The Rapture in Two-Part Harmony

The Rapture in Two-Part Harmony - Jack Kinsella - https://www.rev310.net/post/the-rapture-in-two-part-harmony In the days of the Apostle Paul, the city of Thessalonica was the largest city in Macedonia, boasting a population of nearly 200,000 people –a megapolis of the ancient world. The majority of its inhabitants were Greek, although there was a mixture of ethnic groups, including Jews. Paul’s letters to the Church at Thessalonica are accepted as authentic by virtually all New Testament scholars. The book was quoted by name by early Church Fathers includingIrenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Polycarp. The first epistle is divided into three parts or themes. In the first part, Paul reiterates his relationship with the Thessalonians, gives thanks to God for them, and outlinesthe evidence that the Thessalonians were truly saved, in contrast to what the Judaizers were saying about them. “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son fromheaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10) In the second part, Paul defends his credentials as an Apostle and the legitimacy of the Thessalonians’ conversion, and his urgent desire to see them again. “For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, atPhilippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2) “But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we wouldhave come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18) The third major theme of the epistle is the imminent return of the Lord for His church at the Rapture. It is a source of endless fascination to me to read the various polemicsarguing against the Rapture on the grounds that it was a nineteenth-century invention of J.N. Darby or Margaret MacDonald or C.I. Schofield. Other scholars, such as my friend Grant Jeffrey, have long since proved that the Rapture doctrine was taught by the early Church as far back as 373 AD when he discovered anancient text authored by Ephraem the Syrian, a prominent Byzantine theologian. In On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, Ephraem wrote: “For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm theworld because of our sins.” The most fascinating aspect of Grant’s discovery is the effort to discredit it by opponents of a pre-Trib Rapture by denying Ephraem’s authenticity, called the discovery “pseudo-Ephraem.” This argument says that Ephraem didn’t write it, somebody else did. Is that even a relevant argument? I was at Grant’s house visiting shortly after he made his discovery in 1995 and Grant showed me a book in his collection published in the 1600s in which Ephraem’s teachingon the Rapture was quoted by a French theologian. So denying Ephraem’s authorship is meaningless to the issue at hand, (which was whether the Rapture had been taught prior to the 1800’s.) Personally, I’ve never understood how there could be a controversy. Whether pseudo-Ephraem or just plain Ephraem — or Darby, Schofield, MacDonald — they are largely irrelevant — since the Apostle Paul taught of an imminent Rapture in his FIRST epistle to the Thessalonians. The controversy is about whether or not some subsequent interpreter confirmed what God told Paul, and it extends until what Paul actually wrote doesn’t seem to matter. But Paul not only outlined the Rapture in detail, he fully expected to witness it himself. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that wewhich are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or precede) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shallrise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) But the verses about the Rapture don’t actually complete the third theme of Paul’s first epistle to Thessalonica. Paul addresses questions concerning his credentials as an Apostle, confirms that the Thessalonians are truly saved, and reveals the details of the Rapture. The Thessalonians, like many in the Church today, missed the point of Paul’s first Epistle. The point was that the Lord’s return should be a source of great comfort, not asource of contention. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11) The message is as clear as it can possibly be. As clear as this message is, some have trouble understanding it, even today. Paul says that Lord will appear in the air, thedead in Christ will rise, those still living will rise right after, and we will then spend eternity with the Lord. Paul says the purpose of this revelation was to comfort believers facing hard times. What completes the theme is Paul’s exhortation at the end. “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18) Assessment: Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians had but one primary purpose, as specifically outlined in Chapter Two. It was to correct the doctrinal errors that an apparently forgedletter from Paul had created about the Day of the Lord. The Thessalonians feared that the Day of the Lord had come and gone and they had been left behind. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neitherby spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2) The phrase, “our gathering together” is translated from the Greek, episunagoge, which means “a complete collection; especially a Christian meeting: assembling, gathering together.” Itis used but one other time, in Hebrews 10:25 exhorting believers to meet for worship. As we go on, let’s ask and answer some questions from the text of Scripture. First question: “What is Paul beseeching the Thessalonians about?” Answer: “That they not be shaken by a letter that said they hadbeen left behind.” The primary theme of 2nd Thessalonians is therefore, the coming of our Lord and our gathering together, or collecting, unto Him. Paul begins by offering two reasons why theThessalonians should not be afraid that they had been left behind. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2Thessalonians2:3) So, what is the first reason why the Thessalonians should know that they had not missed the event Paul had described in his last letter? Because the day would not come untilthere came “a falling away first.” The translation “a falling away” should actually be rendered, “THE falling away” namely, the specific falling away of which Paul warned them of “when I was yet with you.” (2 Thessalonians 2:5) The “falling away” is the great apostasia, meaning, “a defection from the truth.” The second reason why the Thessalonians should not be afraid that they had been left behind was because the man of sin, or the son of perdition, had not yet been revealed. Theman of sin is, of course, the antichrist. The man of sin can’t be revealed until after the great apostasia because it is through the apostasia that the man of sin is revealed. Without the apostasia, the antichristcouldn’t get a foothold because the population would not be prepared to buy what he will be selling. But what else does this passage teach us? The Rapture couldn’t have happened because the antichrist had not been revealed. What does that mean? It HAS to mean that the Rapturecomes first and then later, the antichrist is revealed. I have heard all kinds of clever and imaginative explanations for why these verses don’t mean what they say they mean, but none of them ever actually take on the verses themselves. They just go out and find others from elsewhere that seem contradictory but I’ve never heard anyone adequately dispute these two simple points – which is probably the reasonPaul raised them. One can come up with verses that seemingly put the Church in the Tribulation or verses that seemingly dispute the meaning of “the wrath of God” and verses that question whothe Restrainer is, or dispute the meaning of the Day of Christ, and so on. But Paul says that there are two things that must come after “our gathering together unto Him” – the great apostasia, and the revelation of the son of perdition. So if theThessalonians don’t perceive a great apostasy, followed by the revealing of the antichrist, then it means they didn’t miss the Rapture. Let’s reverse this equation and take another look at what Paul is saying from that angle. Paul is saying that if the Thessalonians DO perceive a great falling away and they DO recognize “the man of sin, the son of perdition,” then YES, they missed the Rapture. Turned back around, he’s saying that because the man of sin hasn’t been revealed, the Rapture has not happened. Why? Because the Rapture comes first. Not because Darby, MacDonald,Schofield, or even Ephraem the Syrian invented the doctrine after the fact. But because the doctrine was already well-established in the first century by the Apostle Paul! “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turnaway their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4) The first reference to a pre-Trib Rapture comes from the Bible. It is not a cunningly devised fable, but is a doctrine made known to us by eyewitnesses of His Majesty (2 Peter1:16). It wasn’t turned into a cunningly devised fable until after the great apostasia first kicked off at the end of the nineteenth century with the “Age of Enlightenment.” The Great Apostasia is Part One and it is pretty much fully developed. As for Part Two, the revelation of the antichrist, well, THAT looks like its fulfillment is just aroundthe corner. And according to the Apostle Paul, we won’t be here for Part Two. “Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

