“…and you are still?”

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Mark McMillion

and you are still flat This morning I found a verse that I’ve never noticed before but which really resonates for our times. It’s about “the promised land”. Specifically it refers to events from over 3000 years ago but its significance to us Christians today couldn’t be more important. No, this won’t be about Jewish settlements in the West Bank but about our own “Promised Land” of God’s will and destiny for His children which so many do not fully possess. From Judges 18:9 & 10. “Arise…for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good; and you are still? Be not slothful to go, and enter to possess the land: for God has given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.”

What really shocked me when I read this was realizing that this isn’t from the time of Joshua, the battle of Jericho and those events surrounding the original entrance of the Israelites into the land they’d been called to take. This verse is from hundreds of years later! They’d already entered the land but only partially before running out of steam and settling down to enjoy what they had.

Come on flat All of this of course is exceedingly rich in symbolism and meaning. They entered the promised land “by faith”, just as we are to receive and believe for all that God has given us through the mighty saving grace of our dear Lord Jesus. We have entered into the true “Promised Land” of eternal life and blessings through Him. But, but… like God’s people of old, so very many of us have not fully possessed the land.

Davids-Mighty-Men3 Did you know that over 300 years after the Jews conquered the land, that what we now call Jerusalem was still inhabited by the Canaanites? David and his men climbed the mountains surrounding the city and routed the inhabitants, establishing Jerusalem as the new center and capital of ancient Israel. But that was centuries after the time of Joshua and the original conquering of the land.

They had to go further. David and his followers had to take the original commandments of God to a new level of obedience, hundreds of years after God had first spoken His Word on the mater. Why? Because our evil human nature of sloth, disobedience, of being satisfied with a little, rather than all God has promised got the best of the people back then. So there were still giants in the land.

They had entered the promised land but they had not scaled the heights.

Solomon thinking And of course we know that David not only scaled the heights and took the capital city physically, he did this spiritually as well. David probably went further than any other man in the Old Testament in really loving the Lord and, even as the sinner he was, in doing all he could to obey the Lord. It was David’s love for the Lord and obedience that catapulted Israel into the richest era in its history, not only physically in the coming kingdom of Solomon but spiritually in the lifetime of David and the treasures of spiritual riches he shared with his generation and all generations after that in the Psalms.

But what about us? How many Christians today will say with Caleb of old, “I’ll take the mountain”? In his 80’s Caleb, Joshua’s brother, led his tribe up the mountain to take the promised land. The question remains for so much of Christianity today, “…and you are still?”

The truth is that the unconquered parts of the promised land came back to haunt and attack God’s partially obedient children of old. And it’s certainly still the same today. Christians who’ve gone as far as they want to go, who’ve settled down in the valleys of God’s Spirit, unwilling to drive out the darkened mountainous areas of their lives where God’s Spirit would lead them to victory, often find themselves to be in a weakened, defeated condition, not able to resist when the enemy launches a new attack. Because they themselves stopped attacking long ago. They didn’t really fully enter the promised land of God’s Spirit. They quit too soon, before the battle was fully won.

lethargy flat The Bible says that “…in whatsoever state we are in to be content.” (Philipians 4:11) Well, I can tell you, there are certainly times to not be content. If “contentment” is actually self-satisfaction and lethargy when God is commanding and urging us on to greater obedience and greater spiritual victories, then “contentment” is not called for. Someone has wisely said, “Be content enough to be happy and discontent enough to want progress”

It comes back to discipleship and obedience. The Early Church was one of the best examples in history of about as close as we can find to ones who were really trying to obey fully. They claimed the spiritual promised land and prospered mightily in the first few generations of Christianity.

But today? So very many believers are “sitting at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Maybe that’s why we’ll need to go through the “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21) before the coming of the Lord. So often it takes suffering and tribulation to awaken His bride from her slumber. And we find this in His Word about the final days before His return, “…and some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them and to purge and to make them white, even unto the time of the end, for it is yet for a time appointed.” (Daniel 11:35)

Cartea lui Daniel Capitolul 2 (Romanian video)

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Mark McMillion

Romanian
Aceasta este cea de-a doua înregistrare în limba română din seria profețiilor lui Daniel. Capitolul 2 al cărții profetului Daniel este considerat de către erudiții de seamă din aproape toate confesiunile drept perspectiva cea mai concisă și mai obiectivă din Biblie asupra istoriei și a viitorului lumii. Acest capitol este, din multe puncte de vedere, temelia de pe care putem înțelege atât multitudinea de profeții împlinite din trecut, cât și a celor care urmează încă să se împlinească în viitorul apropiat.

De multe ori am avut impresia că acest capitol a fost conceput de către Dumnezeu în mod intenționat ca un prim și ușor pas pe drumul profeției. Este ca o pregătire pentru capitolele mai avansate din domeniul profeției, ca, de exemplu, Daniel capitolul 7. De-abia din acel punct putem spune că am început cu adevărat să urcăm pe muntele profeției.

