The Shocking News At The Final Throne | PODCAST

By Pastor Vinnie

Jesus predicted only two types of people before His throne at that end of the world, however, incredibly unexpected to both groups, is the utterly shocking news neither group ever expected to hear Jesus say to them!

Join us as we bring season one of Simply Devotion to a close with the final parable of Jesus about the end of the world in Matthew 25. Are you ready for the shocking news Jesus gives the those he separates at the end of the world?

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It is all about seeking Jesus on deeper theological levels. 

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Deep Into The Study Of Eschatology

[Podcast]

By Pastor Vinnie & Guest  Travis Walker from Adventology 

We continue with our second interview with Pastor Travis of Adventology on the study of prophecies Jesus gave us about the end of the world. Our discussion gets very deep so buckle up!

It is all about seeking Jesus on deeper theological levels. 

Social Media Connections: Find us @ –

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Blogs 

Check out my blogs, articles, and spiritual growth material @ www.SimplyVinnie.com 

All background music is used with permission of www.purple-planet.com 

Occasional background music used by permission of Solidrocksda.com and Pastor Vinnie. 

(c) 2020 – 2025

Learn More About Travis Walker And Adventology

Travis Walker is the founder of Adventology and is currently the pastor of the Daytona Beach Seventh-day Adventist Church.  His one passion is sharing the everlasting gospel of Jesus with whomever will listen.

Adventology was created to help you navigate life’s uncertainties through the certainty of God’s Word. His podcast Adventology is an epic style Bible study that focuses on asking the big questions of life concerning God, faith, truth, prophecy and eternity. I highly recommend you check it out!

Adventology Links:

Website: Adventology.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventology1

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEWyh6JRZDBzbx75ujHOidw

Twitter: @pastortwalk

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Realted: 

A Deeper Look At The Background of Jesus [Podcast]

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Intro To Eschatology

[Podcast]

By Pastor Vinnie & Guest  Travis Walker from Adventology 

This week we are getting deep into End Time Prophecy with Pastor Travis from his very popular show Adventology. It is time to learn about Jesus & the end of the world as we kick off a miniseries on the eschatology of Jesus.

Pastor Travis of Adventology joins me to discuss what Jesus had to say about the end of the World in Mathew 24. Adventology will join me for the first two episodes of this mini-series that focuses on the views of Jesus and the end of the world.

It is all about seeking Jesus on deeper theological levels. 

Social Media Connections: Find us @ –

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Blogs 

Check out my blogs, articles, and spiritual growth material @ www.SimplyVinnie.com 

All background music is used with permission of www.purple-planet.com 

Occasional background music was used with the permission of Solidrocksda.com and Pastor Vinnie. 

(c) 2020 – 2025

Learn More About Travis Walker And Adventology

Travis Walker is the founder of Adventology and is currently the pastor of the Daytona Beach Seventh-day Adventist Church.  His one passion is sharing the everlasting gospel of Jesus with whoever will listen.

Adventology was created to help you navigate life’s uncertainties through the certainty of God’s Word. His podcast Adventology is an epic-style Bible study that focuses on asking the big questions of life concerning God, faith, truth, prophecy, and eternity. I highly recommend you check it out!

Adventology Links:

Website: Adventology.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventology1

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEWyh6JRZDBzbx75ujHOidw

Twitter: @pastortwalk

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POLITICAL IDOLATRY

Part Two of Three of the series “Dispelling Theo-Politics”

By Vinnie MacIsaac

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

There were two great sins in ancient Israel:
1) Wanting a King like the other nations.
2) Wanting Gods like the other nations.

It is important to understand they are intertwined. When God’s people rejected God as their only sovereign King^[1] they rejected all forms of Godly Political Leadership. All types of Human leadership, since, have been but a marred reflection of who God is and what God meant the nations to become. Israel, in their great sin of demanding a king like the nations, actually doomed all the nations because the Gentiles were intended to learn to have a King, like Israel, and not the other way around. Understand that this great sin did not go away. It leads them to reject Jesus just as It leads us right to this very moment in modern politics and what will bring about the final great persecution of the church foretold in Revelation 13. It is the sin of rejecting God’s political leadership that we have all, and will all, continue to do that gives The Beast the ability to take full control as we have been warned:

“And The Beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.  It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.“ (Revelation 13:5-10)

What is Idolatry? Idolatry comes in two basic packages:
1) Declaring yourself to be God
2) Giving worship to something or someone else that is not God.

