“To give light to those who sit in darkness
and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:79

In this world darkness is all around us.

I was sitting near a pond on a beautiful college campus in New England, admiring the breath-taking beauty of the place. Willows line the pond and ducks paddle to and fro on it. The grounds are immaculate and vibrant, the buildings brick red, clean and stately. I remember thinking that this is the closest I’ve seen to what I imagine heaven might look like.

But I worked in an office in that university one summer, and the image of its beauty was shattered as I beheld the Satanic influence everywhere within its walls. Our universities are taken over by “New Age” propaganda, liberalism, and heresy. What a contrast inside those walls versus the gleaming beauty outside them. Reminds me of what Jesus said:

“For you are like whitewashed tombs
which indeed appear beautiful outwardly,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones
and all uncleanness.”
Matthew 23:27

And so we look at the world and see the glory of God’s creation in the mountains and oceans and forests and plains. But there is a secret life co-existing with this beauty, a world governed by Satan, who is “the god of this world” (2nd Corinthians 4:4). He perpetrates lies especially upon the young and turns their hearts dark. Unbeknownst to them, “New Age” propaganda is fed them as they sit in their ivory tower classrooms. This is where Satan strikes, in the hearts of our young for they, having been blinded to truth, will go out into the world and spread what their demon-inspired professors saturated them with (1st Timothy 4:1).

But there is yet another Kingdom co-existing in this world, the Kingdom of God which also is not seen but is very, very real. It is offered to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. It does not gain citizens automatically, no, there must be an application to join this Kingdom. There must be a hunger for truth. There must be a recognition of one’s fallen state and the darkness of every heart that has come into the world, for into this fallenness were we all born.

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9

The principles of this Kingdom are diametrically opposed to the kingdom of darkness, and it takes great humility to recognize that and be willing to forsake the darkness and come into the light. To those who make this transition, there will be guidance into the way of truth and righteousness and peace until the day the person leaves this earth, for it is the New Covenant, an eternal covenant made in Jesus Christ with each one who will receive it.

This covenant is the mercy of God who, seeing man’s fallen and hopeless state, sent his Son to bear the judgment on the sin of all who will receive the atonement he accomplished for them. He hung on a cross, tortured and bloodied, suffering the judgment due me and due you upon our sins. Justice demands that sin MUST be judged and all sin WILL be judged, but there is salvation to all who will look upon that sacrificial torture and death that Jesus Christ bore, taking upon himself the judgment due on our sins, IN OUR PLACE, and who offers salvation and new life to all who will bow to him and receive him as Lord.

In bowing before him and receiving the atonement Jesus Christ offers, a supernatural change will take place in the heart of the new believer, a change that can be likened to a change in the person’s DNA, a totally new “Operating System,” a replacing of the old version with a new one. When this transition takes place, all things become new:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
HE IS A NEW CREATION;
old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.”
2nd Corinthians 5:17

If you are walking in darkness, if your efforts to make your life meaningful have failed, consider the Christ who offers you a new life. No longer will you be a citizen in the dark world into which each of us was born; you will receive this upgrade, this reset of your inner self, and you will be amazed at the changes when the management changes, for the Manager is the one who created you and who desires to give you a life that has meaning and is fulfilling. Surrender to him today, and he will give you a totally new life wherein is love and joy and peace and purpose.

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Born Again -What Does That Mean?

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“To do evil is like sport to a fool,
but a man of understanding has wisdom.”
Proverbs 10:23

What is a fool? A fool is someone who lives only on the surface. Truth and wisdom mean nothing to him, he lives in the moment and is ready for any entertainment he can find. From the time he gets up in the morning, until the time he goes to bed at night, he lives for amusement and enjoys whatever comes his way whether good or evil. If someone suggests they get into something evil he goes for it and enjoys it like a sport.

The fool’s whole focus is on having a good time, and whatever may be evil he does not examine but deems all acceptable. There is no right or wrong to him, all he seeks is entertainment. His speech is dirty, he loves dirty jokes and approves of all that is filthy, without discrimination. He loves to laugh and there are no barriers with him. He never progresses beyond the banality of youth, he is a fool and remains a fool all of his life.

A man of understanding, on the other hand, has progressed beyond the foolishness of youth.

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child;
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
1st Corinthians 13:11

A man of understanding is one who wonders about the seriousness of life. He has seen people die, and that makes him wonder what the purpose of life is, why he is here, where he is going, the meaning of it all. He is a thinker. He is a seeker. He approaches God and asks who He is and how one can come to know Him. He realizes that the answers aren’t just simple, but that he must seek them out. He is bored with the foolishness all around him, and seeks truth and understanding above all.

“The wise in heart will receive commands,
but a prating fool will fall.”
Proverbs 10:8

The wise man will come to the conclusion that truth and righteousness are the most important things in life. He stands ready to accept what God has said, and when he is rebuked he receives the correction and grows by it.

The fool though, only seeks merriment and has no concern about his eternity. If one speaks to him about something serious, he is not interested, nor could he receive it if he were. He has no awareness that his foolishness will lead him to eventual loss, nor would he care if it did. His life is empty. He is as a body without a soul.

Don’t let your life pass you by in frivolity. It’s useless. Life is more than entertainment. Seek out wisdom and understanding. Take the less trodden path, for it leads to life.

“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.”
Matthew 7:13-14

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“And he called unto him the twelve,
and began to send them forth by two and two;
And he gave them power over unclean spirits;”
Mark 6:7

Notice in this passage that being born again did not confer on them automatic power and authority. These men had walked for quite awhile with Jesus, but they could do nothing until he GAVE them power to go out in his Name.

v 12-13:
“And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil
many that were sick, and healed them.”

Notice that they preached repentance before they did anything else.

We live in a day of “cheap grace.” Men preach that all you have to do is repeat “the sinner’s prayer,” and zippo! You’re saved!

Hold on, it doesn’t work that way. If you’re approaching the Most High God with the repetition of a pre-written prayer, it will probably be to no avail. Clearly in this passage we see the disciples demanding repentance first.

What is repentance?

Sometimes sinners stay away from God because they are caught in sin that they know they cannot overcome. A man knows he has a violent temper, and he knows there is no way to stop it, so he stays away from God. Another man knows he is steeped in pride as he climbs the corporate ladder, and he cannot imagine himself walking in humility, so he stays away from God. Someone else is hooked on pornography and he knows beyond any shadow of doubt that he cannot overcome this sin. So he stays away from God.

