There is no question that those with “eyes to see” know that times are tough. In spite of propaganda about “economic recovery” — any day now – the money printing continues at record pace, debt both public and private is at the highest levels in history, and even the TV shills have trouble keeping a straight face saying words like “free market” in the face of blatant manipulation and international bank criminality. Currency collapse and depression invariably signal other woes, however. Ebola runs rampant in west Africa, while diseases of all stripes cross the sieve in the southern United States once called a “border.” Executive orders threaten preemptive concentration-camp confinement on mere suspicion of possible contagion. “Terror screening” at airports, in the face of reports that the much-ballyhooed naked body scanners are far better at examining the genitalia of coeds and young boys than finding actual contraband, is not merely a sick joke. Since any “real” (ie., non-blue-glove-wearing) terrorist doubtless see hundreds of tightly-packed victims in the pre-grope cattle pens as obvious targets, the real purpose must then have more to do with the same type of police state conditioning recently made so clear in the Ferguson suburb of St. Louis. And let’s not forget ISIS jihadists or the drumbeat toward World War III.
More and more people seem to be waking up to the situation, and coming to the conclusion that the personalities and politicians who like to believe they are god-like don’t have a clue what to do. Or that, worse still, most may even know better, having sold out for all the age-old forms of bribery, from power and money, to sex and self-gratification.
No wonder the comment I hear most often from people who KNOW that the answer in Scripture is “come out of her, My people” is “I’m scared!” But they already know Scripture says repeatedly, “Fear NOT!”
So the question which invariably follows — even more than the usual “How do we do that?” – is “how can I NOT be afraid?”
And the answer to THAT question turns out to be something that the Bible spends a LOT of ink discussing. Because YHVH warned us – over and over again – what lies ahead, and knew what our reactions would be, too.
Let’s start with the “why?”
Most people who have studied His Torah even briefly recognize that it is about “blessing and cursing,” and that we are to “choose life”, and then walk in obedience to Him. *
But that understanding is only the beginning of the process, and even invites other questions. Why prepare, if we can’t stop it? What difference does it make? And – now that I KNOW what is coming, and why – isn’t that somehow worse? Maybe ignorance IS bliss. Once we understand that nations and peoples really DO reap what they sow, how can we not be afraid of the judgment that seems so close at hand now?
The answer is found in prophecy. And Scripture is loaded with that, for several reasons. First, it demonstrates how YHVH keeps His promises – period. It reinforces the single consistent message of the prophets, too, “tshuvah”, or “return – to Me”. In other words, repent, and start doing right.
Finally, it’s important to remember the KEY: He warns us, and gives us guidance about what is coming so that we can DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
We are told that we should be like the “sons of Issachar”, in I Chron. 12:32, “that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” Yahushua frequently refers to parables like the fig leaf, which similarly remind us to “know the times” and thus understand what lies ahead.
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, Shaul/Paul reminds the reader that they DO know such things!
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But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
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For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
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But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness
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Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
And Amos 3:7 tells us, “surely, YHVH Elohekah will do nothing, but that He first reveal His secrets to His servants the prophets.“
It is therefore important, even commanded that we be aware, and watchful for what lies ahead. In his “Give me Liberty or give me death” speech, Patrick Henry made the point dramatically:
“We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth… Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.
Be thankful that YHVH gives us His Word for good reason.
A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are punished.
The fact that we DO have choices to make, and that they very much matter, is certainly comforting.
Unlike the boogey-man of police state terror, where the message boils down to “Be afraid, be VERY afraid,” and at the same time literally a not-so-subtle coercion to trust in “another master,” an “arm of flesh,” and ultimately other “elohim,” mighty ones, false gods, our Creator says “Fear not,” and means it.
Following a list of events which mark the “end times,” including “men’s hearts failing them for fear,” Yahushua tells of His return this way:
“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Other words of comfort abound in Scritpure for those who “overcome”, “stand,” persevere, and learn to trust in Yah rather than the things of man and this world. Most readers probably have a number of them come to mind, just from reading those key words above.
But some of the most inspiring come from Isaiah chapter 40, and the same prophet who begins and ends his work with some of the most dire warnings in Scripture:
“Comfort, yes, comfort, My people! Says your Elohim.” (v 1)
Yes – there IS certainly chastening and rebuke for sins. BUT…
“…those who wait upon YHVH shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Speaking certainly for myself, I find it not only inspiring but exciting to think that we just MIGHT be living through one of the most dramatic and important periods in human history, when events prophesied by some of the greatest men who ever lived play out right before our eyes. IF these are truly the days which will literally scare some men – who do not know Him – to death, others of us who do will see life, and blessings, and the miracles they dreamed of first-hand.
“Bo Meshiach!”
But either way, the bottom line remains the same:
“Kazakh” – be strong and of good courage!
*Deuteronomy 30:15 and many more
