Bad Moon Rising

As I looked to the sky this past evening at what is being referred to as "The Blood Moon", I can not help but think about the buzz throughout Chistendom about the coming of the Lord.  I am a firm believer that Christ is returning for his Church.  I believe this, because Christ himself said so.  I also believe it because the Bible itself makes it known.  However, all this talk of Blood Moons and signs and wonders marking his return is foolishness and nonsense.  Why do I feel this way?  Because the same Christ that spoke of his return said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only".  Why do I believe it to be foolish?  Because the same Bible that tells of his return also tells us that his coming will be "like a thief in the night" (without warning).  Those who delve into such eschatological deciphering in a vain attempt to determine what only God knows often do so to their own destruction.  The belief that the Bible holds "secrets" that can somehow be "unlocked" through human understanding or even spiritual help is nothing new.  It harkens back to ancient times of Kabbalah where practitioners utilized various strategies to open these secrets.  The tools of the trade included astrology, numerology and other forms of mysticism.  In the OT those who practiced such things were to be killed (Deut 18:10-12), and while I don't advocate such things in this day of grace, I do caution Christians who would harken to the teachings of such practitioners.  I realize by this point you are either celebrating with my opinion, or you are ready to stone me.  But before you decide to do either, I hope you will read the rest of this blog, as I hope to lay down some more biblical reasons to avoid jumping on board with this fanaticism.
 
I'm certain as you read the above, Bible verses were coming to mind that caused you to say, "But the Bible says..".  Yes the Bible does speak of wars and rumors of wars, and signs and wonders.  Let's look at Matthew's account of this together. (Matthew 24:1-44)
 

"And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"

First thing to notice is that the disciples are asking two separate questions.  The first question is about the temple.  Jesus just told them that it would be destroyed, and they ask, "When?".  The second question is what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?  They are not just asking about his return, but his return as it relates to the end of the world.  These two parts coincide with one another, in which case they are not asking about the rapture of the church, but about his final coming when heaven and earth as we know it are brought to an end.  So, Jesus' answer deals with these questions, and not the rapture.  Revelation bears witness and support to Jesus' answer as well. Based on Revelation, this "End" will come after the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation.  So unless one believes we are living in the midst of the tribulation now, there will be plenty of signs (like hail and fire mingled with blood, burning mountains being cast into the sea turning it to blood, burning stars falling to the earth poisoning the water, etc...)  before his return.  Be mindful as well that Revelation puts no emphasis on Blood Moons.  In fact the only time we see this happening in Revelation is once in chapter 6.  However even then it coincides with other signs such as darkening the sun and an earthquake.  Not to mention that there are several other signs that are to proceed this "moon becoming as blood".  For instance the Antichrist, world war and worldwide famine and massive death (1/4th of the world).

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Many eschatologists or misinformed Christians use this verse to point to the near coming of Christ.  But take note that wars and rumors of wars are not cause for alarm, because the end is not yet.  Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famine, pestilence and even earthquakes are the beginning but not the end. Again Revelation gives us perspective on this in the first four seals.  They are Antichrist, War, Famine and Death.  All of these things have been going on from the beginning of time.  So what makes these wars, earthquakes and famines any different?  I believe that these things will not be like any we have ever seen before for will ever be seen again. Again the scale and magnitude will cause havoc worldwide.

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

Again Jesus is answering about "The End".  And again Revelation bears this out in the 5th seal.  It is after this that the real end will come, and even that is only the beginning of the end.

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For 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 should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

Here we see that "The End" will come after Great Tribulation, which is described as the last part of the end.  And again these things will be unlike any that have ever been seen or will be seen again.  Yes, we have famine. Yes, we have wars.  Yes, we have earthquakes, but not like this. It is during this time when people shall proclaim Christ's return, but they are false prophets.  No matter how big their signs are, even God's elect will be deceived. It still is not the time of his coming.  Because when he comes everyone will see it at the same time.

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together."

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

"Immediately following the tribulation."  What tribulation?  The one discussed above:  the worldwide panic, the wars, the persecution.  Following that the sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.  First the moon will not give her light.  It does not speak of a "blood moon", but instead speaks of total darkness.  There will be no sunlight by day, no moonlight by night, not even the glimmer of a star.  However, just for the sake of argument, if this speaks of a blood moon, then the 6th seal of Revelation bears this out as well.  For after the martyrs of the altar comes this moon becoming as blood.  Again this is accompanied by other signs as well.  Following this he will send his angels with the sound of a trumpet (trumpet judgments that occur with the 7th seal).  Then shall they gather together the elect from one end of heaven to the other (and from earth according to Matthew and Mark). 

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

This is the answer to their second question. This is the gathering for the final battle and the coming of Christ.  The answer to their first question follows.

