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Monday, August 24, 2015
Dow down 531; the end is not yet
McClatchy news reports: “The 531-point drop in the Dow on Friday wasn’t all about China, of course. Investors also are worried about inflated equity prices, dropping oil prices, and the possibility the US Federal Reserve could soon approve an interest rate hike. But China’s economic troubles loom large…Charles Morrison, an Asia-Pacific expert who heads the East West Center in Honolulu [said]… “the Chinese manufacturing slowdown is a data point that creates concerns worldwide, because China’s manufacturing sucks up so much of the world’s resources.”” There are many predicting that the US stock market may be an indicator of what is called the “Tribulation.” But not so fast…
Has the US replaced Israel and the Middle East as the centerpiece of God’s end time plan? It can not, if you believe the holy scriptures are the inerrant and infallible word of God. The market crashing in the US, or economic and political chaos in America does not a Biblical “tribulation” make. America is not Israel. The Jerusalem of the Bible is not located in America. The United States may well be playing a role and might well play a role in hastening the end times by its actions and current position as a world power. But economic turmoil in the US is not the “Tribulation” nor is it the times of Jacob’s Troubles as described in Jeremiah 30 and referred to by other prophets such as Daniel, Isaiah, Hosea and Joel.
Jesus gives us a picture of the end times in Matthew 24 when his disciples ask “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?” First Jesus replied, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” He then described the events leading up to his return: False prophets, persecution, abomination of desolation, great tribulation, and His return. He speaks specifically about Israel, saying in verses 15-21, “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…Then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
All the prophets are consistent. The epicenter of the end times is in Israel, not the United States. The specific nations that come against Israel in the end times are Arab–descendants of Ishmael and Esau–who are traditional enemies of Israel. These events are not centered on unmentioned nations such as Russia or America (although they may play a role). They are centered on Israel. America and Americans are going to suffer the consequences of their leaders’ deplorable moral and economic decisions. We should gird ourselves appropriately. I know this will ruffle a lot of feathers, but America is not THE main indicator of the end times. It is Israel. While it may get bad in America, Israel is the real timepiece for the end times. To say or teach otherwise is to deny the law and the prophets, and the Messiah, Jesus, himself.
Whether it is the Islamic State or drug cartels, which are often Islamic fronts because Islam is a worldwide trader of drugs and humans, the US has an issue that is paramount to our national security. The “president” refuses to uphold the law and secure the borders, AND the “congress” refuses to hold him accountable to the law. The White House and Congress are giving our nation over to Islam, illegal aliens and drug cartels–literally ceding our land to them. Proverbs 21:10 says, “The soul of the wicked desires evil.” Do the wicked desire evil more than the people of God desire righteousness? When will every pulpit in every church in America decide to engage with this dark and dying world and hold accountability to righteousness? Much of the “church” has lost its savor and the nation lacks for it.
www.dailyjot.com