A recent poll claimed that about half of all professing Christians don’t believe that Jesus is God, or that the Holy Spirit and Satan even exist. Smaller but still significant percentages don’t believe that Jesus lived a sin free life or that He is the only way to salvation. This has prompted questions about whether this means they aren’t really saved. I remembered an article on this subject that I wrote a number of years ago and in response to these questions I have updated and expanded it. I believe it will explain what you have to believe about Jesus to be saved. Let’s read it.
The Other Six
Ever suspect while talking with someone that you may have a mutual friend? Then as you get further into the conversation you realize that you are describing two different people who happen to have the same name? So it is with discussions of Jesus. The name’s the same but the descriptions vary widely. Over the years I’ve collected numerous descriptions of men named Jesus. Which one do you know?
First there’s the Jesus of Judaism. He’s known in Jewish writings as the illegitimate son of Miriam (Mary). He lived in the first century CE (they don’t use AD) and led people away from main stream Judaism into a cult. His followers were first called Netzerim (people of the branch) and later Christians. In his name Jews have been persecuted unmercifully over the centuries. Jews who admit to believing He was their Messiah are often considered dead to their families. Jews don’t believe in a second coming because they don’t believe there’s been a first one.
Then you have the Jesus of Islam. He was a prophet and teacher on a par with Mohammed. His role was to help prepare people for the great leader from Allah coming at the end of time to judge the world. He was born of a virgin but was not the son of God because the Quran says “God begets not, nor is he begotten.” He didn’t die for the sins of the people because in Islam salvation comes from good works. Neither was he resurrected. Instead, in a time of confusion God took him live into heaven and someone else was crucified. He will return at the end of the age to defeat the anti-Christ, call everyone to Islam, and prepare the world for judgment.
The Jesus of Mormonism is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Both are sons of a god who was once a man and one of his many wives. This Jesus became a human as the result of a sexual union between the Mormon god and an unmarried Jewish girl named Mary. He’s often called the Savior but never Lord, because although he’s one of god’s sons, he’s not god. If he determines that you’ve done everything you possibly can to earn your own salvation and are still short, he’ll graciously make up the difference. He’ll return at the End of the Age, having protected his saints through the time of Great Tribulation, to set up his kingdom.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a Jesus too. He’s a son of Jehovah, but He’s not God. Rather, he was a perfect man just like Adam originally was. Before he became a man he was the Archangel Michael, who The Witnesses believe to be Jehovah’s first created being. Just believing in Jesus is not enough to save us. we also have to become a Jehovah’s Witness, be baptized, and obey God’s laws all of our life to prove ourselves worthy. Their Jesus wasn’t physically resurrected, but came back to life in Spirit form. He returned to Earth in Spirit form in 1914 and will become a physical being again at Armageddon.
Then there’s the Jesus of the liberal denominations. He’s a first century man who lived an exemplary life of such gentleness and grace that it was almost as if he was God. He’ll see that everyone who joins their denominations gets accepted into heaven whether they’re born again or not. Some proponents of liberal theology claim that he’ll also see that everyone who was sincere in whatever other religion they practiced will get to heaven too. For the most part, liberal denominations don’t believe in the literal fulfillment of End Time events. For many, the 2nd Coming happened to each person when they first believed in Jesus.
The New Age Jesus is really one of the oldest. He originally appeared in first century Gnosticism. This Jesus was a man who like 40 other “ascended masters” holds the key to knowledge (gnosis) that when learned will bring about the next phase of human evolution, a spiritual growth that will finally make peace on earth possible. He didn’t die for our sins because there’s no need for us to be saved.
You’ll find variations on these six themes in nearly every major religion and cult around today. It seems every body wants you to think they know a man named Jesus, even if they have to redefine him to suit their beliefs.
The Real Jesus
But there is one more man named Jesus. He is not a created being. On the contrary He is our Creator. As Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16, By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He’s not an angel and he’s not a mere man, because He created both. The archangel Michael might be the first created being, but if he is, Jesus is the one who created him. And Lucifer may have many brothers, but if he does, Jesus created them all.
This is the Jesus of the Bible. He claimed to be God in the form of man (John 10:30 and 14:9). Men who knew Him agreed. Paul taught the Deity of Jesus in Colossians 1:15-16. So did John (John 1:1-3). The writer of the Book of Hebrews also agreed (Hebr 1:3) and included a quote from Psalm 45:6-7 that shows God Himself addressing Jesus as God (Hebr 1:8). And this is not just a New Testament idea. In his prophecy of the Messiah’s birthplace, Micah said He was an eternal being whose goings forth were from days of eternity. Literally from before time and perpetual. (Micah 5:2) He is the eternal God.
Here’s where your knowledge of Scripture becomes really important, because in order to be all the Bible claims, Jesus has to be both 100% man and 100% God. If He isn’t a man He couldn’t have been made like us in every way and suffered our temptations as Hebr. 2:17-18 claim; he couldn’t be our High Priest as Hebr. 4:14-15 assert; and he can’t be our redeemer because he wouldn’t be our next of kin as required by Lev. 25:47-48 and explained in Rom 5:18-19. If He isn’t God He couldn’t be King David’s Lord (Matt 22:41-45) He couldn’t be sinless (Rom 3:20) and He couldn’t be our Savior (Mark 2:6-12 and 1 Ptr 1: 18-21).
Is This a Cult?
