Suddenly
Suddenly
Last night I dreamt that I was in Palestinian territory. I saw a hand-gun fall to the ground. As it hit the ground it went off and the bullet killed a bystander. I woke up immediately with a conviction that civil war will break out among the Palestinians.
I got up later to the news that Israel (closely followed by the USA) had announced that Chairman Arafat (PA leader) had died during the night. Then France (where he has been receiving "royal" treatment) announced that he was then still alive.
I believe that he did in fact die during the night...but that the announcement of his death was delayed to give rival powers amongst the Palestinians time to organise themselves.
In his early days the symbol of Arafat's plane-dynamiting terrorism was a brandished hand-gun. That gun fell to the ground during the night, and it's falling will bring more death to the Palestinians.
The word on my heart today is "suddenly". Today begins a new season of "suddenly’s".
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the Lord of Hosts." (Malachi 3.1)
Jesus is going to return suddenly...and history immediately before His return is going to be full of sudden and unexpected events.
"Therefore, be on the alert - for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cock-crowing, or in the morning - lest he come suddenly and find you asleep." (Mark 13.35-36)
The early Church was birthed through a series of “suddenly’s”:
"Suddenly there came from heaven..." (Acts 2.2)
"Suddenly a light from heaven flashed..." (Acts 9.3)
"Suddenly there came a great earthquake..." (Acts 16.26)
The Last Days Church will approach the Last Day via a series of “suddenly’s”. We need to be ready:
"Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be comparable to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegrooom...the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps...Be on the alert then, for you do not know (unexpected/sudden) the day or the hour." (Matthew 25.1,4,13)
PS There is a determination amongst some Palestinian factions that Arafat be buried on the Temple Mount! This is not only out of the question for Israel...but utterly intolerable to God who has already reserved that ground for the Throne of His Son.