The fallacy is the idea that one needs to clean up before coming to God, and that’s a fallacy because it’s humanly impossible. It’s like avoiding a shower until you’re clean. Whatever a person is trapped in, he knows he can’t escape it. Deep down he’s very aware that he’s steeped in sin, and he’s also very aware that he can’t overcome it. The demand that he extricate himself before coming to God is a Satanic lie that will damn him by keeping him away from salvation. We human beings do not have the power to escape sin. We might get a victory here or there, and pat ourselves on the back for being smart enough to overcome some stronghold in our lives. But anyone who’s been there knows that there will always be another front and then another. If a person makes every effort to part from sin before coming to God, he’ll never come.

Cleaning up one’s act is not repentance. No, repentance is far greater than that. Repentance means surrendering to God your sin, your weakness, and your self- reliance, which is pride. It means giving up that pride, giving up control over one’s life, humbling oneself before God in a lifetime commitment.

“A Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
And the tax collector, standing afar off,
would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven,
but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other;”
Luke 18:10-14

Repentance is taking the crown off one’s head and bowing before the Crown on Jesus’s head. It means transferring control over one’s life to the sovereign control of God. It means taking the focus off oneself, and bowing before the Lord. It means being willing for the Lord to come into one’s heart and make the changes that HE wants to make.

If you have been discouraged because you know you’re a sinner hopelessly bound in whatever brand of sin is your lot, do not stay away from God because of it. He knows you cannot overcome it; what he wants is your surrender to him. Once you have truly bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ, once you have completely surrendered your life to him, then you will be forgiven and you will enter a story, a journey, an adventure with him that will change everything about you, not just the sin you are focused on. Don’t stay away. Instead, bow before him in heartfelt surrender. And there ...he will receive you.

“Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
-Just As I Am

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Born Again - What Does That Mean?

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“For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish
but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16

This is the foundational Scripture of the Christian faith, the Scripture which children in Sunday school will learn by heart. Let’s take a deeper look at it.

WHY did God send his Son?

When God created mankind, he created him in complete perfection. This enraged Satan who at one time was the elect angel in heaven, and who lost his place when he rebelled against God. God created something new, mankind created in the image and likeness of God, loved by God, with an eternal future with God. In his great anger, Satan devised a plot to get man to sin because he knew that rebellion against God would cause mankind’s downfall.

God had placed Adam and Eve, our first parents, in a lush garden and told them that they were totally free and could eat whatsoever they desired there, with the exception of the fruit of one tree. He told them that if they would eat the fruit of that tree, they would surely die.

Satan’s method from the very beginning even up until this day - is deception. He knows that the way to damn people is to tell them that what God has said is not really true. Satan’s method from the very beginning even up until this day - is deception. He knows that the way to damn people is to tell them that what God has said is not really true.

Did God really say...?

Satan said to Eve,

“HAS GOD INDEED SAID, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’”
Genesis 3:1

Eve answered that they may eat freely, except from that one tree which they must not eat from lest they die.

The LIE:

vs 4-5
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will NOT surely die.
For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
AND YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil.’”

God said they would surely die if they ate from that tree, and Satan said no, you will NOT surely die.

Satan is a liar and lies to every human being on the earth including you and including me. He puts suggestions into your mind with the intent of making you doubt what God has said and to doubt what he has given us in his Word, the Bible.

Jesus said of Satan:

“When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF IT.”
John 8:44

It’s all about deception. Satan lies to people, and to this day they believe the lies.

Adam and Eve fell for the bait and ate of that tree, and when they did, the death principle came into their perfect world and not only would they die, but every living thing on the earth came under the death principle, because they relinquished the authority God had given them over the earth when Satan succeeded in bringing them down through lies.

So God had a problem. Satan had destroyed God’s creation and in doing so Satan became “the god of this world.”

“But even if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those who are perishing,
whose minds the god of this world has blinded,
who do not believe...”
2nd Corinthians 4:3-4

Mankind was doomed. Every descendant of Adam would now be born in a fallen human nature because of which he will sin. And no one can enter heaven stained with sin. The judgment upon sin is death and hell, eternal separation from God.

Another lie:

Many religions teach that salvation comes through our goodness, that if our good outweighs the bad, we’ll go to heaven. This is a LIE. Mankind is doomed by sin. When a man is convicted of rape and murder, it is useless for him to stand before the judge and tell him all the good things he’s done. The judge is not interested in hearing how much money he gave to charity, the judge is not interested in hearing ANY of the man’s good works. The man is there convicted of rape and murder and all he is going to hear from the judge is the sentence, his prior good works are here irrelevant. And that’s the position sin puts us in before the righteous Judge of all.

Jesus Christ came into the world to take that sentence upon himself in our place. That is why there is no other way to be saved.

We are ALL sinners

“...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:22

“There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Romans 3:10

But God has provided the means through which we can be saved. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, came into this world to take upon himself the guilt of mankind’s sin, to go to the cross shedding his innocent blood for the guilty. And that’s why the atonement he provided is the only way one can be saved. All people, all descendants of Adam and Eve, come into the world in a fallen human nature, and all sin. All are sinners, all sin must be judged. Jesus took upon himself the judgment of our sins.

That’s why...

vs 18:
“He who believes in him is not condemned,
but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.”

We come into the world condemned. The only way to be saved is to put our faith in the One who took our condemnation upon himself. There is no other way. And that’s why all religions do NOT lead to God. No other has borne our judgment in our place.

Jesus said...

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.
NO ONE comes to the Father EXCEPT through me.”
John 14:6

If you have not received Jesus Christ as your savior and lord, you have the sentence of condemnation upon you. There is no other way to be saved. If there were any other way, God would not have sent his sinless Son to pay such a horrific price.

Pray:
Father God, I admit that I am a sinner. I ask you to receive me through Jesus Christ your Son who took upon himself the judgment on MY sin. I want to belong to Jesus. I ask for the grace of repentance. Help me to turn away from a sinful life and follow you. I surrender myself and my entire life to you, Lord Jesus. From this day forward may you be my Savior, and my Lord. How could I ever thank you for the great sacrifice you endured - FOR ME? Bring me into your plan for my life, I will follow you for the rest of my days.

“Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Lyrics from “Before The Throne Of God”

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Who Is Jesus Christ?

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“Then he went out again by the sea,
and all the multitude came to him, and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus
sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
So he arose and followed him.”
Mark 2:13-14

As I read the accounts of Jesus calling his twelve disciples, I always remark at how this stranger just says to them, “Come follow me,” and they immediately leave whatever they were doing and go to him. What is it about his words that have such an effect upon people?

