Advice For Living In A Crazy Time (Part 2)

Three words from 2 Timothy 3

9.5.2021

Review

Do you have a Normalcy Bias?

Normalcy Bias

A cognitive bias which leads people to disbelieve or minimize threat warnings. Consequently, individuals underestimate the likelihood of a disaster, when it might affect them, and its potential adverse effects. The normalcy bias causes many people to not adequately prepare for natural disasters, pandemics, and calamities caused by human error. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias during a disaster.

(https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Normalcy+bias)

Epoch

A particular period of time marked by distinctive features, events, etc. The beginning of a distinctive period in the history of anything..

Synonyms:

age, date, era, time.

Grieving process:

Denial

Anger

Grieve your loss

Acceptance

No longer normal:

*Free Speech – now, you must assert yourself, go to PTA mtgs, county mtgs, precinct mtgs.

*Government looking out for your best – no longer

*Deception and truth twisting instead of honesty and integrity

FB,

*Subversive, subversion

Luke 17:26-36 (NKJV)

Noah

26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Lot

28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

The one world global control has begun in earnest, just before the tribulation…

Are you going to yield or resist?

Will you take the mark?

I believe that we have begun a time of judgment in America because our nation as a whole has left its spiritual moorings.

Hosea 4:1-6 (MEV)

Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a dispute with the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth or mercy, and no knowledge of God in the land. 2 Swearing, lying, and killing, and stealing and adultery break out, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land dries up, and everyone who lives in it withers with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear. 4 Yet let no one contend, and let none reprove another, for your people are like those that contend with a priest. 5 You will stumble in the day, and the prophet also will stumble with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being My priest. And because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

Jesus’ return is perhaps close:

Matthew 24

Revelation 6

War

Inflation

Famine

Plagues and disease

Earthquakes

Persecution

Martyrdom

The day of the Lord

All we see right now is the world setting up for the antiCHRIST to appear.

We are not in the tribulation yet. Once a treaty is signed with Israel – it will begin

My belief system:

We will be in the first part of the 7 year period, the wrath of the antiChrist, but not the last 2 years or so – the Day of the Lord.

See my Revelation series.

Some think we leave in rapture before tribulation, and I hope they are right.

My research has led me to change to a pre-wrath rapture with us being here the first 4.5 to 5 years of antiChrist reign.

But we will experience the rapture just before the really bad part – the last 2 years when the trumpet judgments release meteors or something similar. They will create a great catastrophe and billions of people will die. (see Revelation 8-9).

Three Words that we need to pay attention to today from 2 Timothy 3:

2 Timothy 3 seems like a hand in glove fit for today…

2 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV)

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

Know:

Know

1097. ginōskō; a prolonged form of a primary verb; to “know” (absolutely) in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as follow, with others not thus clearly expressed): — allow, be aware (of), feel, (have) know(-ledge), perceived, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand.

That is, to be completely certain about something.

This MUST be known. We must pay attention to what is being said.

It is such an ominous time that we must pay attention to it. We are being warned in advance so that we can prepare.

Rick Renner:

The word “know” is a translation of the Greek word ginosko, which in this verse means to know something definitely, emphatically, and with absolute certainty. But it is also important to know that the tense used here depicts something so urgent that it MUST be known, MUST be recognized, and MUST be acknowledged.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 5). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

The tenses of this word indicate that this must be known, that we must pay attention to what is being said.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 5). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Rick Renner Comment

What was coming in the future — in the very time in which you and I are currently living — was so ominous that the Holy Spirit really wanted to warn us in advance that perilous times were coming. His purpose was not to scare us, but to prepare us so we would be informed and spiritually equipped to navigate a last-days tempestuous storm.

If we’ll listen to what the Holy Spirit says in this verse and in the verses to follow, we’ll be able to prepare ourselves — as well as our loved ones and friends — to sail victoriously through these stormy waters.

And we’ll not be overcome by the evil that Scripture says would inevitably emerge and become widespread in society as the age approaches its end.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (pp. 5-6). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

If we know we can prepare and:

1. We will be able to walk in wisdom and be an example for others to follow.

2. We can teach our children and grandchildren God’s Word so that they will not become like the culture around them and the fears that dominate the day.

3. We will not yield to the moral rot descending on our culture.

4. Become immunized from harm by meditation in God’s Word.

Last Days

We could very easily be living in the very last of the last days:

The last days began when Jesus rose from the dead and the church age began.

