Ezekiel 13:1-3; 8: “The word of the Lord came to me; “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts; ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing…. Therefore, thus says the Lord God; ‘because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you declares the Lord God.'” (ESV – all emphasis mine)
The above warning from all the way back to around 585 B.C. is just as relevant today as it was in the day of Ezekiel and Daniel. During that time, God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to conquer the Jewish people, and foreign kings kept them captive for about 70 years.
God had given the Israelites chance after chance to repent and turn from their evil ways, but they persisted in worshiping false gods and practicing many other evil activities. Even so, they did not repent and turn back to Him. Sounds like what is going on in this world today.
Our Lord God Jehovah is patient beyond all of our understanding, but He does have limits. In 2 Peter 3:9-10, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wanting that any should perish; but that all should reach repentance. But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are in it will be exposed.”
This will finally be completed at the end of the millennial reign as given in Revelation 21:1-4; “Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning; nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'”
Because our Heavenly Father sent a valuable part of Himself to this earth to be the perfect, sinless blood sacrifice for all humans who would receive and accept His Son, we can surmise that He’s very serious about His love for us. He is also very serious about those who reject the wonderful free gift we have been offered.
The world today is rapidly turning away from anything that has to do with our true Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. God is not surprised one bit by all that is taking place around this evil world. In Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus foretold what would be taking place near the end of this age and that more would turn away from Him than would faithfully follow Him. That’s Matthew 7:13-14, the broad road leading to destruction, and the straight and narrow path leading to eternal life with Him.
Paul, Peter, John, and even Jesus’ half-brothers, James and Jude, tell about this evil world. Besides being the author of Revelation, John was privileged to write 1 John plus three other books. He gave us the mechanics of being forgiven when we sin and tells about false prophets and antichrists that were already present during his time here. He specifically states they will be a nemesis to all believers right up to the second appearance on earth of our Savior.
We can honestly say that we are seeing those events unfolding daily and turning more satanic continuously. What’s sad, even though we were told all this would be taking place, it’s hard to actually experience the increasing evil.
In the past, satanic activity was the subject of fantasy or science fiction movies. Today, it’s here and in the open. All the “alphabet” groups came to light within the past decade, and the “trans” people even more recently. Please note, they have always been here from the time of the fall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), but not in the open and not as vocal as they are today.
The path is being cleared for the coming of the ultimate antichrist and his false prophet to rule this earth for Satan. During that terrible time, it will still be possible to call on the Lord and be saved, but most likely at the cost of martyrdom. According to Zechariah 13:8, by the end of the wrath/tribulation period, two-thirds of the Jewish people on the earth will perish. It will not be much better for all non-Jews either.
As rapidly as changes are taking place, we’re at the point of the “line drawn in the sand.” Everyone has a choice to make, and it’s totally an individual issue. Our Father has provided all the information we need to become a part of His Son’s precious flock. He is a loving, caring, and merciful God who would love it if everyone would choose Jesus and eternal life in Heaven with Him.
However, He will force no one to choose either way. If a person chooses to follow this world and what it has to offer over Heaven, God will allow them to do so.
All who would confess that they are a sinner in need of a Savior and will call out for forgiveness and to ask Jesus to come into their hearts will be saved. Romans 3:10, 3:23, 6:23, and 10:9-13 gives us the information we need to make a valuable decision. No one has sinned so greatly that they cannot be forgiven if they truly seek Jesus as their Savior.
On the other hand, all who refuse to receive and accept Jesus — when they take their last breath here — will have committed the unforgivable sin. They will not be able to be forgiven at this point. During the tribulation, one more sin will be unforgivable, and that will be to take the mark of the beast. That will signify that the one who has the mark has given their dedication to Satan and will end up in hell with him forever.
For today, all so-called “pastors” that are “tweaking” God’s word to keep seats and collection plates full and to carry forth their selfish agendas will give them a place in the lake of fire as well. James 3:1 is a very good warning about this; “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
Everyone who says it’s the word of the Lord, just be sure it really is His. Forever is a long time to choose Satan’s lies over the pure, true word of our Heavenly Father. Daily reading of God’s word can be a great help in getting His message to all of us. A chapter or two goes a long way. A Study Bible in a true version of your choice is an absolutely wonderful method of understanding what our Father wants us to know through His Holy Spirit-inspired word (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Today would not be too early to choose Jesus and eternal life. The event called the Rapture is getting closer and closer (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53). This is definitely evidenced by the increasing worldwide evil that is taking place right now. As stated, God will be patient only for so long.
Call on Jesus today – He will turn no one away who truly asks Him to be their Savior.
Shalom! Come, Lord Jesus!