More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
May 4 - July 14, 2022
Isaiah’s prophecy, written 740 years before the birth of Jesus, declared, “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?” (Isa. 66:8). Secular Israel was born that day.
Leaders and nations that ally with Israel to preserve, protect, and defend it will likewise be preserved, protected, and defended. On the other hand, those who stand in the way of Israel’s well-being will find themselves standing against God—which means they will not long stand at all.
World War II.
1939-1945
Israel’s Six-Day War of 1967 stands today as the most spectacular modern example of God’s punishment on those who curse Israel. Although Israel became an independent nation in 1948, the Palestinians and Islamic states surrounding it didn’t recognize its statehood and vowed its extermination. In 1967, the United Arab Republic (UAR) allied with Jordan, Syria, and Palestinian guerrillas to attack Israel from the north, south, and east. Israel was hopelessly outmanned. The Arab armies numbered more than 500,000 men; Israel had only 75,000. The Arabs fielded 5,000 tanks and 900 combat aircraft,
...more
“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). This is the root of God’s promise to Abraham and His purpose in creating a new people for Himself. Abraham’s descendants were to become the repository of God’s glory, wisdom, love, and redemptive grace. This saving grace was to overflow from the Jews to the rest of the world.
There may be delays, postponements, and chastisements, but an eternal covenant cannot be abrogated by a God who cannot deny Himself.
Then why did God choose the Jews? The answer: because it was His sovereign purpose to do so.
There are still two pivotal prophecies concerning Israel that have not yet been fulfilled: Israel does not yet occupy all the land originally promised to it, and its people have not yet turned to Christ.
That historic day in 1948, when Israel was re-established as a nation, has been described as “the most spectacular event in nearly two millennia of Jewish history.”16 When President Truman read that statement and the United States officially became the first nation to recognize the birth of the modern state of Israel, the 2,500-year-old prophecy of the Bible was at last fulfilled!
it. Today, Israel has the third most Nasdaq-listed companies in the world—just after the US and China.10 It has “earned the moniker of ‘Startup Nation’ mostly because it has [the] largest number of startups per capita in the world.”11 Israel is also home to eighteen billionaires and more than 105,000 millionaires.12
we have the time of the Russian invasion of Israel pinpointed. It will come after Israel returns to its homeland, after it has become highly prosperous, and after the implementation of the seven-year peace treaty with the Antichrist.
But when all hope for Israel’s survival is gone, God will intervene:
Yes! I love it! I hate war of course but have learned to love and appreciate when God shows Himself mightily and irrefutably.
a fourth reason that overrides the others. That reason is to set the stage for God’s punishment of Russia and its allies for their history of rebellion against Him: “Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel” (39:7). God will use the evil tendencies of these allied nations to goad them into attacking Israel so He can execute His judgment against them for their history of human oppression.
The God of Israel is also our God, which means whatever we fear is also no match for the King of kings. When it looks like there is no hope, hope is just waiting for the proper moment to show up. God can be trusted.
Amen and again, amen.
In the Tribulation period, Babylon will execute God’s prophets and all who refuse the mark of the Beast. In fact, simply being a believer and standing for moral purity and Christian ethics will be enough to warrant execution.
God calls us to get out of Babylon—that is, to separate ourselves from the godless spirit of the age, which is the spirit of Babylon that now permeates our culture.
As God’s temple, we must keep a clean house for Him to occupy. We must sweep out the contaminations of self-love, worldly pleasure, and materialistic ambition.
George Washington set the tone for the nation’s governmental authority when he said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”10
Abraham Lincoln, who is quoted as saying, “It is my constant anxiety and prayer that both myself and this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”11
Our leaders realized that once America failed to acknowledge that we were under God, our basis for freedom and equitable government would come crashing down.
President Herbert Hoover wrote a warning that I fear America has not heeded. He stated, “Our greatest danger is not from invasion by foreign armies. Our dangers are that we may commit suicide from within by complaisance with evil.”25
Money means a lot of different things; it is much more than it appears to be. It is God’s greatest rival.
When we remember that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), we realize that nothing good is really ours to start with. It’s God’s, and He bestows it on us as a gift to be used to glorify Him.