As far back as Egypt’s Pharaohs, and even further back into Imperial cults and tribal cults kings, chiefs, and shaman were associated with, if not outright identified as, deities^[2]. So it follows, then, that when Israel was demanding a King, they were doing much more than rejecting God’s political leadership but desiring new gods. It is no wonder they kept falling into literal idolatry all the years of their existence.

How different are we today than Israel of old? Do we think the Government can solve our problems? More to the Biblical point, do we believe there is a form of government that can solve our problems? What is our real hope in? All human types of government are rooted in some sort of idolatry because they, in essence, seek to fix problems only God could fix[3]. You can have big government, you can have small governments but both will be rooted in human reasoning. We have tried tribal governments, monarchs, dictatorships, democracies, republics, socialist states, mixed democratic socialism and straight up communism, and all of them eventually break down.

The reason they break down is as simple as Sociology 101. I learned this basic lesson from my freshman college professor, Steve Arvey, who drilled it into my head, “Rational systems break down when you introduce irrational variables; and humanity itself has always been, and will always be, an uncontrollable, irrational variable that creates chaos in reality where order seems logical in theory.”^[4] The point I abstracted from my teacher’s wisdom is there is no form of governance, that man can create, that can restore the broken (or irrational) nature of the fallen man. If a man is unable to govern himself in a fallen state then on what logic would he be able to govern others? Did the great and wise Rabbi not already tell us that the blind cannot lead the blind? (Luke 6:39, Matthew 15:14)

We cannot return to Eden until the Earth is made new, and we cannot return to true theocracy until Jesus restores all things;

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God, himself, will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4

Furthermore, the central crisis of the end of the world and Satanic persecution of the church in Revelation 13 stems exactly from man’s irrational attempts to restore a theocracy on man’s terms; which is the only terms from which fallen men can function. This is the race the world is running towards with every change of government and political season or movement;

“And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.” Revelation 13:15

So what does God expect us to do? Well, prepare for the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the only truly fit ruler of the universe, of course! However, I have also become convicted that to avoid falling into the snares of the Revelation 13 crisis; we need to understand we cannot invest all hope and all salvation in any political affiliation that comes from man. For they all lead to national and global idolatry that we find outlined in Revelation 13, 17 and 18.

While it is true all human systems are broken it is also true that some are more broken than others and God still works in the commodity of humanities brokeness. The Apostle Paul, in Roman’s 13:1-7 suggests that God is using current political systems to hold order temporally but goes on to expound in verses 8-14 that, ideally, God’s real government would be founded on mutual love. What this means is we should prayerfully seek out the best governing systems, that reflect God’s compassion towards each other and reflect on some limited level sacrificial giving. Each of us must seek what God permits by identifying them on personal understandings of Biblical values and then trust God to unfold His permissive will even at times when we can’t understand His reasoning from our fallen human perspective. Here in the west that would mean I can’t honestly in full identify with the western political left or political right because my identity is not apart of any political ideology.  Rather my political identity is found only in my unfolding reflection of Christ as it collaborates with a deepening understanding of Biblical values in a vastly changing pluralistic world context. Under such conditions, it would be foolish to see political affiliation as static.

I am personally convicted that the common practice among Christians to self-identify with either the left of the right and their ideological platforms is actually bullish Idolatry.

I am personally convicted that the common practice among Christians to self-identify with either the left of the right and their ideological platforms is actually bullish Idolatry. While there are biblical values on the left like; equality, feminism, care of those in poverty, and other general protections for the underprivileged; the right can also lay claims to being pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, and pro-protestant work ethic. To even try to identify which of these two platforms is more Biblical is to ignore the reality and certainty, that while both hold some values in common with Christianity, neither are Godly because both are steeped in philosophical humanism and therefore contain vast amounts of unbiblical propositions in their mix. Thus, the “right” direction for a Christian to vote is likely subjective to the ever-shifting paradigms in our pluralistic society at that particular time or even region. Therefore, such things as how to vote can only be decided in personal prayer and supplication with seeking the will of the Holy Spirit in that moment’s specific social, political, and cultural situations.

