A Lesson in Prayer and Faith

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: September 25, 2005

A Lesson in Prayer and Faith
by Dan Trygg

“When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 ‘I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.’ 17 And Jesus answered and said, ‘You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.’ 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ 20 And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “'Move from here to there,'” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’" Matthew 17:14-20
“When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ 29 And He said to them, ‘This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.’" Mark 9:28,29
“And by faith in His name, this man whom you see and know, …the name itself has made this man strong; and the faith that is by means of Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.” Acts 3:16

While Jesus and His three disciples were up on the mountain for a prayer retreat, the other disciples were left behind. We don’t know if Jesus left them with the crowds, or if the crowds happened upon them as they were searching for Jesus. What we do know is that He came upon them in the middle of a dispute (Mk. 9:14). Apparently a man with a boy who was unable to speak, given to fits, convulsions, followed by periods of rigidity. Matthew describes the boy as “moon-smitten” or a “lunatic”, a reference to a folk belief (or observation) that such epileptic-like fits seemed to increase and/or decrease with the activity of the moon. Mark and Luke attribute the cause of the boy’s affliction as demonization. This diagnosis also would explain the uncanny timing of these episodes of convulsions that had caused the boy “many times” to fall into water, or into a fire, endangering his life. Jesus’ response clarified that it was, indeed, a demon that was the cause of this poor boy’s problem.

The dispute arose because the father of the boy had come to the disciples with his son, asking for their help, and they were unable to cast the demon out. Some scribes happened to be present, who took advantage of the failure to start some kind of argument or discussion, pulling the disciples into controversy and quarreling (I Tim. 1:3-7; 6:3-5,20,21; II Tim. 2:14,23-26; Rom. 16:17,18), instead of focusing on the problem at hand. The disciples had taken the bait and lost not only their own personal peace and focus, but also control of the encounter. Suddenly these “bystanders” had become either outright antagonists, …or they had sidled up alongside the disciples as “religious experts” offering their own advice, which conflicted with the disciples’ approach. In any case, the recognized authority of the disciples as Jesus’ representatives was quickly being stolen or eroded away. Things were going from bad to worse. Imagine the disciples’ relief when Jesus showed up!

Apparently there was still some remaining glow or brightness from the transfiguration experience the night before, because Mark notes that when the crowd saw Jesus, they were completely amazed and marveled, and they immediately began running to greet Him (9:15). Jesus’ first concern was to ask what they were discussing. The father of the boy described the condition of his son, and how he had come to the disciples for help, but they were unable to cast out the demon. Jesus stepped in to address the problem, but not before giving the disciples a strong rebuke, “O unfaithful and having-been-twisted generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring your son here to Me.” (The disciples, who had cast out “many demons” and healed “many sick people” [Mk. 6:13] before, certainly were having a bad day. How would you like to get chewed out by Jesus!?!)

Mark’s account tells us that when the demon saw Him, he threw the boy on the ground in convulsions, and the boy began foaming at the mouth and rolling about. Jesus inquired how long this had been happening (Note: Jesus did not just know this. He had to ask – Heb. 2:14-18.), whereupon the father informed Him that from childhood this spirit had afflicted the boy. The father, already disappointed once, then said, “If You can do anything, please help us!” Jesus, beginning to draw a lesson out of this scenario, said, “If You can! All things are possible to the one believing” (Mk. 9:22,23), or, “All things are capable of being done by the one trusting.” Then, seeing that a crowd was running together, Jesus quickly commanded the spirit to come out from the boy, and no longer to enter him. Crying out and convulsing him, the spirit left.

Later on, in the house, the disciples asked Jesus why they were not able to cast out the spirit. After all, as mentioned above, they had cast out other spirits on numerous occasions. At this point, there is often some misunderstanding and misinterpretation of what follows. You will note that when you put all three synoptic gospel accounts there are two separate reasons Jesus gives for their failure: (1.) the littleness of their faith (Matt. 17:19,20); and, (2.) prayerlessness (Mk. 9:29). Seeing the relationship between these two apparently separate explanations is what I hope to bring out in today’s study. A closer look shows that in all three accounts Jesus referred to the disciples as “unbelieving” or “faithless”.