I was sitting on the piano bench one day many years ago, weeks after I was born again in an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. As I sat there, suddenly Jesus was in the room. I did not see him physically, but I saw him surely and knew immediately that it was him. He spoke to me and I would never forget the exact words he said, so profoundly did they impact me. He said, “Forsaking all, come follow me.”

There is power in the words spoken by Christ. His words came into me and my heart immediately sprung up with a whole-hearted “YES!” The power of his words to me brought forth the reaction in me before I even had a chance to think about it. What is it about Jesus Christ that so affects anyone touched by him? What is it about his words that evoke such an immediate reaction inside the one spoken to?

Have you been called? Do you know him? If you don’t, if you’re “religious” and think that’s enough, I challenge you to ask him whether you’re born again or not. Religion will not ever produce the change in a person that can only take place when he/she is born again by the Spirit of God. If you have any doubts, then ask him about it, because if you are born again, you have no doubts, you KNOW it.

I hate religion, because that is what he brought me OUT of. I had grown up in a religious home, went to a religious school - kindergarten through high school - and was miserable. No religious rites relieved me of the angst I had inside. After coming out of the “confessional” each week, I would find myself wishing to die now that I was “clean,” because I knew that before the end of the day I would undo what I thought took place in the confessional. I could not escape the awareness of my sinfulness.

That was the context in which I was living when the Lord revealed himself to me on that Thanksgiving weekend so long ago. It would take many, many years to unlearn the deceptions of religion and learn from his Word (the Bible) the truth that sets you free. I remember so well saying to him, “I reject all teaching that came before, from this day I know only Jesus Christ and what you will teach me about him.” I started back at the beginning. I began reading the Bible for the first time.

It changed everything.

The Lord reveals himself in various ways to various people. To me, he revealed himself as “The Truth.” And from then on, there has never been anything more important to me in life than the truth. To this day, I pray that if ever I am deceived, that he would show me the truth. What could possibly be more important?

“Forsaking all....” he said to me.

And that’s what following him has cost me ...ALL.

I remember early in my walk with the Lord, seeing Kathryn Kuhlman one day in Rhode Island. She came out onto the stage in that beautiful white dress of hers, so lovely. I’ll never forget what she said. She raised her hand up high above her head and said, “What does salvation cost you? Nothing. It’s paid for entirely by the atonement made in Jesus Christ. What will following him cost you? ...Everything.”

I went on to learn the truth of that, because I lived it. It cost me everything.

Would I do the same if I had known then what I know now ...if I had known what it would cost me?

Yes, I would do the same. I have nothing more precious in life than my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I would forsake anyone or anything for him, should he bid me to ...and he has. Once you’ve been in his presence, nothing will ever be the same again. He could ask nothing from me that I wouldn’t give. Walking with Jesus Christ is not just giving things up. He explained it:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10

Oh how true! It’s been many years now, and I can honestly say I understand the depths of that Scripture. Jesus came to me and he destroyed the works of the devil that had made up my life. And ...then he gave me that “life more abundantly.” And I live in that abundant life today.

Someday, he promises, all will be worth it ...when we see what he did with the stories of our lives. We see now in a glass darkly, but then ...we will see him face to face. And for that day we yearn and wait and believe and call to him, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!”

What Does ‘Born Again’ Mean?

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“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you
that you should not obey the truth,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ
was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”
Galatians 3:1

Who has bewitched you?

While the context here is speaking of those trying to be justified by works of the law, we also might ask many others “who has bewitched you?” You started out well. You received the Lord with all of your heart. But as time went on, the influences of the world, the culture, your job, tv and movies and being with unsaved people - have taken a toll on your faith. Your fire has become a smoldering wick.

“Nevertheless I have this against you,
that you have left your first love.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen;
repent and do the first works,
or else I will come to you quickly
and remove your lampstand from its place
—unless you repent.”
Revelation 2:4-5

Let us examine our faith. Are we still walking in the devotion to the Lord that we did at the first? Or has our faith become dull? Have we been desensitized by the things of the world which consume our attention?

“And do this, knowing the time,
THAT NOW IT IS HIGH TIME TO AWAKE OUT OF SLEEP,
for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand.”
Romans 13:11

Time is so short. Of all the signs Jesus gave signalling the times of the end, every single one of them is on the scene right now. Not one is missing. Are there wars, rumors of war, earthquakes, famine, and diseases? Some have scoffed saying all those signs have been on the earth since the beginning. True. Every generation has had a major calamity - be it a great war, a great earthquake, or any of the signs mentioned. So what did Jesus mean by naming those particular things? This: that the last generation would see them all together. Not one or another of them, all of them. And that they would progressively get stronger, as birth pains in a woman in labor. So truly, truly it’s obvious that we are that last generation.

Furthermore, Scriptures throughout the Bible point to the generation that would see the Jews being regathered back to the land of their fathers after being dispersed for 2,000 years. At the present, there are more than 7 million Jews living in the land of Israel, one of the greatest miracles of all time. Think of it - two thousand years ago Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were banished from the land of Israel, exiled to every country on the earth; and there they remained, scattered across the globe, for two millennia. Yet in this generation they have been brought back to the very place they left two thousand years ago, speaking the same language they spoke when they left, a language lost to them while scattered. How can these things be?

A hundred years ago the very thought of this seemed so preposterous that Bible teachers said those prophecies must be symbolic. But no, God’s Word was fulfilled just as he gave it and now Israel, which had become desolate and deserted, is as modern and developed a country as the United States – all within one generation.

It is obvious that we don’t have much time left before the great Tribulation begins. God signaled us with four blood-moon lunar eclipses falling ON (and only on) Biblical feast days. How much clearer could he make it? He signaled us with the Revelation 12 sign in the constellations - again - on, and only on, - Biblical feast days. Friends, these are sign posts - just like the signs you see when you’re traveling on a highway. As you near your destination you’ll see signs telling you you’re near. The great 7-year Tribulation is near!

What a sad thing it must be to stand before the Lord at the end and realize what you COULD HAVE done. You will see the gifts and talents he gave you and you will be asked what you did with them. If your whole heart centered around football, you will stand in deep regret. If your whole heart centered around your career you will stand in deep regret. If your whole heart centered around making a name for yourself, you will stand in regret.

Please wake up. Don’t use the rest of your short time here, focused on yourself. Seek the Lord and find out from him what your gifts and talents and callings are, and spend the rest of your time using it all in his service. If you do that, you won’t stand in regret. No, you’ll hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

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“You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,
shall revive me again,
and bring me up again from the depths of the earth.”
Psalm 71:20

“...bring me up again from the depths of the earth…”

The resurrection of the dead is not just a New Testament revelation, it’s also found in several places in the Old Testament.

