Learn Bible Prophecy: Christ's Word Will Never Pass Away

"Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will never pass away." - Luke 21:33

President Obama recently gave his State of the Union Address. I'm not a fan of the current administration in the executive branch of our government; however, I thought the speech was delivered very well. On the surface, it appears that he is making strides to reach across the isle and work with both parties to accomplish things in the best interest of the U.S. Of course, he has little choice now. Unlike last year's speech which had a lot of "attitude", this year's speech was delivered in a more humble manner.

One of the defining phrases of the speech was when he said:

"What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow."

It appears that much-needed change is just around the corner. Perhaps some aspects of Obamacare will be scaled back. Certainly there was a standing ovation from nearly everyone in the room when President Obama discussed removing some of the red tape that would bog down small businesses.

We must, however, temper that optimism with the knowledge that we are not to ever look to man (or government) for the answers to our problems. Only when Christ returns and sets up His Kingdom will there truly exist a government that is righteous, just, and perfect. Meanwhile, no matter who controls the various branches of our U.S. government, we know that it will be very far from perfect.

In fact, we know that from a prophetic standpoint eventually the government will be controlled by Satan himself via the Antichrist. Perhaps I get a little ahead of things, but we know that eventually that is where the world is headed because God's Word says so. Stepping back a little and looking to a more immediate future, we also know from experience that what is said during campaigns and speeches can be far from what happens behind closed doors and when the cameras are no longer rolling.

Sometimes the disconnect between the promises made and what actually gets accomplished can only be attributed to outright deception, where we find politicians saying things they know sounds good; but then they end up just serving their own agenda when actually performing their jobs. It reminds me of one of my wife's friends that voted for President Obama: she was a military wife and during President Obama's campaign he promised to bring the troops home soon after he took office. She has since confided in us that she abandoned many other moral convictions when casting her vote because of that one promise. You can imagine her frustration as she now realizes those words were little more than an empty promise.

[It was, of course, something that appealed to "tickling ears"; and often people believe what they want to believe. Knowledge of foreign affairs and understanding of the complexity thereof, however, helps one understand that abandoning the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is not something that could be done quickly — at least not without seriously undermining the validity of the United States' power. Abandoning a job half done would only serve notice to our enemy that just a little resistance or waiting for a different administration is all that is needed to defeat our objectives. Either the President realized that and made a promise he knew he could not legitimately keep, or he was very unsuited to take over as Commander-in-chief.]

At other times the unfilled promises come from well-meaning politicians that think they can achieve much more than they can, until they learn the political process is much more "political" than expected. Yet one can't help but think they must know the political process is cumbersome and, therefore, their promises will be met with resistance (sometimes even insurmountable resistance). They ignore what even the average person not in the profession of politics knows during their campaigns, knowing that it will serve as a useful excuse later when they are challenged about why they did not fulfill their promises. Politicians also know many voters have a short-term memory span.

While listening to the rhetoric of politicians, and observing the ebb and flow of power in general, I can't help but reflect on the words Jesus spoke during the Olivet Discourse wherein He assures us that His words, unlike things of this world, will never pass away. Those words are recorded in verbatim by all three writers of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33). Those words should serve as a reminder to us all that ultimately God is in control of everything, and that the words spoken during the Olivet Discourse were intended to have prophetic meaning far beyond the time in which they were said. We can rest assured God is in control, for Proverbs 16:4 says,

"The Lord works out everything for his own ends."

We also read in Daniel 2:21,

"He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them."

Ultimately, as Christians, we are not to look to this world; but, rather, we should follow Christ's words in Luke 21:36, wherein Jesus told us,

"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."