"Politics without JESUS isn't pretty!"

What we are currently witnessing in our nation is politics without Jesus!!  It could be said that this has been true since the founding of our nation, or any other nation for that matter.  There has never been a nation where the ruler and all those who governed with him were true followers of Jesus Christ.  Even the nation of Israel, in the centuries before Jesus came, had ungodly, fallible, sinful rulers who ruled over them.  The time when David and Solomon were kings of Israel was the closest mankind has ever come to being ruled by the principles of godly government laid out for us in the Bible, God's Word.  But even then, they were far, far from perfect, and the consequences of their sin was obvious.

In that sense, we should never expect perfection from anyone who is in a position of government.  Human government, though ordained by God to restrain evil, does not have the power to eliminate it.  The only power able to restrain sin is the Spirit of God and the Law of God.  People say we must separate "religion and politics."  Those in the United Nations actually blame "religion" for most of the wars that have been fought throughout history.  This is why there is a big push toward the "unity" of all religions."  Such a "counterfeit unity," they believe, might allow people to live together in peace.

What they don't understand is human nature, though the picture is right in front of them.  Paul explains human nature in Romans 3:10-18:

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.  Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.  The venom of asps is under their lips.  Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Do you want to know what is wrong with the political systems of mankind?  Look no further.  As someone has said, "the enemy is US!"  Mankind, men and women, cannot govern ourselves apart from the gracious work of the Spirit of God, our Creator.  It is only when God graciously makes His chosen ones "new creations" in Christ, giving us a new heart, a new mind and a new will, that we are able and willing to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and live under HIS authority, desiring to be obedient to HIS perfect and righteous Law.  Separate THIS religion, the only true religion, from politics and you have  ... what we see in front of us.

I write in " ... the end.", "Your life and mine only have meaning when we acknowledge that life is all about God.  He created us for Himself, and for those who have been given new life in Christ, He RE-created us for Himself.  The idea that you are a free agent and that you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, live however you want and all will be well, is the result of ignorance, of not knowing the one true God.  He will vindicate Himself when Jesus returns to reign over the world.  If the history of mankind on the earth does not end with Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling over the nations of the earth, then God's Word is not true and there is no hope beyond the grave and no hope for us today as we live in a world that is increasingly hostile to the God who reveals Himself in His Word, the Bible.

If these things are not true, as the Bible reveals them, then anything goes ... then there is no such thing as a holy, just and righteous God, no such thing as sin or judgment.  There is just nothing!  You live, you die, and then ... nothing!  But because these things ARE true, we have something to talk about that matters to every person who is given 'ears to hear' by God Himself through the work of His Spirit.  And it all centers around this truth:  Those who are united to Jesus Christ by faith live with hope and a deep sense of purpose as we await His glorious return."

It should be quite obvious that your hope does not rest in government. To the extent we are able, we must seek to influence those in political office toward the Law of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Politics without JESUS isn't pretty!  No human government can sustain itself.  History proves that over and over.  Greater governments than ours have fallen from corruption within.  For years we have had a multitude of groups "lobby" our government officials and even bribe our government officials to do what THEY want them to do.  Today we have take another step as groups like Black Lives Matter, Antifa and white supremacy groups, LGBT+ and others try to take matters into their own hands, rejecting virtually any form of government except their own.  Human nature is sinful and requires government, but a government based on anything other than biblical principles will eventually become so corrupt that it falls from within.  There is nothing to hold it up.  Evil rises to the top.

Where is our current mess heading?  Judgment!!  Unless God, the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who reveals Himself in His Word ... unless He determines to show mercy to a nation so undeserving.  I will be surprised if that happens, but God's plan will unfold as He determines. In the meantime, I will hope in the Lord, my God, and I will take comfort in the fact that my Lord Jesus Christ will return as King one day soon.  Until then, I will proclaim the good news of forgiveness and life through faith in Him.  I pray that you will join me!!