In other words, a Christian who finds themselves voting along party lines is likely, at times, certainly voting against the Holy Spirit and is not being sensitive to God’s leading in their growing spiritual journey. That is why we should move to finding our values first from our identity in God and the teachings of His Word, rather than from popular political ideology and debated talking points that we find on modern news outlets.

To be frank, political ideology is idolatry to the born-again Christian because a born-again Christian’s identity should ever be grounded in Jesus and his teachings; and no such political party exists. It is to make something other than Jesus your King, your solution, your Savior.

To be frank, political ideology is idolatry to the born-again Christian because a born-again Christian’s identity should ever be grounded in Jesus and his teachings; and no such political party exists. It is to make something other than Jesus your King, your solution, your Savior. Political ideology lets you say evil things about people, vote evil things that hurt people, and hope evil things to happen to people, all in the name of what you believe is right!  For me, it is the start of that hate that is festering in the heart of the faithful as they march away from Jesus and are transformed into becoming Satanic Soldiers who embrace the second beast’s methods found in Revelation 13, namely, a forced ideology which leads to his forced worship.

“Hear what the LORD says to you, people of Israel. This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.” Jeremiah 10:1-6

CLICK HERE FOR PART THREE  – The Politics Of Jesus

CLICK HERE FOR TO RETURN TO PART ONE  – Rejecting The King

Footnotes

^[1]  I will deal with in detail in the second installment of this series.

^[2] “The rulers of Egypt, first the kings and later the pharaohs, were gods as well as men who ruled by divine right. Each king was ‘the son of god’, who at the point of death became one with his father, a god in a cosmic Heaven.” Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas (August 1, 2001). The Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus, 100. ISBN 978-1-931412-75-9. Available in print from Fair Winds. Sourced from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_been_considered_deities#Imperial_cults

[3] That is not to say we should do nothing but it is just to say nothing we do will hold for long.

^[4] Steve Arvey, Intro to Sociology; Sheridan College, Oakville Ont, Canada.

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REJECTING THE KING

Part One of Three of the series “Dispelling Theo-Politics”

By Vinnie MacIsaac

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”  But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” 1 Samuel 8:4-7

Since Eden, all change happens because of our responses to corruption, or our desires to use corruption as our tool. The reason is simply that since our exit out of Eden, all of humanity and our world is hurling down a decline that leads to utter destruction. Sometimes we are trying to escape corruption, other times to contain it, and more often to create and expand it. I can’t blame Israel for wanting to avoid the corruption of the sons of Samuel, but their bewailing laments for a King because of this corruption is a schema of chicanery. It is an excuse of convenience, and their own words rise to condemn them; “Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

The real desire of Israel is to be like the pagan nations around them and to have priestly kings like the pagans in the surrounding lands. Israel, all the way back to the days of Moses and Joshua, has always had a not- so- secret crush on the pagan cultic gods of the lands. This was the reason Yahweh repeatedly showed Himself to be more powerful than the pagan idols of the nations by doing incredible and unexplainable feats, like parting the Red Sea, slaying the eldest sons of Egypt, tumbling the walls of Jericho and so forth. There was to be no mistake about who was the real God. Nor about whose nations should rise and become the shining light to the rest of the other nations.

Jesus became the bright star in Bethlehem because Israel refused to shine before the world and proclaim Him as the only rightful King and Priest of this world and the whole universe.

Jesus became the bright star in Bethlehem because Israel refused to shine before the world and proclaim Him as the only rightful King and Priest of this world and the whole universe. Imagine the gloom that day in Heaven. The very ones whom God had brought in and given the promised-land so that they would be strategically positioned to declare the real King of the universe to the nations, in essence, said, “Pass! Nah, we’d rather have a different king, we don’t need a king like Jesus. We want a king like the other nations over there.” Often we read this story and rightfully see it as sad, but fail to fully grasp the depths of the spiritual catastrophe it is and the implacable results it consummated in forging our direction, even unto the end of the world.