Versiunea în engleză a acestui capitol, intitulată “The Book of Daniel Chapter 2”, poate fi accesată aici. Prima înregistrare în limba română din această serie, “O încadrare a profeției în istorie”, poate fi vizionată aici. Sper că atât voi, cât și prietenii voștri să vă bucurați și să profitați de aceste înregistrări video pe tema profeției biblice.

English

This is the second video in Romanian of the Prophecies of Daniel series. Daniel Chapter 2 is considered by scholars of almost all faiths to be the briefest and most concise overall picture of the history and future of the world in the entire Bible. This chapter is in many ways the foundation on which we can understand fulfilled prophecies of the past, as well as see what still is to be fulfilled in times soon to come.

It has often seemed to me that this chapter was intentionally designed by God as an easy first step along the path of prophecy. It’s like a preparation for the more advanced prophecy chapters, such as Daniel chapter 7. That chapter is where we will begin to really climb up into the mountains of prophecy.

The English version of this video, “The Book of Daniel Chapter 2”, can be seen in here. The first Romanian video in this series, “O încadrare a profeției în istorie”, can be seen in here. I hope you and your friends will enjoy and benefit from these videos on Bible prophecy.

Christians, the endtime and witnessing

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Mark McMillion

get out Gods truth flat It’s always struck me, when reading about the prophecies of the future to come, that repeatedly the future believers are pictured as being witnessers and proclaimers of His truth and power. There are many examples of this. One of the best is found in Daniel 12:3, a verse specifically about the last years before the second coming of Jesus at the end of this age. It says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” This is a direct prophetic verse about the future times which speak of the people of the endtime who will “turn many to righteousness”. That’s witnessing, folks. That’s an active, fruit-bearing body of believers who evidently are having a real harvest in the final days.

But there’s more. Some of the verses that have inspired me the most about this are from Daniel 11. The context is that Jesus Himself specifically referred to Daniel 11:31 when teaching His disciples in Matthew 24 about the times immediately prior to His second coming. But what do the next two verses in Daniel 11 say? Daniel 11:32b says “but the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Strong. Doing exploits. Like the Early Church, witnessing miracles , “greater works shall they do”. (John 14:12)

please teach us flat Then the next verse in Daniel 11 says, “And they that understand amoung the people shall instruct many…” (Daniel 11:33) There it is again. Not only will some endtime Christians be strong and do exploits, it says that some will have understanding and that they will instruct many. Not only miracles and greater works but also fruitful witnessing and teaching, explaining to the people of the endtime what’s happening around them, because of their knowledge of prophetic events unfolding before their eyes that they recognize from their study of Bible prophecy.

The believers turning many to righteousness, doing exploits, being strong, understanding, instructing many in the final years prior to the return of Jesus . Sure sounds like an on-fire, fully-functioning, dropped-out multitude of believers, a bride “who has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). Inspiring, no?

But as we look around us in our present times, we see so many pundits of fear who want to tell us who the Antichrist is. They want to tell us who are enemies are, they want us to become fully armed with carnal weapons. But are those folks preparing us to be “strong in the Lord and the power of His might“? (Ephesians 6:10) Are they discipling Christians to be the light to the World that the Bible says some will be in those times? Or is it a constant cacophony of consuming fear and hatred of “our enemies”? Are we really going to go to war against the Antichrist forces with AK-47 assault rifles? Here’s the Bible’s answer to this as found in Revelation 12. “And they overcame him (the devil and the Antichrist) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11) Nothing about armed Christian militias there.

If the believers of the endtime are people who dependent on spiritual weapons rather than carnal, if they’re going to be strong enough to witness and do mighty works in those times, then so much of Christianity now will somehow need a huge, mighty turn around. died in faith The vast majority of Christians today are spectators, at best. They’ve left the arena and are watching from the grandstands. But Scripture says that the bride of Christ in the endtime will be in the arena again, literally or otherwise, like the believers of the Early Church.

Maybe it will take a continuing loss of Christians across the whole spectrum of the faith, a vast falling away that will be the shock that’s needed for the few that are left that they need to get down to business with God like few, if any, have done in the last few hundred years. At some point, somehow God is going to find those ones who will fulfill those verses given so long ago about the believers of the endtime. And, yes, I do hear of some here and there who are banding together in a new wave of witnessing and discipleship, like I wrote about in “German Awakening“.

endtime witness-flattened But overall and for the most part, right now things look bleak. So many want to tell us who our enemies are, those who we’re to fear and even prepare to kill. But where are the noble souls who are preparing His people to be the mighty witnessers and disciples of the endtime that we read about in Scripture? Oh, dear Lord, please raise up the believers You spoke of who will be those that will turn many to righteousness, do great exploits, and instruct many before You return.

El Libro de Daniel Capítulo 2 (Spanish)

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Mark McMillion

Español

Daniel Capítulo 2 es considerado por los estudiosos de casi todas las religiones por ser la imagen general más breve y concisa de la historia y el futuro del mundo en toda la Biblia. Este capítulo es, en muchos sentidos la base sobre la cual podemos entender las muchas profecías cumplidas del pasado, así como ver lo que aún está por cumplirse en los tiempos por venir.
Muy a menudo me ha parecido que este capítulo, fue diseñado intencionalmente por Dios como un primer paso fácil a seguir lo largo del camino de la profecía. Es como una preparación para los capítulos proféticos más avanzadas, como Daniel capítulo 7. Ese capítulo es donde vamos a empezar a subir muy arriba en las montañas de la profecía.