"A 'Global Reset' without GOD!"

By now you may or may not have heard about the "Global Reset" that is underway.  Perhaps you heard something about it and thought it was one of those "conspiracy theories" and chose to ignore it.  I would encourage you to look it up and see what those in positions of power are planning for the human race and for the planet.  Having been "hidden" for some time, the current pandemic has become the catalyst for the nations of the world to come together through organizations like the World Economic Forum to "unite the world" in facing what they consider to be the main threats to the existence of mankind on this planet and "working together" to solve them.  Sounds good, doesn't it?

All of this is real.  It is happening.  In addition to the World Economic Forum, you can look up the Davos Agenda 2021.  Those with money and power, some in plain sight, some behind the scenes, are seeking to control the governments of the world and to bring them together through a common NEED:  health and safety.  When mixed with words like "equity" and "climate protection" and "social justice" and "gender equality" and other nice-sounding words and slogans, people are deceived into believing that the "agenda" is for the welfare of mankind.  Suddenly government control doesn't sound so bad ... until it becomes personal and you suddenly realize the freedom we once enjoyed has been taken away.

Are you depressed yet?  Take heart!  "OUR GOD REIGNS!!"  The agenda being enacted as we speak includes every part of human life, from economics to education, from social norms to social justice, from science to religion ... everything must be "reset" in order to eliminate Christianity!!  If that sounds paranoid, you have not yet understood that just as Satan worked for 2,000 years to eliminate the Jewish people before the Messiah, the Christ, could be born ... the one who would CRUSH HIS HEAD ... so Satan is at work not only to eliminate the Jewish people yet today, but also to eliminate those who know the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of God's promises, His Anointed King, JESUS, the eternal Son of God!

If you look up the agenda of these people it is exclusively secular.  "God" and "religion" have no place in their plans ... EXCEPT when needed to persuade "people of faith" that this is what "God" wants:  for everyone to work together for the good of mankind.  In their ignorance and spiritual blindness, they do not know that it is God's intention to use even their evil plans to accomplish His purpose to gather His chosen ones to Himself and then to pour out His wrath and judgment on the rest of mankind before establishing the reign of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem for a thousand years.

Examining God's Word to see the signs of Christ's soon return, many think we cannot know when Jesus will return.  But Jesus rebuked the people in His day for not discerning the signs of the times.  How much more should we be aware of what is happening in the world around us and how these events point to Jesus' return??  People often quote the phrase that says Jesus will come "like a thief in the night."  Listen to what Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:3-4:

"While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape.  BUT YOU (believers) ARE NOT IN DARKNESS, brothers, for that day to surprise YOU like a thief.'"

The wise will understand what is coming on the world and will stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ.  While the leaders of the world plan their "great reset," God is planning His own great reset!!!  But first, there will be a great apostasy, a great falling away of many who claim to believe in "a God," but do not know who He is and who do not trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and eternal life.  Many of these claim to be "Christians," but have no problem uniting with other religions in believing in a "generic god" who is impotent to intervene in the actions and plans of those who do not worship him/her/it.  This "generic god" does not exist, except in the imagination of people who are living without hope and without God (the one TRUE God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) in the world.

We who by God's grace know the one true God, and who trust in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation from the coming wrath of God, must live in the power of His Spirit to proclaim the truth, so long as He gives us breath!  There are yet some who need to hear the good news of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to be delivered from sin and death.  The Gospel is still the power of God for salvation for all who believe.  We must point out the work of Satan in the world today, but we must not be overcome by evil.  Instead, we must seek to build up the one true Body of Christ by speaking the truth in love, teaching, correcting, reproving and training those who believe in righteousness.  Jesus said, "I WILL build MY Church, and the gates of death (the gates of hades), will not stand against it!"

