The Beginning of The End
When it comes to the End Times that the Bible speaks about, we can often take it for granted that it is speaking of a time in the very distant future for which none of us are going to be personally affected. We like the idea of a long life and a death at old age as the many generations who have gone before us, but what if our generation is the last? What if we are the beginning of the end?
Clearly there is a terminal generation spoken of in the Bible, Jesus said that “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” This being noted on three occasions in the Bible, Matt 24, Mrk 13 & Lk 21. The context is the end of the end, but for the end of the end to occur, it is the beginning of the end that will come first.
We have seen within the body of the Psalms a wonder and a structure to them. Far from being haphazardly placed together, we see that there is a structure and that this structure is there for a reason. We have seen also different aspects of the Psalms.
We noted Psalms that are commonly referred to as Messianic Psalms, that is, they are psalms that speak of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. They outline his coming, both first and second. They speak of his life and his purpose.
We have seen Psalms also of a nature that calls judgement upon the wicked and the adversaries of the Psalmist, these are known as Imprecatory Psalms.
We see also the penitential Psalms, Psalms of repentance, Psalms of sorrow for sin and petitioning of the Lord for his mercy and grace.
We see also Psalms that speak of Creation and of the Word of God and its value.
We see also Psalms of praise, these are Psalms we are yet to consider in our particular study, but they will come.
But we have not only seen Psalms of a type, we have also looked at some individually for the wonderful fruit that we can glean from them.
One thing we can confirm is that the Psalms touch every aspect of our life and emotion. They are experiential, they are the pouring out of the heart to the Lord, but they are also informative and reach both into the past, the present and the future of things the Lord has attended to and will attend to concerning those who love him.
We today are living in the most unique period of history. As each day roles on I am being more convinced than ever that we are on the cusp of the creation of the final kingdom prophesied by Daniel in the Book of Daniel chapter 2, that we are at the beginning of the end.
I showed in the Mayday Series this year the image of Nebuchadnezzar which he dreamed, the head of Gold (Babylon), the chest and arms of Silver (Medo/Persia), the body of brass (The Greek Empire) and the legs of Iron (Roman).
But concerning the times we are to enter it is the feet, part of Iron and part of clay, Daniel writes that this kingdom will be partly strong and partly broken. It is a kingdom which is defined by division. I don’t think I have seen a time in history where the people of our own civilisation are so divided and becoming more so all around the world. Daniel writes however that this final kingdom is unlike all that has gone before it, as it devours the whole world. Revelation refers to it in a way that none escape from its grip with life. I am more convinced than ever that we are living at the beginning of that very time, that we are at the beginning of the end.
I bring that up to introduce to you a body of Psalms that have a uniqueness of their own. Wedged between a Prayer of Moses in Psalm 90, and a Psalm of David in Psalm 101, is a set of Psalms that have been known as set apart by many teachers of the Bible
They were referred to as the “Enthronement Psalms” By Sigmund Mowinckel, a biblical scholar at the turn of the twentieth Century; they were also known as “Second Advent Psalms” George Rawlinson in the century before. They were called “The Millennial Psalms” by Johann Gottfried Herder in the 18th Century,
“Songs of the Millennium” By Puritan William Binnie, and also “Millennial Anthems” by Friedrich August Tholuck, a German Protestant Theologian in the mid nineteenth century. But perhaps the most apt title that I would consider that best identifies these Psalms is that noted by Dr Franz Delitzsch, a Lutheran theologian who simply referred to them as “Apocalyptic Psalms”.
To him it seemed evident they don’t only touch on the millennial reign of Christ, they are not only about his second advent, but that they extend from the wicked turning of the world, through the wrath and judgement of God, to the praise and glory of his evident ruling and reigning on the earth.
These ten Psalms are a unique body in the Psaltery.
They seem to have a certain degree of Chronology when reading them as a whole. They seem very much to progress. Those of you who know your bibles and know the chronology of the last days will definitely recognise it. Let me give a summary of how they present themselves, and you might draw your own conclusion.