There are some textual variations to deal with. Without getting into great detail, if we accept the judgment of scholars who have devoted their lives to sifting through the multitude of texts and variant readings, only Mark’s version mentions the phrase, “this kind in nothing is able to come out if not by prayer” (Mk. 9:29). The phrase “and fasting” is also thought to be a later addition. Before getting embroiled in controversy over a complex area of study, let me point out that Jesus did not stop and pray or fast, so I believe that the intent of His comment was not to be understood as a technique to be used to get a demon to leave. In fact, in no encounter recorded in the NT do we have anyone praying (or fasting and praying) to get a demon to leave. Furthermore, the main teaching of even Mark’s account is about the importance of faith. Jesus said, “All things are possible to the one believing.” In response, the father said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” The word translated as “unbelief” here is the same word Jesus used when He called the disciples “faithless” (vs. 19). I think the thrust of all three passages is about the lack of faith of the disciples. Prayer is mentioned as a method for building their faith, not as a method for forcing a demon to leave.

I think what happened is revealed for us by Jesus rebuke preserved in all three accounts. The disciples had been (1.) “faithless” or “unfaithful” and (2.) “having-been-turned-away” or “distorted”. Was that simply an angry rebuke, or was it a diagnosis of the problem? The disciples had not stayed dependent upon God. They had not been keeping close. They had been operating in their own strength. That is why they failed. Like Samson of old, who did not realize that the Lord had departed from Him, and that his mighty strength was gone (Judg. 16:15-20), so also the disciples had become non-chalant in their dealings with the spirit-realm. Like Samson, who said, “I will go out as at other times…”, the disciples also had become complacent and had taken for granted that they could command the demon to leave, “as at other times”, but it did not happen. The difference between them and Jesus was that the Lord had spent most of the previous night in prayer. He was “prayed up”, as some refer to it. Hence, He was strong in the Spirit, and He was able to be firm and confident in faith.

Let’s talk for a moment about faith. What is faith? Is it belief in a body of truth? Is it an expectation that something will happen if I follow certain principles, or “take a stand” upon some truth? If that is all it is, then the disciples fit those qualifications. They had correct doctrine in this area, and they certainly were confident, based upon “many” previous encounters with the demonic, that the command they were going to give would work. It had so many times before. When it did not, they should have been humbled and retreated to seek God as to why. Instead, they got embroiled in controversy, probably about their technique. Like ancient Israel, which suffered defeat in their attack on Ai (Josh. 7), they also should have humbled themselves, sought God by prayer and fasting (here is where fasting fits in, to humble ourselves to hear from God, and to be heard by Him) until He revealed to them what the problem was.

Some would quote Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Then they apply themselves to study scripture verses which they use to propagandize and brainwash their minds into a fanatical confidence. While this may embolden some to step out, often it is with disastrous or misguided results, for the same reason the disciples failed. They were not really in communion with God. They were using scripture verses as a license, or a check, or a coupon, or a ticket to accomplish what they think God’s agenda must be, but, in reality, they may be light years away from what He wants. Interestingly, even that verse, Romans 10:17, gets at the real issue, if we were to grasp it as it is in the original language. You see, the verse is about faith coming from hearing God’s personal word (rhema). Faith is not about an idea, or a concept. It is about the personal nature of relationship with Him. Faith is about responding trustfully and obediently to what He says. Faith grows as a fruit of relationship with Him (Gal. 5:22). It comes from communion with Him (Acts 3:16). Without communion and dependence, there can be no faith that is living and real. The disciples were lacking in faith because they were lacking in communion with God. Prayer is the doorway to intimacy with God, and from there faith will rise up, as we worship, ponder and fellowship with Him.