Witness To the Greatest Sign Of Our Messiah’s Return

Witness To the Greatest Sign Of Our Messiah’s Return – By AmirTsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/worldview-with-amir-tsarfati-witness-to-the-greatest-sign-of-our-messiahs-return/ Shalom from a 75-year-old State of Israel! That’s right! Three-quarters of a century ago, God fulfilled biblical prophecy by restoring the land, breathing life into the deadbones of its people, and creating a nation in a day. “Who has heard such a thing?” the Lord asked in Isaiah 66:8. The answer is “no one”. That is, until He did it! The Lord is true to His promises, and He is always faithful to His children. No matter what you may be going through, whatever it is that has you discouraged or heartbroken,all you need to do is to look at the existence of Israel to be reminded that when God says He is with you and will carry you through, you can take that promise to the bank. So, when my family and I celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, yesterday, we were not just celebrating our country. We were praising the God who brought aboutits rebirth. We were rejoicing that we were blessed to be of the generation that has witnessed this greatest of signs that the countdown clock to our Messiah’s return to take His church has begun. We were lifting the name of our faithful Father, our almightyGod. Psalm 36:5-7 KJV – “Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; And thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are agreat deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” IDF Attacks Hezbollah Observation Post The Israeli Defense Forces carried out an artillery strike on a Hezbollah observation site just across the Syrian border from the Golan Heights. The IDF followed up by showeringthe area with pamphlets warning Syrian soldiers to cease their cooperation with the Iran-backed militia. There were no reports of injuries. Terror Attack in Jerusalem An Arab father of five intentionally drove his vehicle into a crowded market area in Jerusalem on Monday. Five Israelis were injured, one seriously. An armed civilian killedthe terrorist on the scene. This man who abandoned his family to carry out this heinous act is a perfect example of former Prime Minister Golda Meir’s words, “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.” Jordanian Parliament Member Attempts to Smuggle Guns to West Bank A member of Jordan’s parliament, Imad Adwan, was taken into custody at the Allenby Bridge border crossing on Saturday. In Adwan’s car were found a dozen assault rifles, morethan 200 handguns, and gold intended for anti-Jewish parties in the West Bank. Israeli authorities were quick to absolve the Jordanian government of any wrongdoing in the act. Accusations did fly, however, but in an unexpected form. Former Jordanian MP TarekKhoury directed his vitriol at Israel, saying they had made up the part about the gold being in the car. Why did this make him so upset? Because the inclusion of gold would “turn the heroic act into a smuggling issue.” It’s hard to fight against that kindof mindset. American Drone Shot Down by Pro-Iranian Militia An American MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone was shot down near Kirkuk, Iraq, this past week. Pro-Iranian Shiite militias used an anti-aircraft missile to bring it to the ground. USforces, which were in the area, destroyed what was left of the UAV to keep it from falling into enemy hands. High-Ranking Cleric Assassinated in Northern Iran As Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani sat inside a bank Wednesday, one of the security guards walked up behind him and opened fire. Soleimani, who was a member of the powerfulAssembly of Experts for Leadership of Iran and a former personal representative of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died soon after in the hospital. The assailant was taken into custody. The cleric’s death marks the highest ranking official to havebeen killed in recent years. Nations Scramble as Sudan Heats Up As the violence intensifies in Sudan, world governments are hurrying to evacuate their citizens. To aid in the process, the US and Saudi Arabia mediated a 72-hour ceasefirebetween the two sides. So far, at least 427 people have been killed in the fighting, and the gun battles are reaching into residential areas and neighborhoods. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization put out a warning after rebels took control of the NationalPublic Health Laboratory in the capital city of Khartoum. The lab holds samples of various diseases, including polio and measles, causing the WHO to warn of a “huge biological risk”. Sudan needs our prayers! Erdogan’s On-Air Health Event Causes Concerns Ahead of Elections Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled his election rallies Wednesday under the advice of his doctors. He walked off a live television interview saying he had stomachissues. Immediately, the rumor mill took off with some saying that he had suffered a myocardial infarction. The election, which is set for May 14, is hotly contested with many saying it is possible that Erdogan can lose after 20 years of serving as Prime Minister,then President. Russian Defense Minister Hosts Intelligence Chiefs Moscow hosted quite a guest list Tuesday when the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Turkey, Iran, and Syria joined the Russian Defense Minister. The goal, accordingto Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, was to “bring peace and tranquility to the region as soon as possible.” Upon reading this guest list, everyone who has ever read the prophecies of Ezekiel sat up and said, “Yep.” Ukrainian UAV Attempts Attack on Russian Ships in Crimea A Ukrainian drone was shot down near Sevastopol, Crimea, and a second exploded causing minor damage, according to Russian authorities. The apparent target was the RussianBlack Sea Fleet that is stationed there. Ukraine has remained mum on the attack. While this attempt may not have achieved its desired results, it does show Kyiv’s ability to penetrate deep into Russian-held territory. US to Send Nuclear Submarine to South Korean Waters Not since the 1980s Cold War has the US docked a nuclear submarine in South Korea. But after an agreement yesterday between US President Joe Biden and South Korean PresidentYoon Suk Yeol that is about to change. Meant to be a strong message to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, the US will moor an Ohio-class nuclear submarine in the port of its southern ally. Keep your eyes on this situation. The Supreme Leader in the north is not knownfor letting slights go unanswered.

A Shocking UN Document Reveals The Sick Sexual Agenda

A Shocking UN Document Reveals The Sick Sexual Agenda That The Globalists Plan To Push On The Whole World- by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/a-shocking-un-document-reveals-the-sick-sexual-agenda-that-the-globalists-plan-to-push-on-the-whole-world/ They aren’t going to stop until they impose their twisted values on the entire planet. If you have not heard of “The 8 March Principles” yet, you can find the entire documentright here. It is essentially a blueprint for synchronizing all global laws regarding sexuality, gender and reproductive rights. UNAIDS is one of the organizations that was involved in drafting this document, and on their official website they claim that manyglobal laws that prohibit certain types of sexual behavior “not only violate human rights, but the fundamental principles of criminal law themselves”. Alarmingly, among the laws that are being targeted by the globalists are laws that ban adults from havingsex with children. It turns out that they have been working on “The 8 March Principles” for quite a long time. In fact, UNAIDS says that it took “over five years” to finalize this new document… The principles are the outcome of a 2018 workshop organized by UNAIDS and OHCHR along with the ICJ to discuss the role of jurists in addressing the harmful human rights impactof criminal laws. The meeting resulted in a call for a set of jurists’ principles to assist the courts, legislatures, advocates and prosecutors to address the detrimental human rights impact of such laws. The principles, developed over five years, are based on feedback and reviews from a range of experts and stakeholders. They were finalized in 2022. Initially, the principlesfocused on the impact of criminal laws proscribing sexual and reproductive health and rights, consensual sexual activity, gender identity, gender expression, HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission, drug use and the possession of drugs for personal use.Later, based on the inputs of civil society and other stakeholders, criminalization linked to homelessness and poverty were also included. Most of the material in “The 8 March Principles” is not a surprise. Everyone knows that the UN wants to promote abortion, the gay agenda and the transgender agenda. But what floored me is that they are also seeking to weaken laws that prohibit adults from having sex with children. The following is an excerpt that comes directly out of “The 8 March Principles”… With respect to the enforcement of criminal law, any prescribed minimum age of consent to sex must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner. Enforcement may not be linkedto the sex/gender of participants or age of consent to marriage. Moreover, sexual conduct involving persons below the domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex may be consensual in fact, if not in law. In this context, the enforcementof criminal law should reflect the rights and capacity of persons under 18 years of age to make decisions about engaging in consensual sexual conduct and their right to be heard in matters concerning them. Pursuant to their evolving capacities and progressiveautonomy, persons under 18 years of age should participate in decisions affecting them, with due regard to their age, maturity and best interests, and with specific attention to non-discrimination guarantees. If they believe that children under the age of 18 can meaningfully consent to sex, where do they think the cutoff should be? Is it 16? Is it 14? Is it 12? According to a globalist organization that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gives millions of dollars to each year, children “are born sexual and should learn about ‘commercialsex work’ under 10 years of age”… The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donates millions annually to a nongovernmental organization which claims that children are born sexual and should learn about “commercialsex work” under 10 years of age. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) – a separate entity from the U.S. nonprofit – wields significant influence on global sex education. The NGO comprises120 independent organizations in over 146 countries and has received – including its European network – over $80M from Gates. Other significant donors included the World Health Organization. Go back and read that last paragraph again. This extremely powerful organization is operating in at least 146 different countries. And according to Fox News, it teaches children that “commercial sex work” is a completely legitimate occupation… “Sexual activity may be part of different types of relationships, including dating, marriage or commercial sex work, among others,” IPPF said about children under 10 shouldbe taught, which was first flagged by Nicole Solas of the Independent Women’s Forum. And the IPPF also trains kids to believe that sexuality “is a part of you from the moment you are born”… Children under 10 should be taught that “Sexuality is a part of you from the moment you are born. Your sexuality develops and changes throughout your life.” These people are sick. And it shouldn’t shock any of us that many of the individuals that work for such organizations end up being predators themselves. For example, a former Planned Parenthood executive in Connecticut just killed himself after police raided his home “as part of a child pornography investigation”… The former marketing director of a Planned Parenthood in Connecticut committed suicide days after police raided his New Haven apartment on April 6 as part of a child pornographyinvestigation, The Middletown Press reported. Tim Yergeau, 35, who previously worked as director of strategic communications for the Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, died by suicide last Tuesday, accordingto officials. Both Yergeau’s neighbor and the state Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner confirmed his death, the report states. Of course it isn’t just people on the left that are into such things. Recently, “conservative” author Dennis Prager defended the use of pornography by saying that “men want variety”… Dennis Prager, a conservative author and talk radio host, is trending on social media for sharing what many see as an overly simplistic and undeniably problematic view ofpornography. “Men want variety,” Prager said during a recent round-table discussion hosted by The Daily Wire’s Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and author. Pornography, he wenton to say, is “not awful,” so long as it’s used as a “substitute for adultery.” This is how far we have fallen. Now even leaders that are considered to be “ultra-conservative” are openly promoting pornography. A civilized society would be seeking to protect women and children, but in our society there is a voracious appetite for exploiting and abusing them. This has got to stop. If we continue going down this road, there is no future for our country. Throughout history, every society that has embraced extremely loose sexual behavior has eventually fallen. Now the globalists are determined to push their extremely twisted sexual agenda on the whole world, and that will inevitably have very serious consequences.

