Man’s Basic Problem is not the Devil – It is Himself!
July 7, 2006
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
Many years ago I saw a cartoon from the Pogo Possum and Albert Alligator series that appeared in many U.S. newspapers. In the beginning frame, Albert had a pot over his head for a war helmet and a sword held high with his right arm, and was boldly crying out he was ready to fight the enemy. In the last frame his arm and the sword were drooped at his side, and he said in a much subdued voice, “We has met the enemy, and they is us!” Because we inherited a carnal nature by natural birth, the old saying, “We are our own worst enemy,” is certainly true, and for those still living in carnal flesh it will be the same during the millennial reign. Man will discover that even with the Devil and his demonic hoard no longer able to tempt him, he will still utterly fail to become “good.”
Revelation 20:6-10 – Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
[7] And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, [8] And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. [9] And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. [10] And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
One would certainly expect, following a thousand year reign of Christ on this earth, that man would have been reformed, but such is not the case. Some 1000 years before verses eight and nine, the forefathers of the folks represented in these verses, came against Jerusalem, and only one-sixth survived to return to their home countries and produce children, who in turn produced children and descendants for a thousand years.
Revelation 16:16 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Ezekiel 39:1-4 – Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: [2] And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: [3] And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. [4] Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Isaiah 66:19 – And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
But how could the Devil ever convince the populations of the world to again attack Israel after what happened to their forefathers 1000 years earlier?
I believe the answer is what geology calls “isostasy,” a term I have used many times in my writings over the last 29 years.
You may read a full exposition of it in our Archive Prophecy Update Number 224A. I encourage you to take the time to read it, because the article from Canadian News, which follows, is saying the same thing I have been saying for 29 years, but just from a secular standpoint. The Devil’s spirit will be able to convince the world leaders and their populace that the events of what destroyed their forefathers, who followed Gog a thousand years previous, was simply a natural event that happens ever so often in the crust of the earth.
Please read the following article from Canadian News, and then read Prophecy Update Number 224A in our Archives.
Begin Extract from Canadian News Article
Geologists Predict the Worst
Expect glacial meltdowns to trigger volcanic eruptions, tsunamis
July 4, 2006
By Dennis Bueckert
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — So the warnings of harsher heat waves, stronger hurricanes and rising seas fail to impress.
How about volcanic eruptions in the Arctic, or a tsunami off the coast of Newfoundland?
The latest scientific discipline to enter the fray over global warming is geology. And the forecasts from some quarters are dramatic — not only will the earth shake, it will spit fire.
A number of geologists say glacial melting due to climate change will unleash pent-up pressures in the Earth’s crust, causing extreme geological events such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
A cubic metre of ice weighs nearly a tonne and some glaciers are more than a kilometre thick. When the weight is removed through melting, the suppressed strains and stresses of the underlying rock come to life.
University of Alberta geologist Patrick Wu compares the effect to that of a thumb pressed on a soccer ball — when the pressure of the thumb is removed, the ball springs back to its original shape.
Because the earth is so viscous the rebound happens slowly, and the quakes that occasionally shake Eastern Canada are attributed to ongoing rebound from the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago.
Melting of the ice that covers Antarctica or Greenland would have a similar impact, but the process would be accelerated due to the human-induced greenhouse effect.
“What happens is the weight of this thick ice puts a lot of stress on the earth,” says Wu. “The weight sort of suppresses the earthquakes, but when you melt the ice, the earthquakes get triggered.”
When a quake happens under water, it can cause a tsunami. Wu said melting of the Antarctic ice is already causing earthquakes and underground landslides although they get little attention. He predicted climate warming will bring “lots of earthquakes.”
When the glaciers melt, the re-liquefied water causes sea levels to rise and increases the weight on the ocean floor, which could also have an effect on the grinding tectonic plates deep below the surface.
The Earth’s crust is more sensitive than some might think.
There are well-documented cases of dams causing earthquakes when the weight of the water behind a dam fills a reservoir.
Alan Glazner, a volcano specialist at the University of North Carolina, said he was initially incredulous when he found a link between climate and volcanic activity off the coast of California.
“But then I went to the library and did some research and found that in many places around the world, especially around the Mediterranean, they see similar sorts of correlations.”
“When you melt glacial ice, several hundred metres to a kilometre thick … you’ve decreased the load on the crust and so you’ve decreased the pressure holding the volcanic conduits closed.
“They’re cracks, that’s how magmas gets to the surface … and where they hit the surface, that’s where you get a volcano.”
No one has claimed that the Christmas tsunami of 2004 was triggered by rising sea levels. But that event seems to have sparked new interest in the links between climate and geology.
“All over the world, evidence is stacking up that changes in global climate can and do affect the frequencies of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and catastrophic sea-floor landslides,” says British geologist Bill McGuire, writing in New Scientist magazine.
“Not only has this happened several times throughout Earth’s history, (but) the evidence suggests it is happening again,” says McGuire, professor of geological hazards at University College in London.
End Extract from Canadian News Article
However, my main concern is not about what happens to the people at the end of the Millennium – It is what happens to the people when the phenomena described in the article above occurs on a world wide basis.
Matthew 24:21,22 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:
but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Luke 21:25-28 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
[28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
My concern is for those who are saved and sealed by the Spirit of God, but continue to grieve God without any effort to fight against their carnal nature.
Ephesians 4:30-32 – And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
[31] Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: [32] And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
II Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
But my concern is even greater for those who are not saved and sealed now!
Ephesians 1:12-14 – That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
[13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Acts 2:20,21 – And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
II Thessalonians 1:7-10 – And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, [8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: [9] Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; [10] When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
John 11:26 – And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
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