THE MOON WILL TURN TO BLOOD!

       In Luke 21:24-28, Jesus gives us one of the clearest indicators we are near the end of the world: “there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.” Earlier, Joel foretells a time when God will “show wonders in the heavens and on earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke; the sun would be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Joel 2:30-31). The prophet Isaiah foretelling this same event warns: “the day of the Lord is coming with wrath and fierce anger...the stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light...the moon will not give its light” (Isaiah 13:9-10). Jeremiah calls it: “the time of Jacob's trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). Then on the Isle of Patmos, the Apostle John writes down what the angel heard was under the 6^th seal: “the sun turned black like sackcloth, the whole moon turned blood red” (Revelation 6:12).

       Blood Moons take place when the moon appears red during to a lunar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the earth comes between the sun and the moon resulting in darkness. But when the earth comes between the sun and the moon, the dusty air surrounding our Earth reddens and its reflection gives the moon a blood red appearance.

      Blood Moons have taken place throughout history but when four consecutive lunar eclipses occur, falling on Jewish Holy days, termed Blood Moon Tetrads, some significant event relating to the Jewish people seems imminent. NASA has identified four Blood Moons occurring in 2014 and 2015. The first will take place on April 15, 2014 which falls on the Jewish Passover Feast; the second falls on October 8^{, 2014}on the Feast of Tabernacles/Harvest; the third will appear on April 4, 2015 on the Jewish Passover; and the fourth takes place September 28, 2015 during their Feast of Tabernacles/Harvest. There will not be any other Blood Moon Tetrads until after the end of this Millennium which is some 985 years away! In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus made it clear that when history's end time signs converge on a generation with Israel at the center of worldwide anti-Semitic conflict, the final drama on the stage of human history has begun its final count-down.

      Some interesting question naturally come to mind: Why these four Tetrads in such succession? Why do they fall on Jewish Holidays? If prophecy puts Israel on center stage in the end times, what significance do these possible converging signs indicate and how shall we then live?

     As we begin this New Year, we need to refocus on our mission in view of the end times! Jesus is coming soon! In fact, He Himself tells us that when all these things begin to take place: “lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

The “night is coming when no man can work!” Lets keep running well until we hear Him say: “well done, good and faithful servant!”  

AMERICA'S FINAL CALL!

The door is closing on your Land
I keep on knocking to come in
But you have shut your heart to Me
I can no longer bear your sin

Your Nation stood upon My Word
A strong foundation built on truth
Your leaders sought to fear My name
And would not waver from its roots.

Your land became a Promised Land
Where milk and honey blessed the world
And all who came found hope and peace
As Lady Liberty foretold.

Then fame and fortune turned your head
While prayer no longer filled your thoughts
The Bible soon was put aside
And "self" became the object sought.

Now shame and violence fills your streets
With homes and schools all torn apart
And human life no longer bears
The image of My loving heart.

I weep for you as judgment calls
For retribution to begin
My Spirit is no longer there
To intercede because of sin.

But I'll keep knocking at your door
I long to come and heal your Land
But you must call upon My name
And in repentance take your stand.
--B. Pent

THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME!

"Jesus came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a woman. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity.  He became son of man that we might become sons of God.  He was born contrary to the laws of nature, lived in poverty, was reared in obscurity, and only once crossed the boundary of the land in which he was born and that in his childhood.  he had no wealth or influence and had neither training or education in the world's schools.  His relatives were inconspicuous and uninfluential.  In infancy he startled the king.  In boyhood He puzzled the learned doctors.  In manhood he ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows and hushed the seas asleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services.  He never wrote a book, yet all the libraries of the country could not hold all of the books about him.  He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all songwriters together.  He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as He has.  He never practiced medicine, yet He healed more broken hearts than the doctors have healed broken bodies.  This Jesus Christ is the star of astronomy, the rock of geology, the lion and the lamb of zoology, the harmonizer of all discord, and the healer of all diseases.  Throughout history great men have come and gone, yet He lives on.  Herod could not kill Him, Satan could not seduce Him, death could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.  This is our Christ the pre-eminent One." (author unknown)

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT

"IT IS MOST WONDERFUL TO LEARN

SUCH LOVE TO ME, SO FREE, SO SURE;

BUT SADLY STRANGE THAT I RETURN

A LOVE SO FALTERING AND POOR.

YET, LORD, I WANT TO LOVE THEE MORE;

RENEW THE FLAME WITHIN MY HEART,

TO LOVE THEE WHOLLY, AND ADORE

UNTIL I SEE THEE AS THOU ART."

(copied)

EDEN'S FATEFUL CHOICE

How beautiful the flowers bloomed on Eden’s brow

The lion feeding with the lambs together grew

And perfect peace became the pledge for all to see

God’s awesome glory and eternal majesty.

No virgin love could ever match two hearts that day

As heaven’s Presence followed them at work or play

The Tree of Life whose leaves brought healing to all men

Gave Paradise one glorious hue of color blend.

But pride began to question freedom’s right to choose

The Serpent’s plan apart from God seemed better news

So in the course of time the fruit to make one wise

Became the sting of death that caught man by surprise!

But why this veil of night so cloaked in haunting fears?

Would man exchange God’s righteousness for mortal tears?

It was the price that disobedience had to pay

That formed this chasm touching every man today.

Yet from the ashes of despair the Lamb was slain

To bridge this separation from sin’s crimson stain

So while He calls for you to meet Him face to face

Receive this priceless Gift of God’s redeeming grace.

--B. Pent

OPRAH AND ROB BELL'S GOD

After listening to Oprah's interview with Rob Bell about their "new" and "enlightened" gospel, I felt compelled to respond with this warning: “the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons . Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (I Tim. 4:1-2). This interview was a deja vu of what produced the 60's hippie-free-love movement.  It is the "pantheistic" gospel which was born in the Garden of Eden with Satan's deceptive question: "did God really say?" with its death-knell-hook: "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil" (Gen.3:1,5).  The problem we all have is trying to understand an infinite God through our finite minds.  There are many questions about the Bible I still have a hard time understanding.  My puny mind can't embrace, comprehend and, much less, answer issues that are not clearly or even remotely explained in Scripture.  God is too incomprehensibly omniscient and because He is the "Potter and I am the clay", I must rest my decisions on what I do know the Bible teaches and that is a faith issue!   Having said that, I sense that Rob and Oprah are trying to explain God by humanizing God and ultimately deifying man.  God is Love but He is also Holy and Just!  We cannot fully understand Grace unless we wrestle with the issues of Justice and Mercy, otherwise, Christ's death was a big mistake and Redemption must be explained away.  Maybe that is why Christ was not even mentioned or remotely suggested in their entire conversation except for a casual statement of a historic Jesus in the gospels. 

   The Apostle Paul dealt with this same problem in the church at Galatia. A new kind or a gospel was being introduced which Paul calls a "heteros" gospel: "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to another gospel--- which is really no gospel at all" (Gal.1:6-7) and then comes down pretty hard on those who apostatize, with the warning: "if anybody preaches to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned" (v.9). 

   My real concern is that many Christians are being mesmerized or subtly sucked into a "new age" kind of theology that desires to make the gospel more acceptable to everyone.  But the exclusiveness of Christianity demands that our only understanding and explanation of the Gospel be drawn from Scripture only.  That is why Paul warned Timothy: "study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that is not ashamed but rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

    While listening to Rob and Oprah, the Lord brought to my mind a Scripture that applies to this interview or any other teaching that either denies or waters down God's inerrant, irrefutable and infallible Word of God: "there will be terrible time in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God---having a form of godliness but denying it power. Have nothing to do with them" (2 Tim.3:1-5).

   I trust this will give you a little light into the "window of my soul" which includes a deep longing and prayer that Robbie returns to the God Who is absolutely Just, Merciful, and full of Grace and whose Son, Jesus Christ, came to show us a Love which passes ALL understanding.

MY HEART'S PRAYER

"Is there a thing beneath the sun
That strives with Thee my heart to share?
O tear it thence, and reign alone
The Lord of every motion there.
Then shall my heart from earth be free
When it has found repose in Thee!"

"YESTERDAY,
I BUNDLED UP MY PROBLEMS
WRAPPED THEM
TIED THEM WITH TWINE
AND HANDED THEM TO YOU, LORD!

THEN I TRIPPED
OVER THE STRING
I WAS STILL CLUTCHING.

TODAY,
YOU CAN SEE
THERE ARE NO STRINGS
ATTACHED!"
(authors unknown)