Jesus presents a picture of a Church that does not waver, that is not blown about by false teaching, and we must be that Church!!  Every true believer ... those who believe the Bible to be the very Word of God, who confess Jesus Christ as God in the flesh, who died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe, who rose again, ascended into heaven and who is coming again in power and glory ... every true believer must and will stand firm in our faith in Jesus Christ by the power of our risen Lord within us.  Be aware of what is going on, and then dig deep, trusting in the Lord your God, knowing that "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

Do not allow fear and anxiety to overwhelm you!  He is with His true children and He will never leave or forsake us.  Jesus Christ is Lord!!

"CHURCH!! Are you ready???"

The "church" is not what most people think "it" is.  The true CHURCH is not a building or an organization.  The CHURCH is a living Body, the "ekklesia," literally, "the called-out assembly."  When Jesus said He came to build His "church," this was the word He used, and the Bible, God's Word, tells us that God knows those who are His because He chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world were laid (Ephesians 1:4).  All that Jesus came to do through His death on the cross was and is for this Body, and all He is coming to do when He returns is to gather this Body, some from every people, tribe, nation and tongue, to Himself, in what the Bible calls the "Rapture."

As I have said previously, someone commented recently that there will be no Rapture, that the word does not even appear in the Bible.  But it comes from the Latin translation of "caught up" or "gather up,"  as this event is described in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and elsewhere.  There WILL be a Rapture and those who have died previously as believers in Christ Jesus will have their bodies raised from the grave and reunited with their spirits at the sound of the trumpet call, while those who are still alive will be transformed "in the twinkling of an eye" and all will meet the Lord Jesus together in the air.  MUCH more could be said about that event, but my purpose today is to talk about the TIMING of the Rapture and the importance of knowing the order of the events leading up to it and what comes after it.

I and others believe the Bible teaches the timing of the Rapture to be AFTER the "Great Tribulation,"  and that the Rapture will be followed by the "Day of the Lord," God's wrath and judgment upon those who remain on the earth.  Why is this important?  I have shared before that many in the visible church today who claim to know God, to believe in Jesus and even to be filled with His Spirit seem to "lose their faith" in the face of suffering and trials.  They question God or they question their own faith or they question what they have been taught.  Something must be wrong!!  

What is wrong is their "theology," or their lack thereof!!  They don't know the sovereign God who works ALL things together for the good of His people, of those who love Him because we know He first loved us.  If your theology is right, you understand that God is wiser than you are and that He is with you in the hard times just as He is with you in the good times.  You understand that His ways are above your ways and that faith means trusting Him when you don't understand what He is doing.  Bad theology leaves people vulnerable to doubts, worry, anxiety and fear.

The same is true when it comes to "end times."  If you believe the true Church will be "raptured" BEFORE the Great Tribulation, and you see the temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem and a man rising to power and the nations coming against the Jewish people and you keep expecting the Rapture to take place and it doesn't, what will happen to your "faith"??  God SAID that His people are not appointed to suffer His wrath, and if the entire final seven years is His wrath, believers should have been protected and taken from this world before the Antichrist comes and certainly before the Great Tribulation occurs.

So I ask in my book, " ... the end.", ... "What if much of the visible church is planning to be 'raptured,' only to be called upon by God to endure the Great Tribulation??"   Some have quoted Revelation 3:10, "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on earth," and taught that God is promising to deliver His people BEFORE the Great Tribulation.  But is that the case?

I write, "God has 'kept' the Church through persecution and trials since its beginning!  He 'kept' Noah and his family during the time of the flood.  He 'kept' Israel through the plagues in Egypt.  The question we need to answer on the basis of God's Word alone and not on our own ideas or theories is this:  Is the entire seven years, Daniel's 70th week, the Great Tribulation AND the Day of the Lord?  Are they one and the same thing?  OR, does God make a distinction between the two?"

