After his rebellion, being thrown into the Sea, swallowed by a great fish and then vomited onto land, Jonah showed up in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
Can you imagine the hungry and thirsty cries of babies, children and animals filling the air in Nineveh? It had to be almost deafening. What an extreme reaction to a prophet’s proclamation!
When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:10 NLT)
What if the King of Assyria had decided to check out Jonah’s credentials before deciding what to do? Or what if the King wanted to talk it over with his religious aides first? Or what if the King wanted to just wait and see before he acted?
Nineveh would have been destroyed. It took an extreme and immediate response to stave off the city’s destruction.
Will the Lord send last-call prophets, like Jonah, to America before removing the nation from before His eyes because of abortion?
(Continued in Part 6…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)
If I asked most Christians what happened in Acts 2 of the Bible, they’d answer: “The one hundred and twenty disciples waiting in the Upper Room in Jerusalem were filled with the Holy Spirit and they all spoke in tongues.”
That’s true, but did you also know that Peter prophesied a message for us Twenty-First Century Christians?
“In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out My Spirit even on My servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.“ (Acts 2:17-18 NLT)
How many of our sons and daughters are prophesying? And if we consider ourselves servants of the Lord, how many of us are prophesying?
Now, if you’re thinking all of Peter’s prophetic words were fulfilled on that first Pentecost in 30 AD, then you need to look at the next part of his prophecy:
“And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.” (Acts 2:18-19)
So far, we have not seen the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood, right?
If we look at Peter’s prophecy and consider the questions I have raised, that means Peter’s prophecy has only had a limited fulfillment so far.
Lord, we believe we are living in the last days so we ask You to pour out Your Spirit of prophecy on our sons and daughters and on every one who is Your servant. (Based on Acts 2 and Revelation 19:10)
Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for prophetic voices to arise in America.
Lars Enarson’s prophetic words have stirred many Christians to fast and pray against President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” plan to create peace in the Middle East by dividing the land of Israel to establish a Palestinian state. (You can read more on this here.)
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of not effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:8-11)
Prayer Focus Point #1: Pray that the Lord brings the counsel of America and other nations to nothing and that the plans of President Trump and other leaders will be frustrated by God and have no effect on Israel. (Psalm 33:10)
Prayer Focal Point #2: Pray and agree that the counsel of the Lord stands forever for Israel and His plans to all generations of Israel. (Psalm 33:11)
Prayer Focal Point #3: Pray that an Esther will arise and convince President Trump that his “Deal of the Century” will endanger Israel and America.
Prayer Focal Point #4: Pray for a great victory for the political parties in Israel’s upcoming elections that refuse to negotiate a division of Israel to establish a Palestinian state.
Join with me to fast and pray for Israel, America and President Trump today.
A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those dreams which seemed so real that it felt like I was really there.
In the dream, I was walking along a sidewalk through my neighborhood during an early summer evening. The temperature was perfect and the sky was clear.
As I walked, a pretty daughter of a high school friend approached me. She was wearing an attractive, but conservative blouse and skirt outfit. She stopped and we chatted a bit. I didn’t really think anything was out of the ordinary until she embraced me with her arms. I did the same to her. Our hands groped each others’ bodies in all of the wrong places.
While this was happening, I thought, “What’s happening here? I’m twenty-five years older than her.”
Yes, we were passionately carrying on, out in the open on that sidewalk in front of our neighbors, but that didn’t seem to bother us.
Finally, she said, “I want to go home and change into something more comfortable. Let’s meet at such-and-such place.”
I agreed to meet her there.
When she left, all I could think about was that I was about to commit a sin — a big one!
Next, I began heading toward our meeting place, which happened to be a steep downhill walk for me. I cried out to the Lord as I moved along. “Forgive me, Lord! Pour out Your grace on me! Stop me before I fall into deeper sin! Help me, Lord! Help me! Help me!”
I kept walking. My prayers did not stop me.
I looked ahead and saw the pretty daughter at the bottom of the hill, awaiting me. She looked beautiful, luscious and inviting.
Not knowing what else to do, I began fighting with spiritual warfare prayers. “In Jesus’ name, I command the spirit of sexual immorality to go from me right now! Go in Jesus’ name.”
