the fury of God ~ the great Awakening

New Age Occultists (devil worshipers) have for years been saying that a great Awakening is coming, whereby the "enlightened" ones amongst humanity shall experience a great leap forward in terms of evolutionary advancement: they shall be as gods (the devil says).  As usual, the devil has taken a core of truth from Scripture and put his own twisted spin on it.  A great Awakening is indeed coming to those who truly are "enlightened" ~ that is to say, to genuine Christians; who shall in fact experience an exceedingly wonderful exaltation of their being: that Event is called, the Rapture.

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?  Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?  Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.  I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?  The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.  But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.  And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. 

Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.  There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.  These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?  Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.  Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over. 

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.  Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.  For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.  For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.  Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.  Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

(Isaiah 51:9-52:6)

We know, from Scripture, what is now ready to happen.  Notwithstanding all of the hype and hysteria that flares up from time to time amongst many would-be prophecy teachers; still, the Rapture really is ready to occur at any moment.  And those who truly are looking for the Lord's appearing are intensely expecting that that time has finally come.  "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...", everything is going to change.  Suddenly the light of the world (the Body of Christ in the earth) is going to be utterly gone.  The earth itself will literally convulse upon the departure of the godly from this planet.  A vast, deep, inexplicable emptiness which shall result from the saints' leaving, will quickly be filled, instead, with a sense of irresistible dread, to those who remain on earth.

The ensuing "Tribulation" is going to be a conflagration of God's wrath poured out in fury upon the wicked ~ both men and devils.  The then-glorified saints, divinely empowered and immortal, are going to be given (as the Bible says) the "honor" of binding and imprisoning every demon spirit, together with Satan himself, who shall be bound in the bottomless pit, for a thousand years; as well the saints shall avenge themselves upon the wicked (humans).

There is much about this period of time we are now in, which evidently shall involve a brief span of years from now until the soon-coming Millennial Kingdom Age, that remains a mystery.  Whereas faithful Christians can perceive that a pall of profound darkness has descended upon the whole world; yet, we know that God has not forsaken His people, nor shall He ever.  But God is going to vindicate the righteous, and punish the wicked.

Satan's doom is certain ~ and he knows it (Revelation 12:12).  This is not the devil's heyday, but it is the end of the road for him.  I can only imagine how it must feel, to someone who is facing a life-sentence in prison, but who has not yet actually been put behind bars: the anticipation of everlasting confinement begins to torment the mind whilst the condemned person yet walks free.  How infinitely more painful it must be to the devil, "know[ing] he hath but a short time," until that he shall be bound and tormented in the bottomless pit, for a millennium ~ and, then, the lake of fire, for ever.

No one is getting away with his or her evil deeds.  Oh! if wicked people could only get a glimpse of eternal torment and damnation that is waiting to receive them in the burning prison of hell!  But of this "they are willingly ignorant...."  Though we, Christians, should neither be ignorant nor unmindful....

Which brings me to say something about the study of Bible prophecy.  It is an appalling fact, that multitudes of professing Christians disdain the study of Bible prophecy.  'What good does it do to study prophecy?' they say; 'no one knows for sure what it means, anyways.  Besides, no man knows the day or the hour; so, we just need to be ready, whenever the Lord may come.'

Such people are blind.  And rebellious.  Rebellious?  Yes.  Prophecy is not something in Scripture that is meant to comprise a separate, specialized field of study.  Prophecy is an integral, inseparable part of the Word of God.  Those who demonstrate no interest to study prophecy of Scripture, evidently have no appetite nor appreciation for the knowledge which God deemed important to reveal to us.

A good understanding of Bible prophecy has the effect to encourage and to strengthen the true disciple of Christ.  Knowing truth about the nature of our warfare, as well as about how that God has promised to keep and to deliver and to reward the faithful soldier of Christ, gives the embattled Christian great hope and comfort in the midst of his or her spiritual war-fighting (something unknown to most contemporary church-goers).

Bible prophecy informs me that a great Awakening is coming ~ no, not to every professing Christian.  And, no, not to America.  But to those who wholeheartedly are seeking to know and to follow the Lord ~ notwithstanding the hatred and opposition of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

God has an immense and supernaturally endowed army; of which Jesus Christ himself is the Captain of the LORD's hosts.

Do you suppose that is for nothing?