If you would like to read much more about this you may order my book by emailing me:  pastorsteve@lighthouse-ministries.org.  I urge you to pray for understanding, not only of "end times," as we draw nearer to these events every day, but also an understanding of God's call to suffering for His people.  There IS a purpose in trials and suffering and God is able to strengthen us who believe for whatever He calls us to bear.  Faithful endurance is part of our calling, so stand firm in your faith in Jesus Christ whatever you may be called to bear, whether today, tomorrow or at any point in the future.  Our Father in heaven is with us.  Our Savior Jesus Christ is Lord and is reigning over all things from His heavenly throne.  And His Spirit dwells within us, empowering us for the battles at hand.

Do not allow the circumstances of your life or in the world to turn your attention away from Jesus, for IN THE END ... WE WIN!!!  We WILL endure, "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony!"  ARE YOU READY???

"Lies, lies and more lies!"

It seems to be getting harder by the day to believe anyone, about anything!!  I know that doesn't sound very encouraging, but it is simply stating the obvious.  People lie to cover up their real thoughts, their intentions and their purposes.  Many have gotten so used to lying that they believe their own lies ... a sad and desperate state in which to live.  I don't blame people for being disillusioned and discouraged as we live in this world today.  Whether in politics, the workplace, the "news," or even in the church, people have a hard time being honest.  As someone has said, "They wouldn't know the truth if it hit them between the eyes!"  

But there IS a source for truth that CAN be trusted and that exposes the lies and deceitfulness of those who do not know the one, true and only God who reveals Himself in His Word, the Bible.  The writer of Hebrews explains, "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12-13).

That should strike fear into the hearts of those who have not confessed their sin before this holy God and who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and found new life and freedom in the power of His Spirit ... but it doesn't.  Those who don't know God don't care what He says, or what you and I who believe say.  But there is another problem today ... 

It is not a new problem, but it spells disaster for millions and for our nation.  People who CLAIM to be "Christians" or "people of faith" reject the clear teaching of God's Word and lead millions astray.  They lie ... and then they lie some more ... and people think they are "good people."  But apart from Jesus Christ and the work of His Spirit not one of us is a "good person!"  So "Christians," from the Pope to the President (former and current), along with countless "pastors" and even "Christian" professors, and many "in the pews," declare abortion to be a woman's right, homosexuality and all kinds of sexual immorality to be acceptable, along with lying, stealing, cheating and all sorts of other sins.  In fact, these "Christians" now declare that you don't even need to believe in Jesus for forgiveness.  "You're fine!  It's those pesky judgmental CHRISTIANS that are the real problem.  They need to be silenced!"

The foundation of our nation is NOT "cracked," it is GONE!!  Yet as sad as that is, and as horrible as the consequences of that truth are and will be in the very near future, the Church, the true Body of Christ, has real TRUTH to proclaim.  Our God is not wringing His hands, wondering what He is going to do.  God has revealed His plan throughout His Word and judgment is coming.  God speaks truth in His Word, and though some twist and distort it, to their own destruction and to the destruction of those who listen to them, all that God says points to the soon return of Jesus Christ.  But first ... some things must happen.

In the third chapter of my book, " ... the end.", I look at four "snapshots" of the events leading up to the return of Jesus Christ.  The passages are Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:1-15; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; and Revelation 11:1-3, 12:1-6 13:1-5.  Look those passages up and read them if you want to know the truth about the future.  I close the chapter with the following words ... 

"Why is God so specific?  So the wise will understand!!  People today fall away, deny God exists, reject His Word and live without hope because they don't know God!  People today leave the church because they never knew or trusted the God who works all things together for good to those who love God and who are called according to HIS purpose!  People are afraid and anxious because they don't believe that 'if God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31) ...

Live with hope every day!  Live in victory over doubt and fear and anxiety every day.  Know that you live in His presence every day (if you believe in Jesus) and that He is with you now and will be with you forever.  Then testify to the TRUTH, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes!"