Stop and consider what this moment in history was; Jesus Christ was rejected as the political leader of the world by his own Church! If God’s people, God’s priesthood, God’s Holy Nation could deny the only true and faithful political leader the world would ever see,  what hope would spiritually blind pagan nations and priests have?[1]

It is not conjectured to say God permitted this rebellion because he knew there could be no turning back from it once it entered the heart of man. It was not really a rejection of Samuel and his sons, but rather of God and His Son, King Jesus. God comforts Samuel by affirming to him the real motivations of the hearts of Israel was not Samuel’s failure but their lack of faith in God’s divine politically leadership. It is with compassion that God tells Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.”

King Saul started out as the best option man could make. He was bright, strong, good looking and Kingly. But man’s best efforts, man’s best selections, man’s desired style of leadership vastly differ from God’s. When King Saul quickly defaulted to apostasy, God selected David as an example of what godly leadership looked like. As we know, David’s reign was not without problems.  But perhaps the greatest of those problems was actually David’s lifespan which gave way to Solomon, whose vast wisdom, still, could not hold the nation together and Israel fell into an ever-increasing state of rebellion against God and the embracing of utter Idolatry; one king after another. The lesson worth noting here: even if God helps you select godly political leadership that is in subjection to Him, it is always going to come in limited packaging and time.

Humanity, as a whole, has been on a downward spiral of political leadership ever since the death of King David. The only exception to this rule, of course, is King Jesus. However, on his first Advent, he did not come to lead politically but to spiritually atone for sin. He famously told his disciples, right before his ascension, not to focus on political ambitions but to seek the Holy Spirit and the spiritual mission of spreading the gospel.

“So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8

The Apostle Paul tells us that God appoints leadership to sustain earthly order and despite the imperfection of human kingdoms, Christians ought to obey these authorities as much as possible.

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1)

Paul even goes on to advocate a faithful paying of taxes to governing authorities because God is using them to subdue the wrongdoers. In other words, since man has rejected the political leadership of Jesus, God uses imperfect systems of governing authority as stopgap ways of holding the order until the return of Christ. The fallout or penalty of such systems is taxation and leadership that is often enforced by brute force (see Romans 13 vs 5-7). However, Paul is quick to point out that among people of faith leadership was meant to be forged in love, not hierarchical authority (see Romans 13 vs 8-10).

God’s system of government has always been based on sacrificial love as a method to produce reciprocal love that binds the universe together with unbreakable existence. This is why Revelation 13 pits God’s version of governance of love directly against the Sea and Land Beast’s system of governance by intolerance and force. John the Revelator calls Jesus the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. (Revelation 13:8) John is establishing that God’s rule of law is love, not force. God’s system is about ensuring equality of love by showing that God does not force the will of men but was willing to make Jesus the great sacrifice for us as the very foundation of His rightful Kingship and governance of men. Meanwhile, John the Revelator, in contrast, paints the Beast powers of Revelation 13 as using willful force, hierarchical authority, and even willingness to committing mass genocide as a means of stability to govern the world (see Revelation 13 vs 7,8, 12, 15-17). It should be clear even from a light devotional reading of this chapter that these two governmental styles are polar opposites of each other!

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

The familiar nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty is an apt way to describe the end time system of the world depicted in Revelation 13, 17, and 18 where we see the Beast power’s system of political, economic, and spiritual powers are doomed. It is doomed because it has rejected and is devoid of the Kingship of Jesus which is the only way to sustain life and order in the universe.

Revelation 17 declares,

“…for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:15-18)

Chapter 18 continues to paint the failing world systems at the end of time:

“And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon!For in a single hour your judgment has come.” (Revelation 18:9-10)

It is when mankind has exhausted the frailties of all the failed systems of earthly governance and there are no more systems to turn to which will save his beloved Babylonian way of life that he realizes the error of his ways, as shown in 1 Samuel 8.  Sadly, it is already too late when mankind, once again, agrees on returning to a theocracy. It’s when monarchies, dictatorships, democracies, and capitalist and socialist states, all fail and no longer can sustain any order that man seeks religious rule.  It is then globally agreed that the only system of governance that can work is a universal theocracy with a visible but spiritual chain of command. Only this time instead of King Jesus, this theocracy is built around the worship of the Beast of Revelation 13! And instead of being instituted by sacrificial love and producing reciprocal love, it is forged in hierarchical power, hate, and forced worship of the Beast power! “…the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.” Revelation 13:15b

