The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation. Jeremiah 50:25.
At His own will God summons the forces of nature to overthrow the might of His enemies–“fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word.” Psalm 148:8. When the heathen Amorites had set themselves to resist His purposes, God interposed, casting down “great stones from heaven” upon the enemies of Israel. We are told of a greater battle to take place in the closing scenes of earth’s history, when Jehovah “hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation.” Jeremiah 50:25. “Hast thou,” he inquires, “entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” Job 38:22, 23.
The revelator describes the destruction that is to take place when the “great voice out of the temple of heaven” announces, “It is done.” He says, “There fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent.” Revelation 16:17, 21.
In the last scenes of this earth’s history, war will rage.
The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon.
The Captain of the Lord’s host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle.
He on whose vesture is written the name, King of kings and Lord of lords, leads forth the armies of heaven on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean and white.
When He shall come to the earth again, He will shake “not the earth only, but also heaven.” “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage.” “The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll”; “the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But “the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Hebrews 12:26; Isaiah 24:20; 34:4; 2 Peter 3:10; Joel 3:16.
Maranatha p. 297
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Prayer Requests
—–Please continue to pray for Brian as he studies at AFCOE. Pray that God opens a way for him to serve Him after the school is over. Rose
—–Ken fell off a ladder while washing the windshield of his motor home when he fell onto the concrete. He has a possible brain bleed. He had residual dizziness from the other fall off the ladder while doing Maranatha last year. Please keep Ken and Joyce in your prayers. N.P.
—–My Precious little granddaughter, Florence, in Nepal is in the hospital. I don’ t know what is wrong, but she hasn’t eaten except for breastfeeding for 6 days. She is 18 months old and an adorable little girl. Her parents are working so hard with an organization that has orphanages and does rescue work for children being trafficked, and the devil is working so hard to destroy their faith and interfere with their work. Please keep the whole organization in your prayers. Linda
—–Please pray for T, who is struggling with addiction and guilt. He is taking first steps to be free from these things and needs much prayer. Pray also for those who are helping him. L
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Dear Friends
When I was four, my mother and I traveled by train to Detroit, Michigan to go to the zoo. While there, we visited her Aunt Bessie. I thought Auntie Bessie was very old, but she was probably the age that I am now. When we came to visit she was delighted. She enjoyed having a little girl around the house, as she and her husband had always wanted children were unable to have them.
In the middle of the night, I woke up very thirsty. I awakened my mother, who went to the kitchen to get me a glass of water. I followed. Auntie Bessie, hearing the noise, got up also. When she found that I needed a drink, she fixed me lemonade instead of water because the water in Detroit tasted so bad. Now making lemonade in those days was a lot harder than it is now. She had to squeeze the lemons into a pitcher of water and mix in sugar. Instant lemonade had not been invented yet as far as any of us knew. It took a long time and was lot of work for her, but she was happy to do it because she loved me.
She smiled in happy expectation as she set the glass before me. After one taste, I refused to drink more. I wanted water. Poor Auntie Bessie! She had worked so hard to make something nice for me and I would not drink it. No amount of coaxing could get me to change my mind.
Just as my great-aunt had to go to extra work to give me something better than Detroit’s water, only to have her kindness rejected, so our Dear Saviour “came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11 Think of the disappointment and utter sadness of He, Who created the Universe and all things therein (John 1:3; Heb 1:1-3), Who was worshiped and adored by all the heavenly host, Who left the glories of that fair land to be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa 53:3-6
Our Loving Redeemer told a story that illustrates His rejection and the results: “There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” Mt 21:34-44
May we freely receive the water of life offered us from the Hand of our Great Creator. May we take heed that we will not be as Israel who rejected the One Who was their King, but that we will accept Him fully and serve Him joyfully. May we, in turn, offer the water of salvation to those around us is my prayer.
Rose