Friday, Jul 03, 2009

7-3 Don’t be Fooled

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“How do you answer someone who says the God of the Old Testament is an angry, judging, warlike God, and the God of the New Testament is a God of love?” (Two different gods?) My office is wherever I find myself, and today it was sitting on a short block wall, under the pine trees overlooking the amphitheater. I could hear the peaceful trickle of Deer Creek below. Al has a passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. He visits our local jails a few times a week. He is sharp! But Al likes to make sure that he has solid answers. He often discusses difficult issues with me. One of the overlooked facts of the Old Testament is that God often waited hundreds of years before finally saying enough is enough. In fact, the Old Testament is a testament to God’s mercy! The LORD sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them often, because He had compassion on them. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until there was no remedy. 2 Chron 36:15

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Samuel 22:1-25; Habakkuk 3; Luke 7:29-49
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com

Today’s thought comes from Luke 21:7 “So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?" 8 And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.

Do not be deceived. That is probably one of the most important prophetic cautions ever given! Don’t be fooled! How many so called prophets and date setters have made sensational claims only to disappoint their followers! …Dozens, perhaps hundreds. Jesus said, “Many!” So how do we avoid the pitfalls of prophecy? #1 The first way is to “Take heed” to Jesus words. Pay very close attention to them. #2 The second way is “don’t go after them…” that is, don’t follow the latest prophetic fads… don’t go after the “many who deceive.” Instead see #1! Heed Jesus Words. Our prophetic journey is going to look at Jesus prophetic statements in Luke 21, Matthew 24 and Mark 13 so that we can avoid prophetic deception. Matthew and Mark are similar in content, but Luke includes some unique content. We’ll begin in Luke. All three books include parallel questions from the disciples: First question: “When will these things be (the destruction of Jerusalem)?” Second Question: (Mark & Luke) “What will be the sign this is about to take place?” Third Question (Matthew only) “What will be the sign of your coming?” Matthew and Mark both talk about the beginning of sorrows, the abomination of desolation and the Great Tribulation; Events that happen in the 70th week of Daniel. But Luke takes us down a different path. He begins to talk about the 70th week, but in verse 12 he pauses and makes a very significant statement, “But BEFORE all these things…” Hey we had better pay attention to the book of Luke if we want to know what’s going to happen during our day, before the final prophetic chapter is written! What are these predictions that will happen BEFORE the 70th week? The first has to do with the general conditions of our age, and the second is an important prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews. Are you ready for Jesus prophetic message for our day? Read Luke 21. Get ready for it! You could be in for the ride of your life!

Dear Father, I pray for wisdom and understanding that I might see your prophetic word clearly. I do not wish to be deceived. Let me see in your word only what you meant to say and avoid seeing things that are not there. Give me 20/20 understanding of your Word.

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”-

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:08 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Thursday, Jul 02, 2009

7-2 The Third Temple

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“There is no end of projects around here!” Bill looked a little tired. He’s not getting any younger and he works hard! He’s always doing something for his children or for the Lord (maybe they are the same thing!). We walked around the church property looking at all the things that need to be done. A new shed for the sound equipment, Stairs leading down to the creek, the need to shore up the creek bank before winter waters erode it away, a new fence on the back of the property, the amphitheater stairs, sprinklers, block work, the roof between our two buildings… and on, and on, and on. “I can’t do them all! I need some help!” He’s right. If the Lord has moved you to help us out… we need it! Join the party.

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Samuel 21; Habakkuk 2; Luke 7
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com

Today’s thought comes from Daniel 9:26 “And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."

