BIBLE MEDITATION: Revelation 1:3; “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Before I really get into the reason for this message, read again what the Bible verse that I just read has to say. It says, “Blessed is he who hears these words”, not cursed is he who reads these words. Let me ask you this, when is the last time that you heard this verse read in your church? If you belong to a denominational church, I can pretty much answer that question for you, “Never”
If Bible prophecy was meant to scare us, why would the Holy Spirit tell us, blessed is he who reads these words? All we need to do is listen to what the Bible teaches and stop listening to pastors and priests who don’t’ teach the whole counsel of God. American is full of false teachers and many of them stand on the pulpits of today every Sunday. Let me share with you two Bible verses that explain what is happening in America.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,”
This is telling us that the Antichrist cannot appear on the scene until the falling away of sound Biblical doctrine happens first. The “man of sin” and the “son of perdition” is in reference to this one world leader that will come on the scene after the falling away and after the rapture of the church, (the true church). My friends, the falling away of sound biblical doctrine is in full force and has been for quite some time now, which means, the “Rapture of the Church” is right around the corner and could happen at any time. I’m not going to get into the Rapture of the church accept to say this, the two mainline denominations, to my knowledge, do not believe in the Rapture of the church. And once again, why, because they don’t study Bible prophecy, nor do they understand what is in the near future. They ignore the 30% of the Bible that tells us what is about to happen in our world.
1 Timothy 4:1; “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
1 Timothy 4:1 is speaking of the days in which we now live. We are there. The book of Daniel is also very prophetic, especially as it relates to these days in which we live. We read a very interesting verse from the book of Daniel;
Daniel, 12:4;“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
Once again, the days that this verse is speaking of is upon us. What did God tell Daniel to do concerning the end days, He told Him to shut up the words that He revealed to Him, until the end of days. Did you ever stop to think, why are so many people speaking of the end times and how they relate to today. It should be obvious! It’s because the time is here for us to understand what is coming. The scriptures of the Bible are now being revealed by the Holy Spirit to those that God has chosen to share the messages, just as He did back in the days of the early prophets. Know this, most of us are not claiming to be modern day prophets, but we are called to share the prophecies that are coming to fruition right before our eyes. (A little side note for you to think about) If you are blinded from the truth of the scriptures, it is because you haven’t accepted and received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Let me share this scripture that validates what I just said.
We read in 2 Corinthians 4:4; “The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
If you are not able to understand what is taking place in our world, it is because you have not given your life over to Jesus Christ. Satan has blinded you and the only way for you to understand the bible and biblical prophecy is by calling out to Jesus, repent of your sins and becoming Born-Again into the Holy spirit. If you refuse to do that, then you have no grounds for arguing with those of us that have surrendered our life to Jesus. This is the main reason for this post, to hopefully reach those that will listen. With that being said, I know very few people will listen and learn. And once again, let me validate what I just said with the following Bible verse.
Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
So let me ask you this, what gate have you chosen to go through? There are only two gates, one that gives you eternal life with Jesus Christ and the other one that leads to death and destruction. You do have a choice and don't let anybody tell you different.
I would like to take a few moments to share my testimony and how I became a servant of God. First of all, most of you that knew me for a good part of my life, it doesn’t surprise me that you are skeptical of the fact that I have been chosen by the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel. As a matter of fact, the Bible warns me that you will be skeptical of anything that I teach. Here is the Bible verse that validates what I just said.
Mark 6:4; “But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
This verse is saying that those of you that know me best, will have the hardest time accepting me as a messenger of God. Know this, Even Jesus was not accepted in His home town of Nazareth, the area that He called home. It’s hard for someone to know a person when they were not walking with the Lord, and then see them all of a sudden turn into a Born-Again servant of God. I know, I’ve been there. I didn’t chose this path; I just submitted my life to Jesus Christ and He did the rest.
It all started when I was a young child. My parents started taking us to church when we were way too young to understand why. We attended Sunday school every Sunday from kindergarten through sixth grade. Seventh grade through nineth grade we attended a catechism class that took place Saturday mornings. After that, it was then that we were confirmed into the Lutheran religion. For the next twenty five years, I was a faithful follower and supporter of the Lutheran religion. I was an usher, Sunday school teacher and a superintendent of Sunday school. This took place for quite a few years, until one day as I was leaving church, I heard my first message from the Holy Spirit. The message was this, “Okay, you have been grounded in religious doctrine, now it is time to get into the Word and learn the truth of the scriptures.” The Holy Spirit encouraged me to read the Bible and listen to what He has to say. For the next year, every night I took about an hour or two to read the Bible. It took me a whole year to get through it the first time, but I did get through it. Did I learn much? No, not really, but enough to know that I had to continue reading it over and over again. Every time I would read over a passage that I read before, it started becoming much more clearer to me.
John 13:7; “Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
See, the Holy Spirit will give you a little wisdom and knowledge at a time. He will see what you do with it. If you share what you’ve learned with others, He will give you more. See, the more that you believe, the more you will receive. I’m living proof. I knew nothing about the Bible, and most of what I learned from my previous religion really taught me very little if anything, especially when it had anything to do with salvation. I was taught that if I was baptized, and did more good than bad, I would go to heaven. This my friends is a lie from the pit of hell. If the Holy Spirit did not take me under his wing, and teach me truth, I would certainly be headed to “The Lake of Burning Fire” for all eternity.
