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Christ's Kingdom and the End Times

Category: End-times (Page 2 of 9)

Blog posts about the end times.

Hope is Having Faith For the Future

July 8, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #280 ~

When it comes to the truths about Christ’s 2nd coming, many Christians don’t know them, or are confused, or have a simplistic view, or just don’t believe them. Some aren’t even interested in what God has clearly told us in His word about the return of our Lord. This should not be! Christ Himself repeatedly told us that He’s coming back to earth, along with many other things that need to happen before and after His return. Luke 21:27

Luke 18:8 addresses this issue of knowing and believing these truths with a question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” This word “faith” is a noun. And a person who knows and believes the truths of God’s word has faith, has convictions, is convinced that what God says is true. Hebrews 11:1

God’s word is filled with truths that we must believe. Most doctrinal statements list a set of foundational truths, ones about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, man, salvation, the word, the church, and hope (Eph. 4:4-6). In Luke 18:8, Christ emphasizes the need for us to have faith when He comes, the need to believe these basic truths. Having a complete, comprehensive faith is essential if we are to be mature Christians, if we are to live strongly and effectively for God in the final, most difficult years of the end-times.

Since the faith spoken of in Luke 18:8 is in the context of Christ’s coming, then it must include the truths about our hope. On this blog site we’ve talked extensively about this hope: Christ is coming back, there will be true justice, we will be given new bodies, we will be in heaven with Christ and fellow believers, we will receive rewards, we will reign with Christ over this earth, a large remnant of Jews will be saved and ruling with Christ from Jerusalem, etc.

So how about you? Will you have a solid faith when Christ returns? Do you know and believe all these basic truths, including hope? If you do, then you will be excitedly loving Christ, living for Christ, and looking forward to seeing Him. You won’t be worldly, you will be living a holy, godly life, you will “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” Romans 13:12-14

Do you also know what will be happening before Christ comes back? Do you know about the birth pains, the false Christs, Daniel’s 70th week, the Antichrist, great tribulation, and the signs in the heavens? Do you know that they precede Christ’s coming and the rapture of the church? The faith of a good Christian soldier must include these timely truths. It’s vital that you learn all God’s word, including eschatology – God’s truths, plans, and promises about the last years of this earth. How can you successfully keep going for God if you don’t realize we are in the end-times, if you are scarcely schooled in these truths about the future, if you don’t understand what will be taking place in the years ahead?

A problem for many Christians is that they’re not in a good, end-times’ teaching church, they’re not being taught by a hope-full pastor, one who is teaching the word in view of Christ’s appearing and kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1-2). A pastor’s preaching must be centered on the gospel of Christ and in light of the fact that Christ is returning to rapture the church and establish His kingdom on earth. Bible preaching has more power and relevance when it’s done in view of Christ’s 1st coming and 2nd coming. Hebrews 9:27-28

I can’t overstate the importance of being in a solid, big-picture, hope-preaching church. But it’s not just the teaching – it’s relationships, it’s having good fellowship, it’s “encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25). It’s also working together, making disciples with Jesus’ promise in mind – “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

Some Christians say they are not premillennial, that they don’t believe Christ is coming back to set up His 1000-year kingdom on earth. They say they’re amillennial, and that what I’m saying is wrong. If you believe this way, I encourage you to read my articles that address this error of amillennialism. It’s titled, “Replacement Theology: It’s Not True – Part One”, and there’s Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

Faith has been the primary subject of these past three posts – faith that prays for justice, faith that trusts God, and today, faith that believes the foundational truths of God, including the truths about, about the glorious future God has for you. I cannot stress enough your need for a strong, vibrant faith, a key ingredient in your Christian life, now and until the end. Remember what Paul said before he died – “I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, and I have finished the course.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Hear what Jesus told us in Matthew 24 – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Do you see what Jesus said? He’s strongly and unequivocally stating the enduring, eternal authority of God’s word. He’s reminding us of its critical importance, for it’s the basis of our faith. Do you also see that He purposely placed this verse in the middle of what I believe is the most important end-times’ chapter in the Bible? Why? Because He wants you to know that all truth is extremely important, including the truth about our hope. God knew that many people would be doubters and deniers when it comes to the truth about end-times’ prophecy. So He gave us Matt. 24:35, a huge exclamation point warning us to wake up, to take heed, to study and believe these truths about Christ’s coming and the rapture of the church. To emphasize this even further, two other eschatological chapters contain the exact same verse – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33, Mark 13:31

Now’s the time to learn what God wants you to know about the future. Why wait? I encourage you to study Dan. 7, Dan. 9:24-27, Matt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 17:22-37, Luke 21:5-36, 1 Thess. 4:13 – 5:11, 2 Thess. 1:5-10, 2 Thess. 2:1-12, 2 Peter 3:3-13, and Revelation. Because we live in the end-times, this truth is no longer a secondary doctrine – it’s a primary doctrine. I can’t overstate the significance of God’s prophetic word at this time in history. Finally, hear Jesus’ admonition – “Take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance” (Mark 13:23). Do you want to know everything Christ wants you to know about the end-times, His coming, the rapture, and the 1000-year kingdom age? I pray that you say yes!

P.S. Whether you physically die before Christ’s return or are raptured, God wants you to have faith. Jesus commands us, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). Here are two articles that also talk about the kind of Christian God wants you to be: “Your Spiritual Service: a Member of the Special Forces”, and “The Excellent End-Times’ Worker.”

When Christ Comes, Will He Find Faith on the Earth? Luke 18:8

June 23, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #279 ~

What a convicting, challenging, instructive verse! There will be birth pains in the end-times – wars, famines, earthquakes, plagues – and Christians need faith. This is especially true in those last few years before the coming of Christ, for that devilish Antichrist will be ruling the earth and Christians will be greatly persecuted. But no matter when we live, we need faith to walk with God, to be strong, and to carry out His work. The truths I am sharing with you about faith are for every Christian, now and in the future.

* What is faith? It means you are looking to God, you are seeking Him. (Ps. 105:4, Heb. 11:6). It means you are trusting God – you are believing Him, depending on Him, and you are not trusting yourself, others, or idols. The result is that you are spiritually connected to God, you have this relationship with Him. A person who has faith is humble, he knows that he needs God, that he can’t live without Him (Ps. 34:4-10). A person who has faith is trusting God’s word, for it’s the basis of faith, and a key for growing in faith. He’s believing God’s truth, obeying His commands, and believing His promises. “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.” Psalm 56:3-4

* Faith is essential. It’s not optional. In fact, God commands you to have faith: “Have faith in God.” (Mk. 11:23). Just as you need food to physically live, so too you need faith to spiritually live. Your entire Christian life is to be lived by faith. “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6). “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). “… He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” (Eph. 3:16-19). Faith is the only way you can be saved, can please God, can be strong, can know Christ and His love, can do His work, and can be rewarded. “We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

* Keys to faith: a) God’s word: “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). When God’s word is in your heart, then the Spirit enables you to believe, to have faith in God. b) God’s character: “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You” (Ps. 9:10). You must know who God is and what He is like if you are to trust Him, to rely on Him. c) Humility: “As for the proud one, his soul is not right within him, but the righteous will live by his faith.” A humble person is needy and knows that only God can meet his needs, and so he trusts Him. d) Examples of others: “In speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:11). Learn about faith by observing the lives of godly people. e) Examples in God’s word: “By faith Abel… By faith Enoch… By faith Abraham… By faith Isaac… By faith Moses” (Heb. 11). You can also learn from the many Biblical examples of people who had faith. f) Prayer: “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mk 9:24). As a believer, you have faith, but you need to ask God to take away your unbelief and give you more faith.

* Faith, little faith, and great faith. In the gospels, Jesus talks about these three kinds of faith. Little-faith people are usually spiritually young, fearful, worried, or self-centered (Matt. 6:30, 8:26, 14:31, 17:20). We all begin the Christian life with a little faith, but should we not become ones who have great faith? There is no doubt that God wants you to keep growing in faith so that you have great faith. Matthew 8:10, 15:28

* You are in the school of faith. The gospels give all these stories of Jesus teaching His disciples to have faith. Yes, they failed, but Jesus was patient with them, and they learned. (Matt. 6:30, 8:5-13, 8:23-27, 9:20-23, 9:26-33, 14:25-33, 15:21-28, 16:8, 17:14-17; Luke 5:17-20, 7:36-50, 8:49-56, 17:11-19; John 9:35-38, 11:25-26). This abundance of stories about faith is evidence of its immense importance. Without question, God is teaching you to have faith, and He’s the perfect teacher, using relationships, work, trials, weaknesses, sickness, persecution, etc. Learn from Him, for He’s daily teaching you to trust Him – “… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Get your eyes off yourself and look to the Master and believe Him. 

