I want to talk about the antichrist persona for a few minutes.

I pay a lot of attention to conversations about eschatology (end times events as they relate to scripture.) Everything going on around us is related to biblical end-times events; this includes Israel at war, the breakdown of our governmental systems, the collapse of global economies, and the coming of a man – the antichrist, that will shortly step up to take control over practically everyone and everything.

A large portion of scripture speaks in terms of “everyone” when clearly not everyone was there. One of the blatant examples comes from the narrative surrounding the three Hebrews who were brought into Babylon at the same time as Daniel, and they are the same ones who were thrown into the fiery furnace. 

Daniel was not included with them; why?

When you read the account dealing with Daniel and the three other Hebrews, you find that Daniel, after giving the King the dream and the interpretation, was promoted and made the ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel's Hebrew brethren were included among the wise men, and Daniel requested that the king appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (their Babylonian names) to manage the province of Babylon while Daniel was busy elsewhere. Logic tells you that Daniel had an entourage while he was doing business in various regions of Babylon, so obviously, there were a number of others not there to bow before this statue. Read the narrative in Daniel 2:46-49.

So, let's not assume that everyone, as scripture denotes, is always in compliance. Certainly, Samson was not, yet God deems him a fine example of an upright man. (You can read about Samson's adventures and sordid love life in Judges chapters 13 – 16.

If I want to get a firm grasp of this man, the antichrist/beast, I think it best to initiate this quest in Daniel chapter two. The saga sort of begins with Nebuchadnezzar during the second year of his reign.

“One night ... Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.”
Daniel 2:1 NLT

So Nebuchadnezzar calls the people he depends on for answers to help him. But!!!

“He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”
Daniel 2:2-3 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar, speaking about Daniel and the three others who came from Israel, had this to say.

“Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.”
Daniel 1:20 NLT

Why then would you choose anyone else to tell you what your dream was, and yet look who he chose.

• magicians,

• enchanters,

• sorcerers,

• and astrologers.

If you are one who does not put your faith and hope in God, then this probably seems like a good idea. My father, with his sense of humor, would always make a comment about the tellers of fortunes and futures, how that if he were to go in there, the first thing he would say is, you tell me why I am here. Well, when you think about it, it makes sense.

After making a plea before the King, Daniel is given a chance. He gives all the credit to God, and this is what Daniel said.

“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.”
Daniel 2:29 NLT

The details.

“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight.”
Daniel 2:31 NLT

What made this thing so frightening?

“This image's head was of fine gold, its chest, and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.”
Daniel 2:32-33 NKJV

• The head was of fine gold,

  “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.”
  Daniel 2:37-38 NKJV

  Consider this as you make judgments about those who are giving Israel grief right now. Clearly, God uses whom He chooses to be His firebrand. Some He deems to be gold. So this head was the Babylonian empire.

• Its chest and arms were made of silver,

  Silver is a pliable metal, just as gold is; however, it is notably less valuable than gold and will tarnish. Daniel 2:38a merely says,” But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours...” Historically we know this to be the Medes and the Persians. All of these are known to be the basis of the Assyrians.

  “The empire of the Medes and Persians, whose union was denoted by the breast and two arms of silver; and which was established on the ruins of that of the Chaldeans on the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, B.C. 538” (The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury)

• its belly and thighs were made of bronze,

  “...then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.”
  Daniel 2:39b NKJV

  Here is another of those over-the-top statements, and it is such because Alexander only controlled the majority of the then-known world, and the Roman Empire never held reign over the territories that Alexander did.

  This belly and thighs of bronze is “the empire of the Macedonians, or "brazen-coated Greeks," aptly denoted by the belly and thighs of brass, founded by Alexander the Great, who terminated the Persian monarchy by the overthrow of Darius Codomanus at Arbela, B.C. 331.” (The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury)

  Let's pause here for a moment. Bronze as a material for making weapons has advantages and disadvantages, strength, depending on the material integrated by the refiner's fire, and it often has an attractive quality like gold.

  The oddity is that it is difficult to separate the thighs from the legs, and nobody does that. So, from the belly to the toes, the fourth kingdom is an ever-weakening and fragile kingdom until the end when Jesus comes back and crushes it completely.

• Its legs were made of iron,

  Therefore, the legs are vital. In this case, they are of practical material, iron, but iron, like a cast iron pan, can shatter if dropped on a hard surface from mere feet away; I know this because I broke a covered pot in just such a manner. So the strength is only temporal.