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

The stones of Jerusalem will be destroyed before that generation passed away.  This came to pass as he had said in 70AD when Rome invaded and destroyed Jerusalem leaving only the western wall standing. 

Lastly while not really addressing their question, Jesus adds this tidbit of information.

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

This can be understood in one of two ways.  Either he is giving more information about the previous discussion of his coming at the end, or this is a different coming.  He has just spent several paragraphs telling us all the signs that will come.  In fact we can look at those signs like a fig tree signaling summer and know that the end is near, however this coming seems to be unpredictable and without warning.  On a normal day, he will come.  When you don't expect him, he will come. Like a thief in the night, he will come, so be ready.  I believe this is the rapture.  God is not going to give us any warning of the coming rapture.  There will be no sign or clue.  When the father says it is time, it will happen and it will be done.  So again I say that prophetic utterances of blood moons or any other sign of Christ's return for his church is foolishness.  Yes, he will come.  Yes, we are closer today than ever before, but you don't need signs to tell you that. You just need to be ready.

I close with these questions.  Does there have to be a blood moon or any other sign that must take place before Christ can take his bride?  Is there anything that is preventing him from taking us today or tomorrow or the next day? Was there anything that prevented him from taking us yesterday, or the day before?  Clearly the answer is, "No".  Then I ask why do we impose such restrictions on Christ's return for his church by making claims that this must happen, or that must happen?  I ask, is God bound by nature?  Is he somehow at the whim of natural phenomenon?  Again the answer is, "No".  So why do we act as if God must wait for nature to determine when things must happen.  After all if he so desires it to happen, it will happen.  If he wanted to make a blood moon during a time when there was not one scheduled (i.e. a natural phenomenon) then could he?  Yes, he could.  Then why are signs so important?  Why put any faith in things natural phenomenons?  Why are we pointing to signs in the heavens, when we should be pointing to their maker? Christ was right when he said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." We do not need signs, Christ has already revealed it.  He even says, "I have told you".  The bible is clear about what will happen.  As I said at the beginning there are no "secrets to unlock".  The bible was given as a revelation of who God is, not as a puzzle to be deciphered by the vanities of human mysticism.  

 

 

 

Prepare the Way

How many of you have family and friends that do not know the Lord?
How many of you have friends and family that don’t go to church?
How many would like to see that change?

These were the questions I asked our congregation this past Sunday.  To all three questions hands went up all over the building.  I would be willing to guess that we all could answer these questions with uplifted hands. But the motivation behind the question was this, "Are we willing to make the changes necessary to make it as easy as possible for these people and Christ to meet?"  This is the question that came to my mind as I read Luke 3:4-6. 

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

I believe that God wants to see that change."

 

If all flesh is going to see the salvation of God, we are going to have to prepare the way.  Both as individuals and as congregations, we are going to have to look at who and what we are and we are going to have to identify areas where we are deficient, and our areas of excess, areas of waste (wasted time, wasted energy, wasted resources), and areas where we are making it more complicated than it needs to be.  And then we have to do whatever needs to be done to fix those areas.  I was careful to make it clear that if we did these things does that mean that family members and friends were going to get saved. Making these changes will do little to change people, but what it will do is make the way easier for Christ to change them.

 Before Christ came on the scene, people only knew what they had known. Religion, rules, ritual and repetition. To many, faith was lousy and lifeless.  It was useless and unfulfilling, and many had parted from the faith; at least as it was practiced in their day.  The sentiment back then is not much different than it is now. Most people view Christianity in the same way the Jews of Christ’s day viewed Judaism, and they have little desire to enter into that faith. "Who needs religion, rules, ritual and repetition?" "Who wants a faith that is lousy and lifeless?"  "Why waste your time with a faith that is useless and unfulfilling?" So what happened to change people's minds? What made the difference?  What made people want to follow this once shunned faith?  Christ!!!!!!!!!!

Christ made the difference.  When he showed up their whole view changed.  When Christ showed up religion changed to relationship, rules changed to revelation; ritual changed to revival, and repetition changed to rejoicing.  People suddenly saw the salvation of the Lord, and wanted it.
 What was once lousy became lovely.  What was lifeless became life changing.  What was useless was unstoppable.  And what was unfulfilling became undeniable. If we are going to change peoples’ minds and thus their lives Christ is going to have to show up.  And that means we are going to have to prepare the way for him.

 If all flesh is going to see the salvation of God, we are going to have to fill every valley, bring low every mountain, straighten the crooked path, and smooth the rough places.  What does that mean?

Obviously it isn’t literal; God does not expect us to build a physical road.  But it does mean that we have to make it as easy as possible for Christ to get to the people.     Unfortunately too many churches in our day make it difficult for Christ to get to the people because of what we do and how we do it.  We have too many deficiencies, too many excesses, we wander, and sometimes we make it rough. 