* Trials are designed to build your faith. Though trials can be difficult and distressing, you must understand that they are necessary. (1 Pet. 1:6-7). Trials are one of the primary ways God teaches you about faith, and about persevering faith. “The testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-12). He has designed trials to make you realize that you can’t get through life on your own strength. “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). You need God every single day. “Trust in God at all times” (Ps. 62:8). Instead of relying on yourself, rely on God, abide in Him, always be looking to Him for the strength you need.

* The result of faith is life, eternal life. By faith, Christ dwells in your heart and then lives through you. Like Enoch, you will walk with God and have a close relationship with Him. You will be filled with the Spirit and have all the power you need to live the Christian life. You will be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. You will have everything you need pertaining to life and godliness – you will be a partaker of the divine nature, sharing in the very life and purpose of Christ. The result of faith is a godly and supernatural life – there’s character, wisdom, endurance, and eternal blessings, and a most satisfying, God-glorifying life. James 1:2-12, 1 Pet. 1:5-7, Rom. 5:3-5, Gal. 2:20, Gal. 5:22

* The importance of persevering faith. Prophecy passages warn us about great evil and great tribulation in the end times – and none of us can imagine how extremely hard it will be. The key to living for God in these days is persevering faith. It’s continually trusting and relying on God, whether it’s for your daily bread, or because family members have turned against you, or because you are about to be martyred. It’s your faith in God that enables you to keep loving and living for Him no matter how you feel or how difficult it is. By faith, you won’t give up, you’ll keep rejoicing, you’ll keep sharing the gospel, you’ll keep loving the saints, you’ll persevere until you die or are raptured. And you’ll also be asking God for justice, for you know that the Lord Jesus will be coming soon to rapture the believers, pour out His wrath, and reign over this world. Remember these verses – “Do not fret because of evil men… for like the grass why will soon wither… Trust in the Lord and do good” (Ps. 37:1-3). No matter what happens, trust and do good!

* A key aspect of faith is hope, is believing God’s word about the future. Having hope means you’re expecting God to bless you after you leave earth and are in heaven. This hope, this conviction that God has an amazing future for you, is an essential component for being able to live successfully for the Lord in the end-times. Learn from the believers spoken of in Hebrews 11 – they persevered, they kept believing that God would fulfill His promises to them about the life to come. And for the Christian, what is this hope, what are some of His promises to you about the future? You will see Jesus, be with other believers, be in heaven, be glorified, be greatly rewarded, and reign with Christ over this earth. Job 19:25-27, 1 Cor. 15:42-44, Col. 3:23-24, Heb.12:22-24, Rev. 5:10

* The most important result of faith is that God will be glorified. Whatever you go through, it’s for God’s glory – and the key to seeing God’s glory is believing Him. Jesus told us, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God” (Luke 11:4, 40). Your ultimate purpose is not about you, but about God being exalted and glorified. Believe in God, and you’ll see His glory on earth and when you are in heaven. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13

Whether you are alive at the coming of Christ or not, you must have faith. I cannot overemphasize the necessity and importance of faith. And let me say – now is the time to grow in faith, to be going from a little-faith person to a great-faith person. Be learning God’s word, be humble, grow in your knowledge of Christ, be passing the tests of faith, learn from others, and keep asking God for more faith. Indeed, it’s a great time to be alive! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understand, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight” all the way to heaven. Proverbs 3:5-6

P.S. We do so many things to physically take care of ourselves, but might you be tending to your spiritual needs, and faith in God is one of your greatest needs. Here are two more posts I would encourage you to read: “You Need Hope to Get Through Life”, and “Don’t Get Mad at the Government – Trust God.”

When There’s No Justice, What Should You Do?

June 10, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #278 ~

Pray! Pray! Pray! And keep praying! That’s what you should do. Jesus uses a parable to teach us about faith and prayer (Luke 18:1-8). First, He gives the meaning of this short story, that “at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). We are to have faith, to persevere in prayer. Yes, we may be tempted to give up, to quit, but God wants us to keep looking to Him, to keep trusting Him, to keep praying.

This parable is about a widow, and she was needy, she was hurting, for she had been taken advantage of by her adversary, and so she’s going to a judge for justice. But this is an unjust, uncaring judge – he “did not fear God and did not respect man.” For whatever reason, this judge did not want to spend his time helping this widow. But this poor widow is persistent, she does not give up, she keeps bothering him. Finally, this evil judge has had enough, and he gives her justice. Luke 18:2-5

Jesus then explains how this parable applies to the elect, to believers. “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night?” (Lk. 18:6-7). It’s a lesson from the lesser to the greater. If this unkind and unrighteous judge helps this widow, how much more will our loving and righteous Father give us justice? Jesus tells us that a key to this justice is desperate, persevering prayer. It’s the asking, seeking, knocking kind of prayer He had talked about in an earlier parable. Luke 11:5-13

This parable is most applicable at this present time. It’s obvious to me and I’m sure to you that we are living in an increasingly unrighteous country. (Matt. 24:12). It’s not just that more people are evil, but that lawless judges and DAs don’t even address the evil. (Is. 5:23). Many government officials are unjust, are soft on crime, and are letting criminals go free. Not only that, but they are going after believers, and like never before. It won’t be long before Jesus’ prophecy about the end-times is fulfilled – “You will be hated by all nations on account of My name.” Matthew 24:9

So what can you do when you personally experience injustice? You can address it to a judge in court – but most importantly, pray to the Judge, to God Himself. You may get justice from the judge, and you may not. But you will definitely get justice from the Judge. And now we are watching all this lawlessness in our cities, states, and country – and the people affected may or may not get justice from the judge. That’s why it’s imperative for Christians to not put their hope in earthly judges, but to keep asking the heavenly Judge for justice. Sooner or later, He will give us true and perfect justice.

No matter what happens in our courtrooms on earth, know that God is on His heavenly throne, and He will most certainly bring justice (Ps. 97:1-3). He won’t excuse sin – He can’t let it go – He must punish it, and God deals with it in four ways: 1) A person may be judged by an earthly authority (Rom. 13:1-4). 2) He may in some way suffer God’s wrath while he is on earth (Acts 12:18-23, Rom. 1:18). 3) If he dies and is unsaved, then he immediately goes to hell where he’s justly punished (Lk. 16:22-25), and then at the great white throne judgment he’s cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). 4) He may be alive on earth when Christ comes back, and will experience God’s wrath during the day of the Lord. Revelation 8-9. And this final point is one of the themes of Luke 18:1-8.

This takes us back to Luke 17:22-37, the prophecy passage that’s just before the prophecy-related parable in Luke 18:1-8. In Luke 17:26-30, we read of two examples of God’s justice, of God pouring out His wrath on sinners. There’s the flood during the time of Noah, and the fire and brimstone during the time of Lot. Now it’s our time, and the result of the sin we’re seeing will be God’s wrath, similar to the sudden, devastating justice we read about in the days of Noah and Lot. In this present crisis of evil, we must know that it is our duty to pray, to keep crying to God for justice. And this justice will be dealt out at the end of this present age, during the day of the Lord, which is point four from the previous paragraph. So keep praying, for “He (Christ) is coming to judge the earth.” Psalm 98:9

There’s another point we cannot overlook, and it’s the last phrase of vs. 7 – “delay long over them” or “be patient over them”. From the 1st coming until now is close to 2,000 years, and God’s justice upon this earth is being delayed, even though many believers have cried out, “How long O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10). This justice is delayed because God is patient, because He wants to show mercy to the chosen, to the rest of the elect. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

James 5:7-9 says it this way – “Be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, until it gets the early and the late rains. You too be patient for the coming of the Lord is near… behold the Judge is standing right at the door”. Farmers must wait for the right time to harvest the grain, and Christ is waiting for the right time to rapture the church. “Reap, for the hour to reap has come.” Revelation 14:15

This country, the United States of America, is going down fast, driven by a devilish increase in sin, and a corresponding decrease in justice. This is clearly affecting believers. Just the other day, a Christian, standing across the street from some people celebrating sexual sin, was arrested for reading the Bible, for what the policeman said was disorderly conduct. Do you see what’s going on? God’s enemies are coming after us more and more (John 15:18-25). Persecution against Christians is growing worse in this country. So what should we do?

