THE SKY IS RED AND OVERCAST
Jesus was being pressed by a group of religious professionals about His behavior because it did not fit their narrative. In a brilliant chess move of gamesmanship, Jesus pointed out their spiritual blindness when it came to God.
When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
Matthew 16:2-4 (NIV)
Jesus had been healing the sick and feeding the multitudes. The learned and prominent asked Jesus for a sign from heaven; walking on water and casting out demons was not sufficient for them to believe Messiah had come. All these divine marvels of God were signs from heaven and delivered by God himself. In other words, the Hebrew tradition spoke of the year of the Lord’s favor through the Prophet Isaiah. Then Jesus read the same scripture at the beginning of His public ministry and made this profound statement, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:20 NIV).
Isaiah continued by saying it would be a time of blessing for genuine believers and a day of God’s vengeance to be visited upon the self-appointed authorities.
Autumn is another seasonal time in faith. Israel celebrates the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets calls for the people to gather to honor and hear from their king. It also has many prophetic ties to events in the past and those in the future. The Day of Atonement is included in the list of Israel’s feasts.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
Isaiah 61:1 (NIV)
However, it is a fast day, a time of reflection, and an opportunity to repent and make spiritual amends for missteps and transgressions committed during the prior year. Sometimes, a personal day of atonement is not voluntary. God will put His finger on every issue in the obstinate and force them to bow at the knee. This is the second part of the Day of Atonement, a day of God’s vengeance. Indeed, a red sky morning.
As a point of reference, it is the fall of 2023, and the sky is red and overcast as we begin this season. Women cry out for the right to abort children they carry right up to the day of birth. Men claiming to be women in the wrong body have forced themselves into the private space of women, i.e., bathrooms and sports locker rooms, and have the support of judges, adjudicators, and courts. Some people even think it is just for men to compete against women in athletic events dedicated to women. Where is the justice? Certainly not in today’s worldly ideology, which unfortunately controls today’s legal sense of equality. I am convinced a change will come on The Day of Atonement. The thing is…change in human hearts cannot be legislated; it only comes by severe punishment or new birth.
People who commit murder are released back into the population because they are viewed as victims. People who protect their person, family, or others are now incarcerated and face conviction more readily than criminals. District Attorneys are quick to jump on the righteous and drag their feet on the offenders. During the 2020 election, fifty “creditable intelligence professionals and leaders” swore that evidence of the misdoings of one candidate and his family was a lie; the evidence proved to be real and genuine. The old politician got elected and now has encouraged government agencies to target his competition. Between Federal charges and ones levied by State authorities sympathetic to the administration, the opposing candidate is facing multiple indictments of criminal activity before the new election. The list doesn’t stop here. The sky is indeed red and overcast.
They have put bonafide church groups on terrorist lists, and parents who speak out against the unrighteousness of boys in girl bathrooms are jailed. School boards are high-jacking children’s futures from any input from parents. Children as young as three years old are being identified as having the wrong gender. They are being given gender-affirming treatments to solve their problems. This is happening without informing the parents in the name of child protection. These treatments include chemical medications and outright mutilation of sexual organs by operations to change sex with no parental consent. Sometimes, permission is coerced by asking the parent if they would prefer a transsexual child over a dead child. What is wrong with this picture?
In Europe, there is a push for people to be implanted with ID chips. The rationale is a better economic system, better health care, and a higher quality of life. The Bible is straightforward about this. It is clearly stated such marks would be forced in the last days, the last days before The Great Day of Atonement, which involves every nation, every people, and all individuals.
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
Revelation 13:16-17 (NIV)
Mankind will face a dichotomy of outcomes when God brings correction to our current situation. Evil is running rampant; it has run unbridled in the past, and tumultuous conditions brought about correction and change. The cycle began again. It will keep repeating until the cup of wickedness is full. Currently, humans are facing another season of corrective measures. It may be a temporary fix; however, at some point, the temporary will be out, and the permanent fix will be in. It will be the end of days as we know them. Aren’t you glad that in God’s great mercy, He provided new birth so that people have a chance to escape vengeance and experience the Lord’s favor, His salvation?
The sky is red and overcast. It will be stormy; however, the Spirit of the sovereign Lord proclaims the year of His favor upon the humble and the righteous of the earth.
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