Today, during a season of intensity with implications of the coronavirus pandemic continuing to unfold, we looked at encouraging Scriptures; especially from the perspective that there is a time coming when the anti-messiah will make war against and “wear out” the people of Yah. It feels easy to start relating to this a little already – feeling worn out from all the changes happening in the world while at the same time everything has not yet totally broken down in the apocalyptic sense of Revelation. Everything is in a sort of limbo right now, with massive potential energy to collapse completely and yet also at the same time so much effort going into keeping everything as normal as possible. In all of this, we turn to Yah’s Word for understanding.
The Sports Pregame Warm-up Analogy
I was recently asking Father for understanding about the season we are in, trying to discern through Scripture how current events fit into the overall scheme of past, present, and future history. This is not “thus saith the Lord” but the picture that formed in my understanding was like a basketball team working through the pregame warm-up drills. The stands were full (Heb 12:1) and both coaches were preparing for the confrontation and both teams were doing one final practice routine to warm up for the conflict. There was a new sense of urgency (beyond a normal practice), but the game had not started yet – the official whistle had not yet initiated the contest. In this picture I had no sense of how long the pregame timing would carry on in mapping it to present events. It could feel like a long warm-up. There’s a cosmic impatience to it all as communicated by Yahushua’s disciples 2000 years ago already: “how long will be…” (Matt 24) and “will you at this time restore the Kingdom…” (Acts 1). And yet this pregame definitely feels different than the normal practice seasons extending back through past centuries. Our coach (Yahushua) is getting us ready. He’s letting us know: this is going to be a hard game. So hard in fact that at times it will look like the enemy is going to win. But take courage, be comforted, remember the encouragement, don’t give up – you know the scoreboard at the final end of it all.
War Against the Saints
At some point in the future we know Satan himself will be completely barred from the Heavens and quarantined to the earth and will then – filled with great wrath – possess the man who becomes the anti-messiah and makes war against Yah’s people throughout the earth. We looked at these related passages:
- Daniel 2:40
- Daniel 7:16-28
- Daniel 12:1-10
- Rev 12:3-17
- 2 Thess 2:1-17
Therefore be Encouraged & Take Comfort
- 1 Thess 4:13-10
- 1 Thess 5:1-11
- [Thinking about how King David probably went through as full of a spectrum of human experience as any other person throughout all of history – shepherding, fighting wild beasts, military service and heroic exploits, betrayal and fleeing for his life, hiding in caves, survival, isolation, social distancing, quarantine 🙂 , leadership, kingship, wealth and prosperity, morbid sin, adultery, murder, conviction and repentance, loss of children, rebellion in his home, companionship and loyalty, great loss and profound restoration, old age, and so much more – in that light examining his Psalms with the understanding they were written from a profound wealth of wisdom and experiential understanding, which contribute a really deep weight of meaning to them…
- Psalm 50 (a Psalm of Asaph)
- Psalm 107 (probably of David)
- Psalm 146 (probably of David)
- Isaiah 65:8+
Two Groups of People
We see through all those passages several recurring themes. One of them is this idea of two distinct groups of people: the righteous and the wicked, the people of Yah and everyone else, those in YHWH’s family through Yahushua and the gentiles outside of and separate from Messiah. We see in the verses above the distinction and the difference of Yah’s treatment and promises between those two groups. We want to be those in Messiah who receive the destiny of the Kingdom Sabbath coming.