We are to have faith, we are to keep praying to God for justice. And that’s how this parable concludes – “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)? We are living in the end-times, in very difficult days, and we need to keep having faith until Christ comes. It would be sinful to be worldly, to be complacent, to be unbelieving. “We are not of night or darkness, so then let us not sleep… let us be alert and sober… having put on the breastplate of faith and love” (1 Thess. 5:5-8), and let us keep praying. Then “He will bring about justice for them quickly.” This justice, this day of the Lord wrath, takes place at the end of this age, and it will happen quickly, suddenly, for Christ returns, Christians are glorified, and God pours out His wrath on this most evil world. Rev. 6:12 – Rev. 9

But remember to be patient, and to pray for God’s mercy upon sinners. Jesus told us, “God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17). So do your part in sharing the gospel “to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14), and the Son of Man will rapture the church and judge the world. “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9

P.S. Here are a few other posts to read that are related to this subject, and will be very helpful to you: “How Then Should We Live in the End-Times?”, “It’s Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better”, and “Living with Evil in the End-Times.”

The Prophets’ Punishing End-Times’ Message!

May 27, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #277 ~

The prophets’ punishing message is particularly relevant as we think about what’s now happening to the United States? The border is being overrun, there’s two-tiered justice, massive debt problems, unchecked crime, the fentanyl crisis, evil rulers, families falling apart, children under attack, homelessness, human trafficking, socialism, communism, countries turning against us, etc.

Habakkuk 1:3-4 sums up what I know many of you have been thinking: “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. The law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” It’s the prophets that explain why all this terrible but justified evil is now occurring in our country!

The news media surely doesn’t give you any answers. The real problem isn’t the economy, the schools, the government, the border, the climate, etc. You must get past the surface to the heart of the problem, and it’s the prophets that tell you our root problem is spiritual in nature – it’s sin, it’s turning from God to idols. And what you are now witnessing in our country are the consequences of our sin, God’s righteous judgment of our wicked ways. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Romans 1:18-32

The prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, make up one fourth of the Bible, a major portion of God’s word, and they need to be read to understand this present time. They illustrate the sinful condition of countries and cities and how God punished them. Thus, they give us wisdom, enabling us to see and sort out what’s now going on in our own country and in our own cities. “Jerusalem has sinned greatly… Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins.” Lamentations 1:8,5

The prophets tell us that sin, at its core, is two sins – it’s rejecting God and turning to false gods, it’s forsaking God and loving other gods. “They went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty… My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:5, 13). “Nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin.” Hosea 10:10

This double sin, this root sin, results in many other sins. There’s drunkenness (Is. 5:22), denying justice for a bribe (Is. 5:23), rebellion, stubbornness (Jer. 5:23), arrogance, overeating (Ezek. 16:49), cursing, lying, stealing, murder, adultery (Hos. 4:2), idolatry (Hos. 4:12), disobedience (Jonah 1:3), rejecting God’s law (Amos 3:4), laziness (Amos 6:1), love of food, wine, and music (Amos 6:4-6), coveting, defrauding (Mic. 2:2), hating good and loving evil (Mic. 3:2), divorce (Mal. 2:14-16), robbing God (Mic. 3:8), etc., etc. The sins that took place over 2500 years ago are, for the most part, the same sins now being committed in our own country.

God must punish all sins for He is holy – He can’t just let them go. “I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2). And the prophets specifically tell us how He punished these sins. Here are some examples: “a lion from the forest will slay them” (Jer. 5:6); “sickness and wounds” (Jer. 6:7); “their houses shall be turned over to others” (Jer. 6:12); “I’m bringing disaster on this people” (Jer. 6:19); “neighbors and friends will perish” (Jer. 6:21); “an army is coming – they are cruel and show no mercy” (Jer. 6:22-23); “I will ruin her vines and fig trees” (Hos. 2:12).

“I will ignore your children” (Hos. 4:6); “a nation has invaded my land” (Joel 1:6); “the people’s joy is withered away” (Joel 1:12); “the seeds shrivel… the grain is dried up… herds of cattle wander aimlessly” (Joel 1:17-18); “I will send fire” (Amos 1:4); “I will destroy the king” (Amos 1:5); “I gave you empty stomachs” (Amos 4:6); “I will send you into exile” (Amos 5:27). In the past, God punished sinners in many ways, and now we are watching God’s diverse and dreaded judgment of the United States. By reading the prophets you can understand what’s taking place, that we are greatly sinning and are being greatly punished by God.

Man’s sin and God’s judgment of his sin are God’s primary messages in the prophets, but there are many other themes. They tell you about God’s identity, that He’s the Lord (Is. 26:4), the Rock (Is. 26:4), the Judge (Is. 33:22), the Lawgiver (Is. 33:22), the Shepherd (Is. 40:11), the Creator (Is. 43:1), the Savior (Is. 43:3), the King (Is. 44:6), the Redeemer (Is. 44:6), the Holy One (Is. 45:11), the Servant (Is. 52:13), and our Husband (Is. 54:5).

The prophets tell you about God’s character, that He’s holy (Is. 6:1-3), wise (Is. 11:2), supreme, powerful (Is. 40:12-31), just, loving, righteous (Jer. 9:24), true, living, eternal (Jer. 10:10), sovereign (Dan. 4:34-35), compassionate and forgiving (Micah 7:19).

The prophets tell you about Christ’s 1st coming, that He would be born of a virgin (Is. 7:14), would suffer (Is. 50:6), would be pierced (Is. 53:5), would die to pay for our sins (Is. 53:4-12), would proclaim the good news (Is. 61:1), would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), and would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech. 9:9).

The prophets tell you the good news, that God shows you mercy if you repent of your sin and believe that His Son is the Messiah, the Christ who died to pay for your sin. Yes, God is judging this sinful country, but know that He judged His own Son so you could be forgiven, have hope, and be eternally loved. Isaiah 53, Ezekiel 37:23, Micah 7:18-20

The prophets also tell you about Christ’s 2nd coming, and the amazing hope God has for all His people. This is an extremely, eternally important message of the prophets. Sad to say, many people, even believers, don’t see it this way. They believe the truths about Christ’s first coming but not the truths about His 2nd coming, many which are found in the prophets. Much that is said about this hope is easily discovered on the pages of the prophets, but some, like hidden treasure, must be searched for. Here are some verses about this hope: Gen. 12:1-3, 17:4-8; Is. 2:2-4, 4:2-6, 9:6-7, 54:5-8, 61:2b-11, 65:17-25; Jer. 23:5-6, 32:37-44; Ez. 37:22-23; Dan. 2:44-45, 7:13-14; Hosea 1:10-11; Joel 3:16-21; Amos 9:14-15; Micah 5:4; Hab. 2:14; Zeph. 3:14-17; and Zech. 14:9-11.

Here are some final points about reading the prophets and our future:
1. The prophets focus primarily on the Jewish people. There’s nothing specifically in the prophets about the church age. But there are important lessons for all believers, ones that will help you grow in your relationship with God, and in faith, holiness, and hope.
2. The prophets, in general, are predictive. Some of the passages are about their present time and / or the years following. Some are about Christ’s 1st coming. Some are about Christ’s 2nd coming and the kingdom age. Others have a near and a far perspective.

3. If you have not read any of the prophets, I’d recommend you start with the minor ones, like Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Jonah, and then move on to the major ones, like Isaiah and Jeremiah. I will admit, they are not always easy to understand, but ask God to teach you as you read them, and He will.
4. Be looking for the primary subjects in the prophets – God, man’s sin, God’s judgment, the Jews, Christ’s 1st coming, salvation, Christ’s 2nd coming, and hope. 