La versión en Inglés de este video, “The Book of Daniel Chapter 2”, se puede ver aquí. El primer video español de esta serie, “La Profecía Bíblica de la Historia”, se puede ver aquí. Espero que usted y sus amigos puedan disfrutar y al mismo tiempo beneficiarse de estos videos sobre la profecía bíblica.

English

Daniel Chapter 2 is considered by scholars of almost all faiths to be the briefest and most concise overall picture of the history and future of the world in the entire Bible. This chapter is in many ways the foundation on which we can understand the many fulfilled prophecies of the past, as well as see what still is to be fulfilled in times soon to come.

The English version of this video, “The Book of Daniel Chapter 2”, can be seen here. The first Spanish video in this series, “La Profecía Bíblica de la Historia”, can be seen here. I hope you and your friends will enjoy and benefit from these videos on Bible prophecy.

Twisted Scripture

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Mark McMillion

[I wrote this two years ago but things are still the same]

Something rather sad happened at my church last Sunday. I’ve enjoyed going to that church for over a year and I’ve met some very like-minded folks there.

But yesterday something was taught that I find disturbing. I was glad to know that there was going to be a series taught on the book of II Thessalonians. It contains one of the clearest places in the New Testament which speaks of the conditions immediately prior to the return of Jesus. In fact, this letter was written to the Thessalonians specifically to address this subject.

[Some may think that this is just getting into Biblical minutia. But what’s being talked about here is of exceptional importance to the foundation that’s laid for many millions of sincere Christians.If what’s taught from the pulpit is dangerously flawed, the result is that Christians who receive that teaching without question are denied key components of their Christian knowledge and have allowed themselves to be deluded about the future that God clearly spells out for us in His Word. And they are unprepared for the future God tells us will happen.]

In I Thessalonians 4:17, Paul gave perhaps the clearest explanation of the return of Jesus to this world. He said, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. But this verse is the one that’s the clearest in describing what we now call “the Rapture”.

But then somehow the Thessalonians got things mixed up or misunderstood what Paul said to some degree and some of them came to the conclusion that Paul was saying that “the day of Christ was at hand”, in other words, that Paul had told them that Jesus could return at any minute. So he wrote to clarify that, very specifically.

I’ll pick up in verse 2 of II Thessalonians chapter 2 where Paul addresses this. He said, “… don’t be shaken in mind … that the day of Christ is at hand. For that day will not come except there come a falling away first and the man of sin [the Biblical Antichrist of the last days] be revealed, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

It’s one of the clearest Scriptures in the Bible to show that before Jesus returns to the earth, the Antichrist of the endtime will be seen by the believers in Jesus.

But sadly it was taught from the pulpit in the church I go to that the believers in Jesus will not in fact see this happen, even though the Apostle Paul clearly told the Early Church that they would.

This is the essence of what’s called the “Pre tribulation Rapture” doctrine. I won’t go into the details of this here as I have already done so in other places. But it’s disheartening to hear a sincere and Godly preacher tell a congregation that I feel a part of that they’ll never see or experience what Paul has said because they’ll be whisked away before, when very clearly Paul told the Early Church the exact opposite.

But this dear pastor is just teaching what’s been taught from evangelical pulpits for decades so that this false teaching has become embedded in modern Christian thought, although it’s not based on Scripture. And that verse right there which they’re teaching from is one of the clearest places in the Bible which disproves this modern false doctrine!

But some would say,

“Mark! Why does this matter to you?! As a Christian, shouldn’t you be out feeding the poor and clothing the homeless instead of quibbling over Bible doctrine?!”

Neville Chamberlain

Have you ever heard of Neville Chamberlain? During the 1930’s in Europe, it was an exceedingly troubled time. Communism was seen as a rising tide of Godlessness and totalitarianism which was destined to take over Europe. Rising against Communism, at the other extreme, was Fascism.

But much of Europe was just exhausted by the severe years of the Great Depression and they just didn’t want to look war in the face. So Hitler methodically drove Germany to greater and greater military might and preparedness.

But the prevailing desire of public opinion, the majority view was summed up by Neville Chamberalin, the Prime Minster of Great Britain back then who declared there would be, “Peace in our time.” That’s a lot like what the preachers tell their congregations nowadays, that they’ll suddenly be raptured before “the great tribulation” comes that Jesus warned of. (Matthew 24:21)

There was no “peace in our times” for the people of Europe. The quasi-Antichrist of those days, Adolf Hitler, struck Europe and very nearly conquered ever inch of it for a time. But the unpreparedness of the rest of Europe was a key factor in Hitler’s rise.

It’s the same today. Millions of Christians are being taught, “Peace in our times.” “You don’t need to be prepared! No need to strengthen your convictions or be prepared for the battles of the final days before the Lord’s return! Sleep on now and take your rest!”