The Rapture in Two-Part Harmony

The Rapture in Two-Part Harmony - Jack Kinsella - https://www.rev310.net/post/the-rapture-in-two-part-harmony In the days of the Apostle Paul, the city of Thessalonica was the largest city in Macedonia, boasting a population of nearly 200,000 people –a megapolis of the ancient world. The majority of its inhabitants were Greek, although there was a mixture of ethnic groups, including Jews. Paul’s letters to the Church at Thessalonica are accepted as authentic by virtually all New Testament scholars. The book was quoted by name by early Church Fathers including Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Polycarp. The first epistle is divided into three parts or themes. In the first part, Paul reiterates his relationship with the Thessalonians, gives thanks to God for them, and outlines the evidence that the Thessalonians were truly saved, in contrast to what the Judaizers were saying about them. “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10) In the second part, Paul defends his credentials as an Apostle and the legitimacy of the Thessalonians’ conversion, and his urgent desire to see them again. “For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2) “But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18) The third major theme of the epistle is the imminent return of the Lord for His church at the Rapture. It is a source of endless fascination to me to read the various polemics arguing against the Rapture on the grounds that it was a nineteenth-century invention of J.N. Darby or Margaret MacDonald or C.I. Schofield. Other scholars, such as my friend Grant Jeffrey, have long since proved that the Rapture doctrine was taught by the early Church as far back as 373 AD when he discovered an ancient text authored by Ephraem the Syrian, a prominent Byzantine theologian. In On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, Ephraem wrote: “For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.” The most fascinating aspect of Grant’s discovery is the effort to discredit it by opponents of a pre-Trib Rapture by denying Ephraem’s authenticity, called the discovery “pseudo-Ephraem.” This argument says that Ephraem didn’t write it, somebody else did. Is that even a relevant argument? I was at Grant’s house visiting shortly after he made his discovery in 1995 and Grant showed me a book in his collection published in the 1600s in which Ephraem’s teaching on the Rapture was quoted by a French theologian. So denying Ephraem’s authorship is meaningless to the issue at hand, (which was whether the Rapture had been taught prior to the 1800’s.) Personally, I’ve never understood how there could be a controversy. Whether pseudo-Ephraem or just plain Ephraem — or Darby, Schofield, MacDonald — they are largely irrelevant — since the Apostle Paul taught of an imminent Rapture in his FIRST epistle to the Thessalonians. The controversy is about whether or not some subsequent interpreter confirmed what God told Paul, and it extends until what Paul actually wrote doesn’t seem to matter. But Paul not only outlined the Rapture in detail, he fully expected to witness it himself. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or precede) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) But the verses about the Rapture don’t actually complete the third theme of Paul’s first epistle to Thessalonica. Paul addresses questions concerning his credentials as an Apostle, confirms that the Thessalonians are truly saved, and reveals the details of the Rapture. The Thessalonians, like many in the Church today, missed the point of Paul’s first Epistle. The point was that the Lord’s return should be a source of great comfort, not a source of contention. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11) The message is as clear as it can possibly be. As clear as this message is, some have trouble understanding it, even today. Paul says that Lord will appear in the air, the dead in Christ will rise, those still living will rise right after, and we will then spend eternity with the Lord. Paul says the purpose of this revelation was to comfort believers facing hard times. What completes the theme is Paul’s exhortation at the end. “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18) Assessment: Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians had but one primary purpose, as specifically outlined in Chapter Two. It was to correct the doctrinal errors that an apparently forged letter from Paul had created about the Day of the Lord. The Thessalonians feared that the Day of the Lord had come and gone and they had been left behind. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2) The phrase, “our gathering together” is translated from the Greek, episunagoge, which means “a complete collection; especially a Christian meeting: assembling, gathering together.” It is used but one other time, in Hebrews 10:25 exhorting believers to meet for worship. As we go on, let’s ask and answer some questions from the text of Scripture. First question: “What is Paul beseeching the Thessalonians about?” Answer: “That they not be shaken by a letter that said they had been left behind.” The primary theme of 2nd Thessalonians is therefore, the coming of our Lord and our gathering together, or collecting, unto Him. Paul begins by offering two reasons why the Thessalonians should not be afraid that they had been left behind. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2Thessalonians 2:3) So, what is the first reason why the Thessalonians should know that they had not missed the event Paul had described in his last letter? Because the day would not come until there came “a falling away first.” The translation “a falling away” should actually be rendered, “THE falling away” namely, the specific falling away of which Paul warned them of “when I was yet with you.” (2 Thessalonians 2:5) The “falling away” is the great apostasia, meaning, “a defection from the truth.” The second reason why the Thessalonians should not be afraid that they had been left behind was because the man of sin, or the son of perdition, had not yet been revealed. The man of sin is, of course, the antichrist. The man of sin can’t be revealed until after the great apostasia because it is through the apostasia that the man of sin is revealed. Without the apostasia, the antichrist couldn’t get a foothold because the population would not be prepared to buy what he will be selling. But what else does this passage teach us? The Rapture couldn’t have happened because the antichrist had not been revealed. What does that mean? It HAS to mean that the Rapture comes first and then later, the antichrist is revealed. I have heard all kinds of clever and imaginative explanations for why these verses don’t mean what they say they mean, but none of them ever actually take on the verses themselves. They just go out and find others from elsewhere that seem contradictory but I’ve never heard anyone adequately dispute these two simple points – which is probably the reason Paul raised them. One can come up with verses that seemingly put the Church in the Tribulation or verses that seemingly dispute the meaning of “the wrath of God” and verses that question who the Restrainer is, or dispute the meaning of the Day of Christ, and so on. But Paul says that there are two things that must come after “our gathering together unto Him” – the great apostasia, and the revelation of the son of perdition. So if the Thessalonians don’t perceive a great apostasy, followed by the revealing of the antichrist, then it means they didn’t miss the Rapture. Let’s reverse this equation and take another look at what Paul is saying from that angle. Paul is saying that if the Thessalonians DO perceive a great falling away and they DO recognize “the man of sin, the son of perdition,” then YES, they missed the Rapture. Turned back around, he’s saying that because the man of sin hasn’t been revealed, the Rapture has not happened. Why? Because the Rapture comes first. Not because Darby, MacDonald, Schofield, or even Ephraem the Syrian invented the doctrine after the fact. But because the doctrine was already well-established in the first century by the Apostle Paul! “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4) The first reference to a pre-Trib Rapture comes from the Bible. It is not a cunningly devised fable, but is a doctrine made known to us by eyewitnesses of His Majesty (2 Peter 1:16). It wasn’t turned into a cunningly devised fable until after the great apostasia first kicked off at the end of the nineteenth century with the “Age of Enlightenment.” The Great Apostasia is Part One and it is pretty much fully developed. As for Part Two, the revelation of the antichrist, well, THAT looks like its fulfillment is just around the corner. And according to the Apostle Paul, we won’t be here for Part Two. “Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

Are We Close to the End of This Age?