5. I suggest that you write down the passages that talk about the hope of the Jews. That’s because your hope, your future blessing as a Christian, is in many ways tied to the hope of the Jews. For example, both Jews and Christians will inherit the earth (Ps. 37:11, Matt. 5:5), and together they will be glorifying the Lord. Romans 15:8-12
6. This world is on a fast track to the end of this age, at which time the church will be raptured and the nations will be righteously judged. It’s not just the United States that falls under the judgment of God, but all nations in the world. Psalm 9:17-20; Zeph. 1; Rev. 6:12-17, Rev. 7:9-14, Rev. 8-9

7. One reason why the United States needs to be judged and lose its position as the #1 power in the world is to make way for the Antichrist and his kingdom. I don’t believe it will be long before this takes place, and the Antichrist is ruling this earth, but only for a very short time. Then Jesus Christ will come back to rapture the church, judge the world, save a remnant of Jews, and reign on earth. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Psalm 47
8. It is true that the United States is being judged and is going downhill. But remember the story of Jonah, and how God had mercy on that wicked city of Nineveh. As Habakkuk 3:2 says, “In wrath remember mercy.” Pray that God would bring revival. Might Daniel 9:4-19 be our prayer – “We have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from your commandments (vs. 4)… O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay (vs. 19).

P.S. I pray that you are awake, alert, and watching. We must not be asleep in times like these. We must be like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what they should do, and like John the Baptist who was preparing the way of the Lord. I suggest you read these two posts: “The Downfall of the United States Before the Return of Christ”, and “The Day of the Lord: the Wrath of God on Earth.”

God, Man, Artificial Intelligence, and the End-Times

May 4, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #275 ~

In the past 20 years there’s been a significant growth in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). And just recently the alarm bells have been ringing, telling us to wake up to this exploding AI industry. Every day for the past two weeks, there have been news shows talking about different aspects of artificial intelligence. And there’s a highly competitive AI “tech race” between different companies and between different countries. Some even believe the winner of this race will control the world. Without question, AI is a rapidly advancing technology, one that’s affecting our lives much more than we realize, and will continue to do so.

So what is artificial intelligence (AI)? Wikipedia tells us: “Artificial intelligence is intelligence – perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information – demonstrated by machines – as opposed to intelligence displayed by non-human animals or humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech recognition, computer vision, translation between languages.” That is, AI is speaking of machines, chips, and robots designed by intelligent beings to do one or two intelligent tasks, ones deemed to be helpful to the needs of people and to the growth of our world.

Here are some things that AI can do. Humans drive cars – AI drives cars. Humans fly planes – AI flies planes, and drones. A human plays his favorite song – Alexa plays his favorite song. Humans see – robots see. Humans build cars – robots build cars. Humans write papers – ChatGPT writes papers. Humans have relationships – robots have “relationships”. AI can imitate your voice and create a likeness of your face. There are many, many more examples of how AI is now being used, and an untold number that will be developed in the coming years. 

Let’s now talk about artificial general intelligence (AGI). Wikipedia says: “The AGI concept is that it can learn to accomplish any intellectual task that human beings can perform… AGI has been defined as an autonomous system that surpasses human capabilities in the majority of economically valuable tasks.” When we say AGI, we’re talking about many computers working together to create one super-intelligent computer, one that seems to know everything, is a very quick learner, does all kinds of tasks, ones that are much larger and much more difficult than what AI can do.

AGI is vastly superior to AI. Like humans, AGI can think, reason, learn, plan, sense, listen, understand, communicate, and create. Like humans, AGI has general intelligence – it knows a lot of information and can do all kinds of things. The difference between AGI and humans is that AGI has a super-massive machine brain, and is much smarter, much faster, much more precise, and usually much better than humans in carrying out tasks.

The tech race that’s going on now has to do with how AGI can be used for complex human purposes, from developing military strategies, to hacking into another country’s military strategies, to composing symphonies, to counseling people, to enabling robots to carry out household duties, to being a companion and helper for an elderly person, to writing a company’s business plan, to being a “doctor” who makes a complete diagnosis of a person’s health and creates a treatment plan, to surveilling every person in the country, etc. Also know that AGI can teach itself, get smarter, think for itself, figure out what needs to be done, get better at whatever it does, and create more applications, ones it was not initially programmed to do. 

Many thoughts come to mind when I think about AI and AGI:
* Scary, dangerous, a black box, too powerful, out of control, destructive, dehumanizing, life-like, an idol, cyborgs, a digital world, predictable, unpredictable, godlike, and devilish
* Where is AI / AGI headed? Will it know everything about me? Will it do things I don’t want it to do? Will it make me do things I don’t want to do? Will it help me or hurt me?
* Some AGI machines are humanlike. They seem to have a conscience, to have feelings, to be personal, to understand, to be kind, as well as be intelligent. Can a human have a relationship with an AGI robot? Will he become attached to it and love it as a “friend”?

* Some people are saying, “With machines like these, who needs God?”
* Some humans think machines like these can make them godlike. Have you heard what some scientists are saying about putting a chip in your brain, one that’s connected to a larger, smarter AI / AGI brain and, therefore, making you a superman?
* AI / AGI can be a massive information, misinformation, or disinformation tool. How will this affect our educational system? What will our children be learning? How can we ever have confidence in what is being taught?
* If AGI has a desire for perfection and realizes that humans are imperfect, would it ever happen that these machines see humans as unnecessary, and want to get rid of them?

* Will AI and AGI take over our jobs and do our work for us? Will we even need to work? How will this affect individuals and our society at large?
* Elon Musk said, “AI has great power to do good and evil. Better the former.” There’s no doubt that some good will be accomplished by AI / AGI. But people’s hearts are sinful, which means AI / AGI will result in many evil things occurring on this planet.
* Will AGI get to the point where it’s completely on its own, where humans can’t control it, where it lies, cheats, steals, and where it hates humans and wants to hurt them.  
* Will these “smart” machines be godless and say evil things about God, Jesus, or Christians? Will it be a tool of the devil that results in Christians being persecuted? How does this relate to the agenda of the Antichrist? Revelation 13:14-17

This blog site is about end-time’s prophecy, about Christ’s coming. So why am I writing about AI and AGI? Because I believe AI / AGI will be a huge factor in these last years before the return of Christ to rapture the church. So how does God want you to think about AI / AGI? And how could AI / AGI relate to God’s plans in the end-times?

1. God is sovereign over AI and AGI, whether it’s used for good or evil. I believe God will use this technology as part of His plans to fulfill His purposes during the end-times. “… according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Eph. 1:9-11

2. Man is made in the image of God, but AI is made in the image of man. Man may think these machines are super-smart, but God is infinitely smarter, and He will outsmart both man and machine, for He made the man who made the machine. Gen. 1:26, Ps. 96:4-5

3. God has given man a soul and therefore, man lives forever, in heaven or hell. But man can’t give a soul to AI / AGI machines. These machines are only machines and do not truly live, have no eternal future, and will someday be destroyed. John 3:16, 2 Pet. 3:10

4. God says nothing in His word about AI machines overpowering, destroying, or replacing mankind. God’s purposes, from Genesis to Revelation, are not focused on machines, but on mankind, people made in His image. Gen. 1:26-29; Rev. 2-3, 7:9-10, 19:7-9, 21:5-7

5. Be a watchman, be wise, understand the times, learn from others, and tell others what you are learning. 1 Chron. 12:32, Ez. 3:17, Rev. 13:18

6. Never think that AI, AGI, EMP’s, nuclear war, climate change, super volcanos, gigantic solar flares, great earthquakes, massive meteorites, or a combination of these, will bring about the total destruction of this world. God may use them to judge people, but not in a global way. The Day of the Lord, God’s end-time’s judgment of the world, will be very destructive, and is what an unsaved person should be most concerned about. Revelation 8-9, 16

7. The Beast (Antichrist) will control an unbelieving world by making people worship the “image of the beast” and take the “mark of the beast.” I believe AGI technology will help the Antichrist carry out his plans, specifically as it relates to Rev. 13:15: “It was given to him (the beast) to give breath to the image of the beast, so the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

