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The Mark of the Heart and a Year of Reckoning
By Watchman | November 10, 2008
Just before the end of 2006 I began to get a feeling something of great importance was building up for the year 2007. I didn’t know if it was time for the Rapture of the church or the tribulation hour, or if it was to be a year of warnings and blessings for the church and the people of God, or a year of judgment or revelation for the unbelievers. I only knew something big was in the offing. It was not until a few months into 2007 that I was shown what was happening in the world: It was the year that began what I can only call “the mark of the heart.” We’ve all heard of the mark of the beast that will be imposed on all people in the latter days, instituted by the antichrist and his false prophet: a mark on the right hand or forehead without which no one will be able to buy or sell; a mark that will identify us as Satan’s. After the imposition of that mark, no salvation will be possible. One’s fate will be sealed for all eternity. After the seven years of tribulation begin, people will still be turning to Christ; those people will be sealed as His at that time. So how does God see in advance those who would never accept the mark? How will He choose who He will shelter, who He will call to righteousness or who He will leave to make their final decisions to the last moment?
I believe that is what was decided in 2007. All around the world I could see people taking the side of the Most High God, or choosing the way of the world instead. While the Holy Spirit continued (and still continues) to call people to the side of Jesus the Messiah, it was a year of unprecedented anger, chaos and discontent. There was no civility in politics, no Godliness in our forms of entertainment; no love in our hearts as we sought answers to the violence that has taken over the world. As I looked at the faces of passers-by, I saw little evidence of joy. The “fullness of the Gentiles” had come in, and now began to ebb as even many Christians began to turn from the Word of God to accept a politically-correct god made in their own image.
Now we near the end of 2008, and the line between good and evil is even more clearly delineated in my mind. The Lord had shown me a new vision for this year. This year, 2008 AD, marked the beginning year of reckoning for our sins. God loves us with all the unlimited love of His holy heart, but He has had enough! Throughout this entire year we have seen unusual weather patterns and disasters occuring throughout the entire world: real warnings from God Who is about to move greatly on this earth. Yet did these warnings bring repentence as they did to other generations? Instead, our society, so technologically advanced that we believe we have no need or use for God’s intervention, prefers to attribute His manifestations of His presence as global warming. The persecution of Christians (while subtle and therefore unnoticed in the west; overt and devastating in the rest of the world) is being largely dismissed as a natural occurence brought on by the Christian community’s insistance that the demonic false gods that are rife in the world today are not just as valid as the One true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! God allowed financial disaster to overtake our nation and the world’s monetary systems in another attempt to gain our attention and turn it to those things that matter most; instead, more people are concerned about their mortgages and their 401Ks than they are about matters of the spirit. God’s Hand of mercy lifts a little more each time we reject His way and continue in our present state of rebellion.
We have just elected the first black President of the United States. While this was undoubtedly a victory for civil rights and we must continue to pray for him as we are to pray for all in authority, his election was not a victory for Christians or for Christ. We have elected to highest office in America a man who not only supports abortion on demand (including for underage girls without parental consent) but has openly and forcefully mocked the Scriptures. It is impossible to be sure how he will deal with the problems facing Israel: on one hand, he has promised to aid Israel; on the other, he is friends with (and surrounds himself with) people who are strongly pro-Muslim and pro-Palestinian. For 20 years he sat in a church that was strongly anti-American and racist. Polls show that many Christians voted for this man notwithstanding; I do not know if they were misled or merely believe that their faith is not to be confused with their politics. Either way, the door has been opened for America’s entrance into the New World Order. Bible prophecy tells us that in the latter days a man will arise who will cause all countries to come together as one united political entity. He will be voted in on a platform of peace, but he will bring death, destruction and hell on earth. Our recent elections have proven that the majority of Americans prefer the worldly to the Godly. We prefer the promise of economic wealth to the strengthening of those things that will cleanse and uplift our hearts. We prefer to create our own god rather than to submit to the will of the God of all creation.
Pray, children of the living God! Pray for our nation and the world to accept His love while there is still time to do so. Pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done ”on earth as it is in heaven”! Pray for blind eyes to be opened and for deaf ears to hear His Word. Pray for yourselves, for your unsaved family members and friends.
Rid yourselves of sin. Are you drinking heavily or using drugs? Stop it, now! Do you fill your spare hours watching ungodly movies and TV programs that exalt the secular, the selfish, the unholy or even the occult? Stop it, now! Do you call upon the Name of Jesus regularly, or only when you’re swearing? Do you love your neighbors as yourselves, or are you harboring resentments and anger? Are you, as Christ commanded us, blessing those who curse you, and praying for those who ill-use you? Beloved, it is time to be the people Christ called upon us to be! It is too late to worry about whether we feel, look or sound foolish when we proclaim the Name of the Lord! “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” (Rev. 22:14)
Most of all, loved ones, remember that the battle belongs to the Lord! He has already won, no matter how things look here! There is no doubt that the enemy is stepping up his attacks against the faithful, but regardless of what we go through now God wins! Jesus has prepared a place for us in His kingdom. Take heart from these words:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ “
(Revelation 21:1-4)
Beloved, if you are still not certain you belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, please accept Him into your heart now! He loves you so very much and is just waiting for you to invite Him in. He will comfort, guard, guide and protect you, make you a king and a priest in His sight, and grant you an eternity in which to praise and worship Him!
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17)
“He (Jesus) who testifies to these things says ‘Surely, I come quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev.22:20)
Maranatha!
Topics: Current Events and the End of the Age | 1 Comment »
September 12th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I’m going through several of your articles, “Watchman”. I can sense the anointing on what you write. Thank you. Anything that makes me examine myself – to ask God to shine a spotlight on my heart – is a blessing! Painful…yes, but a blessing! It’s time we all checked our armor, how well we’re shod for “The Race”. I looked at my armor today. It’s got some chinks! My race shoes look as though they can use some repair. I’m on it!!!