“ The World is Unprepared for what is coming” Author and Writer Ronald Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” 2 Timothy 3: 1-5; 

ENCOURAGING WORD:

My Friends, we are living in a world where everything mentioned in the opening verses are in full swing and chaos is becoming the new normal. Wars are rising, truth is being redefined, darkness is being celebrated and yet in the midst of it all, many Christians are living as though nothing is happening. As though we are not heading toward the most incredible moments in human history. The question that I need to ask is this, why are most Christians unprepared for what is on the near horizon. The answer is both spiritual and practical.

What does the Bible really say about the end times? There are, in fact, many Bible verses about the end times that speak about the future return of Jesus Christ and the events and conditions that will one day come to fruition. These verses and themes are explored in countless films that you can watched on many of the streaming app channels and more.

And while the Book of Revelation is the most well-known set of Bible verses about the end times. For most Christians when studying end times prophecy, it is far from the only place in scriptures that describe what will unfold during the “last days.” There are many verses throughout the Bible that give great detail of what is to come. The problem is this, todays church leaders do not believe that it is important enough to teach on…big mistake. They will be held accountable for not teaching on the end times. Listen to this next verse.

Hosea 4:6; “ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Most people are not rejecting knowledge; they aren’t being taught it in the first place.  

Eschatology, which is also known as “end times” theology, is an area of biblical study that has captivated the masses for more than two millennia. Over time, various interpretations and theories have emerged surrounding Christ’s return and the end of the world as we know it. These ideas have been embedded in contemporary books and films, as believers look to entertainment — and current events — for clues surrounding what’s to come.

I’m going to share a few Bible verses about  what we will be seeing in the very near future if not already.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

These few verses have been so misunderstood by many church leaders today. This is clearly a rapture verse. First of all, the denominational churches, Catholics and Lutherans to be more exact, do not take rapture verses literally, they have to allegorize everything in the Bible that has to do with the rapture and end times in particular; therefore, they interpret so many other verses that might line up with the rapture wrong also. The key ingredient in these three verses is where it says, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Two things, there are those that say, “The word rapture is not in the Bible” Do you know what the most comforting words are in the verse that I read above? Comfort one another with these words. If we were going to be put through the tribulation, would you be comforted? Not me. God is telling us to be comforted because the true born again believers will be exempt from this time. I know a lot of Christians that believe that they are going to go through the tribulation. They are not comforted by God’s promise about Christians not being put through the tribulation. If you are truly a born again Christian and you are afraid of being put through the tribulation, you are wasting a lot of valuable time here on earth. Instead of fearing what is coming, you could be comforting people with the truth. Here is the issue that most Christians don't understand. Christians teach religion, Born again believers teach the risen Christ. Big difference. Christians will go through the tribulation, born again believers will not. So, if you believe that you are going through the tribulation, then there is a good chance that you are.  

Our word rapture derives from the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17; which translates the Greek harpazo (to catch up or carry away) as the word rapiemur from the Latin word rapio. Harpazo occurs fourteen times in the New Testament with four variations of meaning, each contributing to our understanding of the Rapture.

Let’s take a look at a few verses that support the rapture.

Acts 8:39; “Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.”

In this verse, the Bible uses the words “Caught Philip Away”  God snatched Philip and moved him to a different location in an instant. We could easily say, the Lord raptured Philip away…same meaning. 

2 Corinthians 12:2; “I (Paul) know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up (Raptured) to the third heaven.”

Paul was physically (caught up) raptured into the third heaven. Paul begins to tell the story of his supernatural experience of being taken to "the third heaven." There he was shown otherwise unknowable truths by Christ; 2 Corinthians 12:4; “how he (Paul) was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Especially in the Old Testament, the third heaven is often referred to as the highest heaven, a place created by God where He lives and where angels praise Him. Most commentators understand the first heaven—or first heavens—to be the sky above the earth. The second would be the realm of the sun, moon, and stars: what we would now refer to as outer space.

Revelation 12:2; “She (Mary) bore a male Child (Christ) who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up (Raptured) to God and His throne.”

This verse is also concrete evidence that Jesus will rule and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years. That prophecy has obviously not happened yet. Jesus only lived on earth for 33 years. The denominational churches teach that this has already happened, or it is happening now. Jesus is physically going to rule from Davids throne for one thousand years. Right now Jesus is sitting on His Fathers throne. When He returns at the end of the tribulation, He will then establish His kingdom for one thousand years. Those that died in faith during the church age and those that were raptured will enter into the one thousand year Millennium. Also those that made it through the tribulation will enter the Millennial kingdom which will last for one thousand years.

Revelation 20:4-10; “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those (Tribulation Saints) who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  (The Millennial Kingdom) But the rest of the dead (Unbelievers) did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.   

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. (They are those that will stand before Jesus at “The White Throne Judgement” where Jesus will judge and sentence all those that never repented of their sins nor received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.) They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Let’s move onto another rapture verse.

Matthew 24:40-41; “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

This situation comes up twice in the scriptures, one in the rapture and one at the end of the tribulation. This one in Matthew 24:40-41 is a rapture verse.

