"Jesus is NOT returning today ... or tomorrow!"

Much like the news media today many keep saying they hope Jesus will come today ... that the Rapture will take place and we will be whisked off to heaven ... but GOD says otherwise!  Quoting from " ... the end." ...

"Where does your knowledge of 'end times' currently come from?  Is it what you have heard from others, read in books, watched in the latest television movie or film, or just imagined yourself?  There is only one source of truth on this subject and it is the unchanging Word of God, the Bible.  So what is it that God has revealed?  Where do we start?  How can we know that we are part of the group called 'the wise,' who will understand and be ready for these things?

To begin, understand this:  Jesus is NOT going to return TODAY!  I know that most people who talk about this subject believe the Rapture is the next event in God's timetable to the end, but that is not the case.  This is part of my purpose in writing this book.  If Christians believe the Rapture is the next thing that will happen in the entire 'end times' scenario, then the study of these things is purely academic because we will be gone before any of it begins to take place.  But the Rapture is NOT the next thing on God's prophetic calendar!  How can I be so sure?  Because the Bible says THERE WILL BE SIGNS PRECEDING JESUS' RETURN!" (" ... the end.", pages 19-20).

Someone commented recently that there is no such thing as a "Rapture," that the word is not even in the Bible.  Sometimes it is better to remain quiet than to open your mouth and reveal your ignorance.  The word, "rapture," comes from the Latin, "rapturo," which means "caught up."  It is the term used in I Thessalonians 4:17 to describe the gathering up of believers prior to the pouring out of God's wrath on "the day of the Lord."

Matthew 24:1-3 is a crucial passage in understanding the sequence of events as Jesus laid them out.  Jesus was telling the disciples what would happen BEFORE He returned.  Verses 4-14 give a general overview (this passage is parallel to Revelation 6 and the opening of the first six seals of the scroll of God's judgment on the earth and upon mankind), and then Jesus gets more specific in Matthew 24:15-31.

Why is this important for YOU ... TODAY???  Jesus told His disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Indeed, Jesus WILL come to defeat His enemies and ours at the battle of Armageddon, but BEFORE that happens the Antichrist will appear, the governments of the world will be united against Israel and the Church, true believers, will be persecuted and will go through the Great Tribulation.  Over the coming weeks I will continue to share verses and passages of Scripture that make these things clear.  I offer you my book, " ... the end.", because it puts all of these Scriptures together, along with timelines, so you can study it yourself and/or with a group of believers.  You should accept nothing I say unless it is in accord with the Word of God.

But think about this:  if most people in churches all over this country and the world are being told either that Jesus is coming ... sometime ... so don't worry, OR that the Rapture could happen at any moment, what are they to think when these signs begin to unfold and when the Antichrist is revealed and the Great Tribulation begins??  They will question the Bible, their teachers, and perhaps God Himself!!  God even tells us that many (those who do not truly know Christ or trust in Him) will fall away.  Why?  Because they did not love the truth!  (II Thessalonians 2:12).

What is happening in our nation today is part of God's plan to bring judgment, and the censorship of "conservative" voices is following the rejection of God's voice that has been taking place in our nation and in the visible church for the past 60 years or more.  It will not get better.  So how do we respond?  In speaking of the destruction of the earth by fire Peter writes, "Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  BUT according to His promise WE are waiting for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (II Peter 3:11-13).

The true Church, God's chosen ones, in whom His Spirit is at work, will receive wisdom from God to know the truth and to be ready to endure, to persevere AND to testify!!  Let your voice be heard and point people to Jesus Christ.  He is not returning today ... or tomorrow ... but He WILL return according to the Father's plan, and it will be glorious for those who know Him as Savior and Lord!!