First of all you will note that, even though these Psalms are identified as Apocalyptic Psalms, you are going to see that they are all written from the perspective of those who love God. Why does that matter?
Because they are so clearly Psalms of Comfort. There is nothing in these Psalms that give ANY impression of doom or peril for the lovers of God. Contrary to those who hate God, there is comfort and keeping of those who love him. It speaks of destruction of the wicked, but deliverance and protection of the righteous.
The division we are seeing evident today, will have its final division when it is God who separates the tares from the wheat, and the goats from the sheep. Matt 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
But most evidently these Psalms teach so plainly of the return of God to rule and reign physically on the earth. What you will see is that;
- You have the comfort of the righteous in Psalm 91 as the wicked fall around them.
- You have the praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as he deals with the wicked and exalts those who love him in Psalm 92.
- Psalm 93 You have the anticipation of his reign
- Psalm 94 The petition for his wrath and judgement upon the wicked.
- Psalm 95 is the worship of God as God, the exaltation of him and his power and the humbling of the heart of men. It is the knees, fallen to the earth, that submits to the Lord that will have rest.
- Psalm 96 is a petition to the people to see the true God and abandon the false gods which have ensnared them. God is coming to Judge the earth, therefore “7..give to the Lord glory and strength’
- Psalm 97, an incredible Psalm in which it is not difficult to see Christ has come, he is now on the earth and “a fire goes before him and burneth up his enemies round about” (v3) “The hills melt like wax’ it says and the gods themselves are charged to worship him “and all the people see his glory’ (6)
- Psalm 98 is a song of praise, a new song in which all the people sing for the victory he has gained. He revealed himself to the heathen world and all the earth makes a new sound. “The floods clap their hands” says the text, and the hills are joyful together (8). The Psalm finally pictures that God is now ready to judge the world with righteousness and the people with equity.
The Bible strongly pictures that the world will lack true judgment, people will not receive a fair trial in anything. The world has lost its foundation for the truth, and equity is gone.
- Psalm 99 the Lord reigns; he sits between the Cherubims in Jerusalem. This clearly speaks of him on his physical throne. Man is charged to exalt him and to give him praise. They are reminded ever so gently of his goodness to Israel, the people for which he came. He reminds them of his forgiveness and his mercy.
- Finally Psalm 100 as we see him in the millennial reign, and we have a wonderful reminder of the Creator / Creature distinction. Why God is so worthy of our praise and our thanksgiving. “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations”(5)
There are not many that are so clearly grouped as these Psalms into one complete unit. The Lord does not do anything by accident, there is a purpose for their structure, a purpose for their nature and a reason why they sit as a unit of ten and in a segment all on their own between Moses and David.
So, recall that I said these Psalms are Apocalyptic, they speak of the end times specifically. Remember also that I said they seem Chronological, and remember also that I noted they are there for a purpose. Why?
Because I’d like you to consider the days we are living in, days that are the most unique in all of history. To the Christian who has his hope in heaven, these days are very exiting days, because they continue to prove the Bible as true. But there are many in the world that are asking questions concerning what they feel is coming in these days. Some are truly getting the distinct impression that we are in the beginning of the end.
The pressing of the idea of a “new normal” seems almost inescapable as we read and see the unfolding events. Indeed, professor Klaus Schwab, who is both the architect and head of the World Economic Forum, in his video introduction of The Great Reset, that each of you can visit and watch for yourself, tells of how this Virus is given “opportunity” for a unique alteration of human events, he says;
“We are at a turning point of human kind, I think we should not underestimate the historical significance of the situation we are in”.
To give you an understanding of the confidence he has in making that statement, earlier in the Video he states;
“people assume that we are going back to the good old world which we had (before the virus) and everything will be normal again in how we are used to normal, old fashion. This is, let’s say fiction, it will not happen”.