  The point I am making is that the kingdom(s) represented, from the belly of this giant statue down to the toes, is, in essence, an integration of one kingdom along with all the others.

• And the feet – including the toes, were made of a mixture of iron and of clay.

  The toes are ten, and they, too, are a mixture of iron and clay. The implications are that this kingdom, by the time it has reached this era, has gone through multiple leadership transitions, but from the thighs down, there is a common – deadly, yet fragile thread.

  Clay can be used to make a nice model but has no strength at all.

  A brief history. The bronze is Alexander. Dead, his empire is split into four and then two. The two start well – the bronze but finish poorly integrating with the Assyrians, descendants of the Babylonians, and Japheth, the father of Gomer, Magog, to say the least.

"You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." 
Daniel 2:34-35 NKJV

That stone is Jesus – He is God, and He is an aspect of the Father's wrath that is being poured out upon the earth when this destruction happens. Jesus will shatter all the final ruling empires and kingdoms upon the earth when He returns. Nebuchadnezzar didn't need to know all that as it would not affect him.

I got a message from a friend that I felt needed to be addressed.

I received a message that read like this - ( I wanted to say "sort of" because I had to make it legible.)

“I told some people that Jesus fights two battles, one by himself, and then Armageddon.” 

 Picture yourself standing there with a sandwich in one hand and a soda in the other, and someone comes up to you and accosts you with an assertion like this, expecting an answer. It's difficult, at best, to come up with an answer, especially when they are creating their questions and assertions from multiple locations in the Bible, and they often take the scriptures out of context.

These people responded with, “Are you sure.” To which he said, “Yes, turn your bible to Isaiah 63:3,4, and then look at Revelation 19:13.”

So let's look at Isaiah 63:3,4.

Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the winepress? "I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples, there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And, their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment. (Isaiah 63:2-3 NASB)

I am not clear if this next response came from his church or if this is an argument he had in his head. Knowing that we have had conversations like this, I would say it was in his head. He added that some say it's the blood of the saints, while others say it is His blood. To this, my friend responds, “Not so; it is the blood of His enemies.” To this statement, those people who asked him agreed and left. They probably staggered out bewildered. 

My acquaintance, who took this last statement to a couple of Pastors at a Calvary Chapel, agreed.

---

An obvious aspect of this passage is that at least the lower half of the garment of the Messiah is soaked in blood. 

The scriptural narrator asks, “Why are your garments like the one who treads in the winepress?” 

Consider that there was a time when people actually stomped the juice out of grapes. If they were smart, they would lift up any outer garment so that it would not get covered in juice. Perhaps, in the process of making juice, some would splash up onto your clothing, but to merely allow your clothing to become completely inundated with this blood-red juice is preposterous.

What does this victor, coming from a battle soaked in the enemy's blood, say about the description we see in Isaiah 63:2-3?

It says He went into battle, prepared for battle, and that He really did not care about the outcome of His clothing. Perhaps, knowing that He would win, His clothing then becomes a symbol of victory and conquest.

Based on what the passage says, we can figure out who this is.

So, what clues are we given to identify who went into the bloody battle?

Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." (Isaiah 63:1 NASB)

• With garments of glowing colors,
• One who is majestic in His apparel,
  Psalms 93:1 NASB He is clothed with majesty;
• Marching in the greatness of His strength.
  Psalms 93:1 The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength
• It is I who speaks in righteousness,
  Isaiah 45:23 NASB The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness..
• Mighty to save.
  Joshua 4:24 KJV  That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God forever.

All of these descriptives speak of Jesus.

Who is with Him in Isaiah 63:3-4? 

Perhaps the question is, does anyone have to be with Him? The answer to that is NO.

But for the doubter, I refer you to Exodus 12:12 NASB, where it says, “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments--I am the LORD.”

The verse above makes it quite clear that there was NO death angel; it was Jesus, and He slaughtered all who were not covered by the blood.

So the answer to the question, who was with Him, is NO ONE else.

---

Revelation 19:13 is the other reference given by my acquaintance, but I will add verse 14 for clarity.

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (Revelation 19:13-14 NASB)

Though we can't be sure at this point, it sounds like the same blood-covered person we saw in Isaiah 63:3-4.

In Revelation 16, we see the end of the final judgments being poured out of the bowls. The preparations for the Battle of Armageddon are made because of a vial in the sixth bowl.

Revelation 16:12-16 NASB (12) The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. (13) And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; (14) for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (15) ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.") (16) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.