Three things distinguish Christian cult beliefs from orthodox theology. The cults deny the doctrine of salvation by grace alone. You have to earn at least part of the salvation they offer. They also deny the notion of eternal punishment for sin. Everyone goes to some kind of Heaven. And most importantly, they deny the deity of Jesus. They portray Him as a great man and role model; a great teacher, a prophet, even a social revolutionary, but certainly not God.
In truth Jesus was all of that. But He was also much more. He was God in the form of man; the Father dwelling in the Son (Col 1:19). To think of Jesus as anyone other than God is to reject the truth concerning Him revealed through out His Word, and to put yourself at risk of trusting in the wrong Jesus for your eternal destiny. The Jesus of the Bible is the only one of the seven men named Jesus who is able to save you.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Countdown to Jerusalem
Anti-Semitism rages, but God -- their Husband -- is watching. Isaiah was careful to remind Israel that their God was more than empty religion; He was their Husband and Benefactor. “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:5-8).
This earth and all of its inhabitants are set to see the great hand of God to the people of Israel. Nothing drives the devil to insanity like someone defending and pleading for the Hand of God to move towards the Jewish people. Let them rage and let Satan move his people with dark anger. We must stand tall and pray for the redemption and peace of Jerusalem. This Golden City is still in unbelief and outside the grace of Her Messiah but not for long.
Listen carefully to what the Holy Ghost said, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62: 6-7). “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken” (Isaiah 62:11-12). Do not fear for Israel, but fear for her enemies.
It’s our duty to give our Heavenly Father “no rest” until He brings this prophetic scenario to completion. The Spirit made it plain that our duty as Gentiles -- saved because Israel gave the Messiah to our world -- is to pray. We must even plead to God in intercessory prayer until the promises are fulfilled. We often forget that we are partners with God in every purpose His Word has established. In His sovereignty, God has called His saints to stand with Him by anointed, Holy Spirit empowered prayer. When we are involved in warfare praying, we bind the enemy and loose the Hand of God.
Any person that fails to see God’s plan for Israel and Jerusalem has missed a great truth. Anyone that fights against Israel and Jerusalem shall be judged with a great judgment. After the Lord Jesus returns to the Earth following the Seven Years of Tribulation, defeats the Antichrist at Megiddo, and destroys him in the gateway of the ancient city of Babylon; He will come directly to Jerusalem to be welcomed as King of Kings. He will first be established as the King of Israel and Jerusalem and, second, as the King of the World. He will be Lord of Lords over the whole earth, but He will be seated on David’s throne in the ancient city of Jerusalem.
“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4). After this triumphant moment on the Mount of Olives from which he ascended, He will cross the valley to enter onto the temple complex by way of the Eastern Gate that has been closed for centuries awaiting His return. “Then said the LORD unto me; this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same” (Ezekiel 44:2-3).
Jerusalem, the city of King David, will finally become the capitol of the world. The great river that will burst forth under the Mount of Ascension will flow east and west and will water the entire city of Jerusalem and turn her countryside into a garden. The city will stretch for miles in all directions and become a wealthy paradise that will draw all mankind to her splendor. The earth will be free of every semblance of sin and the curse of Adam. One prophet said, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God” (Amos 9:13-15). The entire earth will share this explosion of plenty.
How soon this is all finished depends on God’s praying saints. The prophet, Micah, laid the burden of the grand finish of this prophetic outline at the feet of “travailing believers.” Our God is a God of order. He established His Church to do more than build human organizations. Our grand business is “travailing prayer.” By inspiration of the Holy Ghost Micah wrote, “Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travailing hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel” (Micah 5:3).
This great prophetic word is one of the jewels of truth concerning prayer. “She which travaileth” cannot apply to anyone but the Body of Christ. Her travailing comes after the “True Olive Vine” is cut off and before that “Vine is regrafted.”
Now, it is time for mercy on the part of Christ’s church towards the “True Olive Tree.” Great sorrow has followed the Jews for millenniums because of their unbelief. We were grafted into the Jewish tree by Christ and, now, He calls on us to have mercy on those that were cut off. Listen to the esteemed apostle plead for our attention towards Israel, “For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy” (Romans 11:30-31).
You say to me, “but they rejected Jesus Christ and the gospel.” I repeat to you what the apostle said by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes” (Romans 11:28). It’s time to rock Heaven by crying out to the Father day and night until all Israel is saved. “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26).
This earth and all of its inhabitants are set to see the great hand of God to the people of Israel. Nothing drives the devil to insanity like someone defending and pleading for the Hand of God to move towards the Jewish people. Let them rage and let Satan move his people with dark anger. We must stand tall and pray for the redemption and peace of Jerusalem. This Golden City is still in unbelief and outside the grace of Her Messiah but not for long.
Listen carefully to what the Holy Ghost said, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62: 6-7). “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken” (Isaiah 62:11-12). Do not fear for Israel, but fear for her enemies.
It’s our duty to give our Heavenly Father “no rest” until He brings this prophetic scenario to completion. The Spirit made it plain that our duty as Gentiles -- saved because Israel gave the Messiah to our world -- is to pray. We must even plead to God in intercessory prayer until the promises are fulfilled. We often forget that we are partners with God in every purpose His Word has established. In His sovereignty, God has called His saints to stand with Him by anointed, Holy Spirit empowered prayer. When we are involved in warfare praying, we bind the enemy and loose the Hand of God.