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.”
Hosea 13:14

But it is the New Testament in which this subject is developed more fully. In fact, the apostle Paul stressed that if this life is all there is, then it’s meaningless.

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ,
we are of all men the most pitiable.”
1st Corinthians 15:19

No, there IS resurrection of the dead, and it is for the life to come that we prepare in the life that is present. If this were all there is, we might say, “If the dead do not rise, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (1st Corinthians 15:32). But that is not the case, not at all. This life is boot camp. In this life we learn about who God is, who we are, why we’re here, where we’re going, and how to get there - with our eyes fixed on the life to come which is what the present life is all about. This present life goes by like a flash, but the one to come is forever.

The apostle Paul was so looking forward to it in fact, that he said he was in a conflict within his own soul - preferring to leave and go to this heaven to be with Christ, but aware of how much he was needed here by the churches he had established.

“For I am hard-pressed between the two,
having a desire to depart and be with Christ,
WHICH IS FAR BETTER.
Nevertheless to remain in the flesh
is more needful for you.”
Philippians 1:23-24

Paul said that departing this life “is far better.” This in itself proves there is life after death, because laying dead in a grave certainly is not “far better.” And if there were no life after death, Paul would not have longed to depart. But he DID long to depart, knowing it truly IS “far better.”

“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather
to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
2nd Corinthians 5:8

Some say we are reincarnated after death. No, “it is appointed unto men ONCE to die...” (Hebrews 9:27). The theory of reincarnation suggests that we keep coming back until we get it right. That’s a lie (one of many.) We get only ONE shot at it and then it’s over and we spend eternity either in heaven or hell. We could never be reincarnated enough times to get it right. We are a fallen people, born to fallen parents, into a fallen world. The Word of God tells us that and it doesn’t take much observation to recognize the truth of it. Our case was hopeless. That’s why God provided the way of salvation by providing atonement for us, that whosoever accepts Jesus Christ will have his sins forgiven and be enabled to go to heaven. Jesus bore in himself the judgment on our sins, in our place. That’s what his atonement means.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world THROUGH HIM might be saved.
He who believes in him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 3:16-18

This should give the believer great comfort concerning loved ones who have died. Actually, they are not dead - they are even more alive than they were on earth, because they are “present with the Lord” in a geographical place we call heaven. One can only imagine what kind of life they are experiencing.

If life on earth is full of the things that make for enjoyment - music, travel, technology, the beauty of the earth, all the opportunities to do enjoyable things, how then can heaven be any less? No, it is far greater still. Heaven is not a place where one is confined to a cloud while playing a harp. That is a Satanic idea which robs people of the joyful anticipation of what is to come. If we are busy enjoying life here, how much more activity and joyful living will be experienced there! Truly, it IS “FAR BETTER.”

Therefore, do not fear death. It’s not the end of life, it’s simply relocation. Turn your life over to Jesus Christ, the one who came to be the atonement for you, confess your sins, surrender all to him, and heaven will be yours. Forever.

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“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
nor detest his correction;
for whom the Lord loves he corrects,
just as a father the son in whom he DELIGHTS.”
Proverbs 3:11-12

A good parent closely guides his/her child, always watching to apply correction when needed, not in anger or hostility, but as a caring parent who wants his child to grow in maturity. God doesn’t leave us as babes, and when a person is just coasting along God will apply pressure where needed to bring the believer out of complacency and up to a higher level of maturity. The believer’s response therefore should be to give the Lord his/her full attention and to surrender and cooperate fully in order to grow.

“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons,
for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers,
then you are illegitimate and not sons.”
Hebrews 12:7-8

Just as the child respected his father who corrected him, how much more should we give respect and cooperation to our heavenly Father who applies needed correction?

vs 9:
“Furthermore, we have had human fathers
who corrected us, and we paid them respect.
Shall we not much more readily be in subjection
to the Father of spirits and live?”

Our earthly parent may have chastened us in anger or frustration, but our heavenly Father applies only the correction needed for growth. His chastening is from a heart of love for his child, not from anger - but he loves his child too much to leave him as he is.

v 10:
“For they indeed for a few days chastened us
as seemed best to them, but he for our PROFIT,
that we may be partakers of his holiness.”

The Lord always, in any chastening, has a specific goal, a specific purpose. He doesn’t act in anger or frustration toward us, but with the love of God and the wisdom of God seeking only to train his child in righteousness. He hopes the child will not react in anger or self-will or rebellion; his desire is that the child cooperate in order to grow up.

vs 11:
“Now no chastening seems to be joyful
for the present, but painful;
nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit
of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Let the son or daughter therefore surrender his heart to his loving, caring Father and cooperate fully with the One who loves him more than anyone else in this world loves him. Let him take a right attitude and refuse to react incorrectly in anger or rebellion. The end result will be beautiful; indeed anyone who weathers God’s correction with a right attitude will later rejoice in the growth he will see in himself as the Lord leads him into healing and deliverance and correction and transformation - all that is necessary for health and maturity.

vs 12:
“Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down,
and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet,
so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”

If a person has had a harsh and unfair earthly father, oftentimes he becomes angry and rebellious. It may be difficult for him therefore to believe that his heavenly Father would never be as his earthly father was. Take the first step then, and choose to believe what God has said about himself. He is not unfair, he is not chastening his son or daughter with anything but love for his child.

Believers need to separate in their minds the wrong idea they have of God that they developed if their earthly father was not a good father. It has to be a choice, because our emotions have been trained wrongly at the hands of human, fallen, parents. The only way one can come to understand that God is not like his earthly father is to immerse himself in the Word of God daily to relearn what a good father really is. Slowly but surely if he abides in the Word of God, he will come to understand, to relearn, that above all things, God loves him, that he truly desires his best, and that he will apply only the corrections needed, and that even when correction is needed, it will only be applied in love. God does not abandon us in our trials. Indeed, our greatest blessings can come out of our worst trials.

When a son or daughter of God adopts the right attitude, he will come to learn that God delights in him. That may be hard to believe while going through a tough time, but it’s true - your heavenly Father delights in you. Receive his loving correction therefore, and let him bring you to maturity. Your heavenly Father was content with the relationship he had with you while you were a babe, but he desires the far deeper relationship one has with a maturing son or daughter. That is his goal; receive it therefore, and let him grow you up knowing that truly, truly - your heavenly Father delights in you.

“...for whom the Lord loves he corrects,
just as a father the son in whom he DELIGHTS.”
Proverbs 3:12

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“For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
and his heart will work iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
TO UTTER ERROR AGAINST THE LORD...”
Isaiah 32:6

What is “uttering error against the Lord” ?

