foresight

There is a deserted gas station outside North Baltimore, OH on route 75 that I pass every time I make the trip from Michigan to Ohio and back.  For some reason it really stands out to me.  It's a tiny nondescript building completely overgrown by nature, but what really caught my eye was the pricing sign.  Unlike the elaborate digital signs at modern gas stations, this sign is a single pole with rectangle at the top.  The price would have been in lights, but the sign is only built for .00 pricing.  There is no space for anything above .99/gallon!

While I love the thought of (and vaguely remember) gas being under a 1.00/gallon, the lack of foresight stirs up my soul. If the sign is an indication of the business planning it's no wonder the tiny station has been closed and deserted for so long that it's barely recognizable.  But the building has never been torn down.  It's still there, isolated on the opposite side of the freeway from all of the big time gas stations and fast food restaurants.  It sort of reminds me of the Disney movie Cars where all of the businesses on the old Route 66 are suffering and rundown.

Men perish for lack of vision.  This sign sparked in me the reality of how unprepared we are as a people for the end of the age.  Jesus said that He was coming back, but I believe that His people have forgotten what that means.  And honestly, I believe most of His people have either given up on seeing His second coming, or they just expect it to happen at any moment with no warning.  Jesus warns us to not be caught sleeping, so that the second coming is like a thief in the night.  But I don't believe that for those with their eyes and hearts open that His return will be anything like a thief in the night.  I have come to understand that there was a 3rd party in the parable of the 5 Wise and 5 Foolish virgins...the one outside who announced that the Bridegroom was coming!

The end of the age became a reality for me at two different moments in my life.  One moment scared me, and the other transformed me.  When I was about 14 years old I watched a 70's movie about the Rapture called "A Thief in the Night".  The movie portrayed people disappearing right and left and being caught up to be with Jesus while the rest of the world is left to face the Tribulation and all of it's horrors.  I went to the altar that night, even though I knew I was a Christian, and got "more right" with God. I was crying and scared and wanted to be ready.  That summer I definitely matured in my faith and consecrated my future to His plan.  But that view of the End Times did not transform my heart.  The fear subsided and I began to live again like it was never going to happen in my time.

When I went to IHOP-KC, however, I was faced again with the reality of the coming of Jesus to rule and reign.  For the first time in my life I began studying the Word and Revelation and it was actually making sense.  As I studied, my eschatological stance began to form.  I finally began to understand what all the terminology meant and was able to start clarifying what I believed.  My entire life I had been taught that we could not know when He was coming and that it didn't matter as long as I was "ready" to go when the Rapture occurred. I would then be caught up with Jesus, safe from the Anti-Christ and Tribulation...suffice it to say I don't believe that anymore.  Once I learned that Revelation could actually be interpreted literally and understood by the common believer, it changed my entire paradigm.  The Lord began to open my mind to His word, and began to show me signs in the Spirit about what is already happening and what is to come.  For the first time in my life I believe that I will see the return of Jesus, though I may be very old, and know in my heart that I have to be made ready and help make others ready to meet Him face to face.  He has placed the cry of the ultimate forerunner, John the Baptist, in my heart and a desire for all to know and understand what is to come.  Through His Word and by His Spirit, we will be able to discern the signs of the times, and eventually, we will be able to know when He will return (Rev 11:7-19).  Holy Spirit has lit a fire in my heart to teach Revelation and Eschatology, so that is exactly what I am preparing to do.

The enemy has kept us blind for too long.  Hope deferred has made our heart sick as a people, hoping and praying for the Lord to return for generations to the point that we now don't even look to the sky.  Lulling us to sleep is the first step in the Anti-Christ's plan for domination.  And unfortunately the belief that we will be "caught up" before all of the really bad stuff happens is only adding to the delusion.  We are a people called to intimacy with Jesus, for intimacy will sustain us in the Tribulation to come.  If we study and press in to the Father's heart, we will be able to discern the changing of the seasons and will be able to see through the lies of the Anti-Christ.  In that position we will be able to partner with Christ as the great and terrible day approaches, and for all eternity.  A lack of understanding and preparation will cause offense in the hearts of even believers and they will fall away or suffer loss.  I finally have some spiritual foresight and can understand the importance of being informed and ready to meet the challenges that are ahead.  It is my desire the help others to reach the same confidence before the Lord.