8. God will severely limit or destroy the ability and effect of AGI if it gets too powerful. Machines will never defeat mankind, and they will never thwart God’s purposes and plans for His people and for this world. Remember what God did to the tower of Babel? Genesis 11:4-9, Psalm 33:10-11

9. Some think their thoughts, voice, senses, experiences, looks, intelligence, and character can be programmed into a robot – and then they will have eternal life, they will live on in this machine after their body dies. How foolish! Man, apart from God, dies and goes to hell! Man, saved by Christ, is given eternal life, goes to heaven, and will receive a glorified body! John 3:16, Phil. 3:20-21, 2 Thess. 1:8-9

10. We don’t need a man-made AGI machine to save mankind. We need Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, a real Savior, for He saves from sin and death, our #1 problem. Those who repent of their sins are spiritually saved. And at Christ’s coming, we will receive a physical body that is perfect, powerful, glorious, and will live forever with Jesus. Romans 8:28-30, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Don’t be concerned, obsessed, or fearful with regards to AI / AGI. Look to Jesus, and trust Him. And love Him and serve Him, for He’s the One who saves you, blesses you, leads you, protects you, and will bring you safely to heaven. “The night is almost gone, and the day is near” (Rom. 13:12). Jesus Christ, the Judge and King, is coming soon. “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6

P.S. I must say, we live in tumultuous times, but what a time to be alive. Always remember that God is in control, and He is sovereignly bringing about the return of His Son. Here are two other posts that are relevant at this time: “Everything on This Earth is Going to Change”, and “Step by Step Till We See Jesus.”

Working Hard for God in the End-Times

March 11, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #271 ~

We are living in the end-times and, therefore, are end-times’ workers for God. What a privilege, what an opportunity to work for God at this time in history, “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). The Bible is filled with examples of people doing God’s work. Noah built an ark; Abraham was the father of the Jews; Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt; Ruth was the great-grandmother of David; David was a king; Nehemiah built a wall; Esther helped save the Jews; Mary was Jesus’ mother; Anna prayed; most importantly, Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead; Paul wrote epistles; Paul’s nephew warned Paul about being killed, etc. What about you? What is the work God wants you to do?

“We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). It can’t get any clearer – God has work for you to do. It’s good work. It’s work God wants you to do. It’s work He planned out in eternity past. It’s work you can do – God is enabling you to do the work He wants you to do. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). Be glad and excited that you can do God’s work, that which has spiritual significance, that which eternally affects people’s lives, that which is part of God’s plan to bring about Christ’s coming, and that which will be greatly rewarded.

How do you know what this work is? What are some of the principles and keys to knowing and fulfilling God’s purposes, the work He has planned out for you?
1. Seek the Lord. Ask Him to show you exactly what He wants you to do. “Teach me the way in which I should walk… Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.” Psalm 143:8, 10
2. Be holy. To do God’s work, you must be a holy vessel. “If anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:20-21
3. Be humble. Be willing to do whatever God wants you to do. “Here am I, send me!” Isaiah 6:8
4. Give yourself to God, body, mind, soul, and spirit. “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Romans 6:13, 12:1

5. Be in a good church and do your part. “… grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part…” Ephesians 4:15-16
6. Use your spiritual gifts. The Spirit gives you gifts, spiritual abilities, so you can do God’s work. “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”. 1 Peter 4:10-11
7. Obey God’s commands, for they specifically tell you the work you are to do. For example – “Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor,… contributing to the needs of saints, practicing hospitality…” Romans 12:9-21
8. Be sensitive to God’s leading, to the leading of the Holy Spirit. “All who are being led by the Spirit, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14

9. Work hard. Be diligent. Don’t be lazy. Have a mind to work. “The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” 2 Tim. 2:6; Neh. 4:6; Prov. 6:6-11, 10:4
10. Persevere, do not grow weary or give up, for then you will accomplish God’s work. “As for you, be strong, and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chron. 15:7, Galatians 6:9
11. Learn from godly examples, from Jesus, Noah, Jacob, Moses, Hezekiah, Paul, John, etc. “In everything that he (Hezekiah) undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” 2 Chronicles 31:21   
12. Work with others. Don’t be a loner. Be a team player. “Two are better than one, for they have a good return for their labor.” Eccl. 4:9, Colossians 4:7-17

13. Do not love the world, and do not worry about the little things of life. Be praying – “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Be seeking – “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
14. Never retire from God’s work. At the right time, retire from your job, your place of employment, but keep working for God until the day He takes you home. “David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep.” Acts 13:36
15. Always work for the glory of God. It’s not about you but about God and His glory. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
16. Your work is “whatever you do.” Your work is spiritual, not secular or spiritual. It may be shopping, washing dishes, working at a job, reading the Bible, praying, sharing the gospel, having lunch with a friend, etc. “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men…” Colossians 3:23
17. God rewards your work, everything you do for Him. “I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done” (Rev. 22:12). “Each one will receive his own reward for his own labor.” 1 Corinthians 3:8

What a blessing that we can work for God! And God has special work for you to do at this time in history, work that is part of His grand and global plan leading to Christ’s return to rapture the church, judge the world, save a remnant of Jews, and establish His kingdom on earth. Let me conclude with my favorite verses on this subject: “Do business with this until I come” (Luke 19:13). “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do” (John 17:4). Might you “finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus” has given you. Acts 20:24

P.S. Here at the end of this church age we are running the last leg of this marathon relay, and might we be running for God. Jesus is cheering you on, waiting for you at the finish line. Might He say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). Here are two more posts on working for God: “Do Business Until I Come Back”, and “Working for God While Waiting for Christ.”

There’s Hope for the World

March 4, 2023 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #270 ~

I was encouraged by a recent study in the Psalms that showed God working in the lives of Jewish believers. We learn that they had hope, they believed the Messiah was coming to rule and reign on this earth – and having this hope helped them live a godly life. God is now working in the lives of Christians, and we too are to have hope, to be looking forward to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, coming back to rapture the church and establish His kingdom on earth.

Let me look at these Psalms as it relates to hope:
Psalms 1-2 – There’s the juxtaposition of God working with individuals (Ps. 1) and God working with nations (Ps. 2). He blesses the righteous and punishes the unrighteous, both individuals and the entire world. And God gives us hope – “As for Me, I have installed My King on Zion, My holy mountain” (Ps. 2:6-8). In the near future, we will see the realization of our hope, for Jesus Christ will return to judge the wicked, and then reign over this world for 1,000 glorious years.

Psalm 9 – This is all about a rejoicing Psalmist and wicked nations. The Psalmist is thankful that God justly dealt with his own enemies, but he is also hopeful, for he knows that God will judge the nations, and then punish them by casting them into Sheol. “You have sat on the throne judging righteously… You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked… You have blotted out their name forever and ever.” Psalm 9:1-6

Psalm 11 – David is being chased by the wicked, and so he takes refuge in the Lord, knowing he will be delivered by Him. But he also has hope and it’s our hope too, that our holy God will rain fire, brimstone, and burning wind upon a world of sinners, and that He will forever bless us. “The Lord is righteous, and He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face.” Psalm 11:7

Psalm 22 – Jesus Christ endured humiliation, great affliction, terrible pain, and then died on a cross. He knew that was the only way He could save millions and millions of sinners, and take back the world from Satan. So Jesus had hope. “All the families of the nations will worship before You. The kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations.” Psalm 22:27-28

Psalm 33 – The Psalmist sings praises and gives thanks to God because His word is right and His work is being done. It was God’s work of creation, His work of watching over the world, His hope of God’s work with Israel (Ps. 33:11-12), and His work in his life and the lives of other believers. “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for your lovingkindness… our heart rejoices in Him because we trust in His holy name.” Psalm 33:18-22

Psalm 37 – David knew that believers were not to be afraid of the enemy but were to trust in God and do good, for He would rescue them. They also needed to know that God will judge the wicked (Ps. 37:12-15) and bless the righteous, which is in the future – “The humble will inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity” (Ps 37:11). This is true for Christians too.