It was in that garden of Genesis that man, in listening to the serpent over God, he rejected the spiritual leadership of God which put him on the ‘non-repealable’ path to the rejection of God’s political leadership of 1 Samuel 8. These two events have left all humanity bankrupt and desolate of spiritual, moral fortitude and basic dexterity of the administration of even simple governance that can be sustained for prolonged periods of time. All attempts implode into stratified oppressive, tyrannical systems of governance, that despite man’s best-laid and well-intentioned plans, keep rerouting us to an inescapable Revelation 13 end time trajectory. With the wrong King at the head of the world, humanity devoid of God has the only destruction as its final destination.

It is, in fact, the rejection of The King of Kings, that sent men, even well-meaning and spiritual men, on a collision course of installing a false theocracy that worships the Antichrist and enslaves once free men to worship it and give it power. Therefore, the conclusion is unavoidable and assured that Christians who hold fast to rebuilding systems of nationalism under the banner God, by using political means to achieve spiritual outcomes, are not only ripe for the end time deception but are veritably building the foundations of the theocracy of the Beast power.

The final questions remains;

Which King do you really serve? And which king are you willing to reject from your life before it is too late? Are you rejecting the King? Which one? It matters.

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO  – Political Idolatry

Footnotes:

[1] Which is all the more reason we ought to stand in awe each Advent season when we hear the repeated story of the Wise Men in the East who come to find the baby Jesus. See Matthew Chapter 2.

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Houston in the Harvey:

The Enemy Came In Like A Flood

By Pastor Vinnie 

 Why didn’t they get out? They had time. Yet many stayed. They believed the worst would not happen. Houston was perhaps the hardest hit. It is a city on flat land and was a sure hit for incredible flooding given where landfall of Harvey was happening. But even this reality could not shake the city free of its apathy.

Photo: Austin American-Statesman

The lack of belief that I need to be prepared for the worst is an infectious problem we all struggle with, in the realm of balance. I think, to some degree, it is actually healthy and functions as an internal trade-off to afford ourselves the peace we need to avoid the slippery slope of pessimism and defeatism. Still, while I am no fan of fear mongering, maybe there is room here for a healthy wakeup call in all of this.

As bad as Harvey, and its aftermath, is going to be, the truth is that we know even worst things will come upon this earth before Jesus returns. One striking thought hit me as I read through the various news articles on Harvey is that, realistically, all the people who had to move out of the path of the storm could not have evacuated even if they had wanted to.

Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner said it best in a Press Conference, “You literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road.” “If you think the situation right now is bad, you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare.”^[1]

If that is the case then what will happen when one day worse than Harvey hits? Imagine, if you will, a scenario of disasters Harvey- size running continually and simultaneously all over the nation at once. There literally would be no way to escape, nor any place to escape to. Yet that is exactly what the Bible predicts:

“The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” (Revelation 6:14)^[2]

And Jesus himself said,

“How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” (Matthew 24:20-21)^[3]

The unpopular truth is, there is a time of trouble that is coming upon this whole earth that will be many times over the problem of Harvey and will leave no place to evacuate to. There is a time coming, for which we cannot physically prepare. And the only rescue boat that can save you is Jesus!

Photo: AP HARVEY A USA TX

You can hoard wealth, but it will be useless in that day as commerce is swiped away. You can hone survival skills, but there will be no resources in that day. You can stockpile weapons, but the evil of that day will not be people. You can stick your head in the sand and pretend it will never happen, never come, and pretend it is all fear mongering and speculation. However, that will only make you be the greatest “Houston in the Harvey” the world has ever seen.

Only Jesus saves in that day! Only Jesus can reach you in that day. When 911 no longer works, and rescue boats no longer come, and when the whole world has lost hope, look up, look up to the light in the sky because it will be Jesus and His mighty army of angels returning to get you and bring you to safety.

The question is, how is your relationship with Jesus today? I know, “Tomorrow, tomorrow we will always have tomorrow…,” said Houston yesterday! The truth is there is no tomorrow unless there is today. Matthew chapter 25 makes it quite clear that if you have not prepared a relationship with the bridegroom (Jesus) today, then when He returns there will be no time do so.