 Are We Close to the End of This Age? - By Pastor Mike Taylor - https://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2023/04/are-we-close-to-end-of-this-age.html 34 “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:34-36) As we slide further into the time of the end, and the bright sunny days continue to be spiritually dark, it is common for us to look around for an indicator of how long itwill be until Jesus Christ returns. We might scan the horizon for any clue to how and when the end-time prophecies will be fulfilled and Christ will return. We watch events as the world continues to churn seemingly out of control. We see many key propheciesbeing fulfilled and those on the verge of fulfillment. According to the Bible, the world in the last days is divided up into four distinct power blocs. 1. TheWestern Alliance of Revived Roman Empire spoken of in Daniel chapter 9. 2. TheKings of the South to include all of Africa to include Islamic countries to its northern half. (Dan 11:40) 3. Thekings of the east to include China and southeast Asia including N. Korea who is in our news lately. (Revelation chp. 16) 4. Gog-Magogalliance of Russian backed Islamic countries mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39. Of these power blocs, the Bible prophesies distinct descriptions of these four global spheres of mankind's attempt to rule himself, independent of the God of heaven. These four power spheres have been realigning themselves in regional covenants that would have been unheard of not over 50 years ago, as they were natural enemies of one another.This seems to be happening without rhyme or reason, but for political purposes and fulfilling prophecy written down by the prophets, they are coming to pass. There are actually five spheres beyond those mentioned, and that fifth is the United States. Most of the world is turning against her domination of the economy of the worldand her military might that has been second to none in the last 70 years since the birth of Israel and the end of the last world war. But she is growing more isolated as the USA (at the moment) does not align herself with the world powers that be against ouronly real friend found in the nation of Israel. The rest are “friends of convenience” because at the present, they need us, as the world's economy is tied to the dollar and the economy of the USA is what is holding this world's nations together. But hold on,...sincethe arrival of " sleepy Joe", Israel can no longer count on the USA for protection, weapons, or support. And it will only get worse as we read further. For if the USA would fall, then this world would be in immediate chaos. So those who proclaim friendship with the American people, are not really “friends” using us for ourwealth and resources to prop up their own economies. From the last Obummer “administration” that did nothing but apologize for this country and went on a world tour to foster friendship among our most natural enemies, the Islamic countries of the Middle Eastand Africa, she finds herself suddenly lonely and in conflict with the rest of the world, for the policies of the past Trump Administration who expressed that we must take care of ourselves and “Make America Great Again”. This which flies in the face of theplans for a One World Government and a new World Order that the past "POTUS” who occupied the Oval Office tried to implement. Some of these pretend “friends” include Arabic nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, and even Egypt. Others include our once NATO allies of France and Germany whichare at odds with the USA over the Iranian Nuclear Deal that did nothing but give Iran the green light to build the bomb. They are our “friends” because at the present are not our enemies...at least not they yet. But look out, "sleepy Joe" is looking to revivethat plan. It is no accident that our only true friend in the sea of nations, (as mentioned) is the tiny democratic government of Israel, as she is in the bulls-eye of the end time eventsthat are soon to play out all over your TV sets and the internet. As most of you know, Israel is the door to end time prophecy and Jerusalem is the key to that door of the fulfillment of prophecy of the end times, that was given over 2500 years ago, writtendown by men who spoke as the Holy Spirit moved them. The Old World powers are in a rage that the USA would actually recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capitol and move our embassy to that city. But that is changing with the present "so called fake POTUS" beingin office who is turning a blind eye to Israel. Wars and rumors of wars---Besides that, no one who is alive and awake, can miss all the news concerning what is going on in the Middle East concerning Russia, Iran, and Syria.They have terrorist proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Jihad to mention the main players who do their bidding in terrorist activities against Israel. Many believe, including this writer, that war could break out at any given moment, but it will be based on the timing of God's will. Iran is invading the northern bordersof Israel's Golan Heights and building missile factories that are a real threat to the security of Israel. We have seen clashes of Iran and Israel lately over Iranian spy drones and an IDF plane being shot down, and Israel stepping up attacks on clear andpresent danger as Iran attempts to become a major power broker in this region of the world. Iranian threats to Israel are real. ON THE BRINK OF WARS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ISRAEL WILL BE VICTORIOUS BECAUSE OF ALMIGHTY GOD--Two wars cometo mind instantly when you speak of hostilities breaking out concerning Israel and her Islamic neighbors. The first, that I believe will happen first and possibly soon, is the Psalm 83 war that describes Israel decimating all of her enemies that surround hercountry from all sides. With God's Divine help, Israel will be victorious and acquire major lands in her conquest of those who cause her to engage in mass destruction of her opposing enemies. This war could also see the Oracle of Damascus being fulfilled andthe city never to be inhabited again. I see Islam being set back on her heels when Israel takes land from Egypt east of the Nile River to the river Euphrates in Iraq in a war that will be swiftly won, because Israel has greater firepower than those who surroundsher, and they should know it. There will be casualties on both sides, but Israel will win. The Arab nations have tried before to wipe Israel out of existence and failed miserably even with huge troop advantages and weapons, but Israel has a “Secret Weapon” that will not abandon her, and that is ALMIGHTY GOD. The next war past the victory won by Israel against her neighbors is the prophesied Gog-Magog war that involves nations that have not been conquered by Israel, meaning Russia,Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, Turkey, and possibly nations of eastern Europe and eastern Asia to include China. This war comes after the war of defense inflicted on invading Arab neighbors and we don't know how long a period between these two wars will Israel havepeace and security they have longed for. We will see (Rosh) Russia covet what Israel owns, which is natural gas and oil, not to mention technology that is second to none, to save their economy. But returning to those spheres of influence, as measured from the Holy City of Jerusalem, Russia is to the north, China is the east, Islamic nations in the Middle East andAfrica to the south, and the rising revived Roman Empire found in Europe to the west, in the old world found across the big pond of the Atlantic, those are the divisions of power. WHERE IS AMERICA? Apart from these regional actors, the fifth and most powerful sphere of influence is the United States which is resented by all of the other power brokers in the Old World.The coming wars, especially the Gog-Magog war will engulf the whole world. Reading Ezekiel 38-39 gives us the actors that will come against Israel just before a regional war draws all people into a conflict that threatens to rage out of control and cause a3rd total World War. As we read God's Word, it gives a role to each of these four Old World players on the end time events, -Gog-Magog, the Kings of the East, the Kings of South, and the comingRevised Roman Empire headed by the Anti-Christ. But there is one glaring absence of one global powerhouse of influence that is not mentioned in this coming Middle East war that causes fears of the world bodies that it will spread world wide. That absent influencecurrently held by the lone superpower on earth, that fifth sphere mentioned found in the United States which the Bible's passage are completely silent on. There are possible reasons why she is not mentioned, at least by name and I believe this THE POSSIBLE DESTRUCTION OF THE USA--The USA is devastated byan EMP attack that sends her back into the dark ages, and 90% of her population dies. The Yellowstone cauldron has exploded and the nation is enveloped in a ash cloud that blocks out the sun, and she is unable to produce anything to feed herself and all plantlife dies. The outside chance that the USA is itself the Beast power is the one directing the invasion and supplying troops for that end. (and unlikely scenario) but possible as I haveexplored in the past. There is another possible reason for her inability to respond to the invasion of Israel is the “rapture of the church” that has decimated her economically with millions suddenlydisappearing and her inability to respond to an invasion that the atheist and Muslim world takes advantage of. This would cause the nations economy to virtually implode and eliminate her from being a world power because of the chaos that will ensue, and spreadsto the rest of the world. As we know America was the center of Judeo-Christian beliefs in the past, but has been declining in moral character since the 1960s and has become the leader in sins of the flesh that produces porn, destroys life in the womb, andgives special favors to the homosexual crowds in this country, but to name a few. MORAL DECAY OF THE USA AND THE WORLD--Whichever event comes topass remains to be seen. But as we view the political landscape within the lens of Bible prophecy, we as Christians must be anticipating the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the world landscape is shaping up for these two wars to be fought soon. Mankindin our modern age, has attempted to eliminate all aspects of God from public life. This all started in this country, in theory, when the Supreme Court outlawed prayer in our schools and saying Bible verses to memory, and our nation has been going down a slipperyslope since that time. Our children in a couple of generations have not been taught the principles of Godly living, from one generation who grew up without God in their lives, now they have passed it on to their kids, and those grown kids have passed alongtheir ungodly nature to their kids as we see our culture virtually imploding with violence in the streets, immigration gone wild bringing diseases and lawlessness into this country, and this violence spreading to our schools where it originated, and childrenbeing shot in massacres that we can only be in total shock how this could even happen in this country. THE GREAT RESET AND CONTROL OF OUR MONEY---Only lately, has JoeBiden, the mentally handicapped POTUS echoed the plan of Klaus Schwab, the leader of the WEF (World Economic Forum) to change our currency over to virtual money that can be tracked by a central bank of everyone on the planet. They want to govern what we buy,sell, or exchange and go by a credit score, much like communist China has done to her people. It will take away our freedoms, and as Henry Kissinger said years ago, "Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control wholecontinents; who controls money can control the world." That is where we are right now and is only getting stronger as days go by. And both men are pushing for the "great Reset" or fourth revolution of a One World Government. Can you envision the pre-cursorof the "Mark of the Beast? VIOLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS---Even lately, the sleepy towns in theMidwest have had threats of violence of “shooting up the school” by teens and pre-teens who have hit the news lately. In the recent past, this even happened at my old high school that I graduated from and my grandsons attend. The world truly has gone mad andnot even our kids are safe in what used to be a safe environment, our local schools. We are still a country, by a majority that believes in Judeo-Christian beliefs, but that is dwindling by the day as they are being ostracized and shouted down from publicdebate by those who hate anything to do with God. But Christianity has no nationality, as Jesus said that we are in the world, but not of it. That is for Christians who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, and it covers the whole world. Jesus said thosewho have put their trust in Him alone, are but strangers and pilgrims in this God-forsaken world. The apostle Peter and our Lord Jesus spoke of that very fact of our end times. 10 “Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify Godin the day of visitation.”(1st Peter 2:10-12) 12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-13) That would describe our world pretty well those who love mankind, and those who do not, with lawlessness abounding all across Europe, the Middle East, and now growing unabatedin the land I grew up in, we called, “the good ol' USA”...but it she still good? I have noticed a decline in our national character and it has been coming on for years, but has grown exponentially in the last 15 years or so, andhas gotten really bad. Backwhen this past “so called POTUS” was elected twice and was determined to “Change America” and he sure did and not for the better. NO TIME FOR FEAR This is a time for Christians in this nation to band together, to pray earnestly for this country, to band together and redouble our effect to inform the world just what istaking place. 7” For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus beforethe world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2ndTimothy 1:7-10) SIGNS OF THE RETURN OF JESUS ARE EVERYWHERE The Lord is preparing us for His return. The signs are all around us. Anyone who is diligently watching for the growing pains and the symptoms of our departure from this earth,need not debate the signs, as the debate is pointless over signs, season, and the times of the Lord's return, because we know it is close, right at the door. 50, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51, Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed' 52, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1st Corinthians15:50-52) We are the Church, those who believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and follow His footsteps, of where He walked, we walk likewise. We have promises that cannot be revokedfrom His Church, His bride who shall see Him, possibly soon. 19 “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arisein your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:19-21) FEAR GROWS IN THE WORLD--The Church of the Living God, those whoin the Word of God, know what is coming. There is not a debate. Everyone feels that something is on the horizon. The Christian believer knows it, those who are luke-warm sitting on a pew in a church, or not sitting at all, and even those who don't believein anything but themselves, feel that something big is about to happen. You can literally feel it in the air, or in the tensions that are being displayed all over this earth. We see the earth being in convulsions that have never been displayed like it hasthe last 20 years in every part of the globe. The prophesies that God told us would be the end of the Age of Grace is coming faster and faster, where many are left breathless. We are not fearful, but excited to be living in this time of history. We will seewith our own eyes the coming of our Lord Jesus and I look for Him every fall around the Feast of Trumpets, as that is the next marker on God's Plan for Mankind, the departure of His church before the tribulation falls on this world in God's wrath and fury. 25” And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:25-28) The heavens are screaming His soon return. We have seen eclipses, blood moons, total eclipses that passed over the whole center section of the USA, and alignment of starsand planets. We have heard of predictions of outer space asteroids, and Planet X supposedly coming close to this planet. This planet and our heavens are due to be shaken. Revelation tells us that every island will be moved out of its place and mountains willfall flat during the awful coming “Day of the Lord”. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been everthe like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shallescape them.” (Joel 2:1-3) 11 “Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and thestrength of the children of Israel.”(Joel 3:11-16) The above verses speak of the coming Tribulation on the wrath of God falling upon this earth. The Tribulation that the "bride of Christ" will not be a part of, because ofthe blood of Jesus that saved us from the coming wrath. THE PROPHET JOEL WARNED US--The prophet Joel describes in easy to understand language what is to come upon the earth, and people we are bumping right up the days he speaksof. Why do I say that? Because the political drama unfolding in the Middle East will lead to war, and that war will lead to the prophesied Ezekiel 38-39 Gog-Magog war. And my friend, my belief is that we won't see that war played out. We won't see the Arabnations led by Iran and Russia destroyed in an “Arab Holocaust” on the mountains of Israel, because soon after that, the Son of Perdition, the Anti-Christ will sign a 7 year treaty with Israel and the Tribulation starts in earnest, as this is what revealsthe Anti-Christ to the world. Wrath will begin almost immediately, as the world is engulfed in wars, and supernatural events. We are promised that the wrath of God will not be applied to His Church. 10 “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon theearth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Revelation 3:10-11) The church will be KEPT OUT of the Tribulation, not through it, as I have revealed in past messages, that the wording in Greek says we will be removed from one location toanother completely away from the time and space of the coming event, known as the Tribulation. Besides all these events that signal war coming to the Middle East and the fulfilling of prophecy of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39, the kicker is the prophecy that our Lord Jesusgave of who will see these events happen.. 32 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:32-36) As I have warned many times in the past, Israel is the fig tree that has bloomed in 1948, and Jesus said a generation who see this happen will be alive to see His return forHis Church and His Second Coming to reign and rule for a 1000 years. What is a generation? According to Psalms 90, a generation is 70 year, and 80 years by strength, then we fly away. Guess how many years Israel has been a nation that bloomed?This year it is 74 years....the outside of a generation is that of 80 years, but subtract the 7 year tribulation, and you can do simple math to know that we are on the cusp of the Lord's return..Not to make date predictions, but the day and hour we don't know,but we are definitely in the season of the end of that generation. So the political landscape as it heats up, gives us more reason to believe that Jesus is coming, right at the door. 9” For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (2nd Thesslonians 5:9-11) And again Paul emphasizes this fact...... “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:9) It is true, my reader, Jesus is coming soon....possibly even this year. I can't be for sure, as He has not told me directly, but His Word is screaming “I AM COMING”. The fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. That is why I am sharing this truth with you now. Don't be afraid of the future, as everybody you meet will beafraid. But I have the answer to where you don't have to be afraid either. It is found in two simple passages that I share at the end of every message. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”(John3:16-18) Then confess to others your new found belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior... 8 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:9-11) Believe that the tribulation is right around the corner in our world, and no one who hears to Word of Truth should have to endure what is coming that will destroy 80-90% ofall mankind in various forms of torture, death and destruction. Make that decision for Jesus Christ today, then share the Gospel of what Jesus did for you with those around you. We must be prepared and "be ready always to give an answerto every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"(1 Peter 3:15) ". . .for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." (Revelation 12:12) And friends, you don'twant to be here to see that happen. Accept my Jesus today, make Him your Hero in your life, as He will save you from this world and give you eternal life.