Now comes the interesting part of my life. After spending a few years studying the Bible, I happen to run into an old friend of mine who was following Jesus Christ right out of high school. So, to say the least, I didn’t take the same path as he did, and we departed ways as friends. After thirty years of not having any contact with this friend, the Holy Spirit reunited us at a local supper club. We had a little conversation, and after telling him the new path I had been called for, he invited me over to his house to talk. We were there for about four hours and during that time, he proceeded to share with me the many passages of the Bible that had to do with Bible prophecy. I was so intrigued with how it all lined up with what was taking place in our world, that I spent the next thirty years studying Bible prophecy and attending Bible prophecy conferences where the most knowledgeable Bible teachers of the world spoke. I followed what was happening in our world as it related to what the Bible had to say. Every year it got more and more clearer about what the Bible had to say about end times, and it was without a doubt, the truth.
I heard from a very good Bible scholar the following statement. The Bible is sixty six books written by over forty authors, and when you read and understand the Bible, you will come to the conclusion that whoever inspired and wrote the Bible had to be from outside our time domain. Every prophecy that was written about the first coming of Jesus Christ was fulfilled to 100% accuracy. Coincidence, I think not. Now, we are nearing the days of Jesus’ second coming. And just like the prophets of old, the prophecies that are in the Bible in regards to the end of days are all being laughed at, mocked at, not taken seriously, and ignored by most pastors and priest today.
The most familiar story in the Bible where a prophet was mocked and laughed at is found in the book of Genesis. I think everybody has heard some version of Noah’s Ark. Noah had prophesied for over 120 years that judgment was coming to the earth in the form of a worldwide flood. Do you know how many took him seriously. Eight people. The rest perished in the flood that they were warned about. Noah, his wife, their three sons, Ham, Shem and Japheth, and their wives, were the only ones who were speared from that judgment. Those of us that are called today are sharing what is coming in the very near future about events that will begin to take place, and once again, very few people are taking it seriously or in most cases, just don't accept it as truth. Those that ignore the signs that we are told to watch for today, are going to be cast into what the Bibles refers to as the “Great Tribulation.” These days will be worse than drowning in the flood and I believe that this seven year period is in the very near future. I wouldn't wish this on anybody and that is why I am so adamant on reaching as many people as I can with the truth.
In case you are being told that there are no modern day prophets, let me share these two following Bible verses with you.
1 Corinthians 12:10; “And to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 12:28-29; “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?”
These scriptures are telling us that there will be those that can perform miracles, understand prophecy, speak in tongues, and have the gift of healing along with many other gifts of the spirit in these days in which we live. These are just a few that are mentioned in these verses. So, let me ask you this question, why is it so hard for us to accept someone that has one of these gifts. You know why, it’s because your religious sect of Christianity doesn’t teach it. Once again, they reject what is clearly written in the scriptures of the Bible.
One common statement that people often say is this, all you prophecy students just share doom and gloom. That is true to a point, but more so, a false Statement. For those that reject the truth of the Bible and Bible prophecy and have not become Born-Again, it will be doom and gloom. For those that have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, it is the Blessed Hope. You can decide where you stand.
That's how most regard the book of Revelation. Oftentimes, Christians shy away from it because they believe prophecy is irrelevant or too complex to spend time examining it, or it just simply scares them. They are mistaken. The book of Revelation provides insight into events that will come to pass and helps us make sense of the events that are happening already in our world. It elevates our perspective. Deciphering prophecy offers us hope despite the chaos surrounding us in our culture today. Most people do have questions about the Bible's prophecies. While it can be perplexing, prophecy is the key to understanding the days ahead.
I remember when I was reading the Bible, when I got to Revelation, I didn’t want to read it. I was actually afraid of what I might read. I wanted to stay ignorant at first, I didn’t want to hear about all the doom and gloom as most people put it. As time went on, I started attended some Bible prophecy conferences. Most of the speakers that spoke at these conferences had studied the Bible anywhere from thirty to sixty years and were the most learned Bible Prophecy scholars in the world. Many of them taught from the Book of Revelation along with many of the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Most of the early Old Testament Prophets prophesied exactly what would happen in the end days. They knew over two thousand years ago, what would take place in these days in which we live. This is where we get the saying. The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. When you understand the Old Testament Books, you will understand the Book of Revelation, especially the Book of Daniel, which is a complete study in and of itself. As I continued to read through Revelation, everything started to become quite clear. As I read and understood the book of Revelation, I realized that I had nothing to fear about what was written in those pages. No doom and gloom for me, a Born-Again believer in Jesus Christ, just the Blessed Hope.
Let me sum it up this way, if you are a true Born-Again Christian and understand Bible prophecy, you will find comfort in what is coming. If you reject Bible prophecy, guess what, it is still going to come to fruition whether you believe it or not. At that time when you see it happening, you will wish you would have listened and paid attention. God is speaking to those that are His and believe in what the Bible teaches as the true and inerrant Word of God. So, do you want to ignore 30% of the Bible and believe the deception that is taught from the modern day pulpits, or will you study what God has revealed to us and prepare for what is about to come to fruition. Something to think about, if you encounter a true Born-Again believer and he tells you that he is not afraid of what is coming, why do you suppose that is. It is because he knows the truth of the Gospel and the promises of God’s Word and how they bring comfort to the true believer. Everybody else seems to be running in fear, and they should.
I’ll end with this Bible verses, 2 Timothy 1:7; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
The “Us” that this Bible verse is referring to is the true Born-Again believers. If you have fear of what is coming, then you have no faith in God’s Word, If you have no fear, then you truly believe and understand the promises of God as stated in 2 Timothy 1:7.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
God Bless you in all you do and take care!
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