How Can You Not See? – Jonathan Brentner – https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config
Leanna Crawford’s story behind her latest song immediately captured my attention. She related a time from her childhood when she saw fireflies light up her yard at night. Her dad responded to her amazement by asking, “How can you not see the Creator in all this?”
The song that came as a result of her father’s question, “How Can You Not See God?” has become a favorite of mine. How can people not see God in the beauty and wonders of creation?
You might guess where my mind goes when I hear this question; I wonder, “How can you not see the fulfilling of biblical prophecy everywhere you look?” I am, no doubt, taking liberties with her title.
I realize that the majority of saints reading this article agree with me regarding Bible prophecy. For you, the question is a confirmation of what you believe rather than that of expressing doubt in your convictions. It’s a matter of pointing out the obvious just as Crawford’s father did with his question to his daughter.
For those that place their hope in the church rather than in Jesus’ imminent appearing, I have much for them to consider.
HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE GOD’S HAND IN THE MIRACULOUS REAPPEARANCE OF ISRAEL AS A NATION?
Dr. William Watson wrote an article called “The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.”[i] In it, he lists forty-five writers who, from 1585 to 1800, expressed beliefs in Jesus’ millennial reign over the nations of the earth. Although the Reformers didn’t go there, it was their Bible interpretation principles of sola scripture and Scripture interprets Scripture that led to the revival of premillennialism (the belief in a literal thousand-year reign of Jesus as the Apostle John reveals in Revelation 20:1-10) in the centuries that followed the Reformation.
Perhaps the most well-known premillennialist of this era was Isaac Newton. His study of the books of Daniel and Revelation led him to conclude in 1706 that God would again restore Israel as a nation.
Early in the twentieth century, the continued prediction by premillennialists that Israel would become a nation again was met with considerable ridicule by the amillennialists (those that equate the words of Revelation 20:1-10 with either the church age or the eternal state).
Dr. David Reagan, founder of the Lion and the Lamb Ministries, wrote the following about this:
The Christian leaders of the mainline denominations laughed at these literal interpretations and boldly asserted that Israel would never exist again. Once the state of Israel became a reality in 1948, these same Christian leaders began to argue that it was just an “accident of history” and not a fulfillment of prophecy!
This is spiritual blindness, and it is very sad since it has resulted in the average Christian knowing nothing about the significance of the re-establishment of Israel as a miraculous fulfillment of Bible prophecy and a sure sign of the Lord’s soon return.[ii]
How people not see God’s hand in the fulfillment of prophecy in what happened in May of 1948? There’s no other account of a people scattered and persecuted for two thousand years suddenly becoming a nation again with their same language. Isaiah 66:8 predicted that Israel would become a nation again in exactly the way it happened:
Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
Sadly, those who regard the emergence of Israel as an “accident of history” are the very ones that ridicule those of us who see biblical prophecies coming to life in our day.
HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THE MULTITUDE OF SIGNS POINTING TO THE SOON ARRIVAL OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD?
The “spiritual blindness” to which Dr. Reagan refers extends beyond an ignorance of the significance of Israel becoming a nation to the multitude of signs telling us we live in the last days.
How can believers today miss the multitude of warnings that the seven-year Tribulation is coming at this world like speeding diesel locomotive? It must either be ignorance of biblical prophecy or spiritual blindness that stems from a love of the things this world has to offer.
I listed all the reasons for lateness of the day in which live in a post from last year, 12 Signs the World is Running Out of Normal. I also explored the lateness of the hour in The Bubble of Normalcy.
Below is a list of the twelve signs pointing to the nearness of Jesus’ appearing:
- The rebirth of Israel.
- Third temple fever in Israel.
- The four horses of Revelation 6:1-8.
- The emergence of Digital currencies.
- Digital health passports.
- Mark of the Beast technology.
- Transhumanism.
- The soon arrival of One-World governance.
- Worship of creation rather than the Creator.
- Pole shift concerns that match prophecies in Revelation 6:12-17 and Isaiah 24:19-20.
- Scoffing.
- Perilous times on steroids.
All twelve of the above tell us that the Tribulation is ever so close and with it the Rapture of the church, which the Bible says will happen before it.
Concerning the soon arrival of the one-world government, author and speaker Pete Garcia aptly writes:
Finally, we can see the final beast system starting to take form. It is using the crisis of health and money to steer the world into a biometric digital currency that will one day be used to control all buying and selling on the planet. At this point, it’s becoming violently obvious as to where this is all heading. In fact, one would have to be intentionally ignorant of Bible prophecy to purposefully ignore what is happening and where it is headed (see Revelation 13:16-18). Even non-Christians are starting to identify much of this stuff as having prophetic importance.[iii]
Twenty-five years ago, it would’ve been impossible for the antichrist to control commerce in the world in the way that we read in Revelation 13:16-18. He would’ve needed a massive army of devotees to do so. Today, with the advances in Artificial Intelligence, gigantic databases, and 5G technology, it will soon be possible for one person to set the parameters of buying and selling for everyone in the world. By the midpoint of the Tribulation, he will be able to control buying and selling worldwide with the flip of a switch.
