Prepare while you have Time!

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’ ” – Matt. 3:1-3

This was the message John the Baptist preached – ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ He did not sugar-coat his message with words of ‘peace’, ‘God’s grace will cover it all’, ‘God is love’! He pointed out their sin and warned them to repent and get ready for God’s judgement that was coming!

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, . . And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.“

The angel Gabriel told John’s father Zacharias, “He (John) will also go before Him (Jesus) in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The Holy Spirit’s message through John the Baptist was not a water-downed one but rather one that got right to core of the problems they were facing – sin! In like manner God is going to send forth the spirit of Elijah once again to prepare the way for the 2nd coming of Jesus, the Messiah as Malachi prophesied.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” – Mal. 4:5-6

When Luke quotes this scripture, he explains what turning the hearts of the fathers to the children means – “and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”. In other words, turning them back to what the Scripture says their life should look like. God didn’t just give His word for fun; He meant it to be a roadmap to live by and Scripture says He watches over it to perform it! And this is the message the fathers are to teach to their children. That is why Malachi, when talking about the prophet Elijah who is to come, makes this statement –

“Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.” – Malachi 4:4

At Mt. Horeb, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. They are the roadmap to the well-being of any society. God began with “I am the Lord your God” then followed with the commands –

You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image. . for I am a jealous God (In other words, put nothing before Me!)
You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy –
Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long –
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor’s.

These are the wisdoms of the just that John preached and that were to prepare the way for the Lord to come. As a nation, we have broken and are breaking every one of them! In the 60’s we began to remove these 10 Commandments from public view and eventually even took them out of our schools. And now we are reaping fruits of lawlessness that come from removing the tenants of God’s laws. Do you wonder why America’s murder rate is so high when you legalize the killing of babies in the womb? You have released the death angel to once again roam the streets!

Oh, that God would send the spirit of Elijah once again, and we need many ‘John the Baptists’ to appear on the scene, “crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!” The time is short, and the Lord is preparing to come, but this time He is coming with judgement on the wicked, those who refused His Gospel. God shows us this in heavenly signs, the constellation of Taurus, the Great Bull of the heavens. in August of 2024 the King planet Jupiter will meet Mars, which in Hebrew is ‘ma-Adim’, or the ‘Son of Man’, between the horns of Taurus, which is Shur in Hebrew and means “the coming judge”. Taurus is pictured as a ‘Reem’, a prehistoric Bull only slightly smaller than an elephant, his head down in the act of charging. He carries on his shoulder the 7 stars of the Pleiades, which is translated as Congregation, as he charges against the wicked. In August of 2024 this sign will be fulfilled, and it will mean – “The Son of Man comes with His congregation to judge the earth”.

This is a picture the Lord’s reaction when truth and justice have finally been forsaken to the point of Isaiah’s prophesy –

“The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths.
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. . . . Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So, truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased His That there was no justice.” – Isaiah 59:8-15

Because of this condition, and being as it was in the Days of Noah, God is going to send the Lord to correct it –

“He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore, His own arm brought salvation for Him. And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head. He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.” – Isaiah 59:16-18

Malachi describes the same coming of the Lord in even more graphic terms –

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.” – Mal. 4:1

But, to those who fear the name of the Lord, Taurus will carry them safely on His shoulder as the judgement poured out! Many of today’s prophets are speaking right now of the Lord’s coming with judgement, and it will begin in the House of the Lord. God is going to apply a Scriptural Law, “What you sow, you shall reap”! Remember Jupiter will meet Mars in the horns of Taurus August 13, 2024, that’s only a little over a year away so, this message is serious. Now is the time to prepare and there is only one way to prepare – that is to repent of every sin the Holy spirit will remind you of (I’m speaking to born again believers.) To those don’t know if you are saved, now is the time to repent and let the blood of Jesus wash you clean from your sins. Right now, His mercy is available, but Scripture reminds us –

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” – Isa. 55:6-7

“For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.” – Psalm 32:6

In other words, there is a time when you can repent and call on the name of the Lord, and this is that time. He is coming soon with His judgement, and it may be too late then!

Pastor Charle Cooley, retired.