There are two forms of uttering “error against the Lord.” The first is the mindless taking of his Name in disdain. It is remarkable how common expressions of anger or frustration express themselves in profaning the Name of Jesus Christ. Have you ever wondered why “Jesus Christ” is the common “swear word?” Why don’t people instead swear “oh Allah!” or “oh Cali!” or “oh Buddha”? Why is the name of Jesus Christ, and only that Name, so maligned and used so mindlessly?

It’s because one of Satan’s favorite delights is moving upon the hearts of the foolish to utter words belittling the name of Jesus Christ. It should be obvious that this is the work of Satan, because it is the name of Jesus, and only Jesus, that is used as an epithet.

The second form of uttering “error against the Lord” is promoting the rejection of the Word of God, the Bible. This is a generation like no other in out-and-out blasphemy against the Word of God, refusing to allow him the authority of his Word.

To murder a child in its mother’s womb is a grievous act against the Biblical command (not suggestion, the command) “thou shalt not commit murder.” Satan makes every effort to convince society that the child in its mother’s womb is not yet a human being, so that killing the child is ok. That’s a lie from “the father of lies.”

Jesus himself said of Satan:

“When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF IT.”
John 8:44

America was founded by and upon Almighty God and his Word, but America has allowed into her country those who have disdain toward the Word of God. The Word of God commands, not suggests, it commands:

“You shall have NO OTHER GODS before me.”
Exodus 20:3

The god of Islam is “another” god, a slap in the face of the one true God who is the creator and sustainer of all that is, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God commands that we allow NO OTHER GODS into our midst, and to do so is the greatest possible expression of “error against the Lord.” Satan uses the word “tolerance” to convince people that they must accept this “other god.” It’s a lie, it’s a lie most are accepting. Tolerating abomination against God is the epitome of foolishness, the defiance of the One who will give each one his next breath.

Obviously there is another terrible proclamation in the land that once belonged to the God of the Bible, and this is the elephant in the room - the legalization of the abominations of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The first chapter of the Book of Romans clearly states that the lust of a man with a man or a woman with a woman is an abomination to God. Satan’s counter-attack upon God’s Word is to convince society that everyone should be permitted to “love” whomever they choose. Oh how that sounds good, doesn’t it! But again, it’s a lie from the father of lies. Lust is not love. Sexual attraction is not love.

A married man may be strongly attracted to another woman aside from his wife, but he is not permitted to act on that lust. The same holds true in homosexuality. A man who is attracted to another man is not permitted to act upon that lust, and to do so is an act of out-and-out rebellion against Almighty God. A thief is not permitted to follow his temptation, and those who do end up in prison. A murderer is not permitted to indulge his desire, and those who do end up in prison. A homosexual is not permitted to indulge his lust, and today he’ll get away with it in this society, but he will not get away with it before God. And before God he WILL stand and he will see the utter folly and abomination of his choices.

What is it “to utter error against the Lord?” Look at the state of society today and what you see is that utterance in all its glory.

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“And though the Lord give you
the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more,
but your eyes shall see your Teacher.”
Isaiah 30:20

Does God GIVE believers adversity and affliction?

Most churches thrive on teaching people how to avoid or reverse adversity. They’ll tell you to find Scriptures to use to turn your affliction away. They’ll quote “By his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5) and say that if Jesus bore the stripes, that legally entitles us to healing, so let’s just claim that passage and if we can force enough faith, God simply has to heal us. Right?

Of course not.

If that would “work,” many who have claimed it would have been healed. I have personally known MANY believers who “stood” on that passage and others like it ...and then died. It wasn’t a lack of faith on their part, I’m speaking only of true and mature believers who truly believed they were going to be healed because the Word of God demands it. And then ...they died.

So then, what DOES it mean?

Let’s start with a promise those people do NOT stand on. Jesus said:

“In the world you will have tribulation;”
John 16:33

And he said:

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus
will SUFFER persecution.”
2nd Timothy 3:12

Do you see anyone “claiming” that they must have tribulation because the Word of God promises it? Do you see anyone “claiming” persecution because the Word of God promises it? Funny how they pick and choose pleasant promises, but would never, ever, “claim” promises like these. You can’t have it both ways, grabbing the pleasant and rejecting the unpleasant.

Most “name it and claim it” teachers tell their followers to use this or that formula to reverse afflictions without realizing that God, for his own purposes and according to his own wisdom - HE is the one who brings a blind person into the world, or one mute, or one deaf.

“So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth?
Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind?
Have not I, the Lord?’”
Exodus 4:11

The great apostle Paul did not “name” or “claim” healing when a dear friend was sick:

“Erastus stayed in Corinth,
but Trophimus I have LEFT in Miletus SICK.”
2nd Timothy 4:20

Paul left his good friend Trophimus ...sick. Because God did not choose at that time to heal him.

So what about the promises? Are they not to be “stood on?”

They are, but under a vital, bottom-line condition, and that is when the Lord personally speaks it in his response to your prayers. We are to take our afflictions to the Lord and ask for healing or deliverance, or for whatever our need is. Then we are to wait for God’s response. He may speak a Scripture to your heart. If he does so, and confirms it (sends the same word to you twice or three times) then yes, that’s when you “stand on” the Word. But not until you receive it from God himself, and confirmed. All the promises will be received when we enter heaven, but that is not guaranteed as we walk through our pilgrimage on earth.

Be ready to accept that sometimes the answer is going to be “No, not now.”

One day while out walking, the Lord suddenly spoke to me: “I am not going to heal you in this lifetime, but I am going to bless you all around it and I want you to enjoy those blessings.” That was several years ago, and he has done EXACTLY that. I continue in the affliction, but I could write a book on the unfolding of that promise and how accurate it was.

The apostle Paul had a demonic spirit following him, a “messenger of Satan” causing him much harassment. Paul went to the Lord three times asking to be released from this vexation (2nd Corinthians 12:8-9). Notice how Paul did not speak to God about this once and then “thank” him for the answer. No, he went again. And then when he still didn’t have an answer, he went a third time, and God finally answered him, and the answer was “No!” “My grace is sufficient for you.”

God doesn’t just arbitrarily say no - he has a very good and loving reason for it, and he is ultimately intending your blessing to be something greater than what he said “no” to.

Friends, we must be ready to accept it when God says “No.” Or “Not now.” And that can be a bitter pill to swallow if you’re suffering.