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:10-13)^[4]

Jeep Cherokee Sports Edition 4 Wheel Drive model. This is very similar to their model.

I remember a few years back when I was living in the more southern part of the United States. One day I was in the church parking lot on my way into worship, and a saw two very elderly sisters drive up whom I knew well. Betsy and Dana^[5] who were well into their late 80’s drove up to church in a massive Jeep Cherokee Sports Edition 4 Wheel Drive with giant tires on it. I felt pretty sure Betsy and Dana were not the off-road driving type so I asked them why in the world would they buy a giant Jeep like that!

“Oh the time of trouble is coming, Vinnie, you better be getting ready!” Dana spoke up proudly. “And we plan to paint it camouflage too” busted in Betsy as an add-in. “Yep, yep,” Continued Betsy, “You better look seriously into getting your escape together now! You know the Bible says in those days there will be no buying and selling so if you plan to flee to the mountains when all hell breaks loose you better get it together now!”

Intrigued I looked right at both sisters and asked, “If you can’t buy or sell, where are you going to get the gas to put in this giant gas guzzler to get away?” And not even understanding the ironic hypocrisy of her answer Dana shot back, “Oh, the Lord will provide that!” And Betsy quickly backed her up and vocally supported, “Yep Yep, my Jesus, hmmm hmmm… my Jesus, yep yep, my Jesus, will provide!” And I walked away scratching my head wondering why Betsy’s Jesus could provide gas, but not a Jeep. I guess Betsy’s Jesus has limited supplies on demand!

Photo: Mashable

That is the tension we live with as faithful Christians living in what are some of the earth’s final days. We don’t want to live in fear-laden hypocrisy of Dana and Betsy, nor the unready apathy that can lead to the havoc of Houston in a Harvey. And it seems pretty clear with every passing day that likeliness of man to solve his own problems are about as probable as evacuating 6.5 million people from every urban center all at once, as the world tumbles around you. The only viable solution there can be is to have a solid trust-filled, loving relationship with Jesus now, today, that builds you with the certainty of tomorrow. You must have the faith that Jesus will move Heaven and Earth to save you in that day! Jesus will be the only rescue boat safe to be on when this world starts to fall apart.

Photo: Houston Transtar

Yes, it is like the old song said, “The enemy came in like a flood…But he was defeated by one drop of blood.”^[6] We don’t have to live in fear of the Harveys of life to avoid the dangers around us. We can see the storm of today as seasonal warnings to have a daily and ever-deepening relationship with Jesus. The opposite of apathy is not fear; the opposite of apathy is faith. It is true that the havoc of Harvey in Huston is nothing compared to the trouble coming upon this earth. But it is also true that the spilled blood of Jesus proves that the Father will stop at nothing to save you in that day if you believe in him. The faith of today has the power to stop all the storms of tomorrow. But unless that faith is forged, now, it will be lost as in the havoc of Huston. Harvey has sent us yet another reminder to set our eyes on the sky in which Jesus will return. Set your faith now!

Photo: NewsWorks

Footnotes:

^[1] https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/us/houston-evacuation-hurricane-harvey/index.html

^[2] NIV

^[3] NIV

^[4] NIV

^[5] Not their real names

^[6] One Drop Of Blood by Ray Blotz

The post Houston In The Harvey appeared first on Simply Vinnie - Unpacking The Complicated.

Fools Rush In

Sign Hunters

By Vinnie MacIsaac

I was recently in a Facebook conversation about prophecy and the role signs and miracles would play in the lead up to the return of Jesus. It was an interesting discussion to read and join in with.  Plus, I have to admit I love me some good signs! Who does not want some sort of clear finger coming out of no place and pointing out the right way to go? Because at the end of the day, in more ways than just understanding prophecy, have we not all tortured ourselves over what God’s will is, at some point in our life? I know I have.

I honestly don’t think there is anything, intrinsically, wrong with signs. After all, Matthew 24 for example, is jammed packed with all kinds of signs; big and small. Both about the return of Jesus and also the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and about what we should watch for and what we should be doing while awaiting the second coming of Christ[1]. But, recently, I have seen the fascination of signs reaching new proportions, often power-packed with sensationalism. And much too often very odd and outrageous speculation, for which there is no Biblical support for at all. Yes, according to Jesus, in Matthew 24-25, there are indeed, real signs, yet, He also warns of false prophets, and false teachings, not to mention even global deceptions to lead people away from the clear teaching of the Bible.