In Revelation 16:17-21 The seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done." While horrendous things are still happening, the central focus is Babylon, or, should I say, the Babylon system. (Keep in mind that the love of money is the root of all evil.)

Chapters 17 and 18 of Revelation focus on the downfall of the Babylon system. 

There are some very telling facts about this greed and lust.

Revelation 18:3 NASB "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."

The system collapses in one hour.

Revelation 18:9-10 NASB (9) "And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, ... For in one hour your judgment has come.'

If you have been watching the news, this should sound familiar.

The economic system completely collapses.

Revelation 18:11-17 NASB

There is an aspect of this that I find deeply troubling, as it implicates the wealthy of the earth in the death of the innocents.

Revelation 18:24 NASB "And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth."

“All who have been slain on the earth.” This should be an eye-opening statement for everybody.

So, as we come into Revelation 19, there are no more judgments to be poured out, merely the termination of the judgments. 

Watch what happens.

Revelation 19:1-2 NASB After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; (2) BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER."

In Heaven, they are rejoicing. The Babylon system is gone; His judgments have come; And, He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants.

How can it be said, "it is done," especially since there is one more battle to be waged?

By Heaven's standards, this mess is done, for God always looks toward the future (Abraham is a good example of that.)

Revelation 19:6-9 NASB "Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. (7) "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." (8) It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. (9) Then he *said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God."

I have heard and sung songs about the marriage of the Lamb since I was a child. Some have conveyed that at the rapture of the church, we get to sit down to a seven-year meal. Sadly, that is not the case, and the meal does not sound so appetizing either. 

Let me demonstrate.

Revelation 19:11-13 NASB (11) "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. (12) His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. (13) He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God."

Look at that. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. Everything about Him is brightness and glory, and His name is the Word of God. Pure majesty.

But now watch this. Here, He is not alone. 

Revelation 19:14 NASB "And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean were following Him on white horses."

I cannot make absolute statements that compare what we see in Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19 and say they are the same thing. (But I will work on it.)

Watch the descriptions as they unfold.

Revelation 19:15 NASB From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so He may strike down the nations with it. The saints, clothed in white, otherwise known as the bride, are a part of the army that comes with Him, but we never see them in battle. There might be two acceptable explanations for that.

1. Since we are in Christ, then we, too, partake in this battle.
   Keep in mind that we are immortal at this point and cannot be hurt. Since Jesus is the head of the Church, all victory goes to Him. I am okay with that - like I have any room to argue.
2. The most reasonable alternative to a group battle is that sword that proceeds from His mouth.
   That sword has the potential to kill instantly. Since we understand that He was the “death angel” that killed all the firstborn of Egypt that night and needed no one to help, then he doesn't need us now. That sword is the Word of God and implies that the Word alone kills those who stand against Him, but then there is all that blood. Perhaps the blood is symbolic, although we are told that it runs as deep as the horses' bridle, and that is fairly deep.

So, if you have been waiting patiently for the marriage supper of the lamb, then enjoy this.

Revelation 19:17-18 NASB (17) Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid heaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, (18) so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."

Meat-eating birds are called to eat the flesh of mighty men, horses of war, those who sit on them, and everyone else – both great and small, who chose to fight against God that day. I have had this discussion before: He only kills the fighters that day. As always, the religious come against me with tradition and false teachings they have learned.

But here is what the Scripture says,

Revelation 19:19-21 NASB (19) And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (20) And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (21) And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

So what do we see in Revelation 19:19-21?

• The beast is the Antichrist, a Muslim leader.
• The kings of the earth. This can be Muslim kings but may include the Presidents of Venezuela or the leaders of China and North Korea.
• They are assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
• The beast was seized, along with the false prophet, and these two, very specifically, were seized and thrown alive into the lake of fire. The rest - those gathered for war, were killed with the sword that came out of Jesus' mouth.

The Lord began to awaken me with - tell them that I need them to stand down

Sunday morning, February 22, 2015, The Spirit of the Lord began to awaken me with some rather vivid dreams. In these dreams he said, there are mighty and upright men that are willing and able to remove the corruption that controls these United States. Implore them that they are to stand down, for this situation is of my design and for my purpose. Over the course of an hour, the same dream kept coming back to me. I finally figured out that the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me something so I got up and started typing.

May I be honest; I have some serious concerns about our government monitoring everything we do on the Internet. I believe that if I get to descriptive about what I saw men’s lives would be in danger, and I would have someone knocking on my door with evil intent. I wish to avoid that for as long as I can. If you are not aware of it, our government has deemed those who have strong religious convictions, voicing their opinion about wrongs in the land, to be a greater threat to this nation than Islamic terrorists.

