I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. Jeremiah 4:23-25.
At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the whole earth–consumed with the spirit of His mouth and destroyed by the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the City of God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.” “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned.” Isaiah 24:1, 3, 5, 6.
The whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of cities and villages destroyed by the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged rocks thrown out by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are scattered over its surface, while vast caverns mark the spot where the mountains have been rent from their foundations.
Now the event takes place foreshadowed in the last solemn service of the Day of Atonement. When the ministration in the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord; and in the presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him “all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” Leviticus 16:21. In like manner when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the host of the redeemed the sins of God’s people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit.
Maranatha p. 306
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for my mom. She is having slurred speech and they don’t know why. Amy
—–A woman who goes to our church she is a senior and fell and broke several bones, she is in the hospital, please pray for her, thank you and for Ron another church members husband who never goes to church .we have been praying for him for years. he is in the hospital doesn’t look god he is in his 80’s thank you. M.
—–My dad’s surgery is at 7:00 am please pray for my sweet dad, that his surgery will be a complete success, Thank you to all my prayer warrior friends can’t wait until we are all in heaven and talking about answered prayer and how Great our God is! Kelly
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Dear Friends
When Esther Marie was barely a teenager, a friend became jealous and spread false rumors about her. Sadly, this friend told these rumors to certain adults, who believed her as they felt she would never tell an untruth. So, rather than finding out if these things were true, these rumors were told and retold and grew worse with the telling until they were so outlandish that it is a wonder that anyone could have believed them. This one act of this girl has caused Esther (and the rest of us) many years of heartache.
Five or six years later, this girl repented of her rumor-making and tried to set the record straight. To her dismay, no one would believe her. The rumors just kept circulating. The gossip kept on growing with the telling. Of course, Esther forgave her freely and they still stay in contact as their busy schedules permit.
How often we, too, are dealt with unfairly by those around us. How many times, others gossip behind our back. With the telling the story grows bigger and we find ourselves isolated by our former friends. We feel alone and friendless and have no one to turn to. Praise God! We have the assurance that we have a Friend “that sticketh closer than a brother.” Prov 18:24 We have Someone Who will never forsake us. He promises, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ” Heb 13:5; Jer 29:11
When ridiculed and misused, we can remember that there is One Who sees it all. There is One Who does not believe rumors and gossip. He has promised, “I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,” Isa 49:25 We have the assurance that in some way our Dear Father in Heaven will cause those who persist in doing us harm to go through a similar experience that they may repent. Ultimately, if those who are against us do not repent but continue in their sin, they will be destroyed. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Mal 4:1
In view of this, how fervently we should pray for our enemies. How carefully we should try to bring about reconciliation. Jesus commands us, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matt 5:23,24 How His Great Heart of Love yearns for us to live in harmony and peace. How greatly He desires for us to treat others as we would want to be treated. (Matt 7:12)
May we cast all of our cares upon Jesus. (1 Peter 5:7) May we, no matter what our trials, commit all to His care relying upon our Righteous Judge to make all things right. (Romans 8:28) May we pray for those who injure us, as Our Dear Saviour bids us, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matt 5:44
Rose
The Earth Depopulated