THIS is the only way to combat the lies being told all around us. Expose the darkness, speak the truth of God's Word as you have opportunity to those who may listen, but don't get caught up in all the political turmoil and think that you and I are going to somehow save our nation for God's impending judgment.  We have a greater responsibility!!  Live for Jesus.  Live with Jesus.  Point people to Jesus Christ, the only Savior and Lord!  Testify to the truth amidst all the lies, and one day you will stand before Him clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ that is yours as the gift of God received by faith.  Be encouraged as you hear the words of David in Psalm 37:

"Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.  Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act" (Psalm 37:1-5).

"Be strong in the LORD!"

Some weeks are longer than others.  A lot can happen in seven days.  A lot can change in seven days ... especially when those "seven days" are "seven years!"  God reveals in His Word that He has ordained a period of seven years at some point in the near future where He will fulfill His purpose to establish Jesus Christ as King on this planet, on the earth.  As events unfold around you today, God is at work in the leaders of the nations, in His true Church and even in those who are evil and who are rebelling against Him and His Son Jesus Christ, to "set the stage" for an all-out attack on the Jewish people who dwell in the land He gave to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  This attack will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ ... but before that ... other things must happen! 

I write in my book, " ... the end." ...

"Your life can very quickly spiral out-of-control if your heart and mind are in the wrong place.  How do you face the 'unknown' of today, tomorrow, next week, next month, unless you understand what lies ahead?  Most people today are like the proverbial ostrich, who sees trouble coming from a distance and sticks his head in the sand, thinking he is protected!  So people today pretend that all is well when it isn't, and rarely if ever, think of the God who promises to pour out His judgment upon mankind ... EXCEPT for those who are truly His children through faith in Jesus Christ.

We live in difficult times and the Bible says clearly that they are going to get worse!  But we who are part of Christ's Body, His Bride, the one true Church, the 'ekklesia,' the 'called-out ones,' are called to be light and salt right up to the sounding of the trumpet calling us to meet Jesus in the clouds!  Satan does his best to distract you and me so we will not set our hearts and minds on Jesus Christ, so we will forget that we who have been born again by His Spirit and who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ have all we need to persevere and to live for the glory of our God!!

That's why the Apostle Paul writes to the Church in Ephesus about the need to put on the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-13:

'Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.'"

More and more and more people are being misled today, whether it is by the news media, politicians, or even the medical community and pastors and leaders in churches!!!  The only source of absolute truth is God's Word, the Bible, yet even here Peter warns that there are some things in Paul's letters that "the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures" (II Peter 3:16).  In these days you must be a student of God's Word and know what it says or you will be deceived.

There WILL BE a seven-year period during which a world leader will arise, the "Anti-Christ," whom the nations of the world will follow.  His agenda will be to deceive, and God will allow him to appear to succeed as he is indwelt and empowered by Satan.  We will examine these things further throughout this year.  What is crucial for YOU today is to know the God who rules over ALL the events going on in your life and in the world around you!  

He is "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End."  You will find in studying God's Word that He is always faithful to those who know Him, who trust Him, who seek Him, who draw near to Him through His Son Jesus and who live to obey Him.  Do YOU know Him?  Have you placed your trust in Him?  Or is He "the unknown God?"  I pray today for YOU as you read these words, that HIS Word will speak to your heart and call you before His throne to find rest for your soul.  "Come to ME," He says, and if, by the work of His Spirit your ears are now open and your eyes can see the foolishness of living without Him, He will receive you as you come!  HE is Lord!

So be strong in the LORD!  Rely on HIS strength and not your own.  You can KNOW that He is with you and that nothing happens by chance.  Through His strength you can and will overcome ... even death!  Rest in Him and find in our God, our Creator, our Savior and our Lord all you need for today and every day!

If you would like a copy of my book, " ... the end.", please contact me at pastorsteve@lighthouse-ministries.org.  The cost is $15, plus $5 for shipping.  If you have always wanted to study Revelation, you can do so by reading it in the context of the rest of Scripture.  Gather a small group together in your home or in your church.  Study guides are available for $10.  Both the book and the Study Guide contain 12 color timelines that will help you understand the sequence of events of the final seven years leading up to Jesus' return.  May the Lord use His Word to prepare His Bride for the return of her Bridegroom!