Desolations are determined! In the years following the death of Christ the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple. The Romans are “the people” mentioned in verse 26. From the Roman Empire, a “prince” is yet to come. Note the chronology well… it is AFTER the destruction of city and its temple that he makes a covenant that is meant to last for 1 week of Sabbath years (7 years). “THEN (that is after the temple is destroyed) he shall confirm a covenant… for one week.” But wait! It gets confusing because in the middle of the week he puts an end to the sacrifices at the temple! I thought the temple had been destroyed! Now you see it, now you don’t! First there is no temple, then there is! As of yet, since the people of the prince destroyed the city, no new temple has of yet appeared! We reason from this that a temple is yet to be built in the future! We also reason that the Jews will once again offer sacrifices at that temple. The book of Revelation indicates that as well. Jesus also spoke of the Abomination of desolation at the temple in Matthew 24. He tagged it to happen as “one of the signs of the end of the age” 24:3 & 15. He called it the time of “the Great Tribulation.” Jesus said that “immediately after the tribulation of those days… the Son of Man will appear” (Mt 24:29-30). The last week of Daniel has not yet occurred. There is yet a future 7 year prophetic period awaiting fulfillment on the nation of Israel. So what is this Abomination of Desolation? In Deut 27:15 God calls an idol “an abomination.” In Daniel 11:31 the army of the Gentiles A) put an end to the sacrifices and B) installed, in their place, the abomination of desolation. Paul indicated that the coming Antichrist will set “himself up in the temple as God!” 2 Thess 2:4. And in the book of Revelation 13:14-15 an “image of the Beast” was set up so that all the world would worship it. The Beast or the Antichrist is that prince who is yet to come! The book of Revelation was written 20 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple! John, who wrote the book even restated the same interval during which the sacrifices would cease! 3&1/2 years Daniel 12:11 & Revelation 11:1-3. 69 weeks have been fulfilled to the day, exactly as Daniel prophesied in the past. There is yet 1 week to be fulfilled literally as Daniel prophesied… and it is yet to come.

Dear Lord. I look to the past and you are the mastermind who knows all things and brings all things to fulfillment as you have planned. I look to the future and I know that one day everything you promised will come true. I look to the present, and I know that right now I need to live my life for you in every way! Make it so!

I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:04 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009

7-1 Wars of Desolation

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“I’m a good person.” The answer came snappily… no hesitation at all. “Me too,” said Brandy. Brandy had just finished telling me why she deserved to go to heaven, so I asked them both if they thought they were “good people.” “So, have you ever told a lie?” Their eyes grew large as both nodded “yes.” “And that makes you a…” “Sinner?” said Brandy, but Sonny chimed in, “Liar!” “Have you ever taken something that isn’t yours?” Dismay was evident on both faces. The hard reality of sin was just beginning to sink in. Both nodded “yes” with a little less enthusiasm. “And that makes you a…” “Sinner!” Mimicked Sonny. His sense of humor was showing. He had an evil grin on his face. “Thief,” deadpanned Brandy. “So, then, you’re both lying thieves?” “I don’t’ like this ‘good person test’ at all!” Pouted Brandy with a little smile curving from her mouth. “I don’t know if I want to play anymore!” Now for the tough question. “Have you ever committed adultery? You know sex outside of marriage.” Sonny leaned back sharply, eyes focusing on the ceiling. Brandy began to curl up into the fetal position. “OK! I get the message! I’m not as good a person as I thought I was!” So if God were to judge you based on your answers would you be guilty or innocent? In the next few minutes I’d share the good news that Jesus paid for those sins and that he offers heaven as a free gift. Brandy was eager to trust Christ! Good news! Pray for both of them.

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Samuel 20; Habakkuk 1; Luke 6:27-49
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com

Today’s thought comes from Daniel 9:26 “And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."