The problem I see is, some are seeking after a sign so passionately that they go against what the Bible clearly teaches. And that is the real danger that many sincere students of prophecy are unaware even exists. Think about it; this was a massive problem in Jesus’ day. Did the Jewish leaders not have enough Bible prophecy in their day that pointed to Jesus as the coming Messiah? Of course, they did!!! They refused to see who Jesus was because, in their heart, wickedness was still hidden. So when they were finally cornered on the truth of who Jesus was, they demanded a sign, or a miracle, from Him as proof. And that is the danger. Jesus was not above doing signs and miracles, His life was full of them! But He did not do them to prove who He was; He did them out of compassion and love. The proof of who He was came from the scriptures that testified of Him and the prophecies that foretold of Him. The danger is in setting aside the clear teaching of Scripture because of a miracle or sign. Notice what Jesus calls them when they do that, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Luke 11:29, Mark 8:12, Matthew 16:4. The sign of Jonah was the fact that Jesus was in the grave three days and was resurrected. His point is that if this sign, His resurrection, is not significant enough to them, nothing else will be. Look, if you can’t believe the reality of the resurrection, then nothing else, no matter how sensational, will help you.

Doomsday prophecy is a steady diet for some Christians

Paul warns us, as well, that not all that glitters is from Heaven. He warns that as time goes on false teachers will arise and lead people astray in the same way that Satan has. “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-14.  So according to Paul, we must be careful because even Satan can make you think he is an Angel of light, while he is leading you to destruction. No wonder Paul says in Galatians, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8

Furthermore, the book of Revelation tells that such deceptions will only increase as we get deeper into the time of the end. In Revelation 13 it says that the Beast power will,”….perform great signs, even causing a fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people.” And John warns, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”1 John 4:1. Jesus, Himself, gives us the most gut-wrenching, sober thought on signs in the end times, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24

Sign Psycho: That condition you get when your eyes gloss over, and you obsess on the end the world.

So here is the point, signs are excellent. Seeking them, or needing them as your source of proof can lead us to self-manufacture them from the world of current events and not the Word of God. And that is not excellent but is to subject yourself to the Devil’s play yard and toys. When a sign comes, and it confirms what we already can see, clearly, in the Bible then we can welcome it; because of the Bible and what is says about the sign and not just the sign itself! The miracle must confirm the message! The Bible remains the burden of truth. All the sign does is point back, or bring to mind, the conviction of the Truth of the Bible. Many, and according to Jesus, if possible even the very elect, will in the end days be deceived because they choose a sign over the clear word of God. This is a worthy warning to be aware of!

 The Sermon of Olivet (Matthew 24-25), a profound and complex teaching that exceeds the length of this blog, involves more than just the return of Jesus; it also deals with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, and the end of the age. There is a simple tool I use to keep the balance of recognizing signs, yet not being compelled to seek a sign in everything. I liken Matthew 24 to an interstate, which is full of many true signs of the road. Not every sign applies to you and where you are going. Jesus repeatedly says in Matthew 24,“Do you see this sign, the end is not yet.” There may be many mile markers along the road. They help you to know how far you traveled, and when to expect a rest station. But some signs actually can take you off your route and even turn you around, unless you know from the map where you are going. While all the signs you see are worth noting Jesus says there is one big exit sign that means you have arrived at your destination, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

One of my favorite movie comedies of the 90’s was “Fools Rush In” starring Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek. In the film the couple’s ill-gotten and destructive relationship is doomed with hang-ups, which keep two people greatly in love apart from each other. Everything in their lives just keeps pulling them further apart. Finally, when she has had enough, Salma Hayek’s character (Isabel Fuentes) runs away to Mexico with plans to never be found again. And Matthew Perry’s character (Alex Whitman), feeling like a failure, gives up on love altogether. However, a series of common everyday events serve as “signs” to guide them together across two countries to meet at the exact time of their child’s birth. Now, I know it is a movie and filled with all kinds of Hollywood gobbledy- gook to sell us on the magic of it all. But still, those are the nature of signs I can get behind! Why? Because the romance, Hollywood’s glitter, or the fairytale ending? No! Because the Bible says, “”For I hate divorce,“ says the LORD, the God of Israel” —Malachi 2:16 and their signs were supported (in my eyes as the viewer) by the Word of God. I know it is a fictitious movie, but don’t miss the point. Signs always point us to the Word of God and never away from the Word of God, or what it teaches for our current generation. Lest we become “an evil generation that seeks for a sign…”

