Hebrews 12: 18-29
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
We are in a time of great shaking. The financial institutions of the world are in free-fall and there are increasing problems across the globe with disasters on a catastrophic scale. With increasing wealth has come increasing apathy and rebellion against God. His ways are rejected in favour of the ways of the world.
With the sexual immorality, violent crime and a general turning away from God, it must often seem to many people that the winning side is the world, but the victory against sin has already been won by Jesus Christ when he became sacrificial Lamb.
Are we now in the end time prophesied in Holy Scripture? I believe that the signs point to the fact that we are. Scripture has prophesied that eventually the world will crumble and that only God's kingdom will last. Are you part of the unshakeable Kingdom of God? If you are a true follower of Jesus Christ then you have a place in the Kingdom, and you will stand firm in the shaking, but all of those who choose to reject Christ will be lost to the burning fires of satanic hell from which there is no escape.
Many people have placed their confidence for their future in the transient things of the world, but in the end these things will let them down. No matter how powerful or how wealthy anyone might be, neither power nor wealth can bring about salvation. The gift of salvation is in the hands of Christ alone. Within the last few days we have seen the perfect example with the fall from power of one of the most powerful and rich men in the world, Rupert Murdoch, and his fall from grace has almost certainly not finished. There are further threats against him waiting in the USA.
We live in a time when businesses that are well-known household names are closing down, financially bankrupt. High Street name that have been around since before many of today's adults were born are ruined and in tatters.
The media also brought news this past week of more massive bonuses for employees in the financial sector, despite the economy of several countries being in free-fall. The Greek economy is the latest Greek Tragedy, and along with many other countries in Europe that signed up to the Euro as their national currency, is being propped up in a vain attempt to rescue the unsaveable.
Where will it all end? Well, I believe that the answers are there to be found in the Bible. It will end with the destruction of the world as we know it and the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom, peopled by those who have accepted Christ, claimed the gift of salvation and pledged their allegiance to His Lordship, and who have remained firm in the Christian faith.
The signs are all around us. Businesses and nations financially bankrupt and countless people who are morally bankrupt. Sexual depravity promoted daily as being normal, violence and crime increasing, yet national security and policing being compromised by the cuts imposed as a result of the financial disasters brought about by greed and avarice.
Thankfully, there is an escape route which is open to all who choose to take it. The choice is simple. Either you accept Jesus Christ or you reject Him. In rejecting Him it matters little whether you place your trust in material things such as property, land, money or the things that wealth can purchase, or whether you place it in any of the false gods that abound. The result will be the same, for you will not inherit the keys to the Kingdom. Delay your decision at your peril. Make the right choice and repent today of all that is wrong in your life, acknowledge Christ as your Lord and claim the gift of salvation that He, and He alone, offers.
His is the victory! Praise the Lord! And we can share in that victory when we trust in Him and reject the shiny baubles that the world dangles in front of us.
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