THE VISION: I saw a red Santa hat in the east. I heard, “Santa and his reindeer are hanging up their hats. They are out of business. The grim reaper has entered through the gates. And, he is taking back the toys, jobs, people, children, etc. The grim reaper is knocking on the doors of your hearts. Don’t let him inside. Put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus alone.”
Then, I heard: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD. [Psalm 150:6 NIV] END
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Haggai 2:
The Promised Glory of the New House
1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 2 "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Blessings for a Defiled People
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: 11 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: 12 If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?' "
The priests answered, "No."
13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?"
"Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."
14 Then Haggai said, " 'So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.
15 " 'Now give careful thought to this from this day on —consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD. 18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.
" 'From this day on I will bless you.' "
Zerubbabel the LORD's Signet Ring
20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."
My Understanding: I read this news article: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20101022/D9J0G7N00.html -
“The Obama administration is withholding assistance to some Pakistani military units over concerns they may have been involved in human rights abuses…”
Grim Reaper – Personification of Death – Angel of Death - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_(personification)
Revelation 6:7-8:
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The “house of the Lord” today is his church; his people; the saints of Almighty God; and true believers in Jesus Christ. It is not an organization, an institution, a denomination, a business, incorporation, or a building. It is the Body of Christ.
So, when the question is asked about seeing the house in its former glory and how it looks like nothing now, he is speaking of the church, Christ’s Body (a spiritual body). Certainly the church of today is not what it used to be. If this was speaking of America, I would say that this is speaking of how the world has crept into the church and how it is merely a shell of what it used to be spiritually, and it is very sad to see the spiritual and moral decline in today’s church and to often feel helpless in knowing what to do about it. So, the words here are very encouraging. Even if we are not seeing fruit for our labor and the church has not yet become what God has intended it to be or as glorious as it once was, we should not fear. We should be strong and work, for God is with us (those who are His disciples).
This next section of the passage (vv. 6-9) is difficult to interpret. I read several commentaries on these verses, and the commentators don’t agree on what it means when it says, “The desired of all nations will come.” Some believe this is a reference to Jesus Christ’s second coming, and yet these same commentators agree that Zerubbabel is a prefiguring of Christ, so it is difficult to interpret them both as Jesus Christ. Other commentators state that this could not be a reference to the Messiah, because of particular words or word forms that were used in the original language. In addition to that, the word desire is a word often associated with longing, craving, wanting, and coveting. The word “nations” is usually a reference to the world, not to the saints of God who would be the ones longing for the Messiah to return. So, who are the nations longing for? - A world king? - A universal messiah for all people, i.e. for Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.? What is America craving for? They want political leaders who will shake up Washington and who will return America to what they want it to be. They are looking for a human king to save them. And, before Jesus returns, such a king – the antichrist – will come. I believe he is the “grim reaper.”
On 11/07/09 I had a vision of Barack Obama and I had this same passage of scripture. Today, the vision did not name anyone, but the only news story that fit with this vision is the story of US aid being withheld from Pakistan. In the vision, Santa was in the east and he was hanging up his hat and the grim reaper was coming. This certainly could also be a reference to Washington, D.C. being in the east of the USA and “Big Brother” has been generous up until now, but that things are going to change. To withhold assistance means you gave assistance. I believe the picture here is that we were Santa Claus to Pakistan and to much of the world, including to our own, but now the Obama administration (there’s Obama’s name again associated with this passage of scripture about the desired of the nations coming) is withholding aid, so his administration is being like a “grim reaper” to Pakistan in that withholding aid can certainly mean death for those who have nothing. Yet, there is a possibility that the “grim reaper” is one yet to come before or after these elections and that this would be on a world-wide scale.
I believe God wants to encourage his church in Pakistan and around the world. Many are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Their hard labor in trying to build Christ’s church seems in vain as the enemy continually pounds them with his darts. Yet, there is hope. I keep seeing over and over and over again this picture of judgment and the antichrist and the persecution of the church and it producing revival and the harvest of souls. There will be a peace among God’s people that the world could never know outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ. We will see the church filled again with the glory of God as His Spirit is poured out upon us in revival during this time of great tribulation and persecution of the church, I believe.
During this time of judgment, God will shake the heavens and the earth. He will allow the Beast, the false prophet and the Dragon to rule for 3.5 years. And, when this all hits, I believe there is going to be a revival and a great harvest of souls and then the persecutions will really begin, yet that will only serve to further God’s kingdom. At the end of this time, Jesus will return for his Bride, and the Beast and the false prophet will be thrown alive into the lake of fire, the Dragon will be bound for 1,000 years and Jesus will reign on the earth during those 1,000 years, which is apparently symbolized in this person of Zerubbabel.
The passage keeps saying, “Give careful thought…” The Lord is telling the people how he had judged them previously and yet they did not turn to him. I know he has said that about America, i.e. that 9/11/01 was a judgment that was intended to cleanse us but we would not be cleansed. And, I know he’s been promising another judgment much greater than the one we saw on 9/11/01 here in America. And, yet, for the church, this is a promise of spiritual blessing. To see the church revived and to see a harvest of souls for God’s eternal kingdom would be the greatest blessing of all! That is our heart’s desire!!
In the vision, not only was the ‘grim reaper’ taking back everything he gave, but he is knocking at people’s doors of their hearts. The warning is to not let him inside. Physical death will come to all of us. Those of us who are in Christ Jesus should never fear death. So, if the “grim reaper” symbolizes physical death, then there is nothing to be concerned about because we are all going to die one day. I believe he represents spiritual death more than anything, which is what the ‘mark of the beast’ is about. To let him inside means to accept him into our lives to save us from the ills of this world. The blood of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can protect us from spiritual death, and Jesus is our only Savior.
So, I believe this refers to not taking the mark of the beast, which may be a physical mark but must be preceded, I believe, by some type of confession of faith in the beast and a rejection of Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior and Messiah of the world. So, I believe these words, “Give careful thought” apply very much here. The Lord is asking us to be discerning. He warns us in scripture not to put our trust in princes and to not trust in the legs of man, but to put our trust in Almighty God to save us. The children of Israel were always in trouble when they put their faith and trust in some human king or some foreign country to save them. So, to the world, I believe the Lord is saying to not put your faith in the United States of America. We can’t save you! We can’t even save ourselves. And, to the people of the USA, I believe God is saying not to put our hope in politicians or in political parties or platforms to save us. Don’t open the door and invite them in! Put your trust in God and in God alone! Only He can save you!!
God and God Alone / Steve Green
God and God alone created all these things we call our own
From the mighty to the small the Glory in them all is God's and God's alone
Chorus:
God and God alone is fit to take the universe's throne
Let everything that lives reserve its truest praise for God and God alone
God and God alone reveals the truth of all we call unknown
and the best and worst of man won’t change the Master's plan it's God's and God's alone
God and God alone will be the joy of our eternal home
He will be our one desire, Our hearts will never tire of God's and God's alone
No comments:
Post a Comment