Any person that fails to see God’s plan for Israel and Jerusalem has missed a great truth. Anyone that fights against Israel and Jerusalem shall be judged with a great judgment. After the Lord Jesus returns to the Earth following the Seven Years of Tribulation, defeats the Antichrist at Megiddo, and destroys him in the gateway of the ancient city of Babylon; He will come directly to Jerusalem to be welcomed as King of Kings. He will first be established as the King of Israel and Jerusalem and, second, as the King of the World. He will be Lord of Lords over the whole earth, but He will be seated on David’s throne in the ancient city of Jerusalem.
“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4). After this triumphant moment on the Mount of Olives from which he ascended, He will cross the valley to enter onto the temple complex by way of the Eastern Gate that has been closed for centuries awaiting His return. “Then said the LORD unto me; this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same” (Ezekiel 44:2-3).
Jerusalem, the city of King David, will finally become the capitol of the world. The great river that will burst forth under the Mount of Ascension will flow east and west and will water the entire city of Jerusalem and turn her countryside into a garden. The city will stretch for miles in all directions and become a wealthy paradise that will draw all mankind to her splendor. The earth will be free of every semblance of sin and the curse of Adam. One prophet said, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God” (Amos 9:13-15). The entire earth will share this explosion of plenty.
How soon this is all finished depends on God’s praying saints. The prophet, Micah, laid the burden of the grand finish of this prophetic outline at the feet of “travailing believers.” Our God is a God of order. He established His Church to do more than build human organizations. Our grand business is “travailing prayer.” By inspiration of the Holy Ghost Micah wrote, “Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travailing hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel” (Micah 5:3).
This great prophetic word is one of the jewels of truth concerning prayer. “She which travaileth” cannot apply to anyone but the Body of Christ. Her travailing comes after the “True Olive Vine” is cut off and before that “Vine is regrafted.”
Now, it is time for mercy on the part of Christ’s church towards the “True Olive Tree.” Great sorrow has followed the Jews for millenniums because of their unbelief. We were grafted into the Jewish tree by Christ and, now, He calls on us to have mercy on those that were cut off. Listen to the esteemed apostle plead for our attention towards Israel, “For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy” (Romans 11:30-31).
You say to me, “but they rejected Jesus Christ and the gospel.” I repeat to you what the apostle said by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes” (Romans 11:28). It’s time to rock Heaven by crying out to the Father day and night until all Israel is saved. “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26).
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
There are Pestilences and then there are Pestilences
A scripture verse that gets quoted more often these days than almost all others is from the Gospel of Matthew. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:7-8. Most Bible teachers point to these verses as prophetic in that they as well as the rest of Matthew 24 will take place during the tribulation period. I tend to agree with them on that interpretation but we can certainly see all these things currently approaching, similarly to a woman in travail. Birth pangs are growing very intense.
Swine flu hysteria is running amuck. We read about it everywhere on the internet, in the newspaper, and I imagine it’s all over the TV news networks. This swine flu is mutating into a major problem, but just a few days ago it was nothing. How bad is it? There are different scenarios being floated by various worldwide organizations. Mr. Obama says “There’s no cause for alarm”. The World Health Organization has elevated the alert to a phase 4 pandemic. The UN is warning of a global pandemic. The blame game has begun. Terrorists are being blamed for a biological planned attack on the U.S. There was a Republican running the department of Health and Human Services up until 28th of April when Congress affirmed the new secretary and as such Republicans are being blamed.
There is a lot of excitement about a few outbreaks of this swine flu in the U.S. In Mexico 150 people have died from the outbreak. As I write this commentary swine flu has now spread to at least five other nations besides Mexico and the US. So is it a pandemic? If so how do we cope with such an outbreak? Personally I’ll need to see a whole lot more evidence come to the surface before I start to get overly concerned. But whether or not there is a pandemic at hand isn’t really what I am writing about today. The real scare, as I’ve outlined below, is currently being quietly removed from the public eye. Out of sight out of mind.
Old news, but still the major outbreak of the worst kind of pestilence is at hand. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much outrage associated with it. No one seems to even think about this disease any more, yet it has taken millions of lives over the past twenty-five years or so. HIV/AIDS is a much more serious disease and yet we hardly hear about it these days. Why is that? It’s transferred sexually and yet promiscuous sexual intercourse is not only promoted in every aspect of our lives but actually encouraged among our young children. Abstinence is being disparaged.
“AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors of society. It is thought that more than one million people are living with HIV in the USA and that more than half a million have died after developing AIDS.
People living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 33.0 million
Adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 30.8 million
Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 15.5 million
Children living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 2.0 million
People newly infected with HIV in 2007 2.7 million
Children newly infected with HIV in 2007 0.37 million
AIDS deaths in 2007 2.0 million
Child AIDS deaths in 2007 0.27 million
The latest statistics on the world epidemic of AIDS & HIV were published by UNAIDS/WHO in July 2008, and refer to the end of 2007.
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans.
At the end of 2007, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% in sub-Saharan Africa.
Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide.”
This information was obtained through the internet website AVERT.org.
Where’s the panic when it comes to this worldwide epidemic? The above statistics are as of December 2007 but the report also stated that the amount of deaths for 2008 ran about the same as 2007, that’s 2 million people dying every year from Aids? Where’s the outrage when we know for a fact how it’s spread?