Psalm 46 – Whenever we have problems, whether big or small, we are not to be afraid but are to trust God and take refuge in Him. We can do this because God is loving, powerful, sovereign, and He is always with us. Soon enough, He will put an end to wars and earthquakes, and Christ will return to rapture the church, judge His enemies, and reign over the world – and this is our hope! “Cease striving and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations.” Psalm 46:10

Psalm 67 – “Let the peoples praise You, O God… God blesses us that all the ends of the earth may fear Him” (Ps. 67:5-7). This promise is for both the Jewish people and the church. God blessed the Jews in the past and is blessing the church in the present, and our hope is that Christ will be ruling the world in the future, during the millennial kingdom. Then all believers, both Jews and Gentiles, will be supremely blessed, resulting in all the ends of the earth fearing and praising God.

Psalm 86 – David, a godly man, is being persecuted and he cries out to God, and experiences His grace, goodness, love, and comfort, for which he is very thankful. But David, seeing the future, has hope, knows better days are ahead. He says, “All nations… shall come and worship before You, O Lord,” which we now know takes place during the millennial kingdom. Psalm 86:9, Isaiah 2:1-4

Psalm 102 – A sad and severely afflicted Psalmist is praying to God. The answer is hope, for God enables the Psalmist to get his eyes off himself and on His plans for the future, when He has mercy on Israel, when the Lord appears and builds up Zion. This occurs during the kingdom age, when “the peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to serve the Lord.” Psalm 102:18-22

Psalm 105 – The characters in this chapter are involved in God’s plan to fulfill His promise to Israel – “He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, ‘to you I will give the land of Canaan.’” (Ps. 105:10-11). Like the Israelites of old, God has given you your own part and place in history, and He has given you hope. In the ages to come, you will share in God’s promise to Israel. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:3

Psalm 121 – The Psalmist is thinking about how God is keeping and protecting him. He’s also thinking about God’s greater purposes, His plans for Israel, and that God will keep and bless them in the future, which he knows includes himself. “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever” (Ps. 121:8). This hope is for all believers. John 3:16, 1 Peter 1:3-5

Psalm 125 – God’s goodness and protection is upon individual believers, those who trust in the Lord, but it’s also upon Jerusalem, upon Mount Zion, “which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Ps. 125:1). The promises in this Psalm pertain to the city of God and the people of God and will be fulfilled in the kingdom age to come. “The Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” Psalm 125:1-2

Psalm 131 – God was working in the life of a believer and in the nation of Israel. Just as a believer is to be humble and trust in the Lord, so too, the nation of Israel is to trust, is to hope in the Lord. “O Israel, hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forever” (Ps. 121:3). Hebrews 11:39-40 makes it clear that this hope for the future is for both Jewish believers and the church.

Psalm 138 – King David is thankful for God’s love, truth, and strength. But he knows life is not just about him, for the time will come when “all the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord (Psalm 138:4). God works in the lives of the lowly and the kings, and His purpose, and our hope is for all people to glorify Him forever. “Your lovingkindness is everlasting.” Psalm 138:8

Psalm 145 – David is committed to praising his gracious and loving Lord forever, but he also knows that all believers will be blessing His name forever. This is the kingdom work of God and is our hope and our future. “I will praise Your name forever and ever” (Ps. 145:2). “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Ps. 145:13). “All flesh will bless His name forever.” Psalm 145:21

Here are some take-aways from these Psalms:
* These Psalms talk about God’s work in individual lives, ones who were afflicted, persecuted, struggling, and fearful. But they cried out to God, trusted God, rejoiced, and were thankful. And we can all relate, for God is now at work in our lives, helping us to live wholeheartedly for Him.

* The people in these Psalms lived for God and had hope, and their hope helped them to live for Him. We too need hope if we are to live rightly and strongly for God – we need to look forward to Christ’s return to rapture the church, judge His enemies, and set up His kingdom on earth. 

* God’s work in these believers was related to His work in the world at large. The same is true for you – like a puzzle piece, you are an important part of the big picture. God’s present-day work in you is part of His comprehensive plan to bring about Christ’s return. Be glad that you are part of God’s plan to send Christ to rapture the church and then reign over the world.

* We looked at all these Psalms that talked about hope, but you need to realize that there are many more passages, hundreds of verses in the Old and New Testaments that describe our hope, that clearly tell us our future.

* While the believers in these Psalms lived over 2500 years ago and had hope, we live in the end-times and we also have hope, knowing that it won’t be that long – 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years??!! – before our hopes are realized, before we see Jesus Christ coming back to take us to Himself and to heaven.

So how should you live? Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30). Have faith in God (Luke 18:8). Pray for the coming of Christ and His kingdom (Matt. 6:10). Seek first the kingdom of God. (Matt. 6:33). Be involved in a church that is making disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). Be filled with hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Spirit.” Romans 15:13

P.S. This past Sunday our church was greatly blessed and sobered to hear Bob Hunt from Zion’s Hope speak about “The Collapse of a Nation.” Bob’s text was Isaiah 9-10, and these passages along with many examples from the United States of America, make it very clear that this country is in severe moral decline, is in grave danger. I strongly encourage you to listen to this message.

The Day of the LORD – God’s Righteous Wrath

August 12, 2022 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #254 ~

The whole world will be judged! That’s what God tells us, that’s what she deserves, and that’s what’s going to happen! Isaiah and Paul call it the “Day of the Lord” (Isaiah 13:6, 1 Thess. 5:2). John the Baptist says it’s the “wrath to come” (Luke 3:7). And this wrath won’t be a super volcano, global flooding, a nuclear war, EMP’s, or any combination of these things, but rather a series of disastrous, God-planned events specifically described in Revelation 8-9, 16.

Most people don’t know about this, don’t have even a clue of the catastrophic events that will soon devastate this earth. Or if they have heard about it, they don’t believe it’s going to happen – they are judgment deniers. (2 Peter 3:3-7). They don’t believe life on earth will be radically different, that this world, as we know it, will soon come to an end. Thinking that everything is going to stay the same, they will be eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building. (Luke 17:24-28). Will they ever be shocked when God’s righteous hand suddenly strikes this earth.

Why is God going to punish this world? Because He’s perfectly holy. Rev. 4:8 sets the stage for this end-of-the-age wrath when it says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” The Judge is sitting on His throne, and He has already told us His verdict, that this world is guilty of grave sins and a great many sins, and there must be justice, there must be divine retribution. “You have sat on the throne judging righteously, You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins.” Psalm 9:4-8

The vast majority of people don’t understand God’s holiness, that He demands perfection from every single person. Even in our own courts, a person shown to be guilty for one crime is pronounced guilty by the judge for that crime and must be punished (James 2:10). But that’s on a human level – here is God, the divine Judge, and He examines an individual’s entire life, and He knows all their evil thoughts, words, and actions, each one being utterly offensive to Him. (Hab. 1:13). Those who have not repented of their sins, not trusted in Christ, not believed He died to pay the penalty for their sins, will be guilty forever, and therefore perish, be punished forever. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16; Mark 1:15; Matt. 25:46

God cannot ignore sin, He cannot say it’s no big deal, He cannot forget it! God cannot excuse sin, not even one! Because God is altogether righteous, He has no choice but to pour out His wrath upon sinful people, and upon this entire world. The Bible gives us story after story about God judging individuals, families, cities, nations, and the world. Sinful Cain was a vagrant and a wanderer upon the earth (Gen. 4:12). The great, global flood destroyed an extremely wicked world in the time of Noah (Gen. 7). Fire and brimstone rained down upon those two evil cities, Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24-25). There were 10 punishing plagues poured out upon rebellious Egypt (Exodus 7-11). There was all Israel stoning and burning Achan’s family (Josh. 7:25). And look at the hundreds of warnings by the prophets! God’s word continually, clearly, and conclusively testifies to the holiness of God in history past. Might we learn from them, and be holy. Romans 15:4

It’s quite obvious to spiritually minded Christians that sin is rapidly increasing in the United States and all over the world. Grievous sin is running rampant, corrupting countries and polluting the entire planet (Lev. 18:24-25). This was predicted in Matt. 24, the most important end-times’ chapter – “lawlessness is increased” (Matt. 24:12, 2 Thess. 2:7-12, 2 Tim. 3:1-4). God must and will punish the whole world, and very soon. “Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly… a day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom.” Zephaniah 1:14-15