How can any believer not see the fulfillment of prophecy in this? The words of the book of Revelation are coming to life before our eyes.
HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THE DECEPTION THAT JESUS SAID WOULD MARK THE LAST DAYS?
When asked about the signs of the last days, Jesus’ first words were, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, we again see lawlessness and deception as signs that would mark the appearance of the antichrist who can’t appear on the world scene before the Rapture.
How can we not recognize the deception of our day as the fulfillment of what Jesus warned about both directly and through the Apostle Paul? For those in the U.S. Biden administration, lying comes as easy as breathing.
The mainstream media anesthetizes people, and Christians, to the truth making them unable to recognize the dangers that lie at their doorstep. Despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, the media still proclaims the deadly lie that the COVID vaccines are safe and effective. They are neither!
HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THE SOON ARRIVAL OF GOD’S WRATH UPON AMERICA?
We are living on borrowed time.
God is sovereign, but from our perspective we see His patience with a nation gone mad. He’s holding back the full explosion of evil and destruction that will happen at the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
Many expected the worldwide shortage of food to be much more severe by now. It seems strange to me that the war in Ukraine has not yet exploded into a much wider conflict with disastrous results. Years ago, many predicted that the U.S. economy was on the verge of a total collapse, but despite efforts to force such a scenario, it hasn’t yet happened.
God’s sovereign power and restraining hand is the only reason all these things haven’t occurred.
So yes, we are living on borrowed time in respect to God pouring out His wrath on the United States.
Pete Garcia, a former Major in the U.S. Army, conveys my thoughts a bit more directly:
It should be obvious to anyone with half a brain that the cracks in the American pillars are so profound by now that something (or Someone) has been supernaturally sustaining the integrity of them.[iv]
How can people not recognize that the end of America is ever so close? Why is it that many of those sounding the alarm don’t believe the Bible or have any faith whatsoever in God? Some from this group see the dangers that a great many church leaders refuse to recognize.
The start of June signals a time of lewd displays of wickedness, which become viler and more disgusting each year. When one also considers the blood of innocents that flows from the abortion mills in America, one has to wonder how much longer before God says “enough!”
I know that the majority of those reading this article agree with me and the intent of my question is to reinforce your valid beliefs.
For the others, I agree with Pete. It takes a purposeful ignorance of biblical prophecy not to recognize that the world, and especially the U.S., rests on the edge of a cliff.
HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THE NEARNESS OF JESUS’ APPEARING?
I believe Jesus is coming soon for His church. The wildcard in the timing of the Lord’s appearing consists of both His sovereignty and restraining power.
I am also convinced that God will severely judge America, but He is exceedingly patient waiting for more people to turn to Him before He pours out His great wrath.
If you look at world events and think the Lord should have come for us by now, it shows you understand Bible prophecy as well as the role of Holy Spirit restraining the full force of destruction and deception that will come with the unveiling of the antichrist.
Don’t be discouraged, the Lord will reward your confidence in His promises.
I don’t know what Leanna Crawford believes about the end times, but I love her song and it sparked the writing of this article. For those that look at the beauty and wonders of nature and not see the creator, her words ring with truth, “How Can You Not See God?”
For me, I can’t get past a similar question as I look at the world around me: “How can I not see that I live in the very last moments before Jesus’ appearing?”
How can pastors not see the signs of the times and as a result provide those in their charge with the hope they desperately need in these perilous times?
My latest book is Cancel This! What Today’s Church Can Learn from the Bad Guys of the Bible. It’s all about growing to maturity in Christ. The bad examples of these characters reveal the mindset we need for living at a time when the cancel culture dominates our culture.
I provide a detailed defense of the Pretribulation viewpoint in: The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times.
Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/ . Thanks!
[i] William Watson, “The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries,” Pre-Tribulation Research Center website, https://www.pre-trib.org/articles/all-articles .
[ii] David Reagan, “Accident Of History?: Why Do So Many Mainstream Denominations Get This Wrong?” on the Harbingers Daily Website at: https://harbingersdaily.com/accident-of-history-why-do-so-many-mainstream-denominations-get-this-wrong/
[iii] Pete Garcia, A Thousand Tiny Cuts, May 29, 2023, on his blog: https://www.rev310.net/post/a-thousand-tiny-cuts
[iv] Ibid.
