I was in Matthew 24 this morning, specifically verses 8 and 9. From my notes, here is a reminder that I think walked out in front of your thesis in '04, but now walks right beside us:
Deception...wars and rumor of wars...
nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom...
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes..."All these are the beginning of sorrows (birth pangs).
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and
YOU WILL BE HATED BY ALL NATIONS for My Name's sake."
Good on ya! I always find your thoughts edifying.
We love the lost by sharing all of God's truths with them everywhere they apply. We don't love them by being the number one manufacturer of fig leaves so they can cover up their nakedness before God.
Ps. 119:97-100 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts.
It's God's wisdom, not ours. While it is true that God's enemies are our mission field, that doesn't mean we have to help them hide from God's truth.
Eek....gotta run.