An absolutely astounding statement to make on behalf of the entire world! What gives this man the confidence to make such a bold claim? A statement following he makes it clear, by insinuating a deliberate attempt at altering the global structure due to opportunity this virus has enabled; He says;
“This is really a test case for the capability of a global corporation”
There is a reason I am telling you this before we take a look at the first of these set of ten Apocalyptic Psalms.
As the days go on, I am believing more and more that, this virus is being excused for what I am witnessing as the formation of that Final Kingdom spoken of in Daniel 2. The ten region Kingdom of Iron and Clay related in Nebuchadnezzars dream.
I say that, because the first of the ten apocalyptic Psalms identifies uniquely a virus to which some are to be delivered, but by which others are overcome. If the apocalyptic Psalms are Chronological, and it seems that they are, then Psalm 91 is the beginning of the end, and that beginning starts with the mention of pestilence.
Psalm 91 INTRODUCES the apocalyptic Psalms, and three times mentions a virus that effects a requirement for deliverance. Is that a coincidence?
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
This is the beginning of the Apocalyptic Psalms, this is the beginning of the end. There is pestilence in the text, there is a plague identified in the passage, it is the only psalm in the group that speaks of it and it’s Chronologically in the beginning. Jesus spoke of several things that identify the last days, two of which were Famines and Pestilence. This text speaks of pestilence, and it most wonderfully speaks of the blessing for those who have the Lord as their refuge and their fortress.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Those who trust in this way, the text says are delivered from, v 3 the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
They set traps for the fowls to catch them unawares. But incredibly the Bible teaches of those who are wise and walk circumspectly, Proverbs 1:17 says “17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.”
Beloved, those who walk circumspectly, those who are the children of the day and not of the night, these are those who see the net spread in their sight, these are they who are delivered from the “snare of the fowler”.
Many traps are set before us today, and they would take us if we are unaware. Most of the world have no idea what is going on, most of the world truly believe this Virus to be worthy of the Government to imprison themand to remove from them liberty and employment, they do not consider what is before them.
Consider verse 4
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
So clear is the protection of those who are his. Jesus spoke of his love for Jerusalem and his sorrow that they would not turn to him;
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Mt 23:37)
It is Christ who is their trust, but most importantly it is his truth (that) shall be thy shield and buckler.
We can have no comfort without the truth of Gods words in the Bible. These are the words of everlasting life. These are the words of hope and joy. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians specifically of the end of days and concluded saying “Therefore comfort one another with these words”.
It is the words of God that bring comfort.
It is the words of the Lord that we are to trust in.
It is the Bible that is our joy and our stay and if you are not reading it you WILL NOT experience it as your shield and buckler. It is his truth that provides this and nothing else!
I don’t know, do you think I harp on about the Bible and your reading of it too much?
People come to me and tell me how frustrated they are when they share the gospel with people and they just won’t hear it, and all I think about is how I feel when I tell people the value of the Bible and they don’t hear it. We are not a third of the way through the first of Apocalyptic Psalm in the Bible and already we are told of the value of Gods truth for this time. Coincidence?
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Well I am guessing that any number of considerations could be given for verse 5, but in giving them I may either have respect or disdain, but I am sure that as time goes on the passage before us might reveal itself more fully.
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness
Tremendous secrecy around the world concerning a plague that seems to have come out of nowhere and that has miraculously crossed species to afflict mankind all over the world. Both China and the W.H.O. keeping the world in darkness as the pestilence crosses national borders.
Dr Li Meng Yan, a Chinese Virologist who escaped China via Hong Kong is now secured in the US, and wrote a 26 page study on the virus for which she has been now banned on Twitter with her feed suspended to ensure the darkness.
Nevertheless, she has been interviewed often and is fully aware that the Chinese government wants her “Disappeared”. In an interview with Tucker Carlson She states categorically regarding this pestilence that
“it is not from nature, it is a man-made virus created in the lab”
She states that the Bat virus “which cannot affect people, but after the modifications becomes a very harmful virus”.
She says “I have evidence to show why they can do it, what they have done, how they do it”
She notes that the virus genome is very much like our fingerprint, and you can identify the very unusual character in its genome’ and its designed to target humans.
She explains that this virus is very much like a Frankenstein; that it is like a cow that “has a dears head, rabbits ears, and also has monkeys hands” and that they can never get it from nature.
Social Media, government and many others are shutting all her comments down and doing all they can to keep the origin of this virus under a cover of darkness;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness
Does the text refer to this specifically? I don’t know. There is no virus that only affects people after dark (only one certain State premier seems to believe that), so it cannot really be speaking of limiting transmission to the darkness. The realistic context could easily relate to the concealed nature of the virus.
Food for thought.
Lets look from verse 11 as we see this Psalm incredibly unfold for us.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Satan is the master of taking a passage out of its context for his own peculiar application.
It is verse 11 and 12 he employs against Christ to tempt him to jump from the pinical of the temple.
Mt 4:5-7
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
But the context of the Psalm is not one concerning protection against self harm, but that Christ would be preserved to 13 … tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
And now verse 14, having destroyed the works of the devil under his feet, the gospel has the assurance of deliverance for those who trust him.
verse 14
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
I have mentioned this quite a number of times already, but it was the conclusion of my godly wife that considered all that is before us this day, and it incredibly fits so well in this Psalm.
She said perhaps God is giving people one last chance to come to him before he comes to take the Church out of this world.
INDEED, MANY ARE TURNING TO THE LORD
It interests me greatly that this Psalm is the first of the apocalyptic Psalms, it is indeed the beginning of the end.
It speaks of a plague and pestilence that would ensnare those not watching. And wonderfully how this Psalm is also the only one of the ten that presents Jesus Christ personally, and presents the Gospel of Salvation. It is the only one of the ten that does so.
Psalm 92 gives the clearest impressions that the saved are distinct from the lost, the righteous are specifically identified as righteous in Psalm 92, they are not mentioned specifically that way in Psalm 91, but the gospel is! The Gospel is what makes men righteous, and Psalm 92 refers to them.
Am I seeing things that are not there or is the Lord truly giving mankind one last chance? Is this all just a coincidence?
Is it a coincidence that so many people are making enquiries about the biblical end times at this time?
I have relatives that are staunch atheists and agnostics that are recognising these days as what they are. I have had enquiries respecting the last days, and, from my conversation with a couple of other pastors, many people are contacting them to ask about these days. Friends, there is no doubt in my mind that the end is very near, that we are at its beginning at least.
How quickly can it occur? In my home state of Victoria, we have made world news for how quickly we have turned from freedom to authoritarianism.
No state of nation has fallen so far so fast as we have in Victoria, and the world has reported on it. I have news articles from the US, the UK, The Philippines, from Ireland, from Indonesia.
We see how quickly things can change. People who are not criminals in the normal sense of the words are being cuffed and arrested, and if the Premier has his way with the current bill before Parliament, anyone suspected of speaking against the current regime by impressing an alternative viewpoint can be held in custody indefinitely.
The Bill is called the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Amendment Bill and has already passed the upper house.
How much time does the world have to accept this final opportunity before the Lord comes for his Church?
No one knows, but it can happen at any moment.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Has the Lord shown you his salvation?
The ultimate comfort of all is THE GOSPEL presented in this Psalm.
Will you believe that Jesus died for your sins? Jesus paid for the sins of the world by becoming sin for us. It was he who knew no sin that died for the sins of the world, will you believe this is true?
Only if you have accepted the sacrifice paid for by the blood of Christ for you can you be forgiven and have eternal life. Time is short, the church will soon be gone, there is only one last hope for you and that is to believe the Gospel.
Will you believe it that you might have life?
https://www.weforum.org/great-reset/
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