that's hard to fathom. Earlier this summer, my son Ryan and I were heading into Detroit. As we proceeded eastbound on I94 and began approaching Ypsilanti, I couldn't help but notice all of the semis on the freeway. They seemed to outnumber passenger vehicles. As a christian, my observations are usually in a context of the times that are upon us and I wondered "what will it be like in that city when the trucks stop rolling. Think about this. It would only take a skirmish in the Persian Gulf region to stop the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz. If, at the same time Hugo Chavez decided to turn off the tap to Venezuellan oil, we would have an economic disaster on our hands. (There are a lot of world leaders who really dislike us. Many will meet with our president, and the two will "speak lies at one table" but they don't like us) The trucks would stop rolling and one can only imagine how long it would take before mob-rule set in. We learned from the Hurricane Katrina ordeal, that, under strenuous situations, people are capable of unimaginable acts upon their neighbors. We fail to realize just how vulnerable this country is. This summer, 60% of the country was under drought conditions. We have more people pursuing fewer jobs and a deficit that, by OMB numbers, (office of managment and budget) totals 49 trillion. Soon our interest spending will be higher than all of our domestic spending combined. We are bogged down in Mesopotamia in a conflict that has seen 2600+ Americans enter eternity along with countless numbers of Iraqis and is draining the financial life out of us. Before I continue let me say that this is not about being "for" or "against" the invasion. Saddam Hussein brutally killed tens of thousands. A soul is priceless regardless if it is an Iraqi, a Persian and American or anyone. Nonetheless, we are now entrenched between the Euphrates and Hiddekel (Tigris) rivers indefinatly. By now you're probably thinking "This guy must spend all night at work thinking up depressing things to write about." The fact is that reality isn't always pleasent. (that's why they make "reality shows" lol) The simple truth is that Jesus told us that prior to his return things would get so bad that except those days would be shortened, there would be nobody left alive. In other words, if he didn't return at the appointed time, the population of the world would go from over 6 billion down to zero. If you don't know Jesus, the time to turn to him is now. The time to repent (be truly sorry for) your sin, ask him to forgive you and to save you is now. As bad as things are soon to get here, eternity in a lake of fire is far worse than your wildest imagination. I talk about such things because it's the truth and burying your head, plugging your ears, or cranking up the radio won't change scripture. Scripture thus far has a 100% accuracy rating so I wouldn't count on it changing. If this kind of thinking is scary, I pray that it will scare you into the arms of Jesus who shed his own innocent blood to pay for your sin and desires that you would have eternal life. If you are a child of the most high God, don't fear. You have not been given the spirit of fear and your name is written down in glory. Don't get wrapped up in this place. Jesus has promised to never leave us or forsake us. No matter what we may have to go through his grace will be sufficient. Read about the early christians in the book of Acts. Read the stories of saints throughout the ages who had to endure terrible persecution and lay down their lives. They didn't do that on their own strength (it wouldn't have been possible) and we won't have to either. If you visit www.endtimepilgrim.org you'll find the testimony of Corrie Ten Boom who survived the Nazi concentration camps. (The ones that Ahmadinajad claims didn't exist.) Gods grace is truly sufficient; we just have to believe that. In this country we're not really prepared for hard times and the hearts of many will fail them for fear. If we stay close to the Lord and trust him, he will take care of things. I know that I'm repeating previous posts but this is extremely important. Stop worrying about the timing of the rapture and stablish your heart now. I pray that anyone who reads this would be awakened and examine themselves as we all must do. We have to hold the fort and keep the faith. Sometime I want to post about strong delusions as they will be upon us and will be so convincing as to deceive "if it were possible even the very elect." I sat down here planning to do it tonight, but this came up instead. Jesus truly is coming!