And so they do. The British and others were weak and unprepared in the days leading up to World War II and they were easy pickings for the forces of darkness of their day. And it’s exactly the same today, thanks in a large part to this horribly disarming false doctrine of PreTribulation rapture that means the body of Christ can leave church each Sunday and mostly do their own thing till next Sunday, instead of being strengthened and prepared for the endtime battles to come.

I’ll end this with another thing Paul told the Thessalonians which may have an eerie prophetic ring to it. In I Thessalonians 5:3, the Apostle Paul said, “For when they shall say “peace and safety”, then sudden destruction comes upon them as travail upon a women with child and they shall not escape.” May we all pray and do what we can to shake off this false doctrine of a PreTribulation rapture which is bringing such slumber and false peace on the believers in Christ in our times.

(Romanian) Textul a “O încadrare a profeției în istorie”

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Mark McMillion

[Aceasta este varianta scrisă a înregistrării cu titlul “O încadrare a profeției în istorie“.]

Vreau să vă vorbesc despre ceva deosebit ce mi-a marcat în mod special viața. Este vorba despre profeții. E un subiect amplu. La auzul cuvântului „profeție,” diferite gânduri trec prin mintea fiecăruia, așa că am să explic la ce mă refer. Am să vă spun câte ceva despre mine, ca să înțelegeți de ce mă ineresează acest subiect.

M-am născut în Texas și am ajuns să merg la facultate fără să fi înțeles sau să mă fi interesat vreodată lucrurile spirituale. Devenisem ateu și făceam tot ce puteam să întorc de la credință pe oricare ar fi avut vreun fel de credință în Dumnezeu.

Printr-un complex de evenimente am ajuns în punctul în care a trebuit să recunosc… că există o dimensiune spirituală. Nu vroiam să devin “habotnic”, dar știam, îmi dădusem seama, că există o dimensiune în care se găsesc și spirite bune, și spirite rele.Eu vroiam să fiu cu cele bune.

Căutările mele m-au adus în contact cu diferite grupuri și, astfel, am întâlnit alți tineri, creștini cu vederi radicale sau, „Țicniții lui Iisus”, cum erau numiți pe atunci iar ei au reușit să mă ajute să înțeleg adevărurile din Biblie. Dumnezeu a folosit această împrejurare ca să îmi ofere un nou început și, pînă la urmă, mi-am dedicat viața în slujba Lui. Am trăit peste hotare mai bine de 30 de ani și m-am bucurat de o viață minunată, lucru pentru care sunt foarte recunoscător.

Deci, când vorbesc despre profeție, mă refer, de cele mai multe ori, la profeții din Biblie. Pe asta vom pune accentul în această serie de studii. O să ne ocupăm de profetul Daniel din Vechiul Testament. De fapt, când Iisus a fost întrebat despre viitor, l-a menționat în mod specific pe profetul Daniel. A spus: “Când veți vedea (evenimentele viitoare)… despre care a vorbit profetul Daniel (cine citește să înțeleagă)…” (Matei 24:15)

Îmi închipui că unii dintre cei care se uită la acest program au aflat destule despre acest subiect și de-abia așteptați să intrăm în detalii. Alții nu cunosc mai nimic despre toate acestea. Vreau să me adresez și unora, și altora, dar dacă ar trebui să aleg între cele două categorii, prefer să mă adresez celor pentru care acesta este un subiect nou. Așa eram și eu până când am ajuns aproape la maturitate. Acesta este, probabil, unul dintre motivele pentru care vreau ca și voi să bucurați de încântarea de a cunoaște adevărurile din cartea lui Dumnezeu, Biblia.

Acum, poate că unii dintre voi se întreabă: “Ce mai este și profeția?” Vă gândiți că, „da, sigur, sigur, într-o bună zi lumea se va sfârși și chestii din astea.” Așa credeam și eu cândva și totul mi se părea bizar și chiar stupid.

Bun! Haideți să vedem dacă există ceva despre care a auzit fiecare dintre cei care se uită la acest program și care a fost profețit cu sute de ani înainte de a se întâmpla. Putem spune cu siguranță că fiecare dintre cei care urmăresc acest program au auzit despre Crăciun. Știți că de Crăciun oamenii cântă colinde. Se sărbătorește nașterea lui Iisus și ați văzut imagini cu Maria și Iosif și cu pruncul Iisus.

Ați auzit, probabil, un vechi colind, nu prea pot eu să îl cânt, dar e cam așa: “În seara de Crăciun venim/ La Vilflaim, la Viflaim/ Pe pruncul sfânt să-L preamărim/ La Viflaim, la Viflaim.

Acest colind este despre orășelul Betleem, de lângă Ierusalim, unde s-a născut Iisus. Poate că deja știați că acolo s-a născut, sau poate vă amintiți că ați mai auzit undeva de asta.