A Glimpse of Future Glory

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: September 11, 2005

A Glimpse of Future Glory
by Dan Trygg

"‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. 28 Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’ 17:1 And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light." Matthew 16:27-17:2

"…in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." Hebrews 1:2,3a

"The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Matthew 13:41-43

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." I John 3:2

One of the realities which is often overlooked in Bible study is that the chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original writings. They were added much later. The chapter divisions were first introduced in 1228 by Stephen Langton. The first entire Bible to be divided into chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible of 1560. This is important because these later additions are somewhat arbitrary and artificial. They are not part of the original inspired writings, and sometimes they are unfortunately placed, causing misleading breaks and divisions in the flow of thought. When we are trying to understand the text, we must be aware of this so that we can discern the author’s intended thoughts.

The verses on the transfiguration in Matthew are a good example of this. It was unfortunate that Mr. Langton chose to divide the chapter after 16:28. The natural break would have been one verse earlier, since 17:1 begins with a Greek word for "and" which indicates a continuation in the thought, not a break. For whatever reason, he did not repeat this unfortunate choice in the parallel passages (Mk. 9:1f.; Lk. 9:26f.). By putting the chapter break after 16:28, however, the reader may miss the important connection which Matthew intended between the content of 16:27,28 and what happened on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured.

Before developing that connection, however, let us take a closer look at the events. Where were they? The account immediately preceding this placed them near Caesarea Philippi, which was virtually at the foot of Mount Hermon. Both Matthew and Mark say that Jesus took them up "to a high mountain". Hermon qualifies for this, since it is the highest mountain in the region. Its snow capped peak rises to a height of 9,232 ft. above sea level, and is visible even from the Dead Sea, almost 100 miles to the south. Note that the text does not say that they scaled to the top of the mountain. They were there to find privacy, not to climb mountains. Only Peter, James and John had been invited to accompany Jesus on this brief excursion. Luke adds that Jesus went to the mountain to pray. He was on a prayer retreat with His closest friends.

What was it that the disciples saw on the mountain? As He was praying, He was transformed (Gk. – metamorpheo) before them. The appearance of His face became different. It shown as the sun. His garments also became white as light, glistening (Mk. 9:3), even flashing like lightning (Lk. 9:29). Apparently the disciples had fallen asleep, and they awoke to see two other men, also in glorious splendor, standing with Jesus (Lk. 9:31,32). They were Moses and Elijah, and they were talking together with Jesus, speaking with Him of His departure (Gk. in Lk. 9:31 – exodus), which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem (A reference to His coming death, resurrection and ascension, but the disciples would not have understood that.). Upon realizing what was happening, and that they were departing (Lk. 9:33), Peter blurted out something about wanting to build three shelters so they could remain there. Instead, while he was still speaking, a luminous cloud formed and overshadowed them. When a voice came from this cloud, they fell on their faces to the ground in fear. The voice had said, "This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One (Lk. 9:35), with Whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" As they were trembling upon the ground, Jesus came near and touched them, saying, "Get up, and don’t be afraid." When they lifted up their heads, they saw only Jesus. The others, and the display of glory, were gone.

Afterwards, as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus told them to not share with anyone what things they had seen (Mk. 9:9; Lk. 9:36). In Matthew’s account, the Lord commanded them, "Tell the vision to no one until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead" (Matt. 17:9). This word, "vision", is used 11 other times in the NT (Acts 7:31; 9:10,12; 10:3,17,19; 11:5; 12:9; 16:9,10; 18:9), all of them referring to a revelation from God to an individual. The word simply refers to something seen, a sight or spectacle that appears to the person while awake. It appears to be a real event played out before one’s eyes like a movie, not a dream which is only in one’s mind. If the recipient of the vision shuts his eyes or turns his head away, he will miss what is happening. It may be a real event, or it may simply be a revelation that appears as a real event (cf. Acts 12:9). Whatever it was that the disciples experienced, all three of them saw and heard the same things, and Jesus did also.

