Manifest Destiny

None so deaf as those who will not hear.  None so blind as those who will not see.            --Matthew Henry

manifest  [man-uh-fest]
adjective
1.  Readily perceived by the eye or the understanding; evident; obvious; apparent; plain:
a manifest error.2.  Psychoanalysis. of or relating to conscious feelings, ideas, and impulses that contain repressed psychic material:
the manifest content of a dream as opposed to the latent content that it conceals.

verb (used with object)
3.  To make clear or evident to the eye or the understanding; show plainly:
He manifested his approval with a hearty laugh.4.  To prove; put beyond doubt or question:
The evidence manifests the guilt of the defendant.5.  To record in a ship's manifest.
noun
6.  A list of the cargo carried by a ship, made for the use of various agents and officials at the ports of destination.
7.  A list or invoice of goods transported by truck or train.
8.  A list of the cargo or passengers carried on an airplane.

 A student of American History will recall the phrase "Manifest Destiny" as the realization by early settlers that there was a great deal of land west of the original thirteen colonies.  There was incentive to settle further and further west, as there was a great deal of land to be claimed, and there was gold on the west coast.  This land was uncharted, and (to the minds of the European settlers) uninhabited, as the indigenous peoples were nomadic.  As "civilized" people migrated further west, they organized into new Territories of the United States of America, which would eventually become states themselves.  Westward expansion was self-evident; it was obvious to all but the Indian tribes that white settlers should possess the land all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

"Manifest" is not a word we use much any more in our everyday vocabulary.  It is a good word, though; one that is used in older versions of Scripture.  John 14:21 says, "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."  I don't know about you, but I would like very much for Jesus to manifest Himself to me.  Through the Scriptures, Christ has in fact been made manifest to us.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. (Romans 1:18-19)

I truly believe that we are in what has been called the End Times.  I trust that Jesus is coming back very soon.  For students of Scripture, the signs are manifest to us.  For those who don't take the Bible literally, or who scoff at it's stories as so much mythology--well, I've probably lost them as readers by now.  Unfortunately, I think the scoffers of society have influenced the Church more than the Church has influenced society.  But that is another rant for another time.

Let's look at the evidence.  In Matthew 24, the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming?" (Matthew 24;3).  Jesus gives the disciples a long discourse, describing things that will come in the short-term, mid-term, and long-term.

Wars, rumors of wars, and deceipt
Jesus predicts deceivers will come after Him, declaring that they are Him, or at least speak for Him.  "And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Take heed that no one deceive you.  For many will come in My Name, saying, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many.' " (Matthew 24:5).  In the History of the Church, what started with Apostles and Elders like Peter and Paul evolved into a hierarchy, replete with politics and power.  There arose a church leader who called himself "Papa", what we would now call the Pope, who hailed himself not just the head of the church, but "the Vicar of Christ".  That is, the papacy claimed to be the Viceroy, the stand-in, for Christ until His return to Earth.

"And  you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." (Matthew 24:6).  After the establishment of the papacy, there were the Crusades, a series of religion inspired wars designed to re-take Jerusalem from Muslim hands.  Jesus predicted these conflicts, and warned us not to be worked up about the possible end of the world at that time.  And we know now that it was not to be, just as He said.

The Beginning of Sorrows
Jesus predicted geo-political realignment, and natural disasters.  "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7-8).  Many will argue that there have been wars fought between peoples as long as there have been people.  But none could argue that modern technology has allowed the possibility of mass destruction on a scale never seen before.  Those same people will argue that the world has always had seasons of drought, periods of widespread disease, and earthquakes.  There are two new developments, however, that are pertinent here.  First is the development of mass communication.  Whenever there is a natural disaster anywhere in the world, CNN announces it as it occurs.  So we know more quickly about the event, and of the toll it takes.  So I don't know whether there are more earthquakes or famines now than there ever were, but I do know that more people are aware of them now than ever before.  And I also know that more people are affected by natural disasters than ever before.  With a global population of 6.5 billion people (and rising), more and more people are affected by drought, disease, and dynamic shifts in the earths crust.  If you have a heart, you must feel for all the people who are affected by these things.  We want to help them.