America, We Have a Problem

 America, We Have a Problem: Are We Entitled To Live In A Society That Honors God? – By Tim Moore - https://harbingersdaily.com/america-we-have-a-problem-are-we-entitled-to-live-in-a-society-that-honors-god/ In part one of this expose on America’s fall from grace, we looked at America’s founding on Judeo-Christians morals. Now we will identify the problems Christians must contendwith when living in an increasingly hostile world, and I’ll provide some vital strategies for survival. Exiles And Strangers in A Strange Land Peter referred to followers of Jesus Christ as living stones that are rejected by men (1 Peter 2:4). Although we are joined to the Choice Stone — our precious Cornerstone,in this world we live as “aliens and strangers” (2:11). This language was all too familiar to Peter’s Jewish listeners and readers. Jews identify with Abraham’s wandering as a sojourner in Canaan because as a people they awaitedrescue from bondage in Egypt. They lived as exiles in Babylon, longing for their deliverance from captivity. American Christians presume that we are entitled to live in a society that honors God and respects our faith — quite oblivious to the fact that thishas seldom been the experience of the saints of God. On a deeply introspective level, it is time to realize that, like generations of the elect who have gone before us, in this world we also have a problem. Jesus told us asmuch. He said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). More often than not, we will be persecuted, prosecuted, and put upon. This present darkness will give way to an even more horrific future; during the Tribulation, the Antichrist will seek todestroy all who worship the Lamb. Revelation 6:9-11 describes the outcry of all those martyred for maintaining their testimony of faith. So, brothers and sisters, let us understand that we are not immune from the hostility of the world. That hostility will grow and metastasize as the end draws near, leadingto greater ostracization for us as followers of Christ. That is not only our looming and growing problem, it is our great privilege and opportunity. Be Careful How You Walk Ephesians 5:14-16 KJV – “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, notas fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Seizing this realization is not a defeatist attitude. It is the necessary first step in steeling ourselves for our upward call in Christ in such a time as this. Instead ofclinging to a Pollyanna vision of ascendency in the world’s eyes, we can focus on honoring and serving our heavenly Father — even as we advocate for godliness and Christ-honoring policies and laws and institutions. We are called to be a restraining force onevil and beacons of hope until we are collectively Raptured out of the world. We need to regain the bold confidence of the Apostles and early Christians who saw themselves as privileged to suffer on behalf of Christ. Paul encouraged the Philippian churchto “conduct [themselves] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” in the face of great opposition (Philippians 1:27-28). He said, “for to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (1:29). Likewise,Peter and the other Apostles, after being flogged for teaching in Jesus’ name, went on their way “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). Consider Your Ways Speaking of considering, in this twilight hour it is critical that we apply the admonition given to the Jewish people through the prophet Haggai. Twice, the LORD told Hispeople to, “Consider your ways!” The NASB notes that in both instances, the original text emphasizes that people should “set their heart upon” considering their ways. Other translations render this as, “Think carefully about your ways” (i.e., the CSB). TheLord is clearly stressing the importance of His people stepping back from their routine to consider how they should proceed. In that spirit, we need only weigh Jesus’ words regarding faith and love. He rhetorically asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).He also warned that as apostasy and persecution increase, “many will fall away,” and “because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold” (Matthew 24:9-12). I used to think those verses applied to the unbelieving world, but I now consider them warnings to Christians. Christ’s concern was for His sheep. The danger of our love growingcold in the face of rising anarchy touches on the criticism He leveled at Ephesus — the first church in Revelation 2-3. The key to avoiding those pitfalls is to cling to the third leg of Paul’s three-legged stool: faith, hope, and love. Peter tells us that the result of active faith is love (2 Peter 1:5-7), while Hebrews 11:1 characterizes faith as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about whatwe do not see.” We do not yet see Christ face-to-face; do you hope for Him with such assurance that your heart resonates with anticipation of His coming? An Admonition to Individuals It is not enough to just reclaim our society. If you do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord your own eternal destiny is horrific beyond words. Like our society itself, you needto: 1. Realizeyou have a spiritual problem 2. Cometo the end of yourself and confess your great need (in the spirit of Revelation 3:17) 3. Turnto God, and embrace Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord Time is of the essence. Jesus is at the gates of Heaven, ready for His Father to send Him forth to collect His Bride, the Church. It can happen any day! However, you are not guaranteed another day — or even another hour. Call upon the Name of the Lord right now and you will be saved. Join all of us who have believed in theLord Jesus Christ and love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. Then, together we can proclaim the Good News that He has come, He has paid the penalty for sin, and He is coming again soon! Return To Your First Love So, we end up where we began — with Jesus’ admonition to the church at Ephesus. He lauded their toil and perseverance. He praised the church’s unwillingness to succumb totoleration in order to please the hell-bound world. He commended their discernment and perseverance. But His rebuke poses a challenge to each of us as the days grow longer and darker: will we stay true to our first Love — to Christ our Savior and Lord? America is manifesting all the heartbreaking Signs of Society that prophetically mark the approaching Day of the Lord. Like Judah of old, our wound appears to be incurableas our nation shuns the God Who blessed us. The signs of our own society offer a cautionary note to those of us who aspire to follow Christ. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute — choose whether to stay true andfollow Him. The Glory of the Lord is indeed coming, following an unleashing of His terrible swift sword of judgment and wrath. Are you ready?