Can you imagine the impact of such an experience? It was a visitation of the power and glory of God, with the added affirmation of Moses the Lawgiver and Elijah the Prophet talking with Jesus’ about His mission, an "exodus" which He was soon to accomplish at Jerusalem. Finally, the luminescent cloud, clearly a revelation of God’s presence, identifies Jesus as His chosen and beloved Son, which they would have understood as a reference to Him being the Messianic King (Psa. 2), and admonishes them to listen to Him. If they were impressed with Jesus before, now they are really convinced that He is truly the Man of the hour, and their duty was clearly to follow Him and do whatever He said. God is at work here, and He has clearly revealed that He is about to do something significant with Jesus.

The entire experience was so overwhelming and surreal that they did not speak of it immediately. There may have been a lot of exclamations, like "Wow! That was awesome!", but apparently they did not immediately dialogue with Jesus about what happened. At least, there is no record of that. It was not until they were on the way down the mountain that Jesus brought the subject up by forbidding them to speak of it to others "until the Son of Man has risen from the dead" (vs. 9). At this point, they begin to process with Him some of what they had been thinking. They were trying to put all this together with their understanding of OT prophecy. They ask the Lord why the scribes say that "it is necessary for Elijah to come first"? That is a very telling question. It reveals something of where their thoughts were. They had heard the scribes teach from Malachi 4 that before the day of the Lord comes, when the arrogant and evildoers will be displaced, judged and destroyed, and God’s people will rejoice like calves set free from their stalls, and will tread down the wicked in defeat, Elijah the prophet would come. He would restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Jesus’ response is interesting. First, He says, Elijah comes and he will restore all things. This sounds like a future coming, but the Lord goes on to say, "But I say to you, Elijah already came, and they did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." The disciples rightly understood that this was a reference to John the Baptist, who, although not literally Elijah, came in the spirit and power of Elijah to call Israel to repentance and to prepare for the coming of the Lord (Lk. 1:17). They did not grasp, however, Jesus’ statement about His own suffering. They were still thinking of Him as the earthly king of Israel, having no conception of what was really going to happen, or how the prophecies would be fulfilled. They still were not listening. They were too busy with their own thoughts to hear what the Lord was telling them. They were probably thinking of an earthly exodus, not a deliverance from sin and the powers of darkness.

I want to take a moment to go in a different direction. This whole transfiguration experience is connected with some other biblical passages which are important to see. People often interpret this experience only as a time when the power and glory of Jesus’ divinity was temporarily revealed. That understanding does not adequately deal with all aspects of the experience, nor does it address the other teachings that would seem to be related to this event. For example, if Jesus was glowing because He was divine, then why were Moses and Elijah glowing? Allow me to tie some scripture passages together. The Bible says that all have sinned and lack ("fall short of" is a poor translation of the Greek) the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). It is like we were created in God’s image and were to be filled with His radiating glory. When we sinned, that radiance was darkened. We were still somewhat in the image of God, but our inner light had gone out. We are only a shell of what we were created to be. Several times we are told that God’s plan of salvation is so that we would obtain the glory or radiance of God (II Thess. 2:14; II Tim. 2:10). In fact, we have been destined to share in the glory of God (II Pet. 1:3; I Pet. 5:1). When we receive Jesus, we are born from above and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of grace and glory (I Pet. 4:14), comes to live within us. Paul says it is like God commanding the light to shine in the darkness. As a result, we are like earthen vessels that have light in them (II Cor. 4:6,7). The inner light is turned on again. Christ in us is our hope of glory (Col. 1:27). As we are renewed in our understanding, and yield to Him, we are transformed (metamorpheo) to ever increasing levels of glory and Christlikeness (II Cor. 3:5-12; Rom. 12:2). When He returns in the full glory of the Father, then we will be like Him, and we will shine forth like the sun in our Father’s Kingdom (I Jn. 3:2; Matt. 13:41-43). The undampened intensity of the indwelling Spirit is what will cause us to shine, just as He caused Jesus, Moses and Elijah to shine. Transfiguration is not an anomaly; it is our destiny.