Looking more closely on the passage we’re discussing, notice that it is the “BREAD” of affliction and the “WATER” of adversity. Bread and water ....two essentials for life. The Word of God is telling us that affliction and adversity are necessary elements in our lives.

From my observations over many years, I have noted that when a person remains humble before God while going through affliction, sometimes the blessing that comes later is absolutely astounding, beyond anything hoped for. It happened to me. After the darkest time in my life, a blessing came later that totally changed the course of my entire future.

God is faithful, and on this you can truly trust. He is faithful, and he will bring you through it. THAT, you can stand on!

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“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Psalm 22:1

This Psalm was written more than a thousand years before Jesus cried those words from the cross as recorded in Matthew chapter 27:

“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46

One can go back and forth from the Psalm to the New Testament passage of the crucifixion and it’s very obvious how the details in the Psalm were so demonstrably fulfilled at the crucifixion of Christ. Look at some of those details:

Psalm -vs 7-8:
“All those who see me ridicule me,
they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
‘he trusted in the Lord, let him rescue him,
let him deliver him, since he delights in him!’”

Then in the New Testament:

“He trusted in God, let him deliver him now IF he will have him;”
Matthew vs 42:

Even to some very specific details:

Psalm 22:7-8
“They divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”

Then in the New Testament:

“Then they crucified him, and divided his garments, casting lots...”
Matthew vs 35:

Consider the fact that the author of the Psalm, King David, lived more than a thousand years before Christ was on the earth! How did he know the details that Christ would fulfill a thousand years away?

The one thing that makes the Bible different from every other “holy” book, is prophecy.

“For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING,
and from ancient times things that are not yet done...”
Isaiah 46:9-10

No other religious book can include prophecy except in a very general way, because God alone knows the future.

The Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation is filled with prophecy, and in great detail. Imagine knowing a thousand years before the crucifixion that those at the crucifixion would take the garments Jesus wore and cast lots to divide them among themselves? Only God, only God alone could put specific details of prophecy together so long before Jesus was even on the earth.

“For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10

Why did Jesus hang on that cross? The Word of God explains it:

“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid ON HIM the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6

On that cross Jesus Christ bore in himself the judgment due on our sins. In his crucifixion and death he bore in himself our judgment, in our place ...for every sinner who will receive him. And in his resurrection he obtained eternal life for every believer.

If you have a heart to search for truth, do not search among the many “religious” books outside of the Word of God. Satan is the author of them and they are deliberately filled with deception, anything to deceive and draw people away from truth. They cannot prophesy, they are limited to only what has already been revealed. In details they will show themselves liars unable to deliver. No, search the Word of God. Ask the Spirit of God to show you the truthfulness of the Scriptures in the prophecies contained therein. You will find only there, the truth beyond all question.

MORE:
Who Is Jesus Christ?

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What is the last thing in the Book of Revelation spoken by God to the believers of the church age, just before the Rapture?

Most believers have read it many times, but how many have considered the importance of God’s last recorded words to us?

The Rapture is presented in chapter 4, verse 1:

“AFTER THESE THINGS I looked, and behold,
a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard
was like a trumpet speaking with me,
saying, “Come up here...”
Revelation 4:1

After what things? After the letters to the churches, the final recorded words of Christ just before the Rapture.

The first three chapters of the Book of Revelation are all entirely and exclusively about the churches, the believers, and the church age. Then comes chapter 4 verse 1 which says, “Come up here....” and from this point onward, THE CHURCH IS NO LONGER SEEN ON EARTH until the end. In chapter 5, the church is seen in heaven worshiping “the Lamb,” which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The chapters following are about the Tribulation as God pours out the seals, the trumpets, and the vials of his wrath on a Christ-rejecting world.

So - it can’t be stressed enough how important it is that we pay attention to the last recorded words of Christ to the churches:

“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:22

He who has an ear...

Who has an ear? Some in the churches don’t:

What is going to determine whether the virgins waiting for the Bridegroom actually go with him when he comes? The story is recorded in Matthew chapter 5. They’re all waiting for the Bridegroom but when he comes half of those waiting don’t have enough oil for their lamps and therefore cannot go out to meet him. In the Bible, oil represents the Holy Spirit. So the virgins who cannot go out to meet the Bridegroom are left behind because he comes at midnight and they do not have enough light to go to him. These are they who paid no attention to what the Spirit said to the churches. These are they whose focus was on how they could succeed in life, how they could get multitudes to fill the pews, how they could entertain in such a way as to draw the crowds. They didn’t follow the Spirit of God, they followed their own crowd-winning methods of playing church. And those who played church are those who are left behind when the Bridegroom comes. They do not have oil and their lamps are empty.

He who has an ear to hear, let him HEAR.

Let’s look at how tight those verses are together. In our Bibles, men have made chapters for easier reading. But if you put the end of Revelation 3 and the beginning of chapter 4:1 together, this is how it would read:

“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.
AFTER THESE THINGS I looked, and behold,
a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard
was like a trumpet speaking with me,
saying, “Come up here...”

Do you see how tight these verses are together? After what things? After what is written up to that point – and that is the church age, the letters to the churches. Then, the door closes on earth and a door opens in heaven. From then on, there is no mention of the church until the end.

In another Rapture passage we’re told that this event is going to take place so suddenly that it’s described as happening “in the twinkling of an eye.”

“Behold, I tell you a mystery:
we shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...”
1st Corinthians 15:51

Those who were led not by their own desires, but by the Spirit of God, those who were willing to pay the price, they are the saints who heard what the Spirit said to them, and they obeyed his leading. In a moment, suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, they will be changed into their immortal bodies and be whisked up to meet the Lord when he says to them, “Come up here!” They have enough light to go to meet him when he calls.

Will you be in that number? That depends on whom you listen to. If you were playing church, if you were seeking your own glory, “doing it my way,” going to churches that provide entertainment instead of the hard warnings from Christ to the churches - then you may be left behind. But if you were seeking the will of God even when it opposed your own will, if you had ears to hear and a heart to obey, then very suddenly, in a space of time no longer than the twinkling of an eye, you who heard and obeyed will be taken to be with the Lord whom you have loved so faithfully. You will find yourself before him never, ever to be separated from him for all eternity.

Let those who have an ear HEAR TO HEAR - hear what the Spirit says to them.

MORE ON THE RAPTURE

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“Because of transgression,
an army was given over to the horn (the Antichrist)
to oppose the daily sacrifices;
AND HE CAST TRUTH DOWN TO THE GROUND.
He did all this and prospered.”
Daniel 8:12

Some of you may be here when the Antichrist arises on the scene. It will be hard to recognize him as the devil leading the world to hell, because he will be a man of charisma and the people will love him. You will need to know the Word of God, the Bible, to discern who this man is.