When we start thinking of money as just one of the countless good gifts from our Father who loves us, we can rest in the knowledge that He knows what we need, He promises to provide, and His storehouses are unending.
Carry some money with you specifically to give away to someone in need, and ask God to reveal ways to express love and generosity to the people you meet every day.
trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
“Without faith, one is like a stained glass window in the dark,”
“Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1:21).
Holy Spirit awaken us. Father God deliver us. Jesus save us.
An idol is whatever comes first in your life. Anything that comes before Jesus Christ in your affections or priorities—that is your idol.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”
Why does the gift of salvation encounter such persistent opposition? It’s because along with salvation comes submission to God. But since humanity’s fall, people have resisted submission to any power outside self.
When Christianity arouses the consciences of non-Christians, their response is seldom to accept the message but rather to silence the messenger.
As John Ortberg put it, “God isn’t at work producing the circumstances I want. God is at work in bad circumstances to produce the me he wants.”19
“Praying always” is the same as Paul’s words, “Pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Or Jesus’ words in Luke 18:1—“that men always ought to pray.” It doesn’t mean a continual stream of mumbling prayers under your breath to God. Think of it more as a continuing conversation in which one commits to God all the concerns of the day—as well as words of thanks and praise—with all kinds of prayers on an ongoing basis.
The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time.”2
awareness that He could return at any time encourages us to be ready at all times.
So if you’re trying to build equity in heaven, invest your time, talents, and treasure in the Word of God and the souls of men and women who need the message of Jesus Christ.
that which God is permitted to do in and through the child of God is that which is gold, silver and costly stones, and that which the individual does by his own power, for his own glory, because it suits his own will, because it promotes his own purpose, is the wood and the stubble.8
fire will burn up all work that has not been done for Him in a spirit of faithfulness, unity, and love for Christ, His church, and for others. “Fire” is a well-known biblical image of testing and refining (Prov. 27:21; Isa. 47:14; Zech. 13:9), and it is the same image Paul uses to describe the effects of Christ’s evaluation of our works at His judgment seat.
There is an old tale about three men crossing the desert by camel at night. As they were crossing the desert, a voice came out of the darkness. The voice commanded them to dismount, pick up some pebbles, and put them in their pockets. The voice said, “At the coming of the sun, you will be both glad and sorry.” The travelers did as they were told, and later as the sun came up, they remembered what the voice had said, “At the coming of the sun, you will be both glad and sorry.” They reached into their pockets and pulled out not pebbles but diamonds. They were both glad and sorry. Glad they took
...more
“Our eternal destination,” according to Bruce Wilkinson, is “the consequence of what we believe on earth. Our eternal compensation is the consequence of how we behave on earth.”1
Walking with God demands personal sacrifice and self-control. We need to maintain self-control even in things that are not necessarily evil, but which can dilute our full devotion to God.
“The most important success principle of all was stated by Elbert Hubbard, one of the most prolific writers in American history, at the beginning of the twentieth century. He said, ‘Self-discipline is the ability to do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.’”
nothing compared to the blessing of personally knowing the God of all eternity.
The Lord Himself is our exceedingly great reward.
If we live as if Christ will come tomorrow, we will always strive to be prepared for it.
we know them by their message and their fruit, not by their gifts (Deut. 13:1–5; Matt. 7:15–23).”4
I hope the courage of the martyrs we have studied in this chapter will inspire you to stand strong in your commitment to Christ regardless of the severity of the cost. Even if it means giving up your own life, what is that compared to the glory of the reward?
Jews would immediately recognize the “two wings of a great eagle” as symbolic of the grace of God, who spoke of delivering them from bondage in Egypt, saying, “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Ex. 19:4). This reference assures Israel that during Satan’s aggressive assault, God will again deliver them as he did from Egypt.
Seven is often called a perfect number, while six is an incomplete number. When you try to indicate the fraction two-thirds decimally, your calculator strings out an endless succession of sixes, never quite completing a precise rendition of two-thirds. This may indicate the significance of 666. It is the number of humanity, and no matter how many sixes you add, it never reaches the perfection of seven—God’s number. Man without God is always incomplete, and we long for the completeness we can find only in relationship with Him.
