We are living in perilous times...

I want to be very careful about the words that I am speaking here because I do not want the enemy to get a foothold into our heart.  The enemy of our soul is always looking to lie to us and deceive us.  He wants us to believe that we have done too much and that our sins are bigger than the grace of God, but they are not.  I DON'T CARE WHAT WE HAVE DONE, God is waiting with open arms to forgive us and to set us free.  I have been watching this freedom happen for the past seven years, and the past 3-4 years have been spectacular.  I know you know what I am talking about.  The LORD is coming near to His people.  He is fighting our battles.  God has been freeing us from things that have held us in bondage our entire lives.  I don't care where you live, how much money you do or don't have, what color of skin you have, what language you speak - the LORD has been pouring out His mercy and His grace onto His people all over the world for quite some time now.  But this past week I have watched something new happen, and it concerns me.   I have watched people begin to turn their back on God.  I am watching people begin to choose their own path, despite the grace that has been and is being poured out on them.  I am watching some of God's people embracing lies instead of the truth.

Last Sunday we had an elderly man from our church deliver the message.  He use to be a pastor, and God is still using him mightily for His kingdom's work.  He preached a message titled "It is finished."  He took his passage from the time just before Jesus died.  Then He began to explain all the things that were finished on the cross.  Some of the things he said stuck in my head.  He said we no longer need animal sacrifices.  We no longer need a priest to go into the temple.  We no longer need a temple because we are the temple.  He went on and on about all the things that were no longer needed.  Then he started talking about the "end times," and how all of the animals and the ark and all of the stuff is in place to build the temple and begin sacrifices again.  He said this would be an abomination to God, and I agree.  But then he took us to 2 Thessalonians the second chapter where it talks about what will happen before the second coming of Christ.  "Let no man deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 

This scripture rocked my world that day because I understand that we are the "temple" of God, and our heart is the throne.  According to this scripture, there will be a great falling away.  People will turn away from following God.  Then the Anti-Christ will be revealed.  Now I know that there will be a very real person that will be called the Anti-Christ, but right now there is a very real spirit that is entering people that is against Christ.  It is the spirit of the Anti-Christ, and it wants to sit on the throne of our heart.  This is so scary!  The deception is very real.  The spirits are seductive.  Then 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 says, "He (Satan) will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.  So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.  Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth."  

When we are deceived, we do not know that we are believing a lie.  But let me tell you right now, "This lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way."  (2 Thessalonians 2:7) . Our heart is deep water.  We have no idea what is in it, but God does, and He is using the hard things that are happening in our life to reveal what is in our heart.  Things are not easy right now.  God is pressing buttons that is bringing all things to the surface - then we have a choice.  Do we trust and obey God, holding firmly to His promises?  Or do we go our own way, following our own paths?  We get to choose.  That is the time in which we are living.

In January of 2009, God started talking to me.  The message that year was that judgment is coming.  If you want to hear that message, go to my book and read the first chapter.  It is on this blog.  Then in 2011, God gave me another message.  It was a message of freedom.  That message started with what I call "The Parable of the Raccoon."  If you want to hear that message, go to the HOME page and click on the link THE BIG PICTURE.  With this message, God gave me the keys to the Kingdom of God, and I started walking in the power of the risen Savior.  Then three days ago, another message came to me.  I woke up, and my Bible was open to Ezekiel 7.  It hit my heart like an arrow, especially after what I have been observing, and it made me realize how close we are to the end of days.  Every choice we make right now is HUGE.  We have to remain close to God because the times we are living in are perilous.

Then this message came to me from the LORD:  "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to Israel (that is us):

"The end is here!
     Wherever you look -
east, west, north, or south -
     your land is finished.

No hope remains,
     for I will unleash My anger against you.
I will call you to account
     for all your detestable sins.
I will turn My eyes away and show no pity.
     I will repay you for all your detestable sins.
Then you will know that I am the LORD.

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
Disaster after disaster 
     is coming your way!
The end has come.
     It has finally arrived.
     Your final doom is waiting!

O people of Israel, the day of your destruction is dawning.
     The time has come; the day of trouble is near.
Shouts of anguish will be heard on the mountains, 
     not shouts of joy.
Soon I will pour out My fury on you
     and unleash My anger against you.
I will call you to account
     for all your detestable sins.
I will turn My eyes away and show no pity.
     I will repay you for all your detestable sins.
Then you will know that it is I, the LORD,
     who is striking the blow.

