Knowing God
“All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:8, ESV) (KJV – sorrows)One sure way not to read the events happening in the Middle East between Israel and the surround-ing terrorist groups and hostile nations is to view them as you would most internet news stories. Ac-cording to studies we spend about 26 seconds, on average, reading a piece of content. No wonder we zip past serious news. The next story may be about who Taylor Swift is holding hands with or what Brittany Spears is doing with a machete. The authors of the book Smart Brevity tell us that “never in the history of humanity have we vomited more words in more places with more velocity.” And skimming over the Bible prophecies, if bothered with at all, may be far too common. One sure way not to read Bible prophecy is to put ourselves in the center. Biblical prophecy centers upon God’s purpose to glorify Himself on earth through Israel and the reign of His Son Jesus Christ over the world from Jerusalem. As we approach the end of this evil age and the glorious return of Jesus and our being gathered to Him (2 Thessalonians 2:1), there will be the increasing intensity of birth pains in the spiritual and natural world. We must be aware of these things and not consider them for oh about 26 seconds. Read Matthew 24 and 25 as a whole teaching. This is a good place to dwell in forming a strong foundation for the understanding of Bible prophecy. Jesus knew what He was talking about. Take Him seriously and let the Bible say what it says. You may see some things differently than what you have been told. That is ok. Love one another but seek truth. So many of you are concerned to do your part in these diffi cult times for the glory of God. Un-derstanding God’s plan for His world takes time, prayer, and discernment. Please do not accept everything you hear from Bible teachers no matter how educated. Seek the teaching help of the Holy Spirit. Israel is the prophetic centerpiece of God’s plans to take over the leadership of the earth through Jesus. This explains why the Lebanese based terrorist thugs Hezbollah has over 150,000 rockets aimed at Israel and why Hamas butchered innocent Israeli citizens. Satan lusts for Israel’s destruction. He won’t succeed but it will seem he has for a season. Pray for Israel to return to God and turn to His Son Jesus Christ. Pray that they will soon say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.” (Matthew 23:39) We can’t ignore birth pains.