Acts 2:16-21 (NKJV)

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 21 And it shall come to pass

that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’

Last

Eschatos; farthest, final (of place or time): — ends of, last, latter end, lowest, uttermost.

AV (54) – last 46, lowest 2, uttermost 2, last state 2, ends 1, latter end 1;

extreme – last in time or in place last in a series of places; last in a temporal succession

The Greek word for “last” used in this verse is translated from the Greek word eschatos, a word that commonly depicts something that is final. It is the Greek word from which we derive the word “eschatology,” the theological study of end times or the study of last things. This Greek word eschatos points to the very last or the ultimate end of a thing. It was used by ancient Greeks to describe the point that was furthest away.

***In fact, the ancient world used the word eschatos as a seafaring word to describe the last port of call for a ship. Although a ship in transit stops.

This last stopping-off point signified that it was the end of the road and the journey was finished. Thus, the word eschatos indicated, “This is the end, and you can go no further.”

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (pp. 8-9). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

***Eschatos was used for the last month of the year, or for the last day of the week.

Renner Interpretive Version:

Second Timothy 3:1 could therefore be correctly translated, “You emphatically and categorically need to know with unquestionable certainty that in the very end of days — when time has sailed to its last port and no more time remains for the journey.…”

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 10). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Shall Come

The words “shall come” are a translation of the Greek word enistemi, which is a compound of the words en and histemi. The word en means in, and the word histemi means to stand. But when these are compounded into a single word, the new word means to stand in, to stand in the middle of, to be surrounded by, to be encumbered by, or to stand in the midst of whatever is being discussed with the feeling that it cannot be avoided or that one cannot escape from it. It depicts someone who is so encompassed by whatever surrounds him or her that there is no way out of it.

By using this key word enistemi, the Holy Spirit prophetically declares that those who live in this last season will feel as if they are positioned in the very midst of — surrounded and encumbered on every side by — inescapable developments.

***To the people who are part of this end-time generation, it will feel like they are being assaulted by “perilous times” from every direction. In other words, there will be no escaping this period of time.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 11). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Not even prayer can keep this from happening!

God is telling us what will happen so we can properly prepare.

During Moses’ time when God commissioned the 10 plagues against the gods of Egypt, God told the Isaraelites what would happen with the last plague against the death of the firstborn, He told them to prepare them!

He is telling us to prepare us for what will certainly come. It’s going to happen. Get ready.

Contractions tell a pregnant woman that the baby is coming soon. They are telling her to prepare! Matthew 24!

Perilous

2 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV)

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

Perilous:

chalepos; difficult, i.e. dangerous, or (by implication) furious: — fierce, perilous, hard to do, to take, to approach, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous, harsh, fierce, savage.

The word “perilous” in Second Timothy 3:1 is translated from the Greek word chalepos — a word that is used only one other time in the New Testament. This Greek word describes something filled with danger, risk, and hurt or something that is wounding. It is the very word used in the literature of New Testament times to depict wild, vicious animals that are unpredictable, uncontrollable, and dangerous. It portrays a deadly menace or anything that has the potential to be treacherous or hurtful.

This Greek word chalepos was also the word used to describe words or actions that are emotionally difficult to bear. It expresses the idea of any action, place, person, or thing that is harsh, harmful, cruel, ruthless, cutting, or wounding.

Significantly, this word chalepos was also the word used to describe a geographical region filled with so much risk and danger that it needed to be avoided at all costs. To knowingly go into a territory that was chalepos was an action that would put one’s life at risk of suffering something harsh, harmful, cruel, ruthless, cutting, or wounding.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (pp. 38-39). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

This word is used one other place in the New Testament:

Matthew 8:28 (NKJV)

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

This guy was fierce, uncontrollable, like a wild animal. He was menacing and threatening. He instills a fear in those attempting to pass by. He created emotional upheaval in those who came by.

This region and road were to be avoided if at all possible.

So the Holy Spirit is warning us that perilous times are coming.

This unmistakably means that the Holy Spirit is forecasting that the close of the age will be “exceeding fierce” — vicious, ferocious, fierce, unruly, uncontrollable, unpredictable, harsh, harmful, cruel, ruthless, cutting, and wounding — and that it will be a time that people will find to be emotionally hard to bear.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 41). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Here is how to prepare:

1. Meditate in the Word.

Isaiah 33:6

And wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times and strength of salvation.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Psalms 1 (NLT)

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.

Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

2. Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit

John 16:13-16 (NLT)

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.

3. Learn to pray with faith.

John 15:7-8 (NLT)

But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

4. Be available to help others.

Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT)

9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Romans 15:2-4 (NLT)

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Job 42:10 (KJV)

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Acton Points:

1. Are you ready and willing to make huge life changes if necessary?

2. Are you choosing to live as though every day were your last? Are you spending time engaging with the things that are most valuable to you, i.e., your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your church?

3. Do you take time for daily meditation in the Word?

4. Are you sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit?

******************************************************

Prophecy by Kenneth E. Hagin in 1963:

Yea, the hand of the Lord was upon me…the Spirit of God moved upon me…the voice of God spoke unto me and said, “Come up, come up hither son of man.”

I went, as it were, up into the air and stood with Him, the Head of the Church, even the Lord Jesus Christ…in the air. And as I looked down upon the ground, I could see as a map laid out before me the entire nation—all the states of the continental United States. And as I looked He said, “Behold son, and I shall show you that which shall come to pass, and that which the eyes of many shall see. And they shall remember that their ears heard that it shall come to pass.”

For there came a dark hand up out of the ocean from the east, even from the Atlantic Ocean. It came up out of the sea as a hand, and as it rose up into the air it became a dark cloud and it filled the whole atmosphere. Yea, and it swept in like a storm at sea. And I said, “Oh Lord! Oh Lord! Oh Lord! What’s the meaning of this?”

And He spake unto me and said, “Son, that is the darkness of atheistic communism that is sweeping across the nation—even in the minds of men in high places and politicians with great power. And this nation shall not grow more strong and you shall not have more liberty than you have now, but liberties that you’ve known and you’ve seen shall be seized and taken from you.”

And I looked again, and I could see upon the mountain a blotch, as though a bottle of ink had been spilled and spread out over several states in the south and east. And then I looked and I could see spots splotched all over the map and I said, “Lord, what meaneth this?”

And He said, “Communistic inspired hatred among races shall cause greater turmoil than your nation has seen heretofore. Yea, it is not the will of God, but men’s hearts are perverse and they walk without the love of God and seek to have their own way. And so it shall be worse than you have seen.”

And I said, “Oh Lord! Oh Lord! Is there a remedy? Is there a remedy? What shall the answer be?”

And He said, “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceived and being deceived.”

And then I said, “Oh, Lord! Do we have nothing to look forward to in the future except the darkness, the blackness, war, destruction and evil?”

And He said, “Son of man, forget not your text for you look at the things not seen” (the title of his message was, Looking At Things Unseen).

And so then I looked into the spirit realm and I saw falling upon that mountain a ball of fire from Heaven. The closer to the Earth, the bigger it got, and then when it came to the Earth it divided into small balls or sparks of fire, and it fell upon men. And I saw an army of men rise up, and it seemed as though their hands were fire. And there sat upon their heads a tongue of fire. (When I first saw it, it seemed like their whole heads were on fire but it was tongues of fire leaping.)

And I said, “What meaneth this?”

And He said, “Before the worst shall come and the day of darkness encompasses, there will be those who shall go and who shall carry the fullness of My truth and the fire, not only to the states of this nation but to many other places. For there is a work that must be done, first spiritually, before the Lord shall come.

“Now prepare ye your hearts, for the time is at hand and the beginning is now; and ye shall see and ye shall know for the hand of the Lord is upon you and many of you shall be used in these last days and the work shall progress.”

Hallelujah to Jesus! Hallelujah to Jesus!

And I said to Him, “Oh Lord! May I have a small place to work?”

And He said, “I shall cause thy tent to be enlarged. Yea, thou shalt have an enlarged ministry and thou shalt minister to many where you ministered to a few. Therefore, go ye back to the Earth and be thou faithful and give forth that which I tell you to give, for you have been reluctant in days gone by to tell it. Now tell it boldly and speak it true for now is the day that it shall be so.”

Oh hallelujah! Oh hallelujah! Praise God! Praise God! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

For the word of the Lord came unto me saying, “The prophetic vision shall be restored unto the Church, for even in the days of old under the old covenant the prophet would see by vision and prophesy, and so the prophetic vision shall be restored unto the Church. And this is the time, and this is the hour, and this is the place.”

Praise God! Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus! Praise God, praise God!

When I spoke up I saw this very night. I saw the vision. I was lifted up to that place. Oh men and women, thank God for His goodness to man. —end of prophetic word by Kenneth E. Hagin…

Isaiah 60:1-3 (NKJV)

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

*********