Hebrews 10:25 is the source of this article’s title and says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Is the Day approaching, and is this the real falling away Paul wrote about in 2nd Thessalonians 2? That passage says that Day and the falling away will end with Jesus coming to meet His redeemed saints in the air and then returning to heaven with them. Actually, the Word says, “the One who restrains” the evil one “will be taken out of the way,” and that one will take over the world. The actual wording is like this: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed…” (verse 3), then, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way” (verse 7).

Chapter 2 of 2nd Thessalonians begins with this introduction: “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him…,” so we know what Paul is talking about, for in his first letter, he described that event in this way: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord” (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Revelation 4 pictures their arrival back in heaven at the judgment seat of Christ where the saints receive crowns as rewards for their service. Then, the prophetic account turns to the seven years of tribulation and its beginnings.

Here is a consideration to be addressed: From the beginning of Genesis, the six days of creation, and the seventh day when God rested, then one thing after another – Adam begot Cain, then Abel, then Seth, and so on, chronologically, to the coming of Christ and His life and ministry among mankind—all in chronological order as time clicked away.

Why, then, do some Bible interpreters maintain that prophecies of the future are not to happen chronologically? They tell us that “this event goes over there, not here” and so forth.

That is the claim that this event of the Rapture of the saints is at the end of the Great Tribulation, the last half of the seven years. If that is so, why did the Lord no longer mention His church or the Great Commission? He never gave it anywhere in the time of the tribulation. The 144,000 Jewish evangelists introduced in Revelation 7 are to be the gospel preachers during the seven years, for the church will be gone. They show up for the marriage supper of the Lamb in chapter 19.

Then, as the seven feasts God had Moses put on the annual calendar, calling them “convocations,” meaning “rehearsals” that celebrate the seven highest events of the Christian era, why are we to break up that chronological continuity as if one of them, the Feast of Trumpets, must be placed somewhere out of that order?

When Jesus ascended to heaven, as Acts 1 reports it, the angel said to the disciples, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” At the future Second Coming when Jesus returns to the earth, “every eye will see Him coming in His majestic glory as He plants His feet on the Mount of Olives.”

What will believers see when they “see the Day approaching?” It will be the signs of the times called “the falling away.” Some years ago it was a falling away from faith, leaving church aside as the excitement or troubles of the world pushed God out of our lives. But now, today, at this time, it is a turning away from the faith, yes, but also from moral integrity, impartial justice, law-abiding, caring for others rather than killing them, honesty and patriotism of citizenship. Every segment of the world’s cultures is experiencing this downward trend.

The mantra of the Biden administration here in America is “build back better,” and to get to that position requires a tearing down of what is thought to be bad. I can say with certainty that in my 89 years of life, there has never been this kind of “falling away” (tearing down) before in America. And how can one “build back better” when there is nothing left with which to build back? Obviously, their “better” is without truth, justice and moral integrity.

Primary in that is the current sexual immorality that has become the driving goal of the LGBTQ+ faction to force their concept of lifestyle upon the population. In Paul’s epistle to the believers in Rome, he holds back nothing in describing how evil people in the past have reaped God’s judgment as they turned away from Him. He wrote that having had the knowledge of God, now they are without excuse:

“For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness.

“They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:26-32). (Read the whole passage, verses 18-32, for its full impact.)

Is this identifying the characteristics of the current “falling away” and not just something in the past? Notice that those who encourage those practices are also under God’s judgment.

The breadth of that intention reaches out to include abortion as a health issue for women. It includes trans-gender confusion about a person thinking his birth gender can be changed from male to female. All human beings are made in God’s image, and no one can surgically change his or her gender from what it is at birth. Living the lie that it can be done defies all truth, logic and honesty.

That total landscape of contrary thought is from the depths of hell, an effort of Satan to destroy God’s greatest creation that was made in His image. It is a slap in God’s face that says to Him, “God, You fouled up; now look what your “greatest creation” looks like. Look how they despise You!” And many of the population follow dutifully along.

That spiritual warfare has been going on since the beginning of time, and believers in God have had their continual struggles to resist Satan’s tactics for the whole time. The devil is not always successful. Look at his failure in the life of Job, recorded in the Bible. The devil’s temptations are common to man and follow three basic patterns—lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And Jesus rebuked Satan with the Word of God.

Luke wrote of what Jesus predicted about how society and the culture will be when He returns “as a thief in the night.” In Luke 17:26-30, He compares the times of Noah and of Lot with the activities and attitudes of people around the world as the looming Day of the Lord is approaching.

In Luke’s account, Jesus said, “As it was in the day of Noah, so will it be in the day of the revealing of the Son of Man.” Genesis 6:5 capsulizes the world’s spiritual condition—except for Noah and his family: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Then Jesus describes how their underlying sinfulness played out in their lives, saying in Luke 17:27, “They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” There seems to be a “party time atmosphere” hidden in that statement, a time when God is of no consequence, yet hopelessness underlies their existence.

The basic theme of the Day of the Lord and Christ’s coming back for His body of believers is Resurrection.

In 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, it is described this way by Paul: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

However, verse 32b in that chapter’s context indicates the hopelessness of those who do not believe there is such a thing as “resurrection.” Therefore, as the verse says, “If the dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!'”

Is this the meaning of what is happening now, “as it was in the days of Noah”?