Digging Into Details of Daniel’s 70th Week

 Digging Into Details of Daniel’s 70th Week - By Gene Lawley - https://www.raptureready.com/2023/04/26/digging-into-details-of-daniels-70th-week-by-gene-lawley/ When is or was Daniel’s 70th week, and what is it all about? In Daniel 9:24-26, he reports the message from the angel Gabriel, saying, “Seventy weeks are determined for yourpeople and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-twoweeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The endof it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.” In this prophecy, the angel foretells to Daniel (and anyone who desires to know the past and future as we stand in time today) what the future is for the Jewish people. The first seven weeks of years are the times of Ezra and Nehemiah when they were writing of the restoration of the temple and the walls of the city. Then, sixty-two weeksuntil the time of the coming of Jesus Christ for a total of sixty-nine weeks of years. No specific 70th week is mentioned after that point. The next event after the Messiah is cut off at the 69th week is His resurrection and forty days of instructions to His disciples with directions to go into all the world andtell of His death, burial, and resurrection, and that belief in Him would result in their everlasting life. That commission has been ongoing and intentional until His return in the future. It was not for the Jews as a body of participants, however, for God had other intentions forthem. The 70 A.D. destruction of Jerusalem and its temple had fulfilled God’s promise to scatter the Jews into all the world as punishment for disobedience to Him. We see, then, that destruction of the city and its temple when Rome conquered Israel and fulfilled God’s pronouncement that He would scatter the Jews into every nation ofthe world. It took 65 years to see the total abandonment of Jerusalem by Jewish people, then 1,800 years of desolation came over the land of Israel. It was God’s way of preserving the land for the later habitation of His people. His promise to restore the land to Israel began as nomadic Jews drifted into that desolate place. Annual rainfall, having been absent in any quantity during those years, beganto increase, as did the Jewish population. Then many more years passed. So where is that 70th week the angel proclaimed to Daniel? After Messiah’s resurrection to heaven, He will return for His body of believers. It is a gigantic event at the end of the Christian church age, as Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Then we will be with Him.) This “ingathering” is told in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 in detail, and in 5:2 as: “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” When that “ingathering of believers in Christ” called the Rapture happens, John describes their appearance before the Lord Jesus Christ on His throne and receiving the representativetwenty-four “elders” who have golden crowns issued to them. This is recorded in Revelation 4, and further information on them is in John 14:2-4 and other chapters in Revelation. That Rapture event clears the way for God’s full attention to the 70th week we are learning about. This Rapture is the “snatching away” of those who have been saved by believingin that One who was “cut off, but not for Himself,” mentioned earlier in Daniel 9. The Apostle Paul writes of it in his two epistles to the Thessalonians, as he says in 2 Thessalonians 2:1, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ andour gathering together to Him ….” In the turmoil when millions of believers in Christ have suddenly disappeared, a cry will go out for someone who can take control and lead the world out of its dilemma. Thenthat one of Roman heritage will come forth and be accepted. (Could it be that one who “has been primed to lead us into a New World Order?) With that authority, he will “confirm a covenant with many” nations that gives the Jewish people seven years of peacewith their long-term enemies, the Arab/Muslim world. It will be the Jewish people who will exclaim “Peace and safety,” as is told in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Then the one who is the Antichrist will take control of a world of turmoil. Daniel 9:27 tells of this one who comes from the heritage of the Romans and shows up in propheciesof the future: “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shallbe one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined is poured out on the desolate.” The Jews will think of him as their friend and their Messiah, for he has no nail holes in his hands and feet, and he allows them to rebuild their temple. For three and one-halfyears, he will be forming his takeover as that seventh head of the Beast that the Apostle John describes in Revelation 13 and its fulfillment in Revelation 17. But verse 3 continues with “then sudden destruction shall come upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and none shall escape.” Is this illustration particularly meaningful here? Look at it like this: The birthing process begins, first, as the woman’s “water breaks” and the labor begins. The Jewishpeople begin a powerful struggle for survival, with “labor pains” that will end with a totally new-born nation rightly related to their Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord. This is that 70th week. As the angel Gabriel described this 70th week to Daniel, he said it was “to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bringin everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” As the seven years of tribulation come to its halfway point, the Antichrist declares he is God and demands that all worship him as God. The Jews realize he is not their Messiah,and as Zechariah 12:10 tells us, “They look upon Him whom they have pierced and mourn as one mourns for his first-born son…” They will celebrate this new revelation at the Feast of Atonement after the Antichrist reveals his true identity at the mid-point ofthe 70th week. Then comes that half of the period called the Great Tribulation because it brings in all of the vicious actions of the Antichrist as he sets up the Mark of the Beast, killingall who do not take the mark. The preview in chapter 6 tells of this increased judgment as Jesus opens that sixth seal. The Antichrist and his false prophet are coming into their ultimate goal, the solitary 8th head of the Beast, as foretold in Revelation 17. All opposition has been conquered… except God. The Second Coming of Jesus wraps up the end of that 70th week at the Feast of Tabernacles of that time. And the Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire to burn forever and ever. As Jesus takes authority over the world from the “throne of David” in Jerusalem for the Millennium, then the angel’s message comes forward, and there is “an end to transgressions,to sins and inequities, and everlasting righteousness is brought in to finish the missing “70th week of Daniel.”

Israel’s 75th Birthday Is God’s Doing: Part 2

Israel’s 75th Birthday Is God’s Doing: Part 2 - By Gene Lawley - https://www.raptureready.com/2023/04/15/israels-75th-birthday-is-gods-doing-part-2-by-gene-lawley/ In this second part, we will fill in that gap between the promises at the end of Ezekiel 37 and verses 24-28, showing the long journey in time to the fulfillment of thosepromises to the extent they have been made sure so far. Ezekiel prophesied for about 22 years, between 593 to 571 B.C. He was making those prophecies about 565 years or so before Christ was born. (Historical calculations indicatethat Jesus was born about the year 6 B.C.) It was when Babylon took them captive and they were a long time in bondage to them, going from Babylon to Roman control. Ezekiel speaks in the past tense, but he is writing these things prior to their happening. It was in 70 A.D. that the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple, “not leaving one stone upon another,” as Jesus said in Matthew 24:1-2. It took the Romans 65 years to empty the city of the Jewish people. Then, the land lay in desolation for 1,800 years until about 1870, when nomadic Jews began to drift backinto the area. Thus, God saved the land for Israel’s restoration, which was finally legalized on May 14, 1948. The destruction in 70 A.D., however, was not the beginning of the Millennium, as some are currently claiming. Hardly any mention of that destruction is in the Scriptures,and no possibility is there that the “abomination of desolation” Daniel spoke of happened. No Roman soldier, or anyone else, stood in the temple as it was being torn down, declaring himself to be God and demanding everyone’s worship, as the claim is made. It wasthe fulfillment of God’s promise to scatter the Jewish people into all the nations of the world. And it did just that. From 70 A.D. to 1870 A.D., about 1,800 years, the land was empty of any permanent habitation. The Turks, when the land was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, tried tohomestead it for 300 years, then gave up and went home. Why? Very little annual rainfall. When Mark Twain visited that area in 1853, he wrote that it was “the most desolate place on earth.” So God was saving that land for the return of the Jews, as He had promisedcenturies earlier. Nomadic Jews began to drift back into the land in about 1870, and surprisingly—yes—the annual rainfall began to increase! During the First World War, when fighting was goingon in the Middle East, Jews gave the British valuable assistance, and they, in turn, responded with the Balfour Declaration that set aside the land of Palestine as the homeland of the Jews. It had come under British control, away from the Ottoman Empire duringthe war. From God’s viewpoint, as we can see now, there was to be a new nation with its own sovereignty among nations of the world in a future time. But how was He to get His chosenpeople out of the nations of the world where they had deeply embedded themselves over those centuries of being outcasts from their homeland? It is hard to fathom such an undertaking with its awful results, but the Holocaust of the Nazi regime came to pass. It was not a new experience of the Israelites, for everytime God wanted them to move in a new direction, drastic things had to happen in order that those people would be willing to follow the Lord. Getting them to want to come out of those nations and cultures they had become embedded in was to prove to be a difficult task, even with the view of being returned to theirancient homeland. And many still have not returned there. In this case, God knew that Israel was to get her own nation reinstalled with full legality in just a few years. Remember the situation when God was ready for them to leaveEgypt, as reported in the Book of Exodus. God uniquely raised up a man named Moses to lead them, but they were not ready to follow his leadership. So, it took forty more years for Moses and the people as well to be willing to leave Egypt after their 400 years there. A hard Pharoah came into power and imposed hard laborupon them, and they became willing then. But as Exodus reads, they often wanted to turn back to Egypt as hardships on the journey happened. The background of the coming to fruition of May 14, 1948, has some interesting intrigue. One of my early mentors as a new Christian was a man from Missouri who related tome this story: President Harry Truman, as a resident of Missouri, was a neighbor to a Jewish family as he grew up. He had learned of the Jewish situation, and when the United Nations Security Council met that day in May 1948, and Russia did not attend, Truman, as US president, broughtthe issue before the council to be ratified. And a new nation was born in a day. There is not any mention of Israel’s struggles in Ezekiel’s prophecies of these 75 years to hold onto their national sovereignty. Constant threats of being wiped off the faceof the earth are ongoing, like the 1967 war when they took hold of Jerusalem once again. Ezekiel goes right to chapters 38-39 that reveal the coming Gog-Magog war when Russia of the far north joins with Iran (called Persia until 1935), Turkey, and others and willsee that Israel is defenseless, “like a city without walls” and available for plundering. After that, Ezekiel begins a 10-chapter account of the new temple and its mysteries. The Gog-Magog war appears to come into reality just after the Rapture of the church, thusopening the seven years of tribulation reported in Revelation 6-19. Where does the Gog-Magog war fit into the end times timeline, you are asking? In Paul’s prophetic account in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, he writes, “But as to the times and seasons,I have no need to write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shallnot escape.” Who will be saying, “Peace and safety” but Israel, which has been without peace now for 75 years? And after the Rapture—which happens like a thief at night—and the Antichristconfirms that covenant of peace for Israel, they will think he is their friend. Of great interest is the report that tells of who will be among those who will see these things come to pass. In Luke 21, Jesus tells a parable of the blossoming of the figtree, that when it begins to bud new leaves, summer is near. The fig tree represents Israel, and its blossoming represents the return of Israel to its land and its national sovereignty. (At this point, an interesting coincidence, or is it, that the original King James Version, which came before most current paraphrases and translations, uses these words inthe foretelling of the Rapture, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and other passages, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the trump of the Lord shall sound….” Then, in these last days, a man named Trump appears on the scene and upsets the whole world, which is following America’s “falling away” from faith, lawfulness, and justicefor all. Is this really just a coincidence, or…? This man is not deity, but then, neither was Samson and others of their time. It would take a man like Trump, who sees them on their level of deeply embedded opposition to truth and could shake them loose—perhapssome to God’s redemption and many others to His judgment. It appears unlikely that any other Republican nominee will be able to threaten the leftist Democrats to any extent in the coming election. Leftists fear and hate Trump too much.) Jesus said the generation that sees these things happening will not pass away until it is all finished (Mark 13:30). Of course, the Rapture will remove all believers of thisgeneration at its occurrence. Why, then, doesn’t Jesus address it as “that generation” if it was future when He was informing the disciples? It is because Jesus saw all prophecy in the present tense, fortime was not a factor in His foreknowledge capacity. Remember His revelation of Himself in John 8:58: “Before Abraham was, I AM!” Now we who were alive before May 14, 1948, are that generation. For 75 years, we have been following the Luke 21:28 directive, “When these things begin to happen, look up,for your redemption is drawing near.” There is a decreasing number who are now age 75 and older, but this generation continues until there are none remaining who lived before “the fig tree blossomed.” The timeis short, either in translation “in the twinkling of an eye,” or resurrection and meeting Him in the air for believers who have died! In Psalm 90:10, it is written, “The days of our lives are seventy years, and if by reason of strength they are eighty years. Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, forit is soon cut off, and we fly away.” It brings to mind the gospel song titled “I’ll Fly Away.” Another favorite gospel song for many of us in this generation is “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder.” Putting two together, it goes like this: “When the trumpet of the Lordshall sound, and time shall be no more,” then “I’ll Fly Away!” “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20b).