You’ve followed me for 69 weeks (in just a few days), now we have just one week left to go before the 70th prophetic week is up. One prophetic week of Sabbaths = seven years. Jesus died in AD 32. Add seven years and you get AD 39. But the “people of the prince to come” didn’t destroy the city until AD 70! We have a time loss of thirty years! What went wrong with the timeline? It got interrupted! There are two phrases in Daniel 9 that hint at this. #1 (first hint) “AFTER the sixty-nine weeks Messiah shall be cut off…” The Messiah was cut off “outside” of the 70 weeks. The Timeline has been interrupted. Now this statement in and of itself does not conclusively demand an interruption until we couple it with the second hint. #2 The prince WHO IS TO COME “shall confirm a confirm a covenant… for one week.” The Messiah was cut off after the sixty-ninth week but before the covenant which began the 70th week. The city of Jerusalem was also destroyed outside of the 70 weeks. In response to a Jewish rebellion that had begun in AD 66, The Roman General Titus took the city of Jerusalem by storm in the year 70 AD. His soldiers were so incensed that instead of taking the temple and plundering its treasures, they burned it to the ground with the remaining priests and people inside! The fire was so intense that it melted the precious metals the temple was made of. It happened so fast that Titus was unable to restrain his soldiers, thus fulfilling the statement “The end of it shall be as a flood.” But wars continued to burn in the holy land for years… and as Daniel noted “desolations are determined.” In 115-117 AD the Romans ruthlessly put down a Jewish rebellion in the Kitos war. Again in AD 132-136 there was a great slaughter of Jews and Romans in the Bar Kokhba revolt. Emperor Hadrian was furious with the Jews. At the former Temple sanctuary, he installed two statues, one of Jupiter, another of himself. In an attempt to erase any memory of Judea or Ancient Israel, he wiped the name off the map and replaced it with Syria Palaestina, after the Philistines, the ancient enemies of the Jews. In the year 351, the Jews launched yet another revolt, provoking heavy retribution. They rebelled again in 614 and the desolations continued as prophesied by Daniel. And yet, there is one week of Sabbath years left to be prophetically fulfilled for the nation of Israel.

Dear Father. I see that not heeding your prophetic Word can lead to serious desolation. Please help me to listen and obey. I also see that your prophetic Word is fulfilled in its most intimate details. Help me to be a student of your Word so that I will see what You see.

I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:14 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009

6-30 Timeline Interrupted

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Is your cup half empty or half full? Do you just see black clouds, or do you see the silver lining? Ok, this is really a question for yours truly… ME! Yesterday I struggled to see things from the positive side. Why? First of all, over the weekend, I had two checks bouncing around out of state and it seemed like I could do nothing about it. Like a lot of people, my finances have been tight and my Health Savings Account is no exception. I caught wind of it Friday in an email. I called on Saturday. There was nothing they could do on the weekend. By Monday morning I had accrued almost $100 in charges because they just kept sending the same two checks back through… boing, boing, boing! If one bounce is good, let’s send them back two or three times! Hello! Here’s the bright side. I didn’t even have to ask them to reverse the charges! They volunteered! And then as a bonus threw in an EXTRA 10 bucks! Like when does that happen! …but bad moods are hard to shake. It took me until almost noon to leave the house! And then my trailer got a flat tire! Great! Now I’m grumpy! The silver lining? I have two spare tires. God is good. No need to let circumstances ruin your day. He’s taking care of me!

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Samuel 19:23-43; Nahum 3; Luke 6:1-26
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com

Today’s thought comes from Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people… 25 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

I hope you did your best to follow my math class yesterday. It is one of the coolest prophecies ever! Let me review this amazing prophecy in simplified form. A) The first 7 weeks (49 years) – Jerusalem will be rebuilt in troublesome times. B) Add 62 more weeks (total of 483 years) – to Messiah “The Prince” at the triumphal entry. After he presents himself as Prince he will be “cut off” or killed, but “not for himself!” He died for our sins. This is really awesome stuff! C) AFTER Messiah is cut of then the people of the “Prince that is to come” shall destroy Jerusalem. That happened in AD 70 when General Titus took Jerusalem. Remember Jesus piercing cry as he looked down upon Jerusalem? While his supporters shouted “Hosanna in the highest” he saw the city and wept over it. Jesus cried out, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation." (Luke 19:42-44) Jesus knew Daniel! He was simply expressing Daniel’s prophecy in expanded form. Because He, the Messiah was rejected and cut off, the rest of the prophecy came into play. The people of “the prince to come” were going to leave the city desolate and the nation again would be scattered to the four winds until God brought them back into the land in fulfillment of yet another prophecy. D) Now get this! The prophetic timeline for Israel was interrupted when they rejected their Prince at the Triumphal entry. The things that happened after that are OUTSIDE the days planned for Israel. They occurred during the prophetic period we call “The Times of the Gentiles!” Once they rejected their Prince, God “set them aside” for a time! Tomorrow we will look at the last week of prophecy for God’s earthly chosen people.

