It has been reported all over Europe that the French government sent out a directive to all of the hospitals in France to be prepared by March of 2026 for war and thousands of casualties. The directive wasn't for the public but for the hospitals. It stated that it wasn't to be taken as an alarmist directive....that it was a natural thing to do for governments to prepare for unexpected situations....and it was mentioned that France had learned from its being totally unprepared when the pandemic hit.
This is part of what I try to do in these posts....but do you know what we are preparing for in America? We're preparing for the NFL season. We're preparing for a busy Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas season. We're preparing for weddings and graduations and anniversaries. We're starting to prepare for the 2028 mid-term elections.So Pharaoh had a dream....seven fat cows eaten up by seven ugly cows....and seven healthy heads of grain devoured by seven thin heads of grain. We know what happens but first....where is Joseph? Well he's in the dungeon. The cupbearer....forgot what Joseph had prophesied about him....until now....so he told Pharoah about Joseph....and Joseph gave Pharaoh the interpretation.....seven good years and then seven years of famine.
Given the reins of power in Egypt....Joseph put away massive amounts of grain....and when the famine came....they had plenty of grain to sell and survive on. Meanwhile Jacob....starving back in Canaan....heard about Egypt having grain to sell....and we all know the rest of the story.
We today are in a famine of the word. Don't believe me? Just try this....stand there and observe the conversations at the end of your next Lord's Day service....you won't hear anything about the glory of the Lord or the sermon that you just heard. You will hear about plans for the day. Go ahead....try it. That my friends is the results of a famine of the word. Then go home and boot up and listen to a sermon by Spurgeon or Martyn-Lloyd Jones....two men whose London churches did not see a famine of the word in their day....and see the difference.
God doesn't speak to us through prophets anymore....unless you define 'prophet' in its literal sense....someone who speaks to the covenant children for the Lord. So there is no dream....no basket of summer fruit....no overturned pot....no fingers writing on the wall....just the Word of God.
There are tried and true techniques to speed reading. When you read....do you say the words in your head? Well that takes time. Try this....read again a paragraph above that you have already read. Pretend that you are disgusted with what you are reading....so you want to read it fast and get it over with. Maybe that will come real easy. Skip quickly from the beginning of a a line....to the end....gathering as many words as you can. Imagine reading the credits after a movie....they scroll down real fast don't they. Surely there has a time or two when you didn't want to miss an actor's name....so your eyes kind of grabbed chunks of words at a time. It's tough....but you get better at it the more you try it. You are speed reading!
Why am I bringing this up? There are times in reading God's Word when you have to read real slow....digesting every word. When a young Christian is reading the Bible....he or she is probably reading that book or passage for the very first time.....and they will have to read it slow....but you....when you have already read....say....one of the gospels....you have probably already read it a hundred times in your life at least....you don't necessarily need to read every word because you know what's coming.
This is what I am suggesting that you try here. You can read through any one of the gospels....but particularly Mark....in a few minutes. Try it....and take note of those verses or passages that are referring in any to the last days or the end-times.
If you try this....and read through the New Testament....the prophecy portions will jump out at you....and you will lump them together....and you thus will see more clearly the whole New Testament's message on the last days! And you know what else? You will see that all through the New Testament....God is warning us to prepare for....to always be prepared for....the possibility of seven very difficult years....and the return of our Lord and Savior and King!
