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Bible Readings for Saturday, November 5th, 2011

– The Week of The 21st Sunday After Pentecost *Click on each bible passage to expand the text. Psalm 70 1. Hasten, O God, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me.

2. May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

3. May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” turn back because of their shame.

4. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “Let God be exalted!”

5. Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay. Amos 4:6-13 6. “I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 7. “I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. 8. People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 9. “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 10. “I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 11. “I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 12. “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” 13. He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is his name. Matthew 24:1-14 1. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”3. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4. Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,a’ and will deceive many. 6. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8. All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11. and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, “Let God be exalted!” – Psalm 70:4

“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” – Amos 4:12

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. – Matthew 24:12-14

“He that endures until the end; the same shall be saved…”

Ahhh, the chilling “end of the world” prophesied is Matthew 24! This ominous and dark passage has served as the bedrock for countless doomsday cults, including our most recent incarnations with Harold Camping’s May 21st/October 21st 2011 predictions.

I prefer not to focus on the “end times” language and look past to the warnings of “who’s gonna make it” through “the end” to see the Kingdom manifest on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Who and why?

Matthew 24 13. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

The inescapable question is: “stands firm” in what? Right belief, faith, sinless living… what? What are we supposed to “stand fast” in?

“Standing fast” in…?

Well, the answer is right there in Yeshua’s full sentence. We must “stand fast” in the one thing that we shall see failing all around us:

Matthew 24 12. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

LOVE.

Those who stand fast in love shall be saved. Or rather, as the Greek word is sōthēsetai (σωθήσεται), the root of which is sózó (σῴζω), perhaps we should use it’s alternate meaning: “to heal”?

Those who stand fast in love shall be healed.

Are we really surprised? Sadly, yes.

Modern Christianity doesn’t like to focus on how simple God’s message is! We like to still talk about Mosaic Law and “right belief” and the like. But to simply relate Yeshua’s world-changing message without varnish, without spin is still much too hard for most of us to take.

We cry out in protest, “Love? Each other??? You mean that asshole over there? No way.”

And this is why “the love of most will grow cold”.

Accomplishing God’s Purpose

Matthew 24 14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end (telos) will come.

It’s most interesting to note, that the Greek word for “end” in the passage above is telos (τέλος), which actually means the accomplishing of all aim, or purpose.

The purpose of all of this war, famine, strife, conflict, greed, and other wickedness is to give opportunity for enlightenment to more and more people, until the Gospel of the Kingdom (love) reaches all the Earth.

The rich man thinks he owes nothing to anyone… that is until war ravages his property and ruins his businesses! Then even the rich man shall see how much he needs to be loved, and to love others.

The well-fed man hardly has the time of day for a starving neighbor… that is, until he too is suddenly hungry. Then he will see how much the practice of sharing and relief really matter.

The victorious general will sing the praises of violence and deterrents as a “means” to peace… that is, until ever-escalating weapons technology forces him to realize that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword”. Then he will see how war can never be a “means to an end” regarding peace.

We are entering a dark time, my brothers and sisters, and yet this is nothing new. This is simply the latest cycle in an endless series of “second chances” to “get it right”. God still has faith in us, that in one of these ages of Man, we will actually make a different set of choices and avoid our own calamity, our own downfall.

Will we choose a new path, the path of Yeshua, the way of “standing fast” in love?

I do not know. But something is telling me we shall see very soon… the time for us to decide on our path is near.

What will you choose?