Antichrist will be the counterfeit of Jesus Christ. For every characteristic of Christ, he will be the opposite. Jesus is “the way, the TRUTH, and the life,” and Antichrist will be a liar, albeit a clever one. He will cast truth down to the ground and the multitudes will applaud him. All that is evil he will foster, and all that is good he will squelch - but in such a way that his followers will not realize this is the man of hell, and they will not recognize him as evil. They will think he’s awesome.

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Isaiah 5:20

Even now the spirit of Antichrist is in the world, and by this you may recognize those under its influence: they call evil good and good evil. And they will have no regard for truth but rather foster the adage, “whatever feels good, do it.” One title of the Antichrist is “the man of LAWLESSNESS” (2nd Thessalonians 2:3). They want nothing to do with the restrictions of the God of the Bible.

“The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed,
saying, ‘Let us break their bonds in pieces
and cast away their cords from us.’”
Psalms 2:2-3

They want to be free from all restraint, free to “do it my way.”

“There is a way that SEEMS RIGHT to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”
Proverbs 14:12

The Antichrist will carry out the last days agenda of Satan himself. And as Jesus said of Satan:

“When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
for he is a liar and the father of it.”
John 8:44

“Through his cunning he shall cause DECEIT to prosper under his rule;”
Daniel 8:25

When the followers of Jesus Christ asked him what the signs would be of his coming, the very first thing he said was to be very careful that you be not DECEIVED.

“...the disciples came to him privately, saying,
‘Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of your coming,
and of the end of the age?’
And Jesus answered and said to them:
‘TAKE HEED THAT NO ONE DECEIVES YOU.’”
Matthew 24:3-4

People who are deceived do not know they are deceived. So how can one avoid deception? Only by knowing the Word of God. Those who call evil good and good evil DO NOT KNOW they are deceived as they march on toward hell. And because they do not know the Word of God and have disdain for his Word, God sets them under a great delusion.

“The coming of the lawless one (Antichrist) is according to the
working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish,
BECAUSE they did not receive the love of the truth,
that they might be saved. And for this reason
God will send them STRONG DELUSION,
that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned
who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12

Pray with me:
Father, deception is a scary thing because when one is deceived he does not know it. I ask you Lord, wherever I am deceived please show me the truth. I put down my pride, the pride that tells me I’m right, the pride that does not want to know the truth if it’s going to cause me conflict, the pride that wants me to stay as I am. Jesus, you are “the truth,” and I want to know the truth no matter what it costs me. Help me in this Lord, this is a tough one, but it’s so crucial, and I want to make the right choice no matter what. Eternity is at stake.

MORE:
The Rapture

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As we watch Israel’s struggles, it’s a good time to review the ancient prophecies which are looming over that nation.

There are two ancient prophecies of “the last days” wars against Israel:

Psalm 83: The Arab confederation being stopped by God
Ezekiel 38: Russia-Iran-Turkey coming to judgment by God himself

What stands out about the God of the Bible is the many prophecies he has given. No other “holy” book gives prophecy except in very general terms, because God is the only one who knows the future. The prophecies in the Bible are 100% accurate, a claim no other can make.

The prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 38 is one of the most studied prophecies in the Bible. More than 2,600 years ago, Ezekiel foretold the great “last-days” war against Israel led by Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

Ezekiel 38 verse 8 determines the time as “in the last years.” He names the countries involved, and history has been able to locate the areas named. For example, the land of Meshech (Moscow) and Tubal (Tobolsk) is the area known today as Russia. Persia is today called Iran. Ezekiel says they will come from the far north. If you take a ruler and go directly north from Jerusalem, it will cross Moscow. Some have said that it would also go through Turkey, but the Scripture actually pinpoints “the FAR north,” and Russia is farther north than Turkey. Regardless, Turkey IS also included in the same Ezekiel 38 passage. Turkey is what was then called “Togarmah.”

Isn’t it amazing that 2,600 years later Russia, Iran and Turkey are the leading nations involved in the “last days” assaults against Israel! They are in our news daily. Other places named in this coalition will include countries from north Africa, like Ethiopia and Libya.

As the last days advance, God sheds more light on what’s happening...

For centuries, when teachers of the Bible spoke on the great Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel “in the last days,” they didn’t notice that not one of the countries that were named in Ezekiel 38 borders on Israel.

Among the countries bordering Israel, the so-called “Palestinian” countries, the ones who so have such barbaric hatred of Israel - not one of them is named in the war of Ezekiel 38, so this one is clearly a different war, and in fact it looks like this one takes place first.

The prophecy given in Psalm 83, lists those exact “Palestinian” places showing that God will judge them for their hatred of Israel prior to the war of Ezekiel 38. Not only that, but Israel will be given a great part of their lands, and that will bring to pass one of the conditions necessary before Ezekiel 38 can come to pass: it specifically says Israel will be at peace when Russia and Iran come against it in that great war. Israel is certainly not at peace right now, but the solution to that - the Psalm 83 war, will take place first and in fact is forming right now. The Psalm 83 coalition is in the making right before our eyes. It is a confederation of Arab nations, and all the things happening right now in the Middle East are bringing together this coalition united in their hatred of Israel.

“For they have consulted together with one consent;
they form a confederacy against you...”
Psalm 83:5

There is one other element in the story, differentiating the two wars - and that is the purpose of each invasion. The Russian-Persian-Turkish war of Ezekiel 38 shows them coming down in war against Israel “to take plunder and to take booty.” Israel has become one of the most prosperous and “modern” nations in the world. They have discovered a huge reservoir of oil and gas off the coast of Haifa, and there’s so much oil and gas in this new find that it will keep them prosperous for a very long time. So ...Russia and Iran will come against them to plunder them.

The aim of the Psalm 83 “Palestinian” war on the other hand, shows the immediate neighbors of Israel coming against her not to plunder her, but to destroy her, to “wipe her off the face of the earth.”

“They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’”
Psalm 83:4

Is that not what we’re witnessing this very day? Are those not the very words the Muslims so publicly proclaim against Israel?

In the map of the Middle East, Israel is so small that it’s hardly visible. Why on earth would anyone care about this tiny place? You have to know your Bible to be able to answer that question, because it’s all explained there for anyone who wants to know.

When you watch the news on tv, be mindful of the fact that you are watching the fulfillment of prophecies given thousands of years ago, prophecies pointing to the time called “the last days.”

The last days are upon us.