Widespread Hate
Jesus predicted persecution on an unprecedented scale.  We have all heard of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed.  The upcoming persecution of the Church will make the Holocaust pale in comparison.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My Name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  --Matthew 24:9-12

We have already begun to see the rise of ISIL and their brutal treatment of Christians.  They have beheaded some, drowned some, killed some by fire, and others they have buried alive.  Their watchword is "Death to America".  There are currently 330 million Americans.  When they get access to nuclear warheads--and they will get access to nuclear warheads (see the current headlines about the "deal" struck between the US and Iran to allow development of nuclear material) they will most certainly develop a nuclear bomb within 10 years--maybe sooner.

The false prophets have already infiltrated our culture.  They have come stealthily, preaching half-truths about the nature of God.  "God is love," they preach (which is true).  "We need not worry about God's wrath.  The God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament" (which is NOT true.)  The current pope was recently quoted as saying that the god of Islam is the same as the Christian and Jewish God, that He is just known by a different name.  This is a LIE.

Jesus described the culture of the end times later in Matthew 24 as being comparable to the pre-flood world.  "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matthew 24: 37).  The point He was making was the suddenness of the event, because He goes on to say that people were going about their daily routines, "eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark."  But a close look at the culture of the days of Noah reveals something telling.  Genesis 5:6 says, "The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the hearts of the human heart was only evil all of the time."  How descriptive.  How very much like today.  (Witness the majority of Christians who support the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding gay marriage, while at the very same time believing that homosexual behavior is wrong--the "inclination of the human heart" bending toward evil.)

Genesis 6 speaks of the violence present during the time of the flood.  The Hebrew word for violence and lawlessness is "hamas."  Genesis 6:11 and 13 says, "The earth was also corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence (hamas).  And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh is before me; for the earth is filled with violence (hamas); and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  Any student of today's situation in the Middle East knows that the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a terrorist group, is supported by Hamas.  I know that in the Palestinian language, "hamas" has a different meaning.  It supposedly means "enthusiasm".  But in their "enthusiasm", they declare a holy "jihad", which means a violent war or struggle against unbelievers.

The End
Jesus describes only one prerequisite to His Glorious Appearing.  It is not the rebuilding of the Temple, although that is described in Revelation as a physical structure which will be rebuilt just before or during the Tribulation.  It is not the appearance of the Antichrist.  It is global evangelism.  "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:13-14).  With the current state of global communications, can anyone tell me a nation or language or tribe that has not heard the gospel message?

The book of Revelation describes a one-world government or one-world economy (Revelation 17:13).  I have already quoted the current pope about his identification with Islam.  I have read more than one story about the pope being a Jesuit, and the fact that most Jesuits are embracing Liberation Theology.  This line of thinking says that the style of government that most closely aligns to the teachings of Jesus is Marxism.  In fact, the line in the Communist Manifesto "from each according to his ability to each according to his need" is a direct quote from the book of Acts, where Luke described the actions and attitudes of the early Church.  The difference between the early Church and the tenet of Marxism is Free Will.  God gave men free will, and delights when they choose to share with the needy.  Marxism denies people free will, such that anyone who does not fall in behind the Party line is arrested or killed.

As for the economy, historically every seven years there is a "correction" to the world markets.  This is due to occur again, possibly this coming September.  There is some concern among economists that the correction of 2015 could be very devastating.  Could this usher in Marxism into the US economy?  We already know that the sitting president attended a church that preached Liberation Theology.

There is an extra-biblical source of prophecy that indicates the current pope may be the last one ever.  The writings of the Catholic cleric Malachy in the twelfth century are interesting, to say the least.  Is this the moral and religious Antichrist spoken of in Revelation 19:20 and elsewhere (Revelation 17 speaks of a woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, whom many theologians identify with a false religion).  Many Christians look forward to the Rapture of the Church, in which all Christians are taken to heaven suddenly, leaving a moral and religious vacuum behind that will be filled by Satan and his followers.  Many Muslims look forward to a violent overthrow of Christianity in the last days.  Could it be that Islam becomes the one world religion after the Rapture of the Church?

The Bible says that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming, but that the seasons will be made manifest.  I believe in my heart that something earth-shaking will happen with the coming Jewish New Year in September.  Traditionally, it is marked by the blowing of the trumpet 100 times.  Some predictions of the Second Coming of Jesus include a description of "the last trumpet".  I don't know for certain that the Lord is coming for His Church on September 15, some 60 days from now.  But I do expect something big to occur with the advent of the 70th Year of Jubilee since Joshua led the Sons of Israel into the Promised Land.  And I do know that we are closer now to the end of the world than we have ever been before.

Are you ready?