Jesus Christ’s resurrection: The best documented event of ancient history

 Jesus Christ’s resurrection: The best documented event of ancient history - By Scott S. Powell - https://www.christianpost.com/voices/jesus-resurrection-the-best-documented-event-of-ancient-history.html While Christmas — the birth date of the Messiah, Jesus Christ — marks the watershed of splitting calendar history into two epochs, B.C. and A.D., Easter marks the day andcommemorates actual events, however miraculous, that followed the crucifixion and death of Christ that transformed the world forever. But how and why would that torturous event and extreme sorrow associated with the death of the Messiah affect eternity in a positive way? Why should Easter be a joyful time?The answer is neither elusive nor complicated. There are many religions of the world going back thousands of years. But only one of them, Christianity, has a founder who professed to be the Messiah — the son of God — whoprovided irrefutable proof of who He was by conquering death through resurrection. Easter is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Christ is absolutely unique in being the only person in history who was pre-announced starting a thousand years before He was born, with over 100 prophetic accounts from 18different prophets from the Old Testament between the 10th and the fourth centuries BC — predicting the specifics of His coming birth, life and death. Hundreds of years later, the details of Christ’s birth, life, betrayal, and death validated those propheciesin surprisingly accurate and minute detail. One thousand years BC, David prophetically wrote about the crucifixion of Christ at a time crucifixion was unknown as a means of execution. Every other consequential person of history came into the world to live. The death of other religious leaders — such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Mohammad, and Confucius — broughtan anticlimactic end to their lives and their work. But Christ came into the world as God’s son in order to die and pay the price for man’s sin. His sacrifice was the ultimate climax of his life, done for the benefit of allmankind — opening the way to eternal life in Heaven for all who believe. Of the five major world religions built on personalities, only Christianity claims its founder is still alive, having overcome death through resurrection. No Jew ever believedthat, after Abraham died and was interred, his tomb ever became empty. After Buddha died, no disciple claimed that he or she saw or spoke to him again. As for Mohammed, the founder of Islam, there is no trace of his appearing to his disciples or followers after he died. His occupied tomb is located in Medina and is visitedby tens of thousands of devout Muslims every year. Christ was unique in giving up his life as a sacrifice to fulfill why he came into the world. Christ showed the highest standard of love possible, through compassion for outcastsand healing the afflicted, by his teachings, and ultimately in making the ultimate sacrifice—giving his life to rescue and save mankind. Then, to provide “seeing is believing” evidence, God brought Jesus back from being dead in a tomb to being alive — resurrected — so people would have living proof of who He was. The New Testament provides accounts from multiple sources who witnessed Jesus firsthand after the resurrection. In fact, Jesus made at least 10 separate appearances to hisdisciples between the resurrection and his ascension into Heaven, over a period of 40 days. Some of those appearances were to individual disciples, some were to several disciples, and once to some 500 at one time. Particularly noteworthy is that there were no accounts of witnesses who came forth and disputed these appearances or called it a “hoax.” Not a single one. Nor do we find anyhistorical record of any witness accounts that were contradictory. While there are skeptics of the biblical Jesus, there’s actually far more reliable historical evidence for His life, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection than forany other historical figure of ancient times. Consider, for instance, that the authenticity of Alexander the Great, who was born some 350 years before Christ, is based on two original biographical accounts of his life by Arrian and Plutarch, which were writtensome 400 years after Alexander died. The manuscripts of Virgil and Horace, both of whom lived within a generation of Christ, were written more than four centuries after their deaths. The copy of works by Livyand Tacitus on Roman history and the works of Pliny Secundus on natural history were written more than 500 years after the time of the original account. Yet no one doubts Virgil and Horace lived and authored great poetic masterpieces. Nor do we hear questions about the authenticity and accuracy of accounts of Livy and Tacitusin chronicling the events of the Roman Emperors Augustus, Claudius, Nero, or Tiberius. We know the historical Jesus through four different accounts known as the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — not written hundreds of years later, but within a generationor two of Jesus’s life. Apostles Matthew and John provide eyewitness accounts from their years of walking with Jesus as disciples. Mark also had eyewitness experience, although he was only a teenager when Jesus began his public ministry. Luke, the doctor,learned about Jesus from his friend Paul, the apostle who wrote the most letters in the New Testament. About 1,000 times more manuscripts preserve the deeds and teaching of Jesus in the New Testament (about 25,000 total) than there are preserving other classical ancient worksof historic figures who lived at approximately the same time, with the exception of Homer, whose Iliad is backed by 1,800 manuscripts. But that is still less than one-tenth the number of ancient manuscripts that back the authenticity of the New Testament. Because of their experience with the resurrected Jesus, the apostles were in a unique position, knowing with certainty that Jesus was truly the Son of God. They had been presentfor the life, ministry, miracles, and death of Jesus. If the claims about Jesus were a lie, the apostles would have known it. That’s why their commitment to their testimony was so powerful and compelling. Additionally, the apostles’ willingness to die for their claims has tremendous evidential value, also confirming the truth of the resurrection. No one will die for somethinghe invented or believes to be false. Seeing, talking to, and touching the risen Jesus transformed the apostles, who then committed the rest of their lives to educate and advocate for the truth about the messageof salvation through Christ. Eleven of the 12 apostles — including Matthias who replaced Judas, the betrayer of Jesus — died as martyrs for their beliefs in the divinity of Christ. The 12th, John, was exiled to Patmos Island, where he recorded the book ofRevelation. It turns out that Easter, which has its ultimate meaning in the resurrection, is one of ancient history’s most carefully scrutinized and best-attested events. The resurrectionis real and changes everything. Easter is the commemoration and celebration of the single event that transformed the world forever.