Yes, let’s get into a whole new pandemic so we can all take our minds off the real culprits involved in spreading death. Let’s legalize same sex marriage so we can all feel better about these sick, debased individuals who are seemingly incapable of recognizing what they are doing to spread disease like there’s no tomorrow. Who cares about the consequences associated with this completely debouched lifestyle? Let them be married, let them be legitimized. Let’s pass hate crimes bills so no one can ever say one word against such a lifestyle without feeling the wrath of the law. Let that obscene lifestyle be promoted throughout our public school system as a loving and caring lifestyle of people who were supposedly born different. This is a huge lie being perpetrated on a Christ rejecting, willingly ignorant and foolish society.
Pestilence, yes there will be pestilence in the last days in divers places. All around the world there will be pestilences but let’s at least place the blame in the laps of the biggest pestilence producing group of individuals of human history. The homosexual community is responsible for this judgment. Why? Because they refuse to believe the word of God when it plainly states the following.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; ... Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: ... For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:18, 24, 26-32.
But as Mr. Obama declared in one of his campaign speeches “Nobody should be concerned with a few obscure Bible verses”. Obama’s very poignant statement will go down in infamy as our government implodes from within.
This newly professed pandemic may be a new judgment from God, but certainly we’ve been under judgment for some years now and it hasn’t even made a dent in our attitudes towards God. If anything we as a society have actually moved further away from God. So perhaps we are in for a new round of judgments; once again God’s focus may well be on getting our attention before it’s too late. Perhaps this time Lord.
Swine flu hysteria is running amuck. We read about it everywhere on the internet, in the newspaper, and I imagine it’s all over the TV news networks. This swine flu is mutating into a major problem, but just a few days ago it was nothing. How bad is it? There are different scenarios being floated by various worldwide organizations. Mr. Obama says “There’s no cause for alarm”. The World Health Organization has elevated the alert to a phase 4 pandemic. The UN is warning of a global pandemic. The blame game has begun. Terrorists are being blamed for a biological planned attack on the U.S. There was a Republican running the department of Health and Human Services up until 28th of April when Congress affirmed the new secretary and as such Republicans are being blamed.
There is a lot of excitement about a few outbreaks of this swine flu in the U.S. In Mexico 150 people have died from the outbreak. As I write this commentary swine flu has now spread to at least five other nations besides Mexico and the US. So is it a pandemic? If so how do we cope with such an outbreak? Personally I’ll need to see a whole lot more evidence come to the surface before I start to get overly concerned. But whether or not there is a pandemic at hand isn’t really what I am writing about today. The real scare, as I’ve outlined below, is currently being quietly removed from the public eye. Out of sight out of mind.
Old news, but still the major outbreak of the worst kind of pestilence is at hand. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much outrage associated with it. No one seems to even think about this disease any more, yet it has taken millions of lives over the past twenty-five years or so. HIV/AIDS is a much more serious disease and yet we hardly hear about it these days. Why is that? It’s transferred sexually and yet promiscuous sexual intercourse is not only promoted in every aspect of our lives but actually encouraged among our young children. Abstinence is being disparaged.
“AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors of society. It is thought that more than one million people are living with HIV in the USA and that more than half a million have died after developing AIDS.
People living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 33.0 million
Adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 30.8 million
Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 15.5 million
Children living with HIV/AIDS in 2007 2.0 million
People newly infected with HIV in 2007 2.7 million
Children newly infected with HIV in 2007 0.37 million
AIDS deaths in 2007 2.0 million
Child AIDS deaths in 2007 0.27 million
The latest statistics on the world epidemic of AIDS & HIV were published by UNAIDS/WHO in July 2008, and refer to the end of 2007.
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans.
At the end of 2007, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% in sub-Saharan Africa.
Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide.”
This information was obtained through the internet website AVERT.org.
Where’s the panic when it comes to this worldwide epidemic? The above statistics are as of December 2007 but the report also stated that the amount of deaths for 2008 ran about the same as 2007, that’s 2 million people dying every year from Aids? Where’s the outrage when we know for a fact how it’s spread?
Yes, let’s get into a whole new pandemic so we can all take our minds off the real culprits involved in spreading death. Let’s legalize same sex marriage so we can all feel better about these sick, debased individuals who are seemingly incapable of recognizing what they are doing to spread disease like there’s no tomorrow. Who cares about the consequences associated with this completely debouched lifestyle? Let them be married, let them be legitimized. Let’s pass hate crimes bills so no one can ever say one word against such a lifestyle without feeling the wrath of the law. Let that obscene lifestyle be promoted throughout our public school system as a loving and caring lifestyle of people who were supposedly born different. This is a huge lie being perpetrated on a Christ rejecting, willingly ignorant and foolish society.
Pestilence, yes there will be pestilence in the last days in divers places. All around the world there will be pestilences but let’s at least place the blame in the laps of the biggest pestilence producing group of individuals of human history. The homosexual community is responsible for this judgment. Why? Because they refuse to believe the word of God when it plainly states the following.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; ... Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: ... For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:18, 24, 26-32.
But as Mr. Obama declared in one of his campaign speeches “Nobody should be concerned with a few obscure Bible verses”. Obama’s very poignant statement will go down in infamy as our government implodes from within.
This newly professed pandemic may be a new judgment from God, but certainly we’ve been under judgment for some years now and it hasn’t even made a dent in our attitudes towards God. If anything we as a society have actually moved further away from God. So perhaps we are in for a new round of judgments; once again God’s focus may well be on getting our attention before it’s too late. Perhaps this time Lord.