Likewise, Jesus said, “As it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” The full account is in Genesis 19 and reveals that the whole city of Sodom was saturated totally with homosexual men, and their burning lust for the two “men” (angels) compelled them. They were not aware of their “approaching day.” As Lot left the city under the angels’ protection, it was destroyed by fire and brimstone, people and all!

Jesus personally announced this coming resurrection in the same manner that Paul describes it in his letters to the Thessalonians when He was helping the sisters of Lazarus to understand a future resurrection:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”

There will be a resurrection of the dead and living believers. It will happen before the “Pre-wrath rapture theory”; it will happen before the “Mid-trib rapture theory”; it will happen before the seven-year tribulation period gets underway. It will open up that time of tribulation God has set up as that missing 70th week of Daniel (see Daniel 9:20-27).

There is a Day approaching. Are we seeing it yet?

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

The late Bob Proctor was an avid promoter of positive thinking and the philosophy of “I can if I think I can.” He began his search for that happiness when he admitted he was not happy with his life that was so empty and shiftless. That was a good starting place, and whether he arrived at that true happiness when his life ended, I do not know. However, the first of his four basic principles of life was, “God is always a good God,” obviously a great starting place.

But the Apostle Paul summed up his search for that when he wrote, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Many of us are like Bob Proctor, or have been, wanting that “true happiness” state of mind. But we are not prepared to pay the price for it. Do I mean there is a price to pay for it? Yes, but not in legal tender (cash).

Those attitudes Jesus proposed in Matthew 5:3 to 5:10, called the “Be” attitudes, lay out a pattern of life that He says is one of true happiness. Let’s just see if that really is the result, and why.

The Be-Attitudes are in three clusters of three verses, with the second and third verses supportive of the first one.

The first one is foundational to all the others, so I will give attention to it in detail. As written, it says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” To open that up a bit further, read it this way: “The truly happy man is one who realizes his own spiritual poverty.” Now, how could that be so?

If a person is filled with himself, and that filling is of the old Adam nature, his life will be filled with all that his Adam nature can produce—envy, hate, selfishness, pride, and sinfulness of all sorts. What room is there left for Christ? One must be empty of self that he may be filled with the likeness of Christ.

The Apostle Paul learned this as he struggled with his “thorn in the flesh” that God did not remove from him. “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

He described himself and his associates in this way: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:10).

In a passage dealing with a believer’s moral character, Paul writes, “Those who belong to the Lord have become one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17), followed by verses 19-20, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you are not your own, for you are bought with a price.” It speaks of total surrender.

With that kind of heart, such promises of God as these following can be a person’s own experience: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4), and “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

The second Be-Attitude in this first cluster says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). The old Adam nature does not want to be ignored or rejected, and the new nature weeps as it realizes how close it was to missing the truth about eternal life and death. God reassures His comfort for the one mourning.

Now the new nature begins taking control with the one who has been spiritually empty, having begun to obey the directive of Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” That strange quality of meekness as “controlled strength” becomes a feature of his character, that person is blessed, as Matthew 5:5 says, and he “will inherit the earth.”

That second cluster of a changing character begins with knowledge of a hungry heart, saying, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” Peter wrote to new believers, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2-3). It is the source for renewing the mind.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy,” is what Matthew 5:7 declares, and what a reward that is! James writes that “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13b) because when exacted by a judge, it replaces judgment.

It is said that no one can look on God and live, for His presence is a consuming fire in its blazing purity, no doubt. But Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” John relates this to when Jesus is revealed and we see Him face to face, that “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).

So how can that be? It speaks of having a heart that is clean of sin and not given to the Adam nature, just as the first Be-Attitude proclaims. No hidden loyalties or reservations being held back to discolor the commitment to Him.

But Jesus has made a way around that warning of facing God and dying. He told Phillip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

That closeness to God readies a person to be a peacemaker, for they are blessed to be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Who is a peacemaker but one who brings the Prince of Peace to those who are without peace. It is the Great Commission.

With that blessing are two attendant Be-Attitudes that test of discipleship and willingness to obey, for one must have gone past any self-centered purpose of his own and have reached a depth of commitment that, no matter what, he will endure.

Paul was cut from that kind of fabric, having claimed this purpose: “And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:9-10).

Those final two Be-Attitudes are, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Then, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake” (Matthew 5:10-11).

There is within us a strong resistance to such attacks, but when those first seven Be-Attitudes are firmly in place in us, we are ready to respond with true joy—in Christ! After all, believers know the end of the story. Like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries,” just as those last two Be-Attitudes indicate.

Now, how are these attitudes fixed in place?

Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, as you recall. Habakkuk 2:4b says, “The just shall live by his faith.” The New Testament repeats that three times, as “The just shall live by faith” in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. But in Hebrews 10:38, there is an added warning: “Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

It seems to say, “onward, forward march,” for faith is the basic requirement for living a godly life and serving the Lord. Hebrews 11:6 brings that out more clearly: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

After Paul finishes writing of Abraham’s faith and its meaning for mankind at the end of Romans 4, he establishes where faith has brought the believer, in Romans 5:1: “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The awesome meaning of Romans 8:32 then comes into view as faith captures our heart and soul: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Not for a select few, but for all, and not without Christ, you should note.)

Finally, Habakkuk, again, lays out the effect that living by faith will bring us to as we empty ourselves of self (that first Be-attitude): “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

However, as Paul wrote, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). (No doubt but that is the truth for every believer.)

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com