This Is Reality, Not a Conspiracy Theory

 This Is Reality, Not a Conspiracy Theory - By Daymond Duck - https://www.raptureready.com/2023/04/22/this-is-reality-not-a-conspiracy-theory-by-daymond-duck/ Concerning world government: on Apr. 13, 2023, The Gateway Pundit posted an article by Joe Hoft, author, and contributor to their website, concerning a Steve Bannon interviewof Michele Bachmann on The War Room. Hoft reported that Michele Bachmann (attorney, Dean of Robertson School of Government at Regent Univ., first Republican woman to be elected to the U.S.House of Representatives from Minnesota) said: •In July 2022, Pres. Biden was pushing an amendment to an agreement (on international health regulations; IHRs) with the UN World Health Organization (WHO) that would “preventAmericans from doing anything that the World government didn’t want to be done and would, in essence, take away all rights of Americans in an emergency like COVID,” but “a couple of small African countries stopped it.” •“We have had a one-year reprieve, thank God. •“We’re exactly where we were one year ago.” •“The Biden Administration is trying to push all 194 nations to give up their sovereignty on health care (at the upcoming WHO Assembly meeting on May 21-30, 2023), which isreally just give up your sovereignty to the World Health Organization…” According to Bannon, China owns the WHO, and America’s Bill of Rights means nothing to these people. Here is a link to the Hoft article: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/the-biden-administration-is-trying-to-push-all-194-nations-to-give-up-their-sovereignty-to-the-who-dean-michele-bachmann-with-steve-bannon/ Leo Hohmann (author and independent journalist) wrote an article about this for a ministry called Absolute Truth from the Word of God. As I understand it, Hohmann said: •The Biden regime is pushing amendments to the IHRs that will give the WHO the power to dictate U.S. policy whenever there is a declared public health emergency of regionalor international concern. •By declaring a public health emergency, the WHO will be allowed to force every nation to require their people to wear a mask, obey lockdowns, and be vaccinated. •The agreement will prevent Americans from doing anything that the United Nations world government apparatus doesn’t want to be done. •In essence, the agreement will take away all rights (freedom of speech, religion, etc.) of Americans in an emergency like COVID. •The Biden administration is trying to avoid a vote in the U.S. Senate by calling the agreement an “accord” instead of a “treaty.” •The agreement means the death of the American republic as we know it. •According to Hohmann, Bachmann said, everyone on earth will be given a digital identity with a QR code that will be linked to their electronic medical records, and ultimatelyto a digital currency that will be controlled by the UN through the WHO. •Hohmann added that Bachmann said, “Once you give up freedom, you don’t get it back.” As far as I am concerned, what Hoft, Bachmann, and Hohmann said is reality, not a conspiracy theory. (Important:Be aware that if world leaders approve the amendments to the IHRs, and they probably will, the nations will be granted a short period of time to acquire the people and equipment to put them into effect.) Here is a link to the Hohmann article: https://grandmageri422.me/2023/04/13/u-s-government-leading-all-nations-into-global-beast-system-that-would-require-compliance-with-digital-health-tyranny-enforced-by-u-n-world-health-organization/ Here is more evidence that the prophesied world government is near. One, concerning the decline of America and a possible digitalglobal currency: on Apr. 12, 2023, it was reported that the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and So. Africa) have agreed to create a new common currency, and they have scheduled a meeting in Aug. 2023 to discuss the issue. First, they will start trading with each other in their own currencies. Second, they will create a new common currency (the yuan or perhaps a digital currency) and start trading in that. Third, after their new common currency is established, they will seek to get other nations to use it. The goal is to improve trade among themselves and to weaken the U.S. Two, concerning natural disasters increasing in frequency andintensity at the end of the age: Fort Lauderdale, FL, has been averaging 3.52 inches of rain in the month of April. On Apr. 12, 2023, the city received 20 inches of rain in 12 hours. It was characterized as an extreme, historic, record-breaking, life-threatening event. Three, concerning corruption in the White House: on Apr. 13, 2013,it was reported that China has given records to U.S. Senate Republicans that are investigating the Bidens. According to the report, Sen. Ron Johnson said the records show that Chinese banks gave millions of dollars to Hunter Biden. For years, the Democrats claimed that Pres. Trump had ties with the Russians, and their claims have been proven to be false. Now, U.S. Senate has solid evidence that the Biden family had ties with communist China, the information confirms the information on Hunter’s laptop and from other sources,but the Democrats don’t seem concerned about it. Four, concerning the signs of the end of the age: on Apr. 10,2023, one of America’s greatest prophecy teachers, Jan Markell, posted an article titled “The Set-Up: Ten Indicators the Hour is Late.” Jan’s incredible list should convince anyone that knows very much about Bible Prophecy that the Tribulation Period is looming. Jan’s Ten Indicators are bolded below (and my response is in parenthesis). •The world lacks a leader. (Several world leaders are now calling for a new form of leadership.) •The rise to prominence of a globalist outfit—the World Economic Forum (WEF)—that is paving the way for a one-world government. (Under the influence of the WEF, a group ofwealthy unelected leaders has bought or seized control of several governments.) •The Bible prophesies a coming cashless society. (The cashless society is developing now, and it only needs to be global by the middle of the Tribulation Period.) •The last three years, the frightened masses chose to trust in government due to fear of a health crisis and pandemic. (Beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic, deceit is reigningall over the world.) •We now have artificial intelligence that is as intuitive and as intelligent as humans. (It is now possible for the False Prophet to build a statue of the Antichrist thattalks.) •There is civil unrest and lawlessness in two-dozen nations. (Jesus said there will be distress of nations with perplexity at the end of the age.) •Wars and rumors of wars are stirring. (Wars and rumors of wars make the news every day.) •The days of Noah haunt us. (In the days of Noah, there was corruption of all flesh, and the earth was filled with corruption and violence.) •There is a stunning rise in darkness, as predicted in II Timothy 3:13. (Today, there is a drastic decline in adherence to Biblical truth.) •There is Temple fever among the religious in Israel. (Today, there is a growing desire for the orthodox Jews to rebuild the Temple.) Before leaving Jan’s list of indicators, Jan noted that five perfect red heifers were shipped from Texas to Israel in the fall of 2022, and she reported that four of themremain perfect enough to be sacrificed. Five, concerning persecution increasing at the end of the age:on Apr. 13, 2023, LifeSiteNews posted an article by Jean Mondoro that said a Family Research Council (FRC) study shows that violent attacks against U.S. churches are increasing. According to the FRC, in the last five years, there were 420 documented acts of hostility (vandalism, arson, gun incidents, hate crimes, etc.) at 397 churches in 45 differentstates and Washington, D.C., and these incidents are on the rise. Jesus and other writers of Scripture reveal that the hostile acts will continue to increase, and people who become believers during the Tribulation Period will pay with theirlife. But they will be raised from the dead at the Second Coming and reign with Jesus during the Millennium. Six, concerning the Tribulation Period: Jesus said, “And exceptthose days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22). I have long believed that this prophecy could be fulfilled using nuclear or biological weapons. It now seems that there is another threat. On Apr. 17-18, 2023, Elon Musk warned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has “the potential of civilization destruction.” Seven, concerning world government: it has been my opinion forseveral years that the final Gentile world kingdom (Dan. 2) will have one central government with one powerful leader called the Antichrist. But before the Antichrist rises to power, the world will be divided into ten regions or ten toes or ten groups of nations. There will be a leader over each group for a total of ten leaders that are called the ten horns or ten kings in the Bible (Dan. 7:24; Rev. 17:12). It has been my understanding that the globalists have a three-step plan: •Divide the world into ten regional trading blocks of nations (a financial or economic New World Order). •Change the rules to convert the ten regional trading blocks of nations into ten regional political blocks of nations (a political New World Order). •Merge the ten regional political blocks of nations into a one-world government. The three nations on the North American Continent (the U.S., Mexico, and Canada) would be merged into one region patterned after the EU. This region has been called the North American Union (NAU), and the USMCA (the U.S., Mexico, and Canada). There are many things that I don’t have space to go into (a NAU flag, currency, etc.), but I want to briefly mention something that happened on Apr. 14, 2023. On that day, according to the New American, “the first freight railway linking the United States, Mexico, and Canada – essentially a USMCA Super Railway” came into being, “making it a key supply chain within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).” In 2001, Keith Creel (the CEO that now heads up the railroad) said, “This de facto USMCA Super Railway is a major step in the globalist’s plan for a North American Union,as it further integrates a major component of the economies of all three countries along regional lines. Such regional lines result in the erosion of national sovereignty and the individual economic identity of all three countries.” Merging the three North American nations into a regional trading block (a single economic unity) is a necessary step toward the arrival of one of the Ten Kings. Here is a link to the article. https://thenewamerican.com/from-vancouver-to-veracruz-final-spike-driven-for-usmca-super-railway/?mc_cid=eabaf85278&mc_eid=551904ee4c Eight, concerning world government: it will be headed up by aSatan worshipper called the Antichrist (Rev. 13:4-8). In a Mar. 30, 2023, article by Jon Watkins, he quoted Michael Snyder: “Today, Satan has become one of the hottest spiritual figures in America, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.” “The following comes from a Newsweek article entitled …The Devil is front and center in movies, TV shows, podcasts, and even children’s books. There are Satan After SchoolClubs, while the proliferating Satanist groups have their own political divisions.” “On top of everything else, a major convention is coming up. It is being billed as the ‘largest Satanic gathering in history,’ and it is being held in Boston at the end ofApril.” Here is a link to the article: https://www.exposingsatanism.org/the-enemy-of-humanity-is-more-popular-than-ever/ Finally, are you Rapture Ready? If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believethat Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.