Probabil că cunoașteți măcar câte ceva despre acest subiect. Bun, haideți să ne uităm în Biblie. Haideți să ne uităm în Vechiul Testament, în cartea profetului Mica. La mine în Biblie scrie că această carte a fost scrisă în jurul anului 700 Î.Hr. O să citim capitolul 5, versetul 2. Este ca și cum vocea lui Dumnezeu se adresează orașului sau sătucului Betleem. Spune “Și tu, Betleeme Efrata, măcar că ești prea mic între cetățile de căpetenie ale lui Iuda, totuși din tine Îmi va ieși Cel ce va stăpâni peste Israel și a cărui obârșie se suie până în vremuri srăvechi, până în zilele veșniciei. ”

Aici Dumnezeu se adresează Betleemului și îi spune că, cu toate că este un oraș micuț printre multe altele din regiunea Iuda (o provincie a Israelului din zilele acelea), totuși din Betleem va veni Cel care, până la urmă, va conduce poporul lui Dumnezeu și că asta era stabilit din vechime, din veșnicii.

Este o profeție din Vechiul Testament, profețită cu sute de ani înainte de nașterea lui Iisus, care ne spune exact unde se va naște Mesia, regele pe care Îl va trimite Dumnezeu. Sunt multe alte profeții ca aceasta.

Când toate acestea erau încă o noutate pentru mine, mi-a trebuit o bucată de vreme ca să încep să înțeleg că există o putere în Ceruri, puterea lui Dumnezeu cel din Biblie, care a prezis viitorul lumii de mii de ani, și că aceste profeții, aceste previziuni s-au împlinit cu o exactitate absolută. Pentru mine asta a fost șocant. Aș putea spune că încă mai este. Acesta va fi subiectul acestor studii: profețiile care s-au împlinit și profețiile care urmează să se împlinească.

Când am menționat nașterea lui Iisus în Betleem am vrut să aleg ceva ce era cunoscut tuturor. Apoi, după ce am văzut din Biblie că cu sute de ani înainte de nașterea Lui a fost dată o profeție care spunea că Iisus se va naște în Betleem, veți putea aprecia importanța și relevanța acestui aspect. Așa că, mai departe o să aruncăm o privire asupra contextului istoric ca să ne încadrăm în timp, cum s-ar spune și să vedem amprenta profeției, care exista cu mult timp înainte și care prevestise multe dintre evenimentele cheie care aveau să se întâmple mai târziu.

Dumnezeu a ales un om cu patru mii de ani în urmă. Îl chema Avraam. El se trăgea din regiunea care în ziua de azi se numește Irak. Din urmașii lui Avraam a apărut poporul pe care noi astăzi îl cunoaștem cu numele de evrei. Dealtfel, și popoarele arabe, și credința musulmană se trag și ele tot de la Avraam.

Dar Vechiul Testament este cartea evreilor. Așa că, pentru a înțelege profețiile, trebuie să avem o perspectivă de ansamblu asupra istoriei evreilor. În același timp, va trebui să privim ascensiunea și declinul imperiilor antice până în zilele lui Iisus și ale Imperiului Roman.

Iată câteva personaje cheie din Biblie și perioada în care au trăit. Avraam este plasat în jurul anului 2000 Î.Hr. Iar Iisus în anul 30 AD. Între aceste date se situează Moise, în jur de 1400 Î.Hr. Regele David a trăit în jur de 980 Î.Hr, iar profetul Daniel, ale cărui scrieri vrem să le studiem, în jur de 600 Î.Hr.

Acest articol este mai lung ca de obicei. Pentru a continua, vă rog apăsați pe “continue reading”.

Continue reading →

Now the end begins?

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Mark McMillion

Quite a few aficionados of Bible prophecy are getting excited when they view current events in the Middle East. Most of them have believed that at some point in the future, Russia will come to play a very major role in the region. A dear friend sent me a letter and blog article about this. The article declares emphatically that the Russian buildup in Syria is a prelude and pretext for Russia to invade Israel, virtually at any time. My friend wanted to know what I thought about the article. Here are parts of what I wrote back to him.

Most everyone agrees that Ezekiel 38 and 39 sure look like potentially major Scripture on the endtime. From reading those chapters, it does sound like what’s been identified as the land area of Russia will “invaded Israel” or something similar to that in some future time. Only, no one really knows exactly where these verses in Ezekiel fit in the endtime picture.

Are they a part of the finally events of the 42 months of Antichrist rule during the Great Tribulation? (Revelation 13:5-7) Or are they events occurring before the signing of the Pact or Covenant and the Last 7 Years? (Daniel 9:27) Or does Ezekiel 38 & 39 cover material mentioned in Daniel 11:21 to 45? Some even cite Psalm 83 nowadays as being an endtime prophecy when it was actually a historical prayer written during the time when ancient Israel was at war with its neighbors.

It does seem very significant that Russia has gotten suddenly involved in the Syrian war and evidently they have the top hand in the Middle East now. I wrote a blog post about all this with some factors having to do with the move by Russia which probably a lot of people don’t know or understand. You might find it interesting, especially since you served in that part of the world. It’s called “What’s Wrong With This Picture?”