My spiritual warfare prayers did not help. I kept walking toward her.
I was only a few steps away when I tossed out a last resort prayer. “Lord, I plead the blood of Jesus over me and over this terrible situation.”
Bam!
I was set free and transported by the Spirit out of that seemingly hopeless situation to a place of peace and safety.
And they overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11)
After the Azusa Street Revival, the critics of the early Pentecostals called them “blood obsessed.” Why? Because these early Pentecostals sang about the blood, preached about the blood and pleaded the blood over almost everything in their lives. They had a deep revelation about the power in the blood of Jesus.
For most, that revelation is not so strong in us today.
Pastor Jack Hayford says about pleading the blood of Jesus:
There is no circumstance in life to which the blood of Jesus isn’t key to God’s releasing, protecting, resolving power, whether it’s removing the potential of confusion, overcoming the impact of rebellion, breaking the torment of fear, or the shame of the past. When we “plead the blood,” we are to do so in the understanding sense, with the firepower of the supernatural, and on the basis of the body of evidence that through the blood of Jesus Christ, all hell has been broken in its power, all sin neutralized, the power of death overwhelmed, and every human need paid for once and for all. (See Hayford’s powerful teaching on pleading the blood here.)
Because of my dream, I now plead the blood of Jesus often.
Hey, why not use the “firepower of the supernatural” to help us walk with Jesus?
The above video is fifteen minutes and six seconds long and is great, but the following are the major points of Lars Enarson’s message:
Israel is in great danger and so is America right now.
Why?
U. S. President Donald Trump, who is a great friend of Israel, has developed a plan that he is calling the “Deal of the Century.” It’s a plan to create peace in the Middle East by dividing the land of Israel to establish a Palestinian state.
President Trump had been trying to keep the plan a secret until the right time, but we have just learned that Trump has decided to unveil the plan a couple of days after the elections which will take place in Israel on April 9, 2019.
By doing this, President Trump is hiding his plan from the people of Israel who are going to the polls to elect the next government. This is wrong!
There’s no doubt Trump and America will place great pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to accept this “Deal of the Century.” Trump may also present an offer that suggests the nations surrounding Israel will make peace with our nation if Israel accepts the deal.
The last few presidents have tried to divide Israel by establishing a Palestinian state. Because of this, look what has happened to America. It is more divided now than at any time since the Civil War, over one hundred and sixty years ago.
If this deal goes through, God may divide America in such a way that the nation will cease to be a world empire. That is what is at stake right now!
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.(Joel 3:1-2)
The two warnings in the above verses which the Lord will bring judgment upon nations are focused on the scattering of the Israelites among the nations and dividing up the land of Israel.
I am calling for a fast on March 20, 2019, which is the day Israel celebrates the Esther fast. I am asking all Evangelical Christians to join us in the fast.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of not effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:8-11)
Prayer Point #1: Pray that the Lord brings the counsel of America and other nations to nothing and that the plans of President Trump and other leaders will be frustrated by God and have no effect on Israel. (Psalm 33:10)
Prayer Point #2: Pray and agree that the counsel of the Lord stands forever for Israel and His plans to all generations of Israel. (Psalm 33:11)
Prayer Point #3: Pray that an Esther will arise and convince President Trump that his “Deal of the Century” will endanger Israel and America.
Prayer Point #4: Pray for a great victory for the political parties in Israel’s upcoming elections that refuse to negotiate a division of Israel to establish a Palestinian state.
Israel could be in its most dangerous position since it became a nation in 1948. It’s up to believers to fight the good fight of faith through prayer and fasting for Israel.
Lars Enarson, a native of Sweden, has been an author and Bible teacher with a prophetic voice since the 1970’s. Lars is the founder and president of the Watchman International (thewatchman.org), a ministry dedicated to “prepare the way for the Lord.” He is based in Israel, teaching and mobilizing prayer for Israel by way of Seminars, books, and TV-programs.
The video is 11 minutes and 21 seconds long. It is well-worth listening to, but for those who would rather read than listen, I have written out his dialog:
Moderator: How do you respond to unbelievers who say Christians are hateful toward people who support lifestyles that are not according to the precepts of our faith?
Zacharias:Very important question. I would be a dishonest person if I told you I don’t think about that question or worry about it. In fact, our speakers’ team has sat around a table and asked, “How do we deal with this question, the trying social issue of our time.” And even if the word is not used in the question – the homosexual lifestyle and all that has come about in our lifetime. How should Christians deal with it?
Let me give you three panels for an answer on this, okay?
The first panel is the logical or sociological problem. The second panel is the theological problem. The third panel is the relational problem – how do you communicate it.
So, first, let’s take the sociological issue here. What is the problem now? We talk about tolerance.
I was speaking at a prestigious university and someone walked to the microphone and asked this same question about homosexuality.
I said to this person, “I will be glad to answer your question if you first answer mine. What kind of culture are we living in right now? You have to define it for me.
“I see three cultures in relation to absolute.
“The first culture is called a Theonomous culture where the Law of God is so embedded in our hearts that we all think in the same way.
“Once, upon a time, we talked about the natural law as in “we believe these truths to be self-evident. The early framers believed in the natural law. We don’t believe in natural law anymore nor do we believe in the Theonomous culture in the West.
“So, what’s the second culture?
“It’s a heteronomous culture. This means that the mainstream of a culture is dictated to by the top or its leaders. If you look at Marxism in secular terms, it is a heteronomous culture with the handful at the top controlling the masses. If you look at Islam, it is a heteronomous culture. The mullahs or sheiks or ayatollahs at the top tell the masses when they can eat, what they must wear, who they can be seen with and so forth. It is a heteronomous culture with the few at the top dictating to the masses below them.
“So I looked at the questioner and I asked, ‘Are we a Theonomous culture?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘Are we a heteronomous culture?’ He said, ‘No.’
“That leaves with us the third which is an autonomous culture, which means each person dictates their own moral prerogatives. So, I asked him, ‘Are we an autonomous culture?’ He said, ‘Yes.’
“Okay, if we are an autonomous culture and I answer your question, are you going to give me the privilege of my autonomy, too? Or as soon as you disagree with my answer, will you switch to a heteronomous mode and dictate for me what I must believe as well?”
That is the sociological dilemma.
If A disagrees with B, A wants to enforce his principles on B. Not only that, B wants to do the same to A. So there is a mutual autocracy being sought here.
But it will never be consistent in a culture that is neither Theonomous or heteronomous because everyone has their own autonomy. That’s the sociological issue.
Now, the theological issue.
Years ago, I did some forums at Indiana University. At one, a reporter came and asked if she could film some of our program that night. I said yes. She only planned to stay for a part of the program, but ended up staying for all of it, even the question and answer period afterward. She ended up walking with me back to my lodging on campus.
The reporter asked, “I have a question for you.”
“Is this an on-the-record question or an off-the-record one,” I replied.
She said, “No this is just for me. It will not appear in print.”
“Okay,” I said. “Go ahead and ask.”
She said, “I have a problem with Christianity. Christians are generally against racism, but when it comes to homosexuality, they discriminate against the homosexual. How do you explain that?”
“I find your comments so interesting,” I said. “In the first part of your question, it’s an -ism you’re talking about. In the second part of the question, you particularize it with an individual. That fascinates me.
“The reason we believe ethnic discrimination is wrong is because the race and ethnicity of a person is sacred. You do not violate a person’s race or ethnicity. It’s a sacred gift.
“And the reason we believe in an absoluteness to sexuality is that we believe sexuality is sacred. You will help me better understand your question if you tell me why you treat racism as sacred and do not do the same for sexuality.
She replied, “I never thought about it in those terms.”
Here’s what I want to say to everyone: marriage as God has given it to us is the most sacred relationship you will ever enter. Love is given one word in the English but it has four words in the Greek: agape, philio, storge and eros. Agape is God’s love. Philio is friendship or brotherly love. Storge is protective or parental love. Eros is romantic love.
Marriage is the only one that pulls these four loves together. And if you take agape out of this mix, eros is gone. Romantic love will become redefined.
For believers, the Bible gives the sacredness of marriage as God gives Christ to the church, the bridegroom and the bride. In the sacredness of the beauty of that consummate relationship between a man and a woman in the singular marital vow: “I do and I will…” When you say I do to the one, you say I don’t to all of the others. When you say I will to one, you say I won’t to the others.
Any departure from this beauty and sacredness of the full union of love is against the biblical notion of what it really means to be married. Just to take one behavior and make it look like it is aberrant is not right. All departures from this model of a man and woman are not right in the sight of God.
The theological position is a consummate relationship between a man and a woman in the procreative act and the sacredness and paying each other the ultimate compliment of taking each other at his or her word.
Theologically, we are put in a conundrum. So, how do we deal with it? This is the hard part.
I accept people with a love and genuineness on anything if their views are different than mine. I have learned to love humanity. I can put my arm around a person who has a different view on marriage.
God gives us the most sacred gift: the prerogative of choice. But God does not give us the privilege of determining a different outcome of what the choice will entail for us . Consequences are bound to the choice.
That brings us back to the Book of Genesis 4:7, where it says, “If you do what is right, you will be accepted, but if you don’t, sin crouches at the door and desires to have you.”
When I look at the sacredness of marriage, any change from the biblical point of view is a departure from the biblical mandate. But at the same time, the Bible commands us to love even those we disagree with. Our responsibility as a church is to never to hate individuals. Our privilege is to love. Only God can change the heart of a person and He is the ultimate judge. Let us be light, salt and learn to love one another and let God be the judge. We can make errors and He does not.
How can a mother abort her baby? How can a medical doctor, who has sworn an oath to help people, justify murdering babies? How can politicians vote to destroy future Americans? How can a third of Christianity endorse abortion as being okay alongside their faith values?
Let me share a part of my testimony:
In 1995, my life was a shambles. Deep in debt. Not many job prospects or friends. Alone and lonely. Each day was a grueling nightmare just like the day before. Nothing seemed to change in my life no matter how hard I prayed, fasted or tried.
On one wintry afternoon, I was reading a biography on John Lake. As I read about this mighty man of faith, I became fed up with God and His ways. I put the book down and looked up to heaven. “God if You are such an almighty big God, then how come You don’t help me? Aren’t You big enough?”
I picked the book back up and continued reading.
All of a sudden, the Holy Spirit rushed into the room. He didn’t show up to snuggle with me or pat me on the head. He showed up in His fearful holiness.
As soon as I felt His holy presence, my knees hit the floor. “O God, don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me! Please, God!” I prayed over and over again.
In the midst of my jabbering, I heard the Lord speak to my heart, “If I wanted to, I could handle your problems today.”
“O Lord, I believe You. Forgive me, but please don’t kill me,” I said aloud.
The fearful holiness of the Holy Spirit lifted off me, but in my heart, a fear of the Lord remained an integral part of my spiritual makeup.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…(Proverbs 9:10)
The fear of the LORD prolongs days… (Proverbs 10:27)
...by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. (Proverbs 16:6)
Fear of the Lord would exist in a pious soul even if there were no punishment for sin. It dreads God’s displeasure, desires His favor, reveres His holiness, submits cheerfully to His will, is grateful for His benefits, sincerely worships Him, and conscientiously obeys His commandments. Fear and love must coexist in us so that either passion may be balanced and healthy.
You would think that the fear of the Lord would make me afraid of God or want to hide from Him, but that’s not true. I loved Him more than ever after that day.
Okay, so what?
I guarantee that if women, doctors, people involved in the abortion process, politicians, liberal Christians and others had a fear of the Lord as a part of their spiritual makeups, they would never opt for abortions or endorse them in any manner at all.
My prayer:
Lord, I pray the Spirit of the fear of the Lord would fall on America so that the name of the Lord Jesus would be magnified in our nation. (Based on Isaiah 11:2 and Acts 19:17)
(Continued in Part 5…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)
“It’s in God’s hands. If it is meant to be, it will happen. If not, it won’t.”
How many times have we heard the above statement or a similar one by fellow believers? Maybe hundreds of times over the years.
Is there any truth in the statement?
Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].(Ephesians 6:13 AMP)
After we have done all of this, then we can place our concerns in God’s hands and trust Him to work everything out for His glory.
Anything less than this will usually end up as a defeat in our lives.
