I was talking with my wife the other day about what’s happening in Israel, and what’s NOT happening. Most of the news feeds are talking about Israel preparing for an attack from Iran’s proxies, and yet what we are seeing are Hezbollah’s missiles being launched from their southern border, Israel’s northern border, and them being shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome. We are seeing IDF forces advancing and winning exponentially on the battlefield and more threats from Israel’s ‘local’ enemies. What are they going to do, ‘threaten them to death?’ You would think by now that Israel would have been decimated, but God has another plan.
The Psalmist said it this way, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved (slip); He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper (protector); the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve (keep) you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” – Psalm 121
- While I can say a lot about this psalm, and I have in other blogs on this site, suffice it to say that God is protecting Israel. He is honoring His Word and the millions of daily prayers for her protection by Christians who are praying for their Jewish brothers and sisters.
I have a working theory. I believe the reason that we have not seen an all our invasion of Israel from her local enemies (Psalm 83) is because Christians are praying for her protection and God is honoring those prayers. I also believe that Iran, Turkey, and Russia (Ezekiel 38,39) have not invaded Israel is because Christians are praying for her protection and God is honoring those prayers also. What we have here is a massive and substantial prayer shield over Israel that will not be lifted until all those millions of prayers cease. The only way that millions of Christians would stop praying for Israel is if the Lord called us home in the Rapture. When we’re gone, there will be no more prayer cover for Israel or America and the restraining power of the Holy Spirit will be lifted from the earth when we are.
Paul said it this way, “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery (hidden truth) of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:6-11
- Paul is telling his readers that when ‘He’ (the Holy Spirit indwelling in true Christians) is taken out of the way, then the attacks, the bombings, the invasions, the crashes, the mass killing and the antichrist system will manifest. We can only imagine what this world will be like after the Rapture, but what it looks like right now is peremptory to what’s coming.
After the Rapture, the Bible is clear that Israel will suffer extensively; and 2/3rds of the Jewish people will perish. However, God will redeem 1/3rd of His chosen ones in the Petro cliffs of Jordon for the second half of the tribulation; but that’s a blog for another time. My point here is that the same God who the psalmist penned about in Psalm 121 is still keeping watch over His people. As long as the NT Spirit-filled Church is on the earth, we can make a difference. We need to be praying, witnessing, working, and planning for our soon departure as we plan for the fall months. It’s a tough place to be but Paul was clear when he prophetically foretold his readers that the group of people who were alive at the time of the Rapture would know that it’s close. They may not know the day or hour, but they would know when it was near,
Paul said it this way, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober (self-controlled). 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Therefore comfort (encourage) each other and edify (build up) one another, just as you also are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
- The ’day of the Lord’ is the seven-year tribulation, which is preceded by a pre-tribulation Rapture. The ‘they’ in this passage are the unsaved, those who are not prepared to die or be raptured. The ‘you’ mentioned here are the true believers who are ‘not walking in darkness so that this Day should overtake them as a thief.’ Because we are saved, we are walking with the Lord and watching accordingly.
Our ‘watching and waiting’ is consistent with our calling to be ‘sons of light and sons of the day.’ We are saved by God’s grace and therefore secure in His love. God has not appointed us to His wrath because Jesus took it on the cross. We were appointed to be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ. Even if we were to die before the Rapture, we will one day be resurrected and gathered together with all believers throughout the NT era; including the OT saints who are already in Paradise. Because we are set, we need to witness and encourage others so they too can be saved.
Right now is the time to be intentional about our faith and all that we do. We must be diligent in our stewardship of both the people and things that God has entrusted to our care. Our window to witness is closing fast and we are about to go home. There is something about this season that we are living in where things are heating up, but there’s no advancement or invasion. I believe that it’s because we are all still here, praying, and calling on the Lord for His intervention and deliverance. I believe that the ‘hold up’ is the ‘catch up’ and when that happens, things will then move forward into a prophesied seven-year tribulation process.
That ride is NOT for us, but it is destined for those who ‘dwell on the earth’ and are left behind; many who will be saved during the tribulation. I feel that the restrainer is still restraining and when the Lord calls us home, things will no longer be held up. Why, because we will have GONE UP!
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northern Missouri. He lives with his wife of 35-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 