wrath and mercy

The above image is very familiar to me.  I have often seen it, throughout the past couple of years at least, especially, when I have studied the subject of hell.  That one picture seems to capture much--but by no means all--of what I understand about the nature of hell and of its unspeakable torments.  Still, something bothers me even more than to contemplate the realities of eternal damnation:

revealing Antichrist -- part 3

The revelation of Scripture provides, to those who are indwelt by God's Spirit, that body of absolute truth which is indispensable for making sense of the world in which we live.  Bible knowledge--especially true knowledge of Bible prophecy, is the lens, as it were, which brings an otherwise blurred and uncertain image of world events into razor-sharp focus.  Seemingly disparate events spanning decades, or even centuries of time--as well as certain events which have not yet occurred, are thus capable of being understood within a much larger conceptual framework, one which explains those events in terms of their relationship to (all) other events.  All of which, events, are working together to bring to fruition, on the one hand, an ancient and diabolical plan of Satan and, at the same time but on the other hand, a much more ancient albeit a divine plan of God.

revealing Antichrist -- part 2

WHY is Antichrist coming?  That is a question not often asked.  Is God sending him?  No.  God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Savior of the world.  And Christ said that he did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.

But the world did not, and still does not, want Christ.  Nevertheless, the world does want a savior, of sorts.  Jesus said, in John 5:43, "I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive".  The world, in other words, will "receive" Antichrist.  They want him to come.  The whole world wants a savior--as long as that savior is not the Christ of God.

Muslims want their Mahdi.  New Agers want their Super-man.  Buddhists, their Fifth Buddha.  Hindus are looking for their Tenth Avatar.  And Satanists want...

joy cometh - in the 'morning'

"...the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds

and of thick darkness,

as the morning spread upon the mountains:

a great people

and a strong;

there hath not been ever the like,

neither shall be any more after it,

even to the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them;

and behind them

a flame burneth...."

The above passage is from Joel chapter 2, verses 1a thru 3a (without any omissions).  I stylized the text in the fashion shown, in order to make the reading - and thus the meaning - of the passage clear.  It is best thought of as though there were two different voices: one speaking the words in the left-justified margin, and the other speaking the words which are right-justified (and less visible).  An analysis follows: