A Failure to Imagine (Part 3)

See the series here

• Part 1 noted the church may be losing ground, spiritually, with substantial portions of The Lord’s 3rd age harvest already loss, and more may be at risk of loss.
• Part 2 noted that each age has stages and requires strategic adjustment.
• Therefore, the pertinent question is: how should believers think differently in the late-stage of this current age?

Imagine with me: 

 

You have just been given a remarkable, coveted reward for something extremely positive that you personally initiated, with great potential to expand beyond your and others’ wildest imaginations. But before hunkering down for the intense work and glory of the next stage, you decide to take a well-deserved, greatly extended VACATION! You selected a new destination, and have allowed yourself 6+ months to prepare. How would you prepare?

How much time, energy and other resources would you spend on:

 

•  Reviewing the nitty-gritty details of your accomplishment—the initial vision, strategic outline, team evolution, numerous failures and near successes, frustrations, and impulses to ‘throw in the towel’, etc.; versus

•  Planning every conceivable aspect of your well-deserved vacation?

 

In light of that, which of the following strategic approaches do you perceive the worldwide church might be emphasizing now, versus should be emphasizing as we believers, and the world, navigate the ‘late stage’ of this current, 3rd age?

 

A.  Continuing with the status quo:

1. Looking backwards to the cross, tomb and resurrection of Christ?

2. Studying the experiences and persecutions of the early church?

3. Promoting evolving Christian values in the face of their apparent powerlessness in this modern age?

4. Continuing to emphasize stale, unproductive, denominational doctrines learned in ‘ceminary-type’ institutions?

5. Policing a ‘do this, don’t do that, believe this, don’t believe that, vote like this, don’t vote like that’, etc., types of Christianity?

 

B.  Versus adopting a radical, forward-looking, strategic approach that:

1. Proactively imagines various aspects of our pending departure in Heaven’s next resurrection and rapture event at the end of this 3rd age, possibly when He opens the 6th seal on His scroll?

2. Proactively prepares potentially useful resources for 4th age believers, including former 3rd age believers who will have been left behind, and who will quickly return to extreme Christian faith in a time of great persecution?

3. Cultivates and catalyzes deeper, broader Holy Spirit-inspired insights about the places of our eternal destination—our nations on the massive, new, eternal Earth, and its capital city—the massive, new, eternal Jerusalem?

4. Ponders and explores plausible aspects of the post-apocalyptic, Millennial Reign age, as we try to imagine our personal and corporate assignments, as Earth’s immortal rulers, facilitating The Lord’s reign as its Global King?

5. S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s our imaginations about the incredible, personal rewards The Lord promised to give us, based on our best personal and corporate performances during our ‘salvation internship’ in this life? 

Ponder this insight about rewards: There is absolutely no way we can realistically imagine the nature, extent and number of rewards with which The Lord will bless His most faithful saints. We only know His rewards will be different from His GIFT of eternal life for our successful internship. So why my 5th  point above about rewards?? 

 

Think the flip side--the inverse of The Lord’s judgments!

 

Since Adam and Eve, we have learned a LOT about various types and intensities of judgments The Lord has unleashed across our world, in response to our mounting sinfulness. And we are well versed about how Father God spiritually piled upon Jesus, the FULL LOAD of every human sin that will have ever been committed—past, present and future. 

 

What if… the degree and depth of The Lord’s HATE of sin, as demonstrated by His various judgments, mirrors…

 

The degree and depth of His LOVE for righteousness, and

His willingness to demonstrate His love with totally

un-imaginable rewards, based on our faithfulness in this life??

 

Stretch your imagination around this question:

 

For starters,

what kinds of rewards might mirror

 the judgments of the global flood, the apocalypse,

and other significant, but far lesser judgments in history???

Selah…

 

Friends, like me, do you strongly intuit our ‘business as usual’, institutionalized approaches to church Christianity need major overhauling—dumping stale, institutionalized, politicized, polarized, racialized, culturalized, modernized, and heavily monetized approaches that have driven so many of us away from churches, and from fake versions it purports to represent?!

 

Is the Church trying to maintain

a 3rd-age, middle-stage strategy, 

in a 3rd-age, final-stage reality.

 

When church signifies institutions, each with differing doctrines, customs and restrictions, more than it signifies people and their comprehension of what lies ahead for us, that’s when values shift, eventually diminish, and people drop out. Recall how The Lord threatened to vomit lukewarm believers out of the early Laodicean church. Imagine what He might be thinking about the increasingly ineffective, institutionalized, impotent, worldwide church TODAY?! I imagine He might be looking forward to His pending fresh troops. See: Fresh Troops, Incoming (Poem).

 

I encourage you to spend some quality time in meditation and prayer, asking The Holy Spirit to develop within you, The Mind of Christ which you have been given to enable you to:

 

     •  S-t-r-e-t-c-h your imaginations to assess your current salvation internship performance, and reveal areas in which you may have been ‘weighed in His scales, and found wanting’; and

     •  Perceive how you might help to IGNITE and GROW somebody’s faith and determination to ‘run the Christian race in a manner worthy of The Lord’s high calling.’

 

My passion is to help us to… 

perceive and prepare us for our pending promotion to immortality,

and what that might mean in our pre-departure present.

 

At the ends of the 1st and 2nd ages, The Lord intervened to SHIFT what the righteous on Earth should be thinking and doing differently—from majoring on the minors—past strategies they embraced during the middle stage of those ages; to majoring on the miners—teaching folks how to receive and develop by faith, and THEN mine the inexhaustible Mind of Christ—what He might be thinking, seeing and planning for us and the world, NEXT.

 

Might He be doing something similar TODAY?

IsraRan? (Part 2)

 See the series here

Let’s continue to consider whether the eastern border of the predicted greatly expanded Israel during The Millennial Reign age—the 5th age of our history, might include a substantial portion of Iran. (See: Human History Ages (Series)) Part 1 notes two opinions among Bible scholars on this matter. One view limits the borders to an invisible line up to/stopping at the Euphrates River. Another view incorporates the entire eastern Euphrates River basin, not just the western basin (drainage area). The eastern basin  includes a substantial portion of south-western Iran.

 

Which Lands Affected?

 

It is worth understanding which current-day land areas might be included in such a vast expansion of the millennial Israel. ChatGPT estimates the following:

 

The narrow area estimate includes:

• Israel

• Gaza

• West Bank

• Lebanon

• Most of Syria

• Western Jordan

• Northern Saudi Arabia

• Northern Sinai Peninsula

 

The expanded area estimate includes:

• Israel

• Gaza

• West Bank

• Lebanon

• All of Syria

• Most of Iraq

• Most of Jordan

• Northern Saudi Arabia

• Kuwait

• Southeastern Turkey

• Western Iran (Zagros region feeding Mesopotamia)

• Northern Sinai

 

The post, Iran - Israel Yo-Yo Past and Future, provides a brief historical context of relations between Abram (renamed Abraham) and his descendants through Jacob, (renamed Israel), and western Iran ancestors. That review might be helpful in our attempt to understand the future The Lord might have in mind for the land across these areas.

 

The Millennial Reign Age Population

 

It stands to reason that, in making the land-grant to Abraham and his descendants, The Lord foreknew, and thus considered: 

 

1. All the pending occupants and functional uses of that land from the moment of His promise, until just before the start, AND the end of The Millennial Reign age—the 5th age of our history;

 

2. His plans to substantially reshape that land during His planned, TOTAL RENOVATION of, and of CIVILIAZTION on Earth, from how we currently know it. This will be the likely results of: 

 

·      The global impacts of opening the 6th seal in Revelation 6:12-17, and

·      Especially the trumpets and bowls judgments of the apocalypse during the latter half (42 months) of the 4th age. 

 

3. All the predicted occupants and functional uses of that land during His thousand-year reign as Earth global king, and possibly extending into the predicted, short 6th and final age of history on this current Earth, a topic briefly touched on in Revelation 20:7-9.

 

As The Lord God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of all created things, He does not make promises from a myopic mindset as we tend to do. Considering the above points, this is what I perceive: 

 

A. Re. point #1 above, our past history reveals, and our pre-5th age, future history will reveal info about that land. News reports scream developments across much of that land even as I write! (March 2026).

B. Re. point #2 above, The Bible records a GREAT earthquake occurred at the close of the 1st and the 2nd ages of our history. Moreover, it predicts:

 

• A GREAT earthquake, possibly to close this current 3rd age (See: The 6th Seal, Civilization’s Reset? (Part 2)); 

 

• A GREAT earthquake to close the 4th age, 'like none other since mankind was “on” the Earth!' (See: Global Earthquake Confirmed (Poem));

 

• A GREAT earthquake to break up and dissolve Earth at the end of the 6th age, before the MASSIVE, NEW, ETERNAL Earth will be revealed. (See: Earth’s Next Versions (Series)) 

 

In light of our history and these incredible predictions, what remains is for us to review some aspects of point #3 above—what The Lord foreknew and likely considered when He made the land-grant to Abraham and his descendants. Let's see if that review might shed some light on the possible eastern border and the likely size of the Millennial Israel.

 

Do you have any clues?

Stay tuned for Part 3

Nations’ Insurance, Impudence, Imprudence Trap

The Iran war may illustrate this pattern!

 

Like individuals and companies, nations seek and establish various insurance mechanisms against potential losses and dangers. Thus, they organize militaries, building alliances, and devise elaborate governance strategies and tactics intended to guarantee their national security against external and internal attacks on their critical sectors. Such actions are common, and appear prudent to governments. Yet history repeatedly shows darker, flexible patterns, both within and between nations:

  • Nation’s insurance schemes may breed impudence that eventually produces imprudence.
  • Their Impudence may trigger insurance schemes that culminate in imprudent arrangements.

  • Their imprudence may provoke impudence (both internally and externally), that triggers demands for various types of insurance. ¹

The Biblical Pattern

A Failure to Imagine (Part 2)

See the series here

My reference to ‘majoring on the minors’ in Part 1 in no way intends to minimize the critical importance of evangelization. Rather, it is a call to imagine the transitions or stages within the ages of human history, and to strategically adjust and adapt our efforts accordingly. History proves global evangelization may well have been Heaven’s key strategic rationale for allowing the U.S. to rise to global power so rapidly and completely! But that task was only achieved well into this current 3rd age of human history, in the decades after the U.K. had 'passed the global hegemon baton' to the U.S. For more on this, see: Like Parent, Like Child (Series).

What might this suggest about how each age of human history might unfold? And what happens if we fail to imagine how those ages unfold?

IsraRan? (Part 1)

See the series here

 

Don’t worry. My title is merely a portmanteau to draw attention to what might be a generally unknown, yet-fulfilled hint in The Book of Genesis. First, some background. 

 

Got problems at home?! Start a war elsewhere!! That’s a familiar response of governments and militaries that likely dates back to ancient, post-global flood times, and it is certainly happening TODAY! I wonder whether that may have been a factor in the first ‘international’ war recorded in The Bible, when armies from the far east, led by Elam (the western part of current Iran) traveled an exceptionally long distance to raid tribes across the land of Canaan. In the heat of battle, they captured Lot, Abram’s nephew. In response, Abram led a group of 318 trained servants to ambush those armies. They recaptured both Lot and ALL of the booty they had looted! ¹

 

VOILA! I regard that as the first recorded interactions between a future Israel (in Abram’s loins), and a future Iran (which much later absorbed ancient Elam). Since then, their relations have been like a roller coaster, and today, they’re at their lowest point on that wild ride!! But possibly not for long!! Hang tight…

 

Ponder this:

  •  Israel and the U.S. are currently degrading Iran’s government, military and economy.

  •  Ukraine and NATO are currently degrading Russia’s government, military and economy.

  • Jesus, The LORD God, personally promises to annihilate BOTH Russia’s and Iran’s militaries (or whatever future nations might occupy those territories), bolstered by mercenaries from Libya, S. Sudan/Ethiopia and possibly Turkey, and then ‘seek to destroy’ their nations that will have sent soldiers to invade a future defenseless, possibly over-crowded Israel. The Ezekiel 38 invasion will be motivated by an apparent desperation for the basics of life, not political conquest! (verse. 13) ²

 

What if???… current events in Russia and Iran, might eventually be aggravated by the combined, predicted global impacts of:

    1. The Lord opening the 6th seal on His scroll (Revelation 6:12-17), likely at the end of this current, 3rd age of human history); and 

    2. The early apocalypse plagues -- the trumpets (and later the bowls) judgments?

 

That scenario could possibly develop if/IF those global events will erupt well before Russia and Iran will have fully recovered from their current, serious economic, military and societal degrading! 

 

But there’s much more—a possible 'IsraRan' – my portmanteau that hints of a possible expansion of Israel to incorporate the western part of Iran!! Say whatt???

 

The tail end of Genesis 15 records The Lord’s first covenant definition of a massive land grant to Abram (whose name was later changed to Abraham) and to his descendants. Well, Abraham became ‘the father of many nations’, so his descendants are limitless! Today, the overwhelming majority of that land grant is occupied by his descendants from Ishmael—his first son, while the allocation to his Jewish descendants through Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) has barely been a sliver of that land grant. Moreover, across the millennia, Jews struggled to increase and expand their share, but were dispossessed of even that sliver because of their gross sinfulness that The Lord had, for millennia, warned them about and detested. Through Moses, He had promised to ‘vomit’ them out of that land if they persisted in sinful lifestyles. You know ‘the rest of that story’. Selah. ³

 

BUT… in making that land grant promise, I intuit The Lord’s eye was apparently on its eventual fulfillment during His promised Millennial Reign as Earth’s global king, in the 5th age of human history. ⁴ Genesis 15:18 signifies the borders of Israel during that age. As with many complex, Biblical prophecies, there is not one, but two major interpretations of the eastern border of that land. One view limits that border to an invisible line up to/stopping at the Euphrates River. That view would naturally incorporate the western river basin (drainage area). Another view expands the border to the cover the entire eastern river basin of the Euphrates River. As such, the latter view incorporates …tadaaa… significant parts or possibly all of western Iran! That view effectively increases the area of the first view by several times larger than the narrower interpretation, and vastly larger than current Israel. So this issue is very significant to analyze, not only in context of the prophetic text of Genesis 15:18, but also in context of other potentially pertinent prophetic passages. 

 

Which view might apply, and why?

See Part 2

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¹ See: Genesis 14.

² See: Ezekiel 38 and Zechariah 12:9. The latter verse most likely refers to the hand full of militaries that will launch the Ezekiel 38 coalition invasion of Israel, rather than to Armageddon, in which The Bible predicts ALL nations will engage. The Bible does not predict the destruction of ALL nations, but that Jesus will rule them, as with a rod of iron. Why a possibly overcrowded

Israel? See: Hasty Jewish Migrations (Series). 

Ponder this: With their total annihilation in the Ezekiel 38 invasion, might those nations possibly avoid participating in Armageddon? Possibly, if the sequence of those two events will be close!

³ Ask your AI to explain primogeniture and its various forms across ancient civilizations.

Then ponder this: Could that possibly be what The Lord might be practicing now, in allocating the majority of His land grant to Ishmael’s descendants, pending His Millennial Reign??

⁴ See: Human History Ages (Series) and The Millennial Reign (Series).