Let every sign we find be cemented to the principle of Scripture or else be tossed away, lest it lead us into outer darkness. “To the law and the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” — Isaiah 8:20

Don’t be a fool who rushes in, insist that the signs you accept are rock solid in their connection to Scripture.

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[1] I urge readers of Matthew 24 not to forget to read Matthew 25. There are no chapter divides in the original text, and despite being two chapters in our modern Bibles, the truth is they are both equally the answer to the Disciples question about the end of the age and the destruction of the temple. In 25 we see three parables of deep focus on how we the church ought to be conducting ourselves as we see the signs of the times being fulfilled.

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The Problem With Tabloid Prophecy

By Vinnie MacIsaac

It is easy to make a prophetic prediction which states that there will be snow on the ground in the morning if you look outside tonight and see it snowing, but that, by far, does not mean you have divine powers of reason nor insight. During the recent economic crash (2010) I was bombarded by inquiries and even outright declarations that this recession is somehow a part of some massive global strategy to bring about national apostasy here in the United States. The real question I had is where the biblical prophecy for such an accusation is? Is this not just more headline hunting prophecy? Is this not more of the prophetic methodology of the National Inquirer?

We need to be “people of the Book” and not people of media overload, speculation, and 24-hour news networks.

The problem with headline hunting and tabloid prophecy is that you could be right or you could be wrong, and we would never know which one is the case until after the fact. But the good news is that as a people we are better than that. We have a clear understanding of prophecy from both the books of Daniel, Revelation, and the Spirit of Prophecy. We don’t need to depend on CNN or FOX News to know the future we face (regardless of how much we may agree or disagree with either of them).

Jesus will return. The Bible says it is real.

Recently I responded to an online blog of a trusted friend and fellow theologian who was asking the question, “What role does Islam play in Revelation?” I was ever so encouraged when one of my fellow colleagues correctly pointed out that the whole point of the book of Revelation seems to be more “concerned with the false Christian religion (the compromising Jezebel) than it is with non-Christian religions.”

But even more to the point is why was the question of Islam even raised in the context of the book of Revelation in this blog in the first place? The answer seems simple – we live in a culture now fixated on terrorism, and thus Islam, since 9/11. It is on everyone’s mind. Thus the Bible must have something to say about it. And therein we find the huge mistake so commonly being made today; the Bible does not exist to clarify what is on our mind, the Bible exists to tell us what should be on our mind! Ours is not

Tabloid prophecy is cheap and misleading to millions!

to examine all the problems in the world today and try to find out how they weave into the Bible and prophecy, ours is to know what the Bible says about the prophecy and the true religion of Jesus so that we will see error clearly when it is before us. I am reminded of the age-old illustration for truth and error that our evangelists have used for decades now, “The US Government Federal Currency Agents don’t examine counterfeit money to learn how to identify it in the field, rather they study in a great deal the exact likeness of the real currency so that when they see the false they know it right away.” We likewise must do the same. Thus I call on Christians everywhere to know the Bible, to know their beliefs from the Bible, and to know the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation inside out. I call upon us to be ready as Paul said, “In season, and out of season…” to give an account of our faith.

Jesus said we can know the truth, and the truth will set us free, and He said His word is the truth! We don’t need the National Inquirer, Cable Networks, Hollywood movies of the world, sensationalized headlines, or world trends and fears to tell us the future. We have the sure word of God and can stand up like Daniel of old and say, “There is a God is Heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made it known…” (Dan 2:27).

One thing is certain: there has never been a time in all history where it was more important to know what we believe and why… How well do you know your faith? How well have you studied it? How well can you defend your faith using the Word, not the world?

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