Put me in, Coach! We all dream of winning the game for a team in the ninth inning or the fourth quarter, yet we forget that we have that opportunity every day.
Every day is the fourth quarter or our 9th inning. I’m telling you right now, it is the ninth inning. Whether it would be the top of the ninth or the bottom, I do not know.
But I know that Satan just brought in his closer lineup, not just the pitcher, his end-all be-alls. The ones, and the one, who will crush and wear out the Saints. It is throughout biblical prophecy, but why do we forget certain things?
I think we forget that, yes, this earth is God’s creation, but it is also Satan’s domain. That means that we must be on the offensive and the defensive side in the 9th inning.
Not to win the game for God, but to win it for ourselves and our teammates, who are in the world.
Our God, our baseball manager/coach/leader/umpire of this game, has already had the final say. But this game is for the players, us, versus the forces of this world, who in Hebrew to English, translate to the Satan, meaning the Adversary.
Jesus already walked it off. He beat the devil and death in game one. But this game is for our souls. You might not realize it, but almost everything on this earth is on Satan’s team. Not a team that can beat God, but that can beat us.
A team that can and will try their best to wear us out and make us quit. Do we not heed Jesus’ warnings on biblical prophecy about His elect?
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
– Matthew 24:24
That means folks like me and you. People like us. We who claim to be on God’s side, are we truly?
Abraham Lincoln had an incredible rebuttal to a clergyman during the Civil War. The clergyman said he hoped “the Lord was on our side.”
Are we sure we are still on the same side? I don’t say that as a person trying to put down others’ beliefs in the world; I say it as a warning. As a fellow child of God, your brother.
Are we as diligent as Jesus wanted us to be? Are we sure that the things we champion for now couldn’t be used against us? Because it will be in the end. So be careful when supporting things that bring “protection” or “security” to bring about peace. In the end, those same things can be used against Christians in Satan’s final battle against the saints.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” – Matthew 7:15-20
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” – 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” – 1 John 4:1
“But evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” – 2 Timothy 3:13
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives… For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11
We say that God goes up to the plate for us always, but we forget that He already won His game. Are we sure that we are winning ours?
Are we ahead of the pack? In the words of Paul, are we striving to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus?
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
– 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
His coming to the plate now isn’t to swing the bat for us, but to be the umpire to judge whether or not we are safe when we get to home plate.
Remember this: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’’
– Matthew 7:21-23
Don’t waste your shot and get called out at home. It’s the 9th inning. There is no other shot at winning.
“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
–Matthew 25:32-46
Sincerely,
A fellow Watchman
Looking for a place to start? Matthew, if you are a new believer. Then into Revelation to Ezekiel and the prophets.
If you have read those books, read them again with an open mind for interpretation. Forget what “church” has taught in the last 150 years. More on that to follow, but simply put, read it for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you!