But I sadly feel another one I wrote summarizes the more sensationalist articles that come out on sites like “Before It’s News”, “Now the End Begins” “Armageddon News” and others like this. What I wrote about this is called “The Whites of Their Eyes”.

When I hear about clear, unequivocal events happening in the news that we can directly connect with endtime prophecies, that’s when we can really place it in prophetic Scripture that is known to precede the Great Tribulation. Otherwise, it’s just very fertile ground for the many criers of “Wolf! Wolf!” with abundant speculations about prophetic fulfillments that so often just turn out to be duds. It kind of bugs me how many people are claiming Bible prophecy has been fulfilled every time a car bomb explodes.

But what could be something on the horizon that would clearly be an event predicted in Scripture? If and when I see the building of a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem and particularly the beginning of animal sacrifices there, then I think we’ll have some real specifics to take serious note of. Where we are at on the Trumpets and Seals of the book of Revelation, or the specifics of Ezekiel 38, can be rather hazy now.

And yet so very many commentators endlessly try to find where we are presently in those things. They usually end up in farfetched, emotional speculation that borders on confusion. Lots of heat but not much light. However, if there’s a third temple built in Jerusalem and then sacrifices start, that will be some concrete, Biblically predicted endtime events happening in real time. And of course even the subject of the third temple in Jerusalem is also now in the news every day, with present events on the Temple Mount and the whole thing.

It may be getting very near and I certainly am keeping up with it all. But I’m not ready to start hanging labels on things like, “That country is the bear or ram” and “That one is the goat”. Those verses in Daniel were fulfilled long ago and don’t apply to endtime prophetic events. In Daniel 8, the angel Gabriel specifically told the prophet Daniel what the goat was. “The rough goat is the kingdom of Greece.” (Daniel 8:21) But still today, you’ve got oodles of experts telling us that the goat of Daniel 8 directly refers to some modern nation today. That is not teaching “sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1)

I covered all that in my videos on the subject. Perhaps the best one on the final years of the endtime is the one about Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24, called “The Last 7 Years”. But a lot of things are happening that quite possibly are major steps towards final endtime events and it really bears watching.

Studying current events in relation to Bible prophecy about the final days is a little like looking through a kaleidoscope. We look at God’s Word and then we look at current events and we can see a lot of similarities. But every time there’s some slight changing of events, like when a kaleidoscope is moved ever so slightly, then the whole picture changes. That’s what’s happening with Russia’s current move. I agree with so many others that the change in the picture we see now is another move towards the picture we are shown in Scripture of how it will be at the beginning of the most specific events that are predicted, preceding the return of Jesus. But being overly specific with dramatic proclamations of prophetic fulfillment when it really hasn’t happened yet is just not good Bible teaching, no matter how anxious anyone is to see prophecy fulfilled.

In summary, yes this big move by Russia does very much look like a foretold piece of the prophetic puzzle that we see in Bible prophecy. But I don’t think we should be standing by in expectation that Russia is about to invade Israel at any moment. That’s getting ahead of the music and jumping the gun. And web sites that continue to delude Christians in that way should be noted and held accountable for their sensationalism and lack of credibility.

Days of Heaven

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Mark McMillion

I heard someone say one time, “I couldn’t tell you about it when I didn’t have the victory.” So I don’t totally have the victory about this right now but I’ll give it a shot at telling you.

It says in the Bible, “Now we know in part, but then shall we know as we are known.” (I Corinthians 13:12) And this is not only true of knowing the Lord that way in heaven to come. Up there we’re going to know each other that way too. And that will be a big part of heaven, a closeness there that we almost never have here with each other on earth.

But sometimes we do. Sometimes God allows and engineers situations so we’re led down a path where we are in the right place at the right time with someone with whom we experience a closeness, I’ll even use the word “intimacy”, if you understand that the way I mean, which is on a scale so advanced that it approaches that of heaven. That’s happened to me recently.

“Good for your Mark, I’m so happy for you!”

Umm, yeah; thanks. But this is like two things I’ve written about before, “Sweet Potatoes with Butter” and “Pinnacle Experiences.” In my case, the Lord has allowed me to have some time of communication with someone I’ve vaguely known at various times for years. I’ve always been struck by this person. They’ve always seemed so unusually angelic that it’s been difficult for me to be around them the few times that I have been.

What do you think of when you think of an angel? Beauty? Wisdom? Humility? You can trust them. They have a stability and a “health”, for the lack of a better term, that kind of leaves you in awe. What if you talked to that angel?

Some have had experiences with angels a few brief times in our lives. But real angels are not usually there for hours. They don’t talk to you for hours. They’re heavenly beings from that other realm who God allows to sometimes cross our path or even appear and speak to us.

But perhaps you’ve had some kind of experience with a human being who somehow has such grace, wisdom and beauty that it just doesn’t seem real. Sometimes you just almost stare at that person in awe at their beauty and words, their gentle soul and obvious grace.

As you and they talk, it’s almost like being pulled out of this world and into the realms of heaven. You don’t want to do anything wrong because it’s almost like a charmed time you are in. But a good time, given by God, where the essences of heaven pour into you and you’re lifted out of the humdrum dreariness that so often you are in, seemingly for so long.