Monday, May 4, 2009
How Soon the Rapture?
Jesus' disciples on the Mount of Olives when He told them of the coming destruction of the temple shortly before His passion and crucifixion, asked Him, “When will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus answered them with a list of signs that would mark the time of His coming, but stated, “Of that day and hour no man knows, not even the angels of Heaven nor even the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:20). But though no man knows the exact time, Jesus did indicate that those living at the time would know when it is near. There are other clues scattered about the Holy Scriptures which, when all put together, can give us a pretty good idea of when it will happen.
Number one sign: The fig tree. When it buds and brings forth leaves, Jesus said you know summer is near at hand. “Likewise, when you see all these things begin to come to pass, know that it is near, even at the door.” (Matthew 24:33] The fig tree is a symbol of Israel. The number one sign of all these signs is the regathering of Israel as a nation. Virtually the entirety of end time prophecy concerns Israel as a nation, in the land God gave them. From 70 AD when Titus overran Jerusalem and the Jews were dispersed across all the known world until 1948, there was no nation of Israel. Thus during that interval none of these prophecies could have been fulfilled. Now with Israel back in the land, we are seeing increasingly rapid fulfillment of these signs Jesus gave. Everything hinges on Israel as a nation back in the land God gave them.
Birth pangs. Jesus likened the signs of the approaching end to birth pains. They start subtly at first, and increase in frequency and intensity as the hour to give birth approaches, becoming most intense and most frequent just before the mother gives birth to her baby. Like birth pains, so shall these signs of the end increase in frequency and intensity as the end approaches.
The days of Noah and Lot. As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be when the Son of man returns. (Matthew 24:37) “In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, building and planting, and paid no heed to what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. (Matthew 37-39, Luke 17:26-27). Two things characterized the days of Noah and Lot, (1) an overflow of violence and wickedness (Genesis 6:11-12), and (2) everything was business as usual right up until disaster overtook the people affected (Luke 27:27-30). In both cases those involved were warned beforehand, and chose to ignore the warnings. So will it be with the world when Jesus returns.
Violence. Just 20 years ago it was rare that you heard of multiple murders. Then there was Columbine, some 20 or more students murdered in cold blood by a pair of crazies. Then there was the massacre at a university in Virginia, over 30 students murdered by a fellow student gone mad, who even locked the doors shut so no one could get out. Today, such mass killings have become so commonplace they don't even make front page news any more. Not to mention the massacres that take place routinely in some third world countries, and women raped and killed just because they disagree with those ruling them. The world is rapidly becoming as it was in the days of Noah.
Wickedness and immorality. In the past few years, morals have been thrown to the wind. Homosexual conduct, condemned by God, is now glorified and defended by the world. And so is promiscuous sex of any kind. Gays march in the streets, proud of their sin, and demanding not just their rights, but that they be made a special privileged class. Greed is pandemic. Trafficking and use of illicit drugs is on the rise, and with it crimes committed by addicts to support their habit, and violence and killing among those who are selling the stuff. Senseless murders have become common place. Good is being called evil, and evil is being called good. The world is heading in the same direction as Sodom and Gomorrah in their day..
False messiahs and false prophets. Many will come in that day saying, “I am Christ,” and will deceive many (Matthew 24:4-5). We just recently recently elected a president whom some people in the world are calling a “messiah”, and I have not heard him disclaim it. And it appears he is leading this country straight down the road to socialism and ruin. One day soon one will come in his own name, claiming to be the Christ, and the world will follow him and proclaim him God, but he will be the devil incarnate instead.
Wars and rumors of wars. It has been said that there have been more wars in the 20th century alone than in all of history past. There is warfare going on between tribes and ethnic groups today, and there will be more wars with increasing intensity as the end approaches.
Earthquakes. While there have been earthquakes all down through history, there has been a steady increase in the frequency and intensity of quakes in recent years. A magnitude 9 quake in Indonesia in 2004 generated a huge tsunami with waves up to 100 feet high which flooded coastlands as far away as the east coast of Africa. Between the quake and the tsunami over 230,000 people died. It was the longest quake in history, lasting nearly 10 minutes. (Wikipedia-Indian Ocean Earthquake) Earthquakes in China, Pakistan, Italy and elsewhere have also killed thousands and caused widespread destruction in recent years.
Famines. While there has been no famine in the US as yet, there are famines in other parts of the world, and it would only take a few bad harvests before there would be famine here.
Pestilences-AIDS is rampant in many parts of the world, and there is no known cure for it. An outbreak of swine flu in Mexico at this moment has disease control experts worried that it could turn into a worldwide pandemic. This virus is said to be like none ever seen before, a hybrid of bird, swine and human flu, all rolled into one virus. Some are saying it was deliberate and the virus was genetically engineered, not natural.
The sea roaring and men's hearts failing them for fear. Hurricanes have become more frequent and more intense in recent years. Just a few years ago there were three category 5 hurricanes in a single season, two of them making landfall in very close to the same area, along the Gulf coast. Katrina hit New Orleans causing tremendous damage, with even more when levees failed, flooding much of the city. Rita hit further west only a short time later, again causing extensive damage. Tornadoes have been on the rise too. In just the first quarter of 2009 there have been more tornadoes and tornado outbreaks than in a normal year.
The kicker: Jesus told His disciples, This generation (the generation that sees the beginnings of these signs) will not pass until all is fulfilled. In other words, the generation born when these signs began will still be alive when everything prophesied has come to pass. All this is prophesied in Jesus' Olivet discourse with His disciples, found in Matthew 24 and Luke 17, shortly before He was crucified.