I am calling out to the

watchmen upon the walls;

those who will not rest

until there is peace.

Isaiah 62:6

I consider myself a watchman upon the wall. I truly believe that God called me do that, and therefore holds me responsible for giving out what I hear and see. When you consider the origins of the watchman, there was really no Holy Spirit involved in the process; it was a job that provided for the safety of the city. In math you learned the term extrapolation, do that with a statement like this, contrasted against God’s word and you will find that we are that city. I learned a long time ago to not slap a qualifier to the things I hear in my spirit, and then speak out of my mouth. The reason is that you cannot take the man, the things that influence him, and his brokenness out of the prophetic word. It stands to reason then, that anything said can be motivated by current and past issues. If you followed me on Facebook, then you could easily understand where I am coming from.

The dream reappeared over the course of several hours. In it, I saw determined, angry, and righteous men, covered in camouflage, and heavily armed. In the dream, I understood their purpose, and God made it clear to me that they would successful. The dreams kept repeating and I tried to shake them off and go back to sleep, thinking they were motivated by the things I give too much attention.

I have one other concern. How I am supposed to stop determined men, men who call themselves Christians, from carrying out violent acts? This is all I know how to do. If this speaks to you, then pass it on.

The Spirit of the Lord said, tell them that I need them to stand down. For now I am asking you to, "Put your weapons away. (for) Anyone who lives by fighting will die by fighting. (Matthew 26:52 CEV). I do not need you taken out of the fight prematurely. The day is coming soon when I will come and extract my church and take them home, but until that day comes your weapons are spiritual and of more use than any earthly weapon.

For although we live in the world, we do not wage war in a worldly way, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. They have God's power for pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels, and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4, 5a CJB; ESV)

He continued, “there are dark days coming and you would be foolish to long for them, for the battle is already upon you. When those days come it will be time for the mighty to rise and lock shields. It will be the time to put on the face of war and determination, and yet it will still be a time of prayer and power; this is what I was telling you when I had my prophet Joel declare what the end will look like.”

“Blow a ram's horn in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble. For the day of Jehovah comes, for it is near at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread on the mountains; a great people and a strong people; there has not been ever the like, nor shall there ever be again, even to the years of many generations.” (Joel 2:1-2 MKJV)

As believers you are being asked to take the role of a Para Jumper, a person whose primary purpose is to give aid, recover victims, and still be a serious threat to the enemy. Ready and willing to move in PRAYER at a moments notice.

“What I am asking you to do, with the same determination and purpose, is Pray.”

“At a moments notice Pray.”

Pray as if your life depended upon it.

Pray as if your family was in jeopardy.

Pray, trusting that God will come through.

“I am speaking to the mighty men, men who hear the cry and call in your spirit; men who will respond to me, just as they did to Moses.”

Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13 MKJV)

If you are familiar with this event in scripture, then you know that Joshua, who had been at the bottom of the mountain waiting for Moses, reported that he thought there was a battle going on. If you understand Joshua, then you know he was ready to charge into the melee. Moses, on the other hand heard the sounds of a big party, and in many ways, it was. Pushed by the people, Aaron had made them a calf out of gold, at least that is the childish way it is described. Stephen, in the seventh chapter of the book of Acts, told the Sanhedrin court that was about to have him killed, that what Aaron made was the god Moloch. Moreover, Aaron had made a temple for the gods he made. No one on that panel of learned Jewish scholars challenged Stephen about his statement, because he was correct and they knew it. A little research indicates that what Israel did that day was so detestable, that they would not speak of it. Moloch was a half calf, half man creation that had outstretched arms. It would then be heated and they would lie their babies on the heated arms to roast as a sacrifice to a god they had adopted. The following verse is in response to the horrors they committed in sacrificing upon this piece of garbage.

"And when Moses saw that the people were unruly and unrestrained (for Aaron had let them get out of control, so that they were a derision and object of shame among their enemies), Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the Levites [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him." (Exodus 32:25-26 AMP)

Yes, “The day is evil, but it is going to get worse.” However, there is hope, and it comes on two fronts.

Those of us who have Christ living in us, are in Him, and therefore living in the promise of His salvation from that seven-year period of intensifying sorrow and death, coming upon the earth. Many call it the great Tribulation; it is not called that at all, but is called a time of wrath and judgment. Clearly, during that time there will an a time of great tribulation, bad enough to where all men in opposition to the ungodly world leader, we call the Anti Christ, would be killed.