The Return of the Son of Man - Meditations on Hurricane Katrina

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: September 4, 2005

The Return of the Son of Man
by Dan Trygg

"For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.’" Matthew 16:25-27


"And He said to them, ‘Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.’ 16 And He told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a certain rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, "'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?'" 18 And he said, "'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "‘"Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."’" 20 But God said to him, "'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'" 21 So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’" Luke 12:15-21

The events of this past week are a reminder of the uncertainties of life, and the vanity of living only for this earthly existence. The devastation caused by hurricane Katrina to New Orleans and other communities along the Gulf and northward is still beyond calculation, both in the loss of human life and in material goods. It is being touted as the largest natural disaster to ever strike the United States, and will undoubtedly affect us all for a long while. In one night, everything those people in the direct path of this storm owned was wiped out. Those who did not take warning and flee, either perished in the storm and its aftermath, or have been living through a nightmare far beyond what they could ever have imagined. Thousands are dead, and many continue to die as rescue and relief efforts have been so ineffective and have been hampered by the devastation left by the storm.

Certainly, from a Biblical perspective, New Orleans, and the United States in general, have been long overdue for the judgment of God. The Old Testament is full of stories where Israel had departed from following God, and had become a nation that served other Gods, a people who had become immoral, corrupt and unjust. The repeated storyline which you will find there is that a generation grew up who did not personally know God. They took the blessings which He had given to their forefathers for granted, and they did not value either Him or His commandments. They departed from living according to His ways, and sought after sensual pleasure and material prosperity as ends in themselves. They exchanged the glory and delight of knowing God, the One who was the provider of their blessings and protector of their nation, for the hope of immediate gratification and self-advancement. As they departed from a relationship with God, they began to live in disregard of His commands and teachings. They began to live in ways that God had said were an abomination to Him, ways that He had said would incur His judgment. He sent them numerous messengers to warn them of the disastrous judgment that they were storing up for themselves by their behaviors. Eventually, because they disregarded these warnings and continued to live in opposition to Him and His ways, He removed His protection and began to allow them to be raided and defeated by their enemies. Sickness and disease resulting from their sin began to spread throughout the land. Other plagues and natural disasters came upon them, as well, as God judged them for their sin, and attempted to bring them to a place of repentance and returning to Him and His ways, so that He could once again bless and protect them. There are some summary passages that describe these principles pretty directly, if you wish to read them for yourself.- Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; II Kings 17; II Chronicles 36:11-21.

God does not want us to be confused, or to misunderstand, what life is all about, or how it is meant to work. That is why He chose to reveal Himself through the scriptures, so that we could avoid the painful consequences of sin, and we could experience the blessings which come to those who know Him. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. Instead, He wants us to see the reality of what happens when we live in violation of His moral and spiritual order, so that we might turn away from sin and its dread consequences.(Ezk. 18:23-32). God is very patient, and will often put off the judgment to give us time to respond to His warnings (II Pet. 3:9). Unfortunately, we often misinterpret this patience to mean that we can get away with our sin, and turn a deaf ear and a hard heart to God’s messengers. Instead of responding to the kindness of God that is meant to lead us to repentance, we continue on our selfish path storing up a harvest of judgment for the sin we sow (Rom. 2:4-6).

In our study of Matthew, we left off with Jesus’ challenge to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." He spoke of how a disciple needed to live for more than immediate self-gratification. He or she must be willing to give up their self-agenda in order to serve Jesus. If he or she does that, then God will save or preserve that person’s true self. If anyone lives for himself, and tries to fulfill himself according to his own understanding, he will ruin himself. The man or woman who is willing to lose him or herself for Jesus’ sake will find who they truly were meant to be. Then the Master asks the question, "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" These are rhetorical questions. The implied answer is that to lose one’s soul would be the greatest tragedy of all. Nothing is worth that. The proverbial "deal with the Devil" is a fool’s bargain. To sell one’s soul for any temporal thing or experience would be the most incredibly stupid thing imaginable, if we could really see what is what. No one in their right mind would even entertain that. Why? Because our existence is not about the here and now. This present world, and its pleasures, is passing away (I Jn. 2:15-17). Jesus Himself is going to come back as the conquering King, and will recompense every person for what they have done while they were here in this life (cf. II Cor. 5:10).