But this is not all. There are other clues as to the timing of the rapture elsewhere in the Bible.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 tells us God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 tells us the antichrist cannot be revealed until there be a falling away (the literal meaning of the Greek actually speaks of a departure, a moving away-the rapture of the saints) first. Verses 7 and 8 speak of a restrainer Who must be taken out of the way before the antichrist can be revealed. Would this not be the Holy Spirit, living in the saints, restraining evil? When the church is removed in the rapture, this restrainer will be taken out of the way leaving the way clear for the antichrist to reveal himself, not before.
The book of the Revelation is divided into three parts. Jesus instructs John to “write the things you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Revelation 1:19). The things you have seen—the vision of the seven candlesticks, the vision of Jesus and His appearance, and holding seven stars and a sharp two edged sword going out of His mouth. The things which are—the seven churches John was instructed to send letters to. The things which are to come—all John saw after he was caught up to heaven in Revelation 4:1.
In the message to the church of Philadelphia, a picture of the believing church of today (Revelation 3:7-12) Jesus promises them, “Because you have kept the word of My patience, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is to come upon all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” (V 10). This “hour” can be none other than the great tribulation, and Jesus has promised those who have faith in Him that He will keep them (us) from that hour.
In Revelation 4:1 John sees a door opened in heaven and hears a voice telling him, “Come up here, and I will show you the things that must be hereafter.” Immediately John is in the spirit and sees the throne of God and 24 elders seated around the throne. These 24 elders speak of Israel and the church, 12 of them representing the 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 representing the 12 apostles of Jesus. There is no further mention of the church on earth until we see them coming with Jesus on white horses at the battle of Armageddon, strongly suggesting that the church is no longer present on earth during this interval.
Revelation 11:7-10 tells of the killing of the two witnesses who have brought plagues upon the earth for the past three and a half years, and states that all the world will see their dead bodies lying in the street for three and a half days. Just 50 years ago this would have been impossible. Now with satellite TV anything can be broadcast from anywhere in the world and picked up and the images transmitted worldwide in just a matter of seconds.
In Revelation chapter 13 we have the vision of the antichrist and his system, in which there will be one world government and one monetary system, the latter requiring one to receive a mark in his hand or on his forehead, without which no one will be able to buy or sell. There has been within just the past six months or so an exponential speedup of movement toward a one world government and a one world monetary system, and the technology is already in place to make the mark of the beast enforceable—RFID chips and electronic funds transfer. All that is needed is for someone to design the infrastructure to put the two together, and with the technology already at hand it would take only a short time to do that. Without the mark (or RFID chip, as the case may be) on your person the machinery won't work, and there will be no way to carry out any kind of monetary transaction.
In Daniel 12:4 the angel speaking to Daniel after telling him to seal up the book till the time of the end, tells him in that day many will run to an fro, and knowledge will increase. Just 200 years ago the fastest means of travel was horseback, top speed maybe 40 miles per hour, and that only for a relatively short time. Computers, telephones, television and many other things we depend on today weren't even dreamed of just 100 years ago. Commercial airliners can whisk people around the world in hours on trips that would have taken months just a century or two ago, and astronauts are whirling around the globe every 90 minutes at some 17,000 miles an hour. And the prophecies Daniel was told to seal up until the time of the end are now being understood.
From all of the above it appears certain that we are in the hour prophesied by Daniel, Jesus and others. It is the end of the age of grace, the end of time for the church on earth. It appears that everything is setting up for the political and monetary system that will be in force during the great tribulation, and everything could be put in place very quickly. With modern construction techniques, even the tribulation temple could be built probably in a matter of months.
When Jesus gave the sign of the fig tree, he stated that the generation seeing the start of all these things, the regathering of Israel, will not pass away until all He prophesied is fulfilled. It has been 61 years since Israel was re-established as a nation in modern times. The great tribulation will run for seven years. If 70 years is the lifetime of a generation, and all must be fulfilled in that time frame, and it has already been 61 years, that leaves only two years to the start of the great tribulation. The rapture is imminent. There is no other prophetic event that has to precede the rapture, though some may, such as the war of Psalm 83 and/or Ezekiel 38-39. And since it is apparent that the rapture must precede the tribulation, how much sooner must our exit be?
Just a quick disclaimer here. I am not trying to set a date for the rapture. Only a fool would do that. Jesus said no man knows the day nor the hour, and neither do I. But He did say we would know when the time was at hand, and based on the Scriptures and current events and trends I believe that time is here.
Jesus warned us to be ready. To those who are not watching, He will come as a thief in the night to steal away his jewels, the church. Those of us who are His are not of the darkness and will not be caught by surprise, we will know when the time is at hand.
If you have received Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior, you are ready. When that day comes, you will be among the missing on Earth, gone to be with Jesus where He is. If you have procrastinated or refused to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, that day will catch you as a thief, and you will be left behind in a world of total chaos, to go through the great tribulation. It will be a time of strong delusion and many will be deceived into irreversible damnation. While it will be possible to be saved during the tribulation it will probably be at the cost of your life. Even so, better to be saved, get your head chopped off and spend eternity with Jesus, than to keep your life for a time, and in the end burn in the lake of fire for eternity.
The Gospel in a nutshell:
All have sinned, and the punishment for sin is death and eternal torment in hell.