"Perseverance comes from knowing GOD!"

An amazing number of people today refuse to acknowledge that God exists.  Even amidst the chaos around us, they imagine that mankind can and will somehow find a way not only to survive, but to "advance" civilization toward their goals ... which are centered around a world without God!!  Truly, as the Psalmist writes, "The fool says in his heart, there is no God!" (Psalm 14:1).  

The result of such foolishness is hopelessness and despair.  How do you overcome the temptation to give up and then to give in to the flesh and just live for the things of this world?  You get to know God, the one TRUE God, your Creator, the Creator of all things, and you come to the point where you draw near to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the One who suffered and died to pay the penalty for sin for all who believe, who rose again, who ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, bringing all things to pass according to His will and His plan.  You confess that HE is wiser than you are and that He is at work in your life and in the world ... and in this you find the comfort, hope and strength to persevere through trials and uncertainties.

In my book, " ... the end.",  I write, "How few people today KNOW this God, the only TRUE God, our Creator?!!  Psalm 121 begins by declaring 'I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth' (Psalm 121:1-2).  Knowing the one true God is not only essential for eternal life, but necessary for living in this world with hope and peace and joy.  Because of the ignorance of many concerning faith in the sovereign God who rules over all these things and who is in control of the future, the hearts of millions of people are filled daily with doubt, fear, worry and anxiety, OR with anger, despair and a sense of hopelessness.  

The study of 'end times' can be just an academic study that has little bearing on your life unless you understand that this is God's Word and it reveals truth about God, about life in this world, about the purpose of your life and everything that is happening all around you.  When you know God and His plan to establish His eternal kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth, and you see His plan unfolding just as He said it would, doubt, fear, worry and anxiety are replaced with faith, hope, peace and joy in Christ.  As Isaiah says, 'How beautiful on the mountaintops are the feet of those who bring good news; who say to Zion, OUR God reigns!' (Isaiah 52:7)."

"Zion" refers to Jerusalem and to God's plan to send Jesus to defeat the enemies of His people, literally, and to reign in Jerusalem, literally, for 1,000 years.  While the previous administration in our own nation was surrounded by people who believed what God's Word says about His future plans for the Jewish people and for Jerusalem, the current administration appears largely ignorant of what the Bible says about these things.  What effect that will have on the relationship of the United States to Israel, or upon the recognition of Israel by other Arab nations around them, we do not yet know ... but THIS we do know:  God's plan for the Jewish people, for the United States and for our world continues to move toward the return of Jesus and judgment for those who do not know God, but salvation for those who by His grace know Him as "Abba, Father," through faith in Jesus Christ.

All of this affects how you live your life today!  When you KNOW the God who chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and who continues to gather their physical descendants to a narrow strip of land that HE gave to them more than 4,000 years ago ... when you KNOW the one, true God who sent Jesus Christ into this world to save YOU, the God who gave you new life by His Spirit and enabled you to believe, then you live today with hope AND with zeal for HIS kingdom.  What happens in our own nation, while important and part of God's plan, is less important than what God is doing in His Church and through His people all over the world.  There is ONE true Church, and God knows those who are His.  Are you one of His children by faith in Jesus?

Only if you are, will you persevere through life's trials and testify that "God is good ... ALL the time!"  You will know that He is with you, that He will never leave you, and that when your time in this world is finished you will be with Him forever, and will one day live in a new heaven and and new earth of His making.  Perseverance comes from knowing God!!  Draw near to Him today, reading His Word, praying in the name of Jesus, trusting Him in good times and in suffering, trials and even death, for we who believe in Jesus have victory and we WILL overcome!  Praise GOD, our Creator, our Savior and our Lord!!

"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!!