The day of the Lord was prophesied in many places – Isaiah 13:6-13; Joel 2:30-32; Amos 5:18-22; Obadiah 1:15; Zeph. 1:1-3, 14-18; Acts 2:19-21; 1 Thess. 5:1-4. These predictions, plus many other references to this final cataclysmic judgment are to warn the unbelieving world about what will be taking place. God is alerting believers as well, for we should be living holy lives, especially in these few and final years leading up to the coming of Christ. 1 Thess. 5:5-8, 1 Peter 1:13-16

It’s now relatively calm in this world compared to the catastrophic judgments to come, the deserved and dreadful wrath of God that will be poured out upon this earth – hail, fire, blood, demonic locusts, malignant sores, extreme torment, scorching heat, darkness, and death (Rev. 8-9, 16). It’s calm because God is being patient with the lost (2 Pet. 3:9), wanting Christians to lovingly and urgently share the gospel with them before it’s too late, warning them of the destruction and death to come, begging them to be reconciled to God, to turn from their sin and turn to Christ, to receive His eternal life and love. 2 Cor. 5:21, James 5:7-11

If sinners remain unrepentant and are still alive on earth when Christ returns, not only will they go through the fiery day of the Lord, but they will also go to hell, first to Hades for 1000 years, and then to the lake of fire for all eternity. “Depart from me accursed ones into the eternal fire” (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 20:11-14). I hope you are seeing the big picture, the powerful, painful, and punishing wrath that evil unbelievers will experience forever and ever, and rightfully so. “Upon the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. The Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright will behold His face.” Psalm 11:6-7  

Jesus Christ is returning to this earth to reign as King, but first, He must be a Judge and eradicate sin by punishing this evil world and casting out sinners. God is perfectly holy, and He has to clean house, He must purify this place – then Christ can begin reigning and ruling over this world. “He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity” (Ps. 9:8). Then we will all declare, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3

Jesus Christ is also returning to rapture all Christians living on earth at that time (Hallelujah!), and this occurs just before God pours out His wrath. “You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven… who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:9-10, 4:15-17). “God has not destined us for wrath” (1 Thess. 5:9). I cannot wait for this to happen! “‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20

P.S. This is a most sobering subject, and you need to learn from it and be holy. And be thankful for God’s mercy on your soul, that He saved you from the wrath to come, and from an eternal hell. I encourage you to read these three other posts – “The Day of the LORD, the Wrath of God on Earth”, “What About the Unrepentant Unbeliever in the End-Times?”, and “Rescued from the Punishing Day of the Lord.”

Singing – A Key to Sound Christian Living

June 24, 2022 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #250 ~

“Sing praises to Him” (Ps. 33:2). “Come before Him with joyful songs” (Ps. 100:1). “I will sing of Your love and justice” (Ps. 101:1). Christians are to sing to the Lord – and it’s for His glory. Singing is also good for your life, for it positively affects you, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, instructing your mind and refreshing your soul. Without question, singing is a necessary and amazing attitude-adjuster – it is heart-tuning, soul-humbling, spirit-lifting, faith-restoring, joy-giving, and peace-producing. 

Many examples of singing are found in the Bible. Judah’s army was marching to war and leading the way was the choir, and they were singing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting” And their singing, their worship, was the key to God’s resounding victory – “When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab… so they were routed” (2 Chron. 20:21-22). Just before He was arrested, Jesus was singing with His disciples (Matt. 26:30). When Paul and Silas were in jail, they were “singing hymns of praise to God” (Acts 16:25-26). Then there are the Psalms, the biggest book in the Bible, and the best songbook ever written. I strongly encourage you to regularly read and sing the Psalms, for they address and will impact all aspects of your Christian life. 

As a Christian, you don’t want to be distracted, defiled, and controlled by fleshly and worldly songs. That’s why you need to be daily transforming your mind by heartily singing godly songs. “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises… I will awaken the dawn… I will sing praises to You among the nations” (Ps. 57:7-11). “Be filled (controlled) with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). Being in a godly-singing church is also instrumental in being a godly singer.

In these last years leading up to the rapture of the church, there will be tribulation and great tribulation, and singing to the Lord will be essential for your spiritual stability and success. I can’t stress enough the importance of knowing good Christian songs or, at least, having them on your playlist. And don’t just play them, sing them, and not just with others on Sunday morning, but by yourself during the week.

On this blog site, chart #’s 130, 133, 138, 143, 147, 149, 153, 160 contain lyrics about the end-times and Christ’s second coming. And singing songs that speak about your future and hope will undoubtedly help you be a more encouraged, forward looking, God-glorifying Christian. Listed below are some of them:

* Christ the Lord is Risen Today – “Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia. Foll’wing our exalted head, Alleluia. Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia. Our the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia.“
* There is a Redeemer – “When I stand in glory, I will see His face. There I’ll serve my King forever in that holy place. Thank You, O my Father, for giving us Your Son, and leaving Your Spirit till the work on earth is done.”
* Be Still My Soul – “Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on, when we shall be forever with the Lord, when disappointment, grief and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love’s purest joy restored. Be still my soul, when change and tears are past, all safe and blest we shall meet at last.”
* When the Roll is Called Up Yonder – “Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, let us talk of all His wondrous love and care; then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done, and the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there. When the roll is called up yonder…”

* That Where I Am, There You May Be – “If I go prepare a place for you I will come back again. If I go prepare a place for you I will come back again. You know I am the way, the truth, the life – keep My commands, that where I am there you may also be.”
* Jesus Loves Me – “Jesus loves me, He will stay close beside me all the way; He’s prepared a home for me, and some day His face I’ll see. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.”
* On Jordan’s Stormy Banks – “When shall I reach that happy place and be forever blest? When shall I see my Father’s face, and in His bosom rest? I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land; O, who shall come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land.”
* It Is Well With My Soul – “And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll, the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul.”

* All Hail the Power – “O that with yonder sacred throng we at His feet may fall, we’ll join the everlasting song and crown Him Lord of all; we’ll join the everlasting song and crown Him Lord of all.”
* Come Thou Almighty King – “To Thee, great One in three, eternal praises be, hence evermore, Thy sovereign majesty, may we in glory see, and to eternity love and adore.” —-
* When We All Get to Heaven – “Onward to the prize before us, soon His beauty we’ll behold; soon the pearly gates will be open, we shall tread the streets of gold. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”
* Joy to the World – “Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns; let men their songs employ – while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy.”

As you know, this blog post is all about the end-times, the return of Christ, and His reign upon this earth. My purpose is not just to tell you what the Bible says will be happening in the future, but to help you live successfully for the Lord in the last years of this evil age. And there’s no doubt that singing to the Lord is a major key to your life as you journey on to the end. “I will praise God’s name in song.” Psalm 69:30

P.S. In a world saturated by secular and fleshly songs, it’s imperative that you daily sing to the Lord. It’s a way to worship God, a way to combat the flesh, and a means to working for God and living a victorious Christian life. As Christians, we are to worship and to work (Matt. 4:10). And I encourage you to read this article (#49) about work – “The Excellent End-Time’s Worker”.

How Can We Live In This Sinful World?

June 16, 2022 /

By Steven J. Hogan

~ A Saturday Morning Post #249 ~

You may wonder why I keep talking about sin. Because it’s accelerating, it’s hyperactive, it’s on overdrive in our country. And it’s not just growing, it’s becoming much more wicked and perverted. We see all this evil in our schools, government, families, media, music, movies, and yes, even in our churches. Depravity is on full display, and is being celebrated and applauded. (Rom. 1:18-32). As a Christian, you need to understand this subject of sin and sinners so that you spiritually survive, and so that you live a godly, fruitful, victorious life. Don’t stop reading this post just because it’s not one of those feel good subjects. You must hear these truths so you can know how to live in this wicked world.