Jesus took your hell for you on the cross, in your place, to keep you out of hell.
You must receive Him to receive His salvation. Just invite Him into your life, and walk with Him.
Bible verse to think about: “Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44.)
Don't miss it!
Number one sign: The fig tree. When it buds and brings forth leaves, Jesus said you know summer is near at hand. “Likewise, when you see all these things begin to come to pass, know that it is near, even at the door.” (Matthew 24:33] The fig tree is a symbol of Israel. The number one sign of all these signs is the regathering of Israel as a nation. Virtually the entirety of end time prophecy concerns Israel as a nation, in the land God gave them. From 70 AD when Titus overran Jerusalem and the Jews were dispersed across all the known world until 1948, there was no nation of Israel. Thus during that interval none of these prophecies could have been fulfilled. Now with Israel back in the land, we are seeing increasingly rapid fulfillment of these signs Jesus gave. Everything hinges on Israel as a nation back in the land God gave them.
Birth pangs. Jesus likened the signs of the approaching end to birth pains. They start subtly at first, and increase in frequency and intensity as the hour to give birth approaches, becoming most intense and most frequent just before the mother gives birth to her baby. Like birth pains, so shall these signs of the end increase in frequency and intensity as the end approaches.
The days of Noah and Lot. As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be when the Son of man returns. (Matthew 24:37) “In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, building and planting, and paid no heed to what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. (Matthew 37-39, Luke 17:26-27). Two things characterized the days of Noah and Lot, (1) an overflow of violence and wickedness (Genesis 6:11-12), and (2) everything was business as usual right up until disaster overtook the people affected (Luke 27:27-30). In both cases those involved were warned beforehand, and chose to ignore the warnings. So will it be with the world when Jesus returns.
Violence. Just 20 years ago it was rare that you heard of multiple murders. Then there was Columbine, some 20 or more students murdered in cold blood by a pair of crazies. Then there was the massacre at a university in Virginia, over 30 students murdered by a fellow student gone mad, who even locked the doors shut so no one could get out. Today, such mass killings have become so commonplace they don't even make front page news any more. Not to mention the massacres that take place routinely in some third world countries, and women raped and killed just because they disagree with those ruling them. The world is rapidly becoming as it was in the days of Noah.
Wickedness and immorality. In the past few years, morals have been thrown to the wind. Homosexual conduct, condemned by God, is now glorified and defended by the world. And so is promiscuous sex of any kind. Gays march in the streets, proud of their sin, and demanding not just their rights, but that they be made a special privileged class. Greed is pandemic. Trafficking and use of illicit drugs is on the rise, and with it crimes committed by addicts to support their habit, and violence and killing among those who are selling the stuff. Senseless murders have become common place. Good is being called evil, and evil is being called good. The world is heading in the same direction as Sodom and Gomorrah in their day..
False messiahs and false prophets. Many will come in that day saying, “I am Christ,” and will deceive many (Matthew 24:4-5). We just recently recently elected a president whom some people in the world are calling a “messiah”, and I have not heard him disclaim it. And it appears he is leading this country straight down the road to socialism and ruin. One day soon one will come in his own name, claiming to be the Christ, and the world will follow him and proclaim him God, but he will be the devil incarnate instead.
Wars and rumors of wars. It has been said that there have been more wars in the 20th century alone than in all of history past. There is warfare going on between tribes and ethnic groups today, and there will be more wars with increasing intensity as the end approaches.
Earthquakes. While there have been earthquakes all down through history, there has been a steady increase in the frequency and intensity of quakes in recent years. A magnitude 9 quake in Indonesia in 2004 generated a huge tsunami with waves up to 100 feet high which flooded coastlands as far away as the east coast of Africa. Between the quake and the tsunami over 230,000 people died. It was the longest quake in history, lasting nearly 10 minutes. (Wikipedia-Indian Ocean Earthquake) Earthquakes in China, Pakistan, Italy and elsewhere have also killed thousands and caused widespread destruction in recent years.
Famines. While there has been no famine in the US as yet, there are famines in other parts of the world, and it would only take a few bad harvests before there would be famine here.
Pestilences-AIDS is rampant in many parts of the world, and there is no known cure for it. An outbreak of swine flu in Mexico at this moment has disease control experts worried that it could turn into a worldwide pandemic. This virus is said to be like none ever seen before, a hybrid of bird, swine and human flu, all rolled into one virus. Some are saying it was deliberate and the virus was genetically engineered, not natural.
The sea roaring and men's hearts failing them for fear. Hurricanes have become more frequent and more intense in recent years. Just a few years ago there were three category 5 hurricanes in a single season, two of them making landfall in very close to the same area, along the Gulf coast. Katrina hit New Orleans causing tremendous damage, with even more when levees failed, flooding much of the city. Rita hit further west only a short time later, again causing extensive damage. Tornadoes have been on the rise too. In just the first quarter of 2009 there have been more tornadoes and tornado outbreaks than in a normal year.
The kicker: Jesus told His disciples, This generation (the generation that sees the beginnings of these signs) will not pass until all is fulfilled. In other words, the generation born when these signs began will still be alive when everything prophesied has come to pass. All this is prophesied in Jesus' Olivet discourse with His disciples, found in Matthew 24 and Luke 17, shortly before He was crucified.
