Many of us probably woke up this morning wondering what kind of craziness we’d hear about today. So much has changed in the last year, or maybe it’s just being revealed.
We see anger, judgment, self-righteousness, violence, hatred, and so much more running rampant, and the basis for all these is one lie or another, but all stemming from the lie that Jesus is not the Christ, and there is no judgment or salvation in Him.
Jesus stated that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44b)
Paul referred to the devil as “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience…” (Eph. 2:2b)
The Holy Spirit lives within God’s children, but satan’s domain is without. We see him at work more and more every day, lying and using others to spread lies.
Though 1 John was written centuries ago, its author warned “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”
The word antichrist, of course, means opposite, or an opponent of the Messiah. While we don’t know yet who the antichrist will be, the spirit of the antichrist has always been here and works in and through those who don’t believe in Christ as Lord.
As we watch the world spiral more and more out of control, and the enemy work harder to take as many with him while he can, we know these are the beginnings, the continuation, of birth pains.
Jesus said no one knows when the day or hour of His coming will be, but we are to be ready, mind, body, and spirit.
You might have read that Israeli archeologists have just uncovered dozens of new fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in the Judean Desert. They include Greek translations of the Old Testament books of Nahum and Zechariah.
Nahum and Zechariah were both prophets, and both are books of prophecy.
Nahum is a short three-chapter book about his preaching to the city of Nineveh around 663 to 654 BC.
You might remember God sent Jonah to Nineveh, courtesy of a giant fish, about 100 years earlier to tell them they needed to get right with God or suffer the consequences. The Ninevites heeded God’s word, and for a time, lived in obedience.
But they eventually returned to their wicked ways, and now God’s sent Nahum to warn them of His judgment for their sin against Judah and Israel and their impending destruction.
Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC.
Zechariah, also a priest, received the first in a series of visions from the Lord almost 100 years later, following the return of the people of Judah from Babylonian captivity, directing him to tell God’s people that if they would return to Him, He would return to them.
There are numerous prophecies throughout the book about both the first and second coming of Christ, like in Zechariah 9:9:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
And in Zechariah 9:14 and 16:
“Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go with whirlwinds from the south.”
“The Lord their God will save them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For they shall be like the jewels of a crown,
Lifted like a banner over His land—”
Is it a coincidence that fragments of two books of prophecies, one detailing the destruction of the godless, and the other outlining the coming of Christ, have just been uncovered?
Maybe. Maybe not.
What I do know is the spirit of the antichrist is working overtime, and we do not have a minute to spare. Even if Christ tarries, none of us knows how much time we have in this life.
If we’ve been away from Christ, it’s time to return. If we’ve been lukewarm, it’s time to be on fire. If we’ve let our faith be watered down by teachers who do not walk in the truth, it’s time adhere to truth. If we haven’t been using our spiritual gift, it’s time to use it, to build up the body of Christ, and to reach the lost and dying. And for those who have never believed in Christ as the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God who lived on earth and paid for the sins of the world with His own blood, it’s time to believe.
Above all, it’s time to pray in the Spirit with all hope, love, and fervency.
Heavenly Father, forgive us for wasting so much time. Forgive us for taking the time we have here for granted, for getting so caught up in the world and not always walking with you, for not always abiding in you and living according to your will. Thank you for your forgiveness, your grace and mercy, and for your faithful love that never ends. Please show us whatever we may have allowed in our lives that keep us from you and from doing your will, give us the strength to leave it and abide in you. Give us ears to hear you, and instruct us and teach us in the way we should go. In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.