This is the type of experience we think of that men and women have who get married. But maybe even married couples don’t always have this or they don’t have it any more. But it doesn’t have to be limited to that. And for Christians, it can be just something that God allows, like finding an oasis in a vast desert you’ve have traveled alone in for so long. The only way to describe it is heavenly. Somehow this person is almost like a window into heaven or at least God is using them this way.

It sounds great, no? This happened to me recently. But then… but then. We have to come down from our mountain. We enjoy those “sweet potatoes with butter” but then it’s over. You’ve been on a shining mountain, a true “Close Encounter“. But you have to come down.

I don’t know how it is for you. But for me, my life for a number of years has been one of single-minded purpose in daily laying down my life for Him and others. But that has almost always been in a type of loneliness I’ve grown used to and accepted as how it has to be and how things are in this world for me.

The wonderful thing is that we each have the Lord, at least the ones of us who know and believe in Him. “My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest”. (Exodus 33:14) We have the light of His Word in our hearts, which we have laid up there through faithfully memorizing and retaining it. We have the presence of His Holy Spirit. These are things that abide with us and help us to navigate and exist in what is frankly an often dark and lonely world, full of shadows and vanity.

Our daily contact with other human beings is so often shallow in the extreme compared to the deep and intimate contact we will have with each other in the hereafter. Our main need is His salvation and presence and we have that constantly and daily as we pray and lean on His Word. But daily heartfelt intimacy with other human beings can often be rather rare, even if you’re surrounded with people during you day.

So, like I said at the beginning of this, I’m not sure I can tell you about all this when I don’t have the victory. We who are saved have a victory. We have the Savoir who’s “delivered us from every evil work“. (II Timothy 4:18) But still for some, even of the saved, we live with a heaviness and a loneliness that’s seldom lifted expect for those rare times of “days of heaven”, in some cases with virtual angels who walk the earth, splendid creatures who exude a beauty and grace, love and humility, and a knowledge of how to live life that’s virtually breath-taking and blinding. But it shines brilliantly in our hearts and is a glimpse into the future and heaven to come.

Tomorrow I will be back to “normal”. I hope I can do what I wrote about recently. I hope I can bring the pinnacle experience I’ve had with me back to my normal day-to-day world and share it with others. But right now I’m a little afraid I’ll be remembering these days of heaven and, frankly, be missing them a lot. God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9) I’ll be holding onto his Word and to Him. But also I’ll really be looking forward even more than before to the true heaven to come and the intimacy and beauty there that I’ve experienced a touch of here.

The real “Supreme Court”

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Mark McMillion

Most people, at least here in the States, have heard about the Supreme Court ruling clarifying that homosexual and lesbian marriage is legal under United States law. Needless to say, it’s a very big news item and a very big issue in these times, almost everywhere.

As a Christian and someone who has aspired to Christian discipleship and service for all my adult life, this subject is one I have strong feelings about. Almost all born again Christians here in America see this as a shocking, ominous day for their nation. I can certainly see how they feel that way and in some ways I do too. But also I feel some good things can come out of this for the cause of Christ and humanity.

First, to be clear, I’m not a homosexual. Also, as provocative and incendiary as some may find this, I will say that there’s no place in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, where homosexuality is condoned or tolerated at all. So for those whose faith is in the Bible, Old or New Testament or both, this issue comes down to whether we hold on to the Word of God or not.

I think that’s one of the reasons why, for me, I somewhat renounced my earthly citizenship some 45 years ago at the time I received Jesus as my Savior and took up the call of a missionary. Paul told the Philippians, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” (Phil. 3:20) And that’s the way I’ve had to look at things in order to have the freedom and peace in my heart to “forsake …lands” (Matthew 19:29), as Jesus said we should do in order to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

As I’m sure you know, in these days that’s a rather unusual, even “extreme” form of faith and Christianity. Some surely would call it fanatical. But one of the many advantages I’ve gained from this is that the to and fro of political events and tussles have lost the impact they once had on me. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36)

But sadly and very significantly for most American Christians, their ties to this world and this nation are totally wrapped up together with their Christianity. They talk of “bringing the nation to repentance” when I’m personally almost sure that just isn’t going to happen. “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (II Timothy 3:13) So if the Supreme Court of this worldly, physical nation declares that homosexuality is accepted, I’m all the more confident that there’s a higher court than that: the court of heaven that now is and is to come, “the Judgment Seat of Christ” (II Corinthians 5:10) and “the Great White Throne Judgment” (Revelation 20:11).

Christians and believers for millennia have struggled with this but often they pretty much saw the eternal truth in it all. Solomon said, “I council you to keep the king’s commandment and that in regard to the oath of God.” (Ecclesiastes 8:2) Yes, keep the laws of the land. But keep the laws of God before that. The apostle Peter had to stand up to the Jewish rulers of his day when he told them, “We ought to obey God, rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

But here’s what I see as some real good in all this. So very many Christians have tried to rock along in what’s mostly a compromised limbo relationship between themselves and God and the Godless world we live in. That’s getting harder to do. This Supreme Court ruling is going to cause more Christians to be forced to a decision. Will I allow my children to go to school where “gender choice” is taught to little children and where basically homosexual teaching is presented to children as a requirement in public schools? Will you go against your conscience as homosexual activists force you into business decisions that to you are clearly a sin?

