Dear friends, Moses prophesied in Deut 28: ‘the sights you see will drive you mad’. While this prophecy has been fulfilled many times over the last 5781 years, it has never been as true as it is in the days we are living in.
Who would have thought that a virus would trigger off a world-wide crisis never seen before? The devil has become sophisticated! His chief demon is no longer called ‘legion’ it is now Covid, which has come to rule the world, creating sights that is driving people mad:
In Canada police harassed Pastors and closed Churches; over 100 (!) were burned down. In Australia SWAT police attacked Christian worshippers physically. In Melbourne Police surrounded a synagogue, fining worshippers in excess of $ 5000. In Israel soldiers were woken up at 2am by their officers with shouting and screaming to force them to accept the ‘magic potion’- the booster vaccine. In the US, military personnel faced the same tactic with top fighter pilots and scores of other military specialists walking off the job refusing to accept the third booster injection which is deadly and, believe me, will not be the last! In Afghanistan Taliban are busy shipping billions $ worth of abandoned military hardware to Iran, while hunting down Christians, raping and killing as they go, etc. etc.
While C19 is destroying the nations, ETD is destroying the Churches. ETD? ETD stands for End-Time-Delusion, a spiritual virus that has been quietly festering in the churches for decades - infecting many who have ‘learned church’ but never ‘learned God’. They learned to prophecy, learned to preach, learned to cast out demons, learned to fall down in the spirit, learned spiritual songs, somehow even learn to speak in tongues - but never learned to love! Theywill not love you, but they will leave you and they are the ones who will betray you! Jesus foretold us that ‘brother will betray brother to death’ (Mark 13:12) A case in point - a local CofE (Church of England) vicar was reported by one of his parishioners (!) for singing in Church. He lost his job, income and residence. There are others examples world-wide.
Matthew’s time of sorrows is upon us (Mth 24:8 KJV), where every person must be vaccinated. This is the beginning of sorrows which will escalate to Jacob’s trouble (Jer 30:7) where every Jew will, once again, have to run for his life. All this is leading to the beginning of the great tribulation, where every Christian will be persecuted. At this point it is important not to repeat the mistake of the previous generation who pinned their hope on the rapture as a means of escape from trouble and tribulation. Satan used this misapplication of Scripture taught by deluded men who made millions $ out of this subject, while the churches were burning and believers were martyred around the world. The question at this point is not whether it will happen or not. Question is: what will you do when it does not happen in your time? What will you do when suffering and persecution comes knocking on your door and you have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to?
Church goers in the west have done everything to avoid this subject. They said: ‘don’t tell me the things I don’t want to hear‘. This became the motive for many obliging preachers and pastors to preach popular messages of salvation, healing and deliverance without any reference to the fact that followers of Christ have been called and destined to suffer.
With the popular preaching of ‘don’t worry all is going to work out well’, Church folk have been lulled into a false security that put them to sleep. Now alarm bells are ringing everywhere in a wake-up call: “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die” (Re 3:2)
In the face of all these uncomfortable and worrying realities, I want to encourage you! God promised to pour out His Holy Spirit in the last days, which did not mean that it was limited to the beginning of the last days, i.e. the day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. Yes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has been experienced by millions all over the world through the 2000 year period of the last days, but this promise is not completely fulfilled yet. The ‘last days’ include the last day – the end time period in which we find ourselves. We need to grasp that there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the End Times. But it will come with persecution!
Although the enemy has (once again) come in like a flood, flooding the nations with unspeakable evil, yet the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him (Is.59:19) and put him to flight. We have this promise, despite the world-wide situation, that God will pour out His Spirit upon us, for He had not given us a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of Power, Love and a sound mind.(2.Tim.1:7)
This is not the time to lose our mind, though we see sights that may drive others mad, but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved ( Heb 10:39). Remember – this is the day the Lord has made for you to be alive in this world, for such a time as this! So arise and stand to your feet for God has called you for this purpose:
“to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”(Acts 26:15-)
God is shaking the world to wake up His people: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Eph 5:14) This is the great awakening to the promise of resurrection power! This is our future, not the thing the enemy conjures up before weary and fearful eyes. The resurrection morning is drawing close! It is time for the true Church to arise, rise from the dead.
I am grateful that God has raised me from the dead. I have been in and out of hospital, but am on the mend now and getting stronger by the day. We shall therefore meet again on Sunday at Tuckton Christian Centre (TCF) @ 10.30 AM to meet in the increasingly powerful presence of God Who is strengthening and preparing us, by making us strong and very courageous for all that lies ahead.
Apologies for the incomplete info concerning last Wednesday’s Israel Prayer meeting. In foreseeable future we shall meet, as we have always done, to seek the Lord while there is time; to thank Him for His faithfulness and offer Him a sacrifice of praise, no matter how deep the suffering we are going through. We shall continue to pray at TCF for prayer every Wednesday 7.30 pm.
I pray the Christ will shine on you that you may know that ‘Greater is He who is in you than the one that is in the world’. Christ in me the hope of Glory is greater than anything and anyone in this world, for this world is passing away soon, but Christ will remain, just as He promised.
Shalom and every blessing to you in Yeshua
Pastor Werner
Tuckton Christian Centre 306-308 Iford lane Bournemouth BH6 5NG United Kingdom