Sometimes church is rough.  I mean we make it rough for people to sit through a church service.  If you have ever experienced this you know what I am talking about.  I have been to many church services in my life, and many are fabulous.  The presence of God can be felt, the Spirit of God is active and I have left feeling more focused on my purpose and calling; ready to do it with my whole heart, mind, soul and strength.  But there have also been those ones where you leave glad it was over.  I left scratching my head wondering what just happened.  It seemed as if I had been trapped in the twilight zone for hours, only to reemerge from the service in the same place I had entered.  None the better, and in fact maybe a little worse off.  There were so many things that detracted from God, and more his ability to reach me.  Whether it was the antiquated music played on out of tune instruments, the bad singing, poor teaching, disconnected preaching, uncomfortable seating, out dated décor, all these things and more serve as hindrances to Christ than helps. 

We should want to make it as easy as possible for Christ to reach people.  He shouldn’t have to compete with us, and our goofiness.  He is already competing with the world, and the world does things with excellence.  Look at the music of the world, the décor of the world, it is modern, attractive, pertinent, and we must be too.  I know that as some read this their religious spirit is rising up in them with a "Bless God" attitude.  "We shouldn't want to bring the world into the church."  All I can say to that is, "What do you want to bring then?"  We are called to win the world to Christ.  As churches we are not called to win the won.  I would argue that the reason that the church is so ineffective, is because we have built sanctuaries for the saved, instead of for the lost.  We are more concerned with keeping Christians happy than winning the lost.  It is this mentality that is hindering Christ from reaching the lost.  Members of your congregation are not going to invite their worldly friends to these types of services. The world is not going to come and sit through these services week after week.  And if it is too rough, they may not even stay until the first altar call.  If those in the world are going to see Christ, we are going to have to smooth out the rough places.

 

Others are missing salvation because the church is not focused.  We tend to wander. We are here then we are there, but there is really no purpose or direction to what we are doing.  We are wandering crooked paths hoping to run into someone instead being deliberate in reaching people.  We spend more time with fellowships and fundraisers than we do ministering to the needs of the people.  We spend more time talking about theories than speaking to their lives.  If you can’t speak to their needs and do it in a timely fashion they will not come back.  The world will not waste time coming to church just to walk away with nothing.  And even when we do get to the people we lead them down the same crooked path of wandering.  Especially in this day and age people don’t have time to wander.  They want to know that their time is being used effectively; that they are making a difference with their time.  We have got to streamline what we are doing.  We have got to be focused and purposeful in everything we do.  Be conscientious of people’s time and get the most bang for our buck while they are here, and do what we have to do to connect them to Christ.  We are hindering Christ when we meander down a crooked path.

 Our mountains also make it difficult for Christ to reach people because they keep us from moving forward.  When Moses and the children of Israel came out of Egypt the came to Mt. Sinai, and God showed up in a powerful way.  He spoke to them.  He manifested his presence to them.  He gave them revelation from his own hand. The result was a people content to camp out around the mountain.  They circled it day after day, and it kept them from their intended destination.  God is trying to get people to him, but we can’t get them there because we are too busy camping out where we are instead of moving towards our intended destination.    We focus on what God did instead of what he wants to do.  We get content with what we have experienced instead of realizing there is more.  We raise up sacred cows, that we refuse to let die, even if doing so might allow more people to connect with Christ.  When we would rather travel around the mountain than move people closer to their destiny, then we hinder where God is trying to get his people.  We need to stop going around the mountain.  In fact we need to level the mountain, in order to make it easier for those following to get to the promised land.  

Lastly there are the valleys.  The places where the land is deficient.  When you are in a valley all you can see is the valley.  And when a church is deficient all people can see is the deficiency.  When we are unable to minister to their need, all they can see is how you can’t minister to their need. 

If we can’t meet their needs, or the needs of their children, or their teens then they will not stay.  And if they will not stay, they will miss Christ.  We have go to start taking a long hard look at who we are and what we are doing, and start identifying these areas of deficiency.  We can not put our heads in the sand and pretend that they aren’t there, because they are.  And when we identify them we have to fill them in.   It all boils down to preparing the way for Christ.

 

When you think of your family that don't know Christ; when you think of your friends that don't attend church, realize that these people are the world.  The world is our target.  Bringing the world into the church is exactly what we need to do.  This does not mean bringing the world's message into the church, but it does mean bringing in some of their methods.  When someone from the world enters into your church, it should feel somewhat familiar.  It should not feel strange and awkward.  If it does then you have already made it more difficult for Christ to reach them because they are already guarded.  The more areas that we fail to deal with, the less likely that worldly person will see salvation.  We have got to be mindful, and make it as easy as possible for Christ to reach them.  That means we have to be diligent, and prepare the way.