My prayer today:
Lord, help us learn how to fight the good fight of faith so we can finish the race You have set before us and keep the faith while we are still running. (Based on 1 Timothy 6:12 and 2 Timothy 3:7)
Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for our families.
The main reasons we Americans do not understand the End-Times are:
We do not study the Bible.
We do not understand that Jesus is Jewish.
Problem #1 can be handled by asking the Lord to open our eyes as we study the Bible to understand the End-Times. My recommendation is that we begin our studies in the Book of Revelation, Matthew 24, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 2 Peter 3:1-13, Daniel 11 and Daniel 12.
Problem #2 will take a total change of our Gentile mindsets.
We have been indoctrinated by the Americanized portraits of Jesus supposedly resembling Him, by the non-Biblical holidays of Easter and Christmas, by our total lack of understanding about the Jewish feasts or Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath), not understanding the Bible was written by Jewish authors and more.
Why is this important?
Jesus fulfilled the spring feasts of Pesach (Passover), Chag HaMotzi (Unleavened Bread), Reshit Katzir (First Fruits), Shavu’ot (Pentecost) and also dozens of Old Covenant prophecies when He was crucified, buried, rose from the grave and ascended into heaven.
Our Lord will fulfill the fall feasts of Yom Teru’ah (Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles) and hundreds of Old Covenant prophecies when He returns.
Lord, help us to change our mindsets so the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles is broken down and that the one new man will come forth here on earth, prepared for the End-Times. (Based on Ephesians 2:14-15)
Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for our eyes to be opened about the End-Times.
On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode a donkey, heading to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. His short journey began in the nearby town of Bethphage.
The road was crowded with disciples, Pharisees, scribes, and thousands of pilgrims from the Jewish Diaspora. Jerusalem’s normal population of 120,000 swelled to over a million people during a Passover feast because Jews from all over the Middle East returned to observe it.
Jesus paused at a spot on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple. This was the exact spot where Jews throughout history had mourned over the Temple.
When Jesus stopped, the people probably hushed, anticipating a historic speech. All would have squeezed forward to hear Him say:
If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now, they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. (Luke 19:42-44)
The people had to be shocked by His words.
Their beloved King David had prophesied the death of Jerusalem and the Temple. Judaism was a non-functioning religion without the two. No more altar. No more sacrifices. No more priests. No more City of God. Where would God go? After all, He lived in the Holy of Holies.
For thirty-four years, after Christ’s crucifixion, Christianity had an up and down relationship with Judaism. Times of heavy persecution were followed by times of coexistence. The Roman leaders paid little attention to Christians and considered them a small offshoot of Judaism during much of this period.
Jerusalem’s Christians assembled in home churches, but Jerusalem Christianity still had a distinct Jewish flavor about it. A few modern writers even refer to Jerusalem’s brand of Christianity as “Temple Christianity,” distinguishing it from Paul’s Christianity.
The Christians in Jerusalem heeded the prophecy by 69 AD. They left their homes, their livelihoods, and their Jewish friends. They relocated to Pella (a city sixty miles northeast of Jerusalem) and other Transjordan cities.
Even though the prophecy was specifically spoken to Christians, believers certainly would have explained to their neighbors why they were leaving. They would have mentioned both prophecies, attempting to convince their Jewish neighbors to flee, too. The neighbors would have repeated the conversations to others. On and on it would have continued until the whole city knew the reason for the Christian exodus: the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem.
But the Jewish zealots were winning the war with Rome at the time. The Jews still presumed God would protect Jerusalem and His chosen people. The result was that very few Jews listened to the Christians.
The siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in 70 A.D., under the command of General Titus, lasted five brutal months. Thousands starved to death or died of plagues. People drank urine because of the lack of water.
The siege finally ended when unarmed Jewish citizens surrendered to the onrushing Romans. As they stood there with their arms in the air, the Romans butchered them with swords. Pregnant woman had their stomachs slashed open and babies ripped out. The babies were then smashed against walls. Hundreds of people burned to death atop the Temple’s roof as they knelt in prayer, crying out to God for mercy. Men, women, and children of all ages were slaughtered.
If we think God won’t remove America because there are thousands of Christians living in our nation, we had better rethink our theories. You see, God removed Jerusalem after He had first sent all of the believers out of the city.
Larry Who 