But this is not all. There are other clues as to the timing of the rapture elsewhere in the Bible.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 tells us God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 tells us the antichrist cannot be revealed until there be a falling away (the literal meaning of the Greek actually speaks of a departure, a moving away-the rapture of the saints) first. Verses 7 and 8 speak of a restrainer Who must be taken out of the way before the antichrist can be revealed. Would this not be the Holy Spirit, living in the saints, restraining evil? When the church is removed in the rapture, this restrainer will be taken out of the way leaving the way clear for the antichrist to reveal himself, not before.
The book of the Revelation is divided into three parts. Jesus instructs John to “write the things you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Revelation 1:19). The things you have seen—the vision of the seven candlesticks, the vision of Jesus and His appearance, and holding seven stars and a sharp two edged sword going out of His mouth. The things which are—the seven churches John was instructed to send letters to. The things which are to come—all John saw after he was caught up to heaven in Revelation 4:1.
In the message to the church of Philadelphia, a picture of the believing church of today (Revelation 3:7-12) Jesus promises them, “Because you have kept the word of My patience, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is to come upon all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” (V 10). This “hour” can be none other than the great tribulation, and Jesus has promised those who have faith in Him that He will keep them (us) from that hour.
In Revelation 4:1 John sees a door opened in heaven and hears a voice telling him, “Come up here, and I will show you the things that must be hereafter.” Immediately John is in the spirit and sees the throne of God and 24 elders seated around the throne. These 24 elders speak of Israel and the church, 12 of them representing the 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 representing the 12 apostles of Jesus. There is no further mention of the church on earth until we see them coming with Jesus on white horses at the battle of Armageddon, strongly suggesting that the church is no longer present on earth during this interval.
Revelation 11:7-10 tells of the killing of the two witnesses who have brought plagues upon the earth for the past three and a half years, and states that all the world will see their dead bodies lying in the street for three and a half days. Just 50 years ago this would have been impossible. Now with satellite TV anything can be broadcast from anywhere in the world and picked up and the images transmitted worldwide in just a matter of seconds.
In Revelation chapter 13 we have the vision of the antichrist and his system, in which there will be one world government and one monetary system, the latter requiring one to receive a mark in his hand or on his forehead, without which no one will be able to buy or sell. There has been within just the past six months or so an exponential speedup of movement toward a one world government and a one world monetary system, and the technology is already in place to make the mark of the beast enforceable—RFID chips and electronic funds transfer. All that is needed is for someone to design the infrastructure to put the two together, and with the technology already at hand it would take only a short time to do that. Without the mark (or RFID chip, as the case may be) on your person the machinery won't work, and there will be no way to carry out any kind of monetary transaction.
In Daniel 12:4 the angel speaking to Daniel after telling him to seal up the book till the time of the end, tells him in that day many will run to an fro, and knowledge will increase. Just 200 years ago the fastest means of travel was horseback, top speed maybe 40 miles per hour, and that only for a relatively short time. Computers, telephones, television and many other things we depend on today weren't even dreamed of just 100 years ago. Commercial airliners can whisk people around the world in hours on trips that would have taken months just a century or two ago, and astronauts are whirling around the globe every 90 minutes at some 17,000 miles an hour. And the prophecies Daniel was told to seal up until the time of the end are now being understood.
From all of the above it appears certain that we are in the hour prophesied by Daniel, Jesus and others. It is the end of the age of grace, the end of time for the church on earth. It appears that everything is setting up for the political and monetary system that will be in force during the great tribulation, and everything could be put in place very quickly. With modern construction techniques, even the tribulation temple could be built probably in a matter of months.
When Jesus gave the sign of the fig tree, he stated that the generation seeing the start of all these things, the regathering of Israel, will not pass away until all He prophesied is fulfilled. It has been 61 years since Israel was re-established as a nation in modern times. The great tribulation will run for seven years. If 70 years is the lifetime of a generation, and all must be fulfilled in that time frame, and it has already been 61 years, that leaves only two years to the start of the great tribulation. The rapture is imminent. There is no other prophetic event that has to precede the rapture, though some may, such as the war of Psalm 83 and/or Ezekiel 38-39. And since it is apparent that the rapture must precede the tribulation, how much sooner must our exit be?
Just a quick disclaimer here. I am not trying to set a date for the rapture. Only a fool would do that. Jesus said no man knows the day nor the hour, and neither do I. But He did say we would know when the time was at hand, and based on the Scriptures and current events and trends I believe that time is here.
Jesus warned us to be ready. To those who are not watching, He will come as a thief in the night to steal away his jewels, the church. Those of us who are His are not of the darkness and will not be caught by surprise, we will know when the time is at hand.
If you have received Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior, you are ready. When that day comes, you will be among the missing on Earth, gone to be with Jesus where He is. If you have procrastinated or refused to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, that day will catch you as a thief, and you will be left behind in a world of total chaos, to go through the great tribulation. It will be a time of strong delusion and many will be deceived into irreversible damnation. While it will be possible to be saved during the tribulation it will probably be at the cost of your life. Even so, better to be saved, get your head chopped off and spend eternity with Jesus, than to keep your life for a time, and in the end burn in the lake of fire for eternity.
The Gospel in a nutshell:
All have sinned, and the punishment for sin is death and eternal torment in hell.
Jesus took your hell for you on the cross, in your place, to keep you out of hell.
You must receive Him to receive His salvation. Just invite Him into your life, and walk with Him.
Bible verse to think about: “Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44.)
Don't miss it!
Friday, May 1, 2009
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