As the darkness deepens in these times, the lines in the sand have become much more distinct and many millions are finding they have to come down more clearly and strongly for the Lord. Or just declare their allegiance to the morals, ethics and gods of this present evil world and abandon their Christian convictions, their relationship with the Lord and faith in His Word.

ca. 1850 --- An illustration from a mid-19th century copy of Grand Catechisme des Familles (Christian Doctrine for Families). --- Image by © Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis

Lot & family flee Sodom

This recent Supreme Court ruling is just another road marker, howbeit a very clear one, that we are now where Jesus said things would be shortly before His return, “As the days of Lot…” (who the angels pulled out of Sodom and Gomorrah shortly before its destruction) “…so shall also the days of the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Luke 17:28-30)

As Joshua of old told his people and followers, “Chose you this day whom you shall serve”, meaning the gods of the Egyptians they’d been delivered from or the God of Abraham. And then he said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Straddling the fence with our heads in the sand is becoming less of an option.

How “the End” may begin (Part 1)

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Mark McMillion

Some of my friends feel it’s ludicrous and in very poor taste to talk about anything having to do with “the end”. They feel is smacks of religious insanity. I have other friends who are ardent students of Bible prophecy and followers of current events. Some of them are preparing for a breakdown of society on perhaps a worldwide level. They feel I’m not alarmed enough at the signs they see that the very Last Days are now upon us. I’ll try to address this subject of how “the end” may begin without probably satisfying either edge of that spectrum of my friends’ views.

At a Bible study recently I was asked what I saw happening in the world on the short term and how it all fits into the final endtime picture that we see in Scripture. This is a huge subject. There are oodles of people writing their opinions on how we’re already utterly within the very words of the book of Revelation. They say the Antichrist of Scriptures is President Obama. Or that the current Pope is the embodiment of Lucifer. Or that the President of Turkey is. And it goes on. What could I add to any of this?

While I believe in the return of Jesus and I believe we’re already in “the last days” in many ways, I don’t feel I can identify the Antichrist of Daniel and Revelation in the headlines we read today. But perhaps a look at earlier figures in history who were strong forerunners of the ultimate Antichrist could give us some idea of how the final one will arise.

In trying to answer my friends at the Bible study about how “the end” could begin, I told them how two forerunner, prototypes of the final Antichrist came to power in their day. Perhaps the greatest antichrist in modern history was Adolf Hitler. Another was Napoleon Bonaparte. Joseph Stalin could be added to the list. (And hopefully my German, French and Russian friends will find no reason to be offended in any of this.)

What conditions preceded the rise of those 3 men who came to dominate so utterly their people and even the world of their times in many ways? One common condition these earlier antichrists arose in was the extreme instability of their times. Their countries had already been in a period of prolonged chaos, leaderless and rudderless. There was a vast vacuum, an emptiness of certainty and direction; people were starving literally, desperate to find a way out of the morass their nations had fallen into. When things are generally sailing along and all’s well for many if not most, you don’t usually see Antichrist-like figures taking over.

So I told my friends at the Bible study that I personally feel we won’t really see the final events of the endtime as long as the overall stability of the national and world order is intact. Some will say that things are very bad now, lots of folks say that. But a background of history will show that the way things are at the moment is not nearly as bad as how things have been at times, even in the last 100 years. The Great Depression of the 1930’s was virtually world-wide and was very serious stuff; what we have today is not to be compared to that. The Ukrainian famine, the “Holodomor” of the 1930’s was so bad, with 1 to 3 million people starving to death, that many Ukrainians at that time welcomed in the Nazis, believing that they would be saved that way. World War I, World War II and other such events make our times today look like the Easter Parade.

But what could begin the end? Societal collapse, internationally. Economic collapse, worldwide. Prolonged martial law, virtually everywhere. Vast international financial ruin. I believe that for a real “New World Order” to arise, it will not happen by evolution, osmosis or from the major international leaders we see on the scene at the moment.

I expect that a time of social disorder, most likely on an international scale, will make it so that the peoples of the world will willingly accept some form of dictatorship, just to stop the anarchy and chaos that the world will have descended into. This has happened many times before.

So many here complain about the government. But times will come when there will be a cry out for some form of strong government to protect the masses from roving bands, gangs and the loss of ever vestige of civilization that we now enjoy. This is the atmosphere in which ones like Hitler and Napoleon arose in. And I feel that it will take something like that to set the stage and provide the atmosphere within which the final Antichrist will be able to seem to be the savior of the world, bringing back civilization from the chaos it will have descended to.

(More on this in Part 2 of “How ‘the End’ May Begin”)

Mark McMillion

Creeds and Deeds, Facts and Acts

Category Archives: The Future and Endtime