We are so much more significant than we can possibly imagine. The potential we have for good or evil is huge. Stop and think about it. Satan came to defraud us of our place of dignity and authority on this planet. Why would he bother? What is the point? Nothing better to do? Or, was he purposefully trying to strategically prevent something powerful from happening? There is much we don’t know, but we do know that when Satan rebelled against God, one of the first things he did was to come and lure humankind into sin, and he has spent every day since that time trying to keep us blind to God’s love (II Cor. 4:4), to deceive us and accuse us to ourselves and each other (Rev. 12:9), so that he could keep us from God’s plan, and use us to further his dominion. God, on the other hand, spent thousands of years preparing for the expression of His heart to come to us and be demonstrated before us by the sinless life, redemptive death and victorious resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 5:6-8; Gal. 4:3-7). Since that time, He has spent two thousand more years allowing the cosmic salvation drama to unfold, until nearly all the earth has been exposed to the good news message. Any way you look at it, we are at the center of this cosmic warfare. We matter so much that God Himself is going to hold every one of us accountable for what we do with the life He has given us.

Let me say that again. We are not insignificant accidents of evolution. We are not unimportant, nameless creatures to God, pets or playthings who are to live out our lives foraging around for ourselves, whose purpose is only to mate and have other offspring. No. God says that human beings are destined to judge angels (I Cor. 6:3). People will someday reign with Him as His precious princes and princesses of His Kingdom (Rev. 5:10). We are called to be members of His family, co-heirs with Christ Himself (Rom. 8:14-18). Oh, our lives matter. They matter so much that we will have to give a detailed account for, and receive recompense for, our actions (Psa. 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Rom. 2:4-8; Rev. 22:7). In fact, part of what is happening here is preparation for our placement there (Lk. 19:11-27). Great blessings and privilege will come to those who overcome human selfishness, and who choose to live to serve God by making a difference in this world (Rev. 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; 21:7). When Jesus returns, He will separate the sheep from the goats. He will be the judge to whom all mankind will answer (Jn. 5:22-24; Acts 10:38-43; 17:26-31). Those who obeyed Him and gave themselves for others will be rewarded. Those who ignored the call of the Spirit and the cry of human need will be sent away to join Satan and his renegade angels in a destiny which was never intended for people (Matt. 25:31-46).

Jesus, the Son of Man, will return. He will come with power and great glory. He will come upon the clouds in a powerful sign which all the nations will see (Dan. 7:13,14; Matt. 24:29-31; 26:64; Rev. 1:7). Before He returns, there will be many calamities and natural disasters. These are likened to birth pangs, which increase in frequency and intensity as the birth approaches (Matt. 24:3-8). The disaster caused by hurricane Katrina is nothing compared to what will happen as that day approaches (cf. Rev. 8:6-9:21). The plagues of the end will be worldwide in their scope. As we have seen in New Orleans, when disaster comes, lawlessness increases, and the love, or goodwill, of people grows cold (Matt. 24:12). Human interaction quickly degenerates to animalistic brutality.

What we also witnessed in the destruction of New Orleans is that people did not make adequate preparation. They did not take seriously the threat that was coming upon them until it was too late. Those who left early may have lost nearly everything, but they escaped with their lives. Had they known what would happen, and really believed it, the women, children, even the old and weak would have made their way out of the path of destruction, even if it meant traveling on foot. Jesus warned us that people will also disregard His words and the signs of the times. They will be taken away by catastrophe in the midst of their everyday pursuits (Lk. 17:26-35). We say we believe, but do we? Does our life show it? Would we respond to the warning of God to flee (Rev. 18:1-4)? Or, would we hang back and perish in the overthrow? What are you doing now? Are you putting off sin, and choosing to serve God, or are you living like those who do not know God?