Dear Messiah, my Savior and Lord. Thank you for being “cut off” for my sins and for the sins of the world. Help me to understand the time of my visitation, that now is the time for me to tune in my heart to you! Help me to always embrace you and your plan for me.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 9:28 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Monday, Jun 29, 2009

6-29 The Messiah Will Be Cut Off

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Update on Esther! She is doing great! The swelling and redness are gone! Thanks to those of you who prayed!

What’s the best kept secret of Douglas County? I’ll give you a few hints: The grass is as green as the day is long! Beautiful carpeted lawn. Hundreds of flowers are blooming in reds, yellows and a cacophony of colors. A dozen tall stately pine trees surround the place like sentinels, while another dozen maples stretch out their leafy branches to cover the hidden garden with their shade. Above, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. A dragonfly of a color and beauty I can’t describe lazily hovers across the lawn for all of us to admire. Behind is the quiet cascade of Deer Creek running endlessly past. The sound of beautiful music and blended voices just seems appropriate for this setting. It’s Sunday at the Pine Grove Amphitheater and if you’ve ever been there, you know what I mean, and you love to be there! This is the best kept secret of Douglas County! Thank God for its beauty. For a look go to www.pinegrovecommunitychurch.com

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Samuel 19:1-22; Nahum 2; Luke5:20-39
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com

Today’s thought comes from Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people… 25 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

I dare you to predict a significant earth shaking event that will occur exactly 483 years in the future. The good news is, if your predictions are that far into the future you won’t be around to face the music when they don’t come true. How can any one of us nearsighted little humans think that we could possibly know the shape of things to come! 483 years ago would have been the year 1526. By now Christopher Columbus has been dead for 20 years! The conquistadors are landing with alarming regularity on the Americas. William Tyndale has just begun to print “The Tyndale Bible” in English with the help of Martin Luther. The crossbow is in production and the production of firearms are still 25 years in the future. How could any person in 1526 predict the rise to world power of the United States of America? It was an inhospitable wilderness inhabited by hostile “savages.” Who, in 1526 would have predicted the automobile, air travel, space travel, the internet, or the host of other amazing changes that have occurred in the last 100 years alone! God dared to do so. The Almighty named the exact year when Christ would die 483 years before it happened! Let’s do the math, and I hope you like math because this can be confusing! 62 weeks (or sevens) plus 7 weeks = 69 weeks. That equals 483 “Sabbath years” of sevens. Jewish calendars used a 360-day year, so our total is 173,880 days (rather than years). When do the 173,880 days start? The “command to rebuild Jerusalem” was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C. In the first 7 weeks, 49 years Jerusalem was rebuilt! Even despite the opposition of Sanballat and Tobiah, Ezra and Nehemiah saw the fulfillment of that portion of the prophecy. Exactly 173,880 days later on April 6, 32 AD Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey proclaiming himself as “Messiah the Prince!” Immediately after those 69 weeks he would be crucified. How could Daniel have known this in advance? How could anyone have contrived this detailed prediction over three centuries before? This stunning prophecy, correct to the very day, is one of the most amazing proofs of the almighty power of God in Scriptures.

Dear All Powerful Lord. Once again I am reminded that you know all things! You scripted them out so perfectly. You have all things under control. They may not seem so to my perceptions, but to you, all things work together for your glory! I will trust in you.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

6-29 The Messiah Will Be Cut Off

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 11:40 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT