Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

• Ezekiel 38:17-23

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

• 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

• Revelation 10:5-7

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

• Revelation 22:1-5

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

• Revelation 22:18-21

“ ‘From first to last, and not merely in the epilogue. Christianity is eschatology, is hope, forward looking and forward moving. and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present. The eschatological is not one element of Christianity, but it is the medium of Christian faith as such, the key in which everything in it is set, the glow that suffuses everything here in the dawn of an expected new day.  The eschatological outlook is characteristic of all Christian proclamation, of every Christian existence and of the whole church.’ (Theology of Hope, introduction)”

• Tony Lane, A Concise History of Christian Thought

Jürgen Moltmann (1926-2024) was a German Reformed Theologian.  He became a Christian while in a POW camp at the end of World War II.  Hope is his central theme and he focused on eschatology, the study of the End Times.

People focus on death, and they fear death.  People focus on the End Times and they focus on 666, mark of the beast, the great earthquake, and all the death and destruction.

But Moltmann says to focus on Hope.  How?  With the seven seals and the seven trumpets preceding the seven bowls of God’s wrath.  The Apostle John eats the little scroll after the seven trumpets and the angel says that the end will come without delay.  But the book of Revelation is only half completed.  The greatest earthquake of all time is still to come.  Is it the same earthquake that Ezekiel felt?

The Scripture from Ezekiel 38 ends with God will reveal Himself to many nations.  Many nations today need a quick lessen in God’s presence today.  Paul tells Timothy that the foolish will be exposed.

What makes Hope so hard to focus on is that it is going to get worse than it is now before it gets better.  We are trapped by time and space, and we rarely see beyond the tip of our nose.

If we truly believe that God’s paradise is greater than anything we could imagine, we could endure any hardship to achieve it.  Is our faith that weak?

Jürgen Moltmann read all the way to the last page, where Eden is restored, where there is no more death, sin, suffering, pain.  Only God and His abundant Love remain, the fulfillment of Hope.  Note the year of Jürgen Moltmann’s death.  He passed away mere weeks ago.  For him, the wait is over and there is no more pain.  His hope has been fulfilled.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.