That sounds pretty dismal and inescapable, and for some that will be the case. And yet, there are some who will come to Lord during this time and rise up in a power like unto the prophets like Elijah, who called down fire, or like unto Samuel who called the lightning down upon the Philistines, and by his word caused the ground to open and swallow many. We see the directive and evidence of this happening in Joel’s prophecy to end time believers.

You need to understand something; you do not want to take that chance, not when we have God’s grace extended to us now. Thanks to His Son’s sacrifice on the cross, we are covered by the blood of Jesus, and our sin (an unfortunate, permanent aspect of who we are) is paid for. We are not being judged for sin, having the advantage under grace to receive Jesus Christ into our lives. At that point, we are immediately accepted into the kingdom. People who come to God during the last seven years, have missed that opportunity, and now must prove their allegiance to God (that is the best way I can explain it).

“Later, I will give my Spirit to everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will even give my Spirit to my servants, both men and women. I will work wonders in the sky above and on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and clouds of smoke. The sun will turn dark, and the moon will be as red as blood before that great and terrible day when I appear. Then the LORD will save everyone who faithfully worships him. He has promised there will be survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and among them will be his chosen ones.” (Joel 2:28-32 CEV)

I grieve over the fact that while the people who go through the wrath are those that were not raptured, and must endure horrors comparable to what ISIS is dishing out in the Middle East. There is a sense of excitement, because I always wanted to walk through this earth, with strength, as I perceived the prophets did. That is the complete opposite of how I have perceived myself.

I think I am the exception and that no one else struggles internally. Truth is, these prophets were really no different from you or I, but there is one thing that set them apart, they chose to believe in a God that can and will come through.

Yes, we are in the last days. The signs of His coming are all around us, this is one of the reasons I write. This is my shofar and I am blowing it. Sadly, as believers, we have to be on our guard, because deception will come, and unfortunately, it will come from people you thought you could trust. Pastor Rob Bell has been busy lately selling out the church to Oprah Winfrey. An aspect of what he is saying is that the church must cave on its ideas about what sin is, or we will lose our relevance. I have news for you, our relevance is already lost; we gave that up when we pushed the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit out of the church.

Look at what Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica.

“Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until the final Rebellion takes place and the Wicked One appears, who is destined to hell. He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God's Temple and claim to be God. Don't you remember? I told you all this while I was with you. Yet there is something that keeps this from happening now, and you know what it is. At the proper time, then, the Wicked One will appear.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-6 GNB)

I am telling you that the time of His return is upon us. I am not ignorant of how long people have said this; I am just choosing to ignore those that merely whine all the time. We have a mandate to live in anxious anticipation, and in so doing I preach a gospel of repentance. Do you know what repentance means, simply this, turn around and go in the opposite direction? Since we have the freedom to choose what gods we want to follow, we tend to follow the ones that make the fewest demands upon us. This allows us the freedom to act as selfishly as we choose, doing our own thing. That’s heavy. Christ clarified with a few simple words to a bunch of Jewish detractors, love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself. Is that really so hard?

If you are a believer, this passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-6, tells that the Antichrist will oppose everything godlike and all worship of anything but himself. I strongly suspect this will be Allah, it sort of fits the common theme among Muslims these days. On the other hand, did you notice that there is something holding this “world” leader back, keeping him from the free reign he desires? Here again I think I know the answer to that also. It is those of us who pray against the enemy’s advances.

A short story and then I am done. At a time when I was going through a divorce from a cheating wife, I rented a room from a friend down the street. Was I living successfully for the Lord at the time? I would not say so, but I was trying desperately to hang on. One night I stopped in the living room, where he was watching the news. They talked about a hurricane that was going to slam into the Texas coastline in a matter of minutes. With an unusual boldness, and the knowledge that he had an Episcopalian background, I said, scripture tells us that God made the sands as a limit to the waves, and in the power of the name of Jesus, I command this hurricane to turn back out to sea. A few seconds passed and then the newscaster said, they are telling me that the hurricane just turned and is headed back out to sea. My friend, with his mouth hanging open just turned and looked at me. I would love to be able to tell you that he fell on his knees, repented and turned his life over to God right then, but that did not happen. He seemed to look at me in awe after that, but nothing really changed, except in me. God became bigger in me that day, kind of like the Grinch.

The LORD is his name, and he is a warrior! (Exodus 15:3 CEV)

We are those warriors!