"The day of judgment is here; 
     your destruction awaits!
The people's wickedness and pride
     have blossomed to full flower.
Their violence has grown into a rod
     that will beat them for their wickedness.
None of these proud and wicked people will survive.
     All their wealth and prestige will be swept away.
Yes, the time has come;
     the day is here!
Buyers should not rejoice over bargains,
     nor sellers grieve over losses,
for all of them will fall
     under My terrible anger.
Even if the merchants survive,
     they will never return to their business.
FOR WHAT GOD HAS SAID APPLIES TO EVERYONE -
     it will not be changed!
Not one person whose life is twisted by sin
     will ever recover.

The trumpet calls Israel's army to mobilize, 
     but no one listens,
     for My fury is against them all.
There is war outside the city
     and disease and famine within .         (This is all spiritual.  We are the city.)
Those outside the city walls 
     will be killed by the enemy swords.
Those inside the city
     will die of famine and disease.
The survivors who escape to the mountains
     will moan like doves, weeping for their sins.
Their hands will hang limp,
     their knees will be weak as water.
They will dress themselves in burlap;
     horror and shame will cover them.
They will shave their heads
     in sorrow and remorse.

​"They will throw their money in the streets,
     tossing it out like worthless trash.
Their silver and gold won't save them
     on that day of the LORD's anger.
It will neither satisfy nor feed them,
     for their greed can only trip them up.
They were proud of their beautiful jewelry
     and used it to make detestable idols and vile images.
Therefore, I will make all their wealth
     disgusting to them.
I will give it as plunder to foreigners,
     to the most wicked of nations,
     and they will defile it.
I will turn my eyes from them
     as these robbers invade and defile My treasured land.

"Prepare chains for My people,
     for the land is bloodied by terrible crimes.
     Jerusalem is filled with violence.
I will bring the most ruthless of nations
     to occupy their homes.
I will break down their proud fortresses
     and defile their sanctuaries.
Terror and trembling will overcome My people.
     They will look for peace but not find it.
Calamity will follow calamity;
     rumor will follow rumor.
They will look in vain
     for a vision from the prophets.
They will receive no teaching from the priests
     and no counsel from the leaders.
The king and the prince will stand helpless,
     weeping in despair,
and the people's hands
     will tremble with fear.
I will bring on them
     the evil they have done to others,
and they will receive the punishment
     they so richly deserve.
Then they will know that I am the LORD."  (Ezekiel 7)

I don't know about you, but this makes me tremble!  When I read this the other day, I had certain people in my mind, and I knew that this word was for them, but it is also for the whole world.  No one will escape this judgment;.  God is not playing.  But then in the margin of my Bible by this passage, I had written Isaiah 1:16-20.

"Wash yourselves and be clean!
     Get your sins out of My sight.
     Give up your evil ways.
Learn to do good.
     Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
     Defend the cause of orphans.
     Fight for the rights of widows.

"Come now, let's settle this,"
     says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
     I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
     I will make them as white as wool.
If you will only obey Me,
     you will have plenty to eat.
But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
     you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
     I, the LORD, have spoken!

There is a way of escape.  Come to Jesus without excuse and say, "I am guilty, and I am sorry.  Please forgive me."  And He does.  But first of all, we have to recognize that we are sinners and we need a Savior.  Most people think that they are OK,  They are not OK.  We need Jesus!  We cannot make it without Him, and if we think we can go on going our stubborn, pride-filled way, we will be in for a rude awakening because God says, "The end is here!  Wherever you look - east, west, north, or south - your land is finished."

"O Israel, My faithless people,
     come home to Me again,
for I am merciful.
     I will not be angry with you forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt.
     Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God
and committed adultery against Him
     by worshiping idols under every green tree.
Confess that you refused to listen to My voice.
     I, the LORD, have spoken!"   (Jeremiah 3:12-13)

Friends, this is a new word.  We are still in the season of blessing, but if we don't enter into this season of blessing and walk in it, we will be entering a new season - it is the season of judgment and terror from which there will be no escape;   The LORD has spoken.

May God send His kindness to you right now.  May light and truth guide the way.  May mercy and grace embrace you.  May God's unfailing love sustain you in the days to come.  May your eyes be continually fixed upon Jesus.   May your heart be open wide to Him, and may your lips be filled with thanksgiving and praise.  God is up to something good right now.  He is sending truth to His people to warn them of things to come.  May you, my friend, embrace the Truth, and may the Truth set you free.

Our God is good, and He reigns!
Blessings, my friends,

​Terri 


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