Here are several things you need to know about sin and sinners.
1. Sin is our biggest problem, for it results in spiritual death, and ultimately results in physical death, and if not righteously dealt with, eternal death, forever and infernally being separated from the living God. (Ezek. 18:4, Rom. 3:23, Matt. 25:46). Our root sin, our central sin, is not loving and worshiping God, our Creator, but instead, loving and worshiping the creation. Jer. 2:5, 13; Rom. 1:19-25

2. If you don’t see that sin is the #1 problem in a person’s life and the world at large, then you will wonder why evil and devilish things are happening. You may feel sick to your stomach. You may be extremely sad. You may be disgusted. You may get discouraged as you see our country growing more sinful. You may get scared by what’s taking place. You may get angry at the evildoers. Or you may feel hopeless, and want to just give up. But what does God say? “The men of Issachar understood the times, and knew what they should do.” 1 Chronicles 12:32, Isaiah 1
3. If you don’t realize that sin is our fundamental problem, then you may think that other bad things in our society are the real problems when, in fact, they are the result of sin. Rom. 3:23, 6:23

4. If you don’t know that sin is our real problem, then you won’t see the need for Jesus Christ, that He’s the only answer to sin. Christ came to earth to die on the cross to defeat sin and death. Only He can solve our sin problem, along with every other problem. Only He can set a person free from their sin. John 8:31-32, Rom. 5:8, 2 Cor. 5:21, 1 Pet. 3:18, Titus 3:3-8
5. If you forget that sin is the core problem, then you will forget the fact that Christ is the only answer, and get off track, and focus on fleshly and worldly solutions, things that may relate to education, racism, equity, inflation, the border, climate change, etc. But these are superficial answers, only band-aids, and they don’t get to the root, they don’t really solve our problem of sin. Psalm 146:3-5

6. Knowing that sin is our main problem should motivate you to fulfill a key aspect of God’s will for your life, which is being a witness for Jesus Christ, telling people how they can be delivered from sin, death, hell, and the devil, telling people how they can know God and Christ. Acts 1:8, 26:15-18
7. We live in the end-times which means this sin problem will get dramatically worse before the coming of Christ. “… lawlessness is increased…” (Matt. 24:12-13). Keep this in mind as you think about the future, as you carry out God’s purpose for your life, and as you persevere to the end of this evil age. 2 Thess. 2:3, Rev. 13

In this world of sin and sinful people, how should you think, how should you live?
1. Love God by living a holy life, by living like a child of God. Resist temptation, confess sin, walk in the light, and be a godly and righteous Christian. Rom. 6-7, Eph. 4, Col. 3, 1 Thess. 4, 1 John 1
2. Know that God is sovereign over sin and sinful people, over evil and evildoers. God allows and uses sin for His divine purposes and glory, and also for your good. Acts 2:23, 4:27-28; Rom. 8:28
3. As you live in this evil age, and in an increasingly sinful world, keep trusting God and keep looking to His word. Ps. 37, Ps. 119:81-88, Heb. 11

4. Be a light to the lost, be the salt of the earth, be Christlike in your words and actions. Show unbelievers what a believer looks like by being kind, gentle, patient, and forgiving. Matt 5:13-16
5. Love your enemies. Like Christ, be compassionate and patient towards sinners, for they are truly hurting – they’re lost, blind, empty, sad, deceived, and caught in their sin. Matt. 5:44, 9:36; 2 Cor. 4:4
6. Pray for sinners to be saved. Ask God to open their hearts so they see and are convicted of their sin and their need for Christ. Ask God to have mercy on their souls. Matt. 5:44, Rom. 10:1

7. Share the gospel with the lost. Tell them about sin, death, and hell. Tell them about Jesus, that He is the Lord, Savior, and coming King, that He is the bread of life and the light of the world. Tell them about His sacrificial and substitutionary death, and His resurrection. Tell them about heaven and hell. And share with them your testimony, what God has miraculously done in your life. Isaiah 53; John 1:12-13, 1:29, 3:16, 5:24; Rom. 3:23-26; Eph. 2:1-9; Col. 4:2-6, 1 Pet. 3:18
8. Don’t be angry with evildoers, with the wicked. Don’t be vengeful, don’t retaliate. God is closely watching each and every sinner and will deal with them in due time. He will either save them or judge them, show them mercy or show them wrath. Prov. 15:3; Rom 9:14-16, 12:19
9. Always stay close to Jesus. Be careful when you are with sinners, for you don’t want their sin to corrode your Christian life and result in you sinning against God. Psalm 63:8-10, 119:149-151; Jude 23  

10. It’s an honor and a blessing to be persecuted by sinners, for Jesus was persecuted. “Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary…” Heb. 12:3, Matt. 5:10-12, John 15:18-25, 1 Pet. 2:21-23
11. A key to living in this devilish world is hope, is knowing Christ is returning to earth to rescue and glorify Christians, to put an end to sin and the evil doers who promote it, and to begin reigning as King over this earth. You must have hope, for it will help you live a holy life, and motivate you to keep going for God. Romans 8:18-25, Hebrews 11
12. God will justly punish sinners. Some of this may happen during this life. But for all who remain in their sin, who never repent of their sin during their time on earth, it will be a dreadful, deserved, eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Matt. 25:41, 46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15

This last point, that God judges unrepentant sinners, is very important to understand. As I said, we should always love and pray for sinners, for those who don’t know God, for those who are opposed to Him and us (2 Cor. 2:14-17). But God won’t save every sinner, for many will stay in their sin, reject Christ, and forever be punished. What you must realize is that there are hundreds of verses about God’s righteous dealings with sinners, on earth and in hell. The whole Bible, book after book, talks about sin, sinners, justice, and wrath, especially the Psalms and Prophets, which are much more extensive in their discussion and detail of sin than other books.

Most of these Psalm verses are listed below. They talk about God’s present and future punishment of sinners. They educate you about God’s justice and wrath. They will help you be more holy and sober. They are an antidote to any wrong attitudes you may have about sin and sinners – like fear, worry, fretting, hopelessness, or unrighteous anger. And they remind you that sinners don’t win – they lose, and justly so. I strongly encourage you to read them, especially since we are living in a very sinful world, and are now in the end-times,

Psalm 1:6; Ps. 2:9-12; Ps. 3:7; Ps. 5:6-7; Ps. 6:10; Ps. 7:15-16; Ps. 9:3, 5-6, 15, 17; Ps. 10:15; Ps. 11:6-7; Ps. 17:13-14; Ps. 18:17-19, 48; Ps. 21:8-10; Ps. 25:19-20; Ps. 27:1-3; Ps. 28:3-4; Ps. 31:3-4, 8, 15, 17-18; Ps. 34:16; Ps. 35:1-8, 24-26; Ps. 36:11-12; Ps. 38:19-22; Ps. 40:14-16; Ps. 41:11-12; Ps. 44:4-8; Ps. 45:4-5; Ps. 52:1-7; Ps. 54:4-7; Ps. 55:15, 23; Ps. 56:4-7; Ps. 57:2-4; Ps. 58:1-9; Ps. 59:1-5, 12-16; Ps. 63:9-10; Ps. 64:6-8, Ps. 68:1-2, 21-23; Ps. 69:22-28; Ps. 70:1-3; Ps. 71:12-13; Ps. 73:16-20, 27; Ps. 75:7-10; Ps. 76:5-10; Ps. 78:42-52; Ps. 79:6-12, Ps. 81:13-15; Ps. 83; Ps. 91:5-10; Ps. 92:6-10; Ps. 94:1-11, 21-23; Ps. 97:1-3; Ps. 109:6-20, 29; Ps. 112:10; Ps. 119:21, 84, 118-119; Ps. 120:3-4; Ps. 125:5; Ps. 129:5-6; Ps. 135:8-11; Ps. 137:8-9; Ps. 139:19-20; Ps. 146:9; Ps. 149:5-9

Oftentimes, we read or hear about sinners in our country, sinners who are doing some of the most evil and perverted things, and who are encouraging others to do the same . And we want there to be justice, we want them to be punished for their sins. I encourage you to be patient, to pray for them, to ask God to have mercy on their souls. (2 Pet. 3:9-10). And if they don’t repent, they will be punished, justly and eternally so (Ps. 73:18-19). Indeed, there are degrees of punishment in hell. Matt. 10:15, 11:21-22; Heb. 10:20

Psalm 1:6 – “The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Psalm 11:6-7 – “Upon the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face.”

P.S. This subject of sin must be understood so you can deal with it in your own life, and so you can know how to relate and respond to the world around you. I cannot stress this enough. That’s why I encourage you to read and/or reread these other posts on sin and sinners – “Sinners and Saints in the End-Times”, “Living with Evil in the End-Times”, and “If the Foundations are Destroyed.”

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