Encouragement for End Times Endurance

Les Young, Director http://www.endtimesencouragement.com/
(860) 376-5278 pastorles@comcast.net

June 17, 2009

“In the Twinkling of an Eye”

Most people connect that phrase from the Bible with the rapture, and rightly so. 1 Corinthians 15:52 (NKJV) 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Leading up to that moment in time, “things” will happen on planet earth with ever-increasing intensity and frequency. Needless to say, this will include some amazing events seemingly take place almost instantaneously, right before our eyes. It’s not that these things won’t be accompanied by signs, and it’s not that after they take place they won’t evoke a hind-sightful “Aha!” It will be like the expecting couple that went through nine months of physical and hormonal change, viewing their precious baby in those first few minutes following delivery and exclaiming. “I can’t believe it! He (she) is really here.”
On Sunday, June 14th I concluded my message (Part 1 of “The Order of Revelation”) in Revelation 11. The first two verses state: Revelation 11:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
I was sharing how this seems to paint a vivid picture of a reconstructed (albeit down-sized) temple in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, as it is today. It also paints a picture of a divided or internationally controlled Jerusalem. Later in the day, I was wondering whether recent events in Israel actually portray a climate that is moving away from such an eventuality. Then, two days later I received this news from Jerusalem:
ISRAEL'S PM CALLS FOR DEMILITARIZED PALESTINIAN STATE: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel could accept a peace agreement with a "demilitarized Palestinian state" as its neighbor. In his first speech accepting the concept of a two-state solution for the Middle East conflict, Netanyahu set rigid conditions for moving forward. Among them: unequivocal Palestinian recognition of Israel as the Jewish national state with Jerusalem as its capital and full demilitarization for a Palestinian state. Netanyahu said: "Above all else, the Palestinians must decide between the path of peace and the path of Hamas. The Palestinian Authority will have to establish the rule of law in Gaza and overcome Hamas. Israel will not sit at the negotiating table with terrorists who seek their destruction." (CNN, June 16, 2009)

It appears that the USA, pressured by the Saudis, in turn pressured Israel to take steps towards a peace agreement or face the possibility of lessening support. So, hard-line, right-wing Israeli PM Netanyahu has taken a step. Admittedly, it has not been well received by the PA or Hamas, or the EU for that matter, but a step has been taken. And sometimes a step, or even a quantum leap, can happen “in the twinkling of an eye.”

Encouraged by the Promise of His Coming,

Les Young