Then we read in; Matthew 25:41-4; “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:”

When Jesus is about to enter His Millennial Kingdom, those that will be taken away at that time are those that will be sent to Hades for one thousand years waiting for the White Throne Judgement where they will be judged and sentenced for all eternity.  Two similar situations. Those that are taken in Matthew are those that will be raptured so they will be spared from the seven year tribulation which is meant for those that rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and more importantly, it will be the last seven year period where God will bring the Jews to repentance where they will finally recognize their King…Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5; 9; “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Here Jesus is comforting us letting us know that we will not be here during the tribulation. We, the born again believers are not appointed to Gods wrath. The tribulation is a time when God will bring His wrath upon all those that took the Mark of the Beast. There is no reason for us to be here at that time. It is a time of judgement for the unbelievers and a time of restoration for the Jews. This time is not for the church. The church age will have been completed. Jesus has never dealt with the Jews and the church at the same time. This time is exclusively for the Gentile unbelievers and the Jews that have not received Jesus as their Messiah. Only unbelievers will be present at this time.        

Before Jesus came as a Baby in the Manger, there were only Jews and Gentiles, the church hasn’t yet been born yet. Once Jesus was crucified, The Christian Church, in its New Testament form, is widely believed to have been established on the day of Pentecost, which occurred 50 days after Jesus' resurrection. This event is seen as the birth of the Church, marked by the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. Prior to Pentecost, Jesus' followers were disciples, but they became the Church, the body of Christ, when empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

It was then that the door closed on the Jews, and the church was born. God had sent Paul to be the apostle to the gentiles. The age of Grace and the church age began at that time. At that time Gods attention was only on the church. When Paul starts his teachings and his epistles they were all geared toward the church, not the Jews. So, for two thousand years, the Jews have been spiritually blinded, but not for ever. The day is coming soon, when the door will close on the age of grace and God will once again turn His attention to the Jews for one more seven year period, which we refer to as the tribulation. At the end of the tribulation the culmination of all things will come to an end, and we will enter a new dispensation. One more one thousand year period and the end of all things will be fulfilled. Remember what Peter said,

2 Peter 3:8; “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

According to God, we are entering the seventh day, the day of rest. That is what the Millennial Kingdom will be like. A thousand years of rest for us, and one day to God.

The Bible tells us that when Christ returns to the earth He will establish Himself as King in Jerusalem, sitting on the throne of David; Luke 1:32–33; “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end”. The unconditional covenants demand a literal, physical return of Christ to establish His kingdom. The Abrahamic covenant promised Israel a land, a posterity and ruler, and a spiritual blessing.

Genesis 12:1–3; “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

At the second coming, these covenants will be fulfilled as Israel is re-gathered from the nations converted and restored to the land under the rule of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Matthew 24:31; “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Zechariah 12:10; “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn., and restored to the land under the rule of the Messiah,

The Bible speaks of the conditions during the millennium as a perfect environment physically and spiritually. It will be a time of peace, Joy and Comfort, Micah 4:2–4; “Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.”

Isaiah 32:17–18; “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,”

Isaiah 61:7; “For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. 

The Bible also tells us that only true born again believers will enter the millennial kingdom. Because of this, it will be a time of obedience; holiness, truth and the knowledge of God; Jeremiah 31:33; “ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.

Christ will rule as king nobles and governors will also rule, and Jerusalem will be the political center of the world Revelation 20:2-7; gives the precise time period of the millennial kingdom. There are countless other passages that point to a literal reign of the Messiah on the earth. The fulfillment of many of God’s covenants and promises rests on a literal, physical, future kingdom. There is no solid basis for denying the literal interpretation of the millennial kingdom and its duration being 1,000 years.

Revelation 20:2-7; “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;  and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Now is a good time to ask this question. With all this hard core evidence from the Word of God, how can the Lutherans claim that God is through with Israel and the promises made to Israel are now on the church. Be careful when you call God a liar. Keep this thought in mind before you make such ignorant claims. If God cast off Israel for their sins, what makes us think He won’t do the same to America. We make Israel look like saints with all the sin we endorse in America.

Let me explain why the denominational churches believe that the church will go through the tribulation. If, indeed God did forsake the Jews and all the promises made to Isreal fall on the church, then yes, we would go through the tribulation because the Jews are promised to go through the tribulation. This is what I mean when I say, once you allegorize certain scriptures, then you have to allegorize most of the New Testament. The tribulation is the last seven years of the prophecy spoken of in Daniel 9:24-27. 483 years have been fulfilled on that prophecy, seven years are yet to be accomplished. The tribulation is for the Jews, not the church. The church age will have been completed, and we will be with Jesus celebrated the marriage supper of the Lamb while all hell is breaking loose on earth. If you can’t understand the truth of God’s Word, then understand this. 

2 Corinthians 4:3-4; “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,  whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

This is saying that the gospel has been veiled (Hidden) to those that have not been born-again so they cannot understand the truth. That would include the denominational churches because they do not teach the following verses.

John 3:5-8; “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Need I say more? If you want to understand the Word of God, then listen to what Jesus said in the verses that I just read. Until you become born again, you will never understand the Bible and you will be blinded from the truth, and if you are not born again, you will enter thetribulation period.

God is speaking to us very loudly. If you aren’t listening, then you will not be prepared for what is coming, it will come upon you like a thief in the night. You won’t know what hit you. All these things that I mentioned and many more are coming to fruition faster than we thought would happen. If you feel you want to deny the truth, that is your choice. One day you will know how much I care that I would jeopardize my friendships for the truth of God’s word. I will share once again a verse that brings me much comfort.

John 15:18-25; “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master. ’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me, hates my Father as well.  If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.  But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

I don’t like being hated or despised, but if that is the price that I have to pay to serve Jesus Christ, I’m all in! I can only hope that this message is received and understood by all who read it. I care!

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”