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“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“that it shall no more be said,
‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel
from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives
who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north
and from all the lands where he had driven them.’
For I will bring them back into their land
which I gave to their fathers.”
Jeremiah 16:14-15

This prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes.

Every year the Jewish people celebrate Passover in remembrance of the time when the Lord delivered them from bondage in the land of Egypt and parted the sea before them so they could cross on dry land - then when they had crossed, the Egyptian armies came in pursuit and the waters came back upon them and drowned those armies.

It’s the story of deliverance - and judgment on their enemies who sought to destroy them.

But the Lord is saying in this passage in Jeremiah that instead of celebrating that, the time will come when they will celebrate how the Lord brought them back to the land of their fathers after 2,000 years of having been dispersed to every nation on the earth.

In the natural that would have been impossible. How can a people be brought back who had been dispersed to every nation on earth -- after 2,000 years??? If it were any other group of people, after two or three generations they would have been assimilated into the countries they were taken to. Any other nation, that is, except Israel. The Jewish people have not been assimilated, but have remained a distinct people in every country on earth. And now they are being brought back to the land of their forefathers.

The miracle of the Israel story is that God kept them intact as a people during this incredibly long time.

And now they’re back! After 2,000 years!

Even a hundred years ago, teachers of the Bible tried to explain away these passages, believing it couldn’t be literal because they realized the impossibility of the prophesied return of the Jewish people to the land of their forefathers.

But in our generation, the world witnessed the impossible take place. In May of 1948 - after 2,000 years of wandering throughout the earth - the nation of Israel was reestablished. They are back in the land of their fathers, speaking the same language as their ancient fathers, a language that had only been used in religious rites but now once again is the daily language of Israel. In just one generation they have become a modern nation - as modern as America - and the blessings of God have come upon them as they continue to bring in more and more Jewish people from all over the world.

We have witnessed a miracle.

And there are going to be more miracles as God brings to fulfillment all that he has promised to Israel.

The final fulfillment will be the coming of their Messiah, who will come to Jerusalem and take up his place on the Throne of David. He will reign in total righteousness. He will bring victory to Israel and will fully restore them. They will once again become the most exalted nation on the face of the earth, a nation living in peace and blessing and joy – under their Messiah, who will be King over all the earth - as prophesied more than 2,500 years ago.

Israel will be humbled first, though. The coming Tribulation will be the final judgment, preparing them to receive the Messiah when he comes. The Book of Revelation shows the awful judgments that will come upon the whole earth during that last 7-year period of time - but it will culminate in the coming of the Messiah, and Israel will finally recognize him, the One they rejected at his first coming.

How blessed we are to witness this process! How blessed are those who understand it and can appreciate it.

MORE:
God’s Covenant With Israel

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“Remember the former things of old,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING,
and from ancient times things that are not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure...’”
Isaiah 46:9-10

There are many “holy” books, and many deities worshiped. What makes the God of the Bible different from the others?

Prophecy.

God declares the end from the beginning.

The entire Gospel story is complete with prophecy.

The very first book in the Bible shows the fall of Adam and Eve, our first parents. Satan lusts for dominion and was jealous of these humans that God had made. He was enraged that God had given them authority over the earth. Satan knew that if he could cause them to sin, to rebel against God, that he then could take dominion after their sin of rebellion. They believed him, and they sinned – and Satan took their place in dominion over the earth. He is now “the god of this world,” (2nd Corinthians 4:4).

What Satan didn’t realize at the time was that God would not be outdone by Satan. God promised in Genesis chapter three that he would provide a Redeemer. When they realized they had fallen from intimacy with God, they covered themselves with leaves, but God did not allow mankind to be covered with things of their own making. To teach mankind what redemption was all about, the first thing he did was to clothe them in animal skins. The covering had to be taken from the death of an animal because this was an object lesson showing that redemption would be by blood, not by the works or “coverings” of man’s hands. This foreshadowed the Redeemer, his Son who would come at a specified time and take upon himself the judgment on sin, in their place, in our place, the covering made in the blood that Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God” shed for us (John 1:29).

When a believer receives for himself this atonement, he is taken out of the dominion of Satan into which he was born, and becomes a member of the Kingdom of God, destined for an eternity of glory.

The whole story began with prophecy, God declaring the end from the beginning.

There are a multitude of prophecies in the Bible, and many are about this Redeemer who would come. It was foretold where he was to be born, that he would be born of a virgin, and that he would be “cut off” out of the land of the living, but “not for himself,” that his death would be substitutionary, for all who would believe in him. All of this was prophesied with 100% accuracy.

People have scoffed, suggesting that Jesus Christ cleverly arranged the story making the prophecies fit himself. But how could one choose the place of his birth, or the nature of his death? How could he have arranged to be born in Israel, even in Bethlehem as was prophesied? How could he have arranged to be born in the tribe of Judah, a direct descendant of king David? There are hundreds of prophecies about the Redeemer who was to come, and he fulfilled them all perfectly, with 100% accuracy, not one of them failed. And in like manner, the prophecies of his second coming will also be fulfilled precisely.

But do you believe? We believe what we have been told, either by our parents or by our teachers. Most people wouldn’t even think of questioning the teachings of those who raised them. But I challenge anyone reading this: if you have not been told about the redemption and salvation found in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, then make it your business to find out about it. Get yourself a Bible and read it. Understand that the Bible is the one book God has given to mankind to explain to them who he is, who we are, where we’re going and how we are to get there.

There is no other book that contains 100% accurate prophecy, because Satan is the one behind all the books of all the false religions, and Satan cannot prophesy anything except what is already revealed in the Word of God, or things that he can cause to happen. There is only ONE source of guaranteed prophecy, and that is the Bible, the Scriptures that God has given to us that we might know him.

The Bible also has much to say about the last generation, and it has foretold to us what the signs would be that would point out that it is that generation. Friends, this age is fast coming to a close, because ALL the signs mentioned ...are here now.

Get yourself a Bible. And read it.

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Salvation

“To him men shall come,
and all shall be ashamed
who are angry against him.”
Isaiah 45:24

Life is painful. There isn’t a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ who wouldn’t agree. Walking with the Lord could aptly be called boot camp and any soldier will tell you that many don’t make it through boot camp. And many of those who do, make it through with scars to prove it.

Why does it have to be this way?

Of course man in his limited wisdom could never really give the right answer to this question because he simply has only a one-sided perspective; when we go through things, we do not see the work being done that is out of our range of vision.

For many, God is a god made in their own image. They expect God to think the way they do. They feel they know what’s right, what’s fair, what’s good, and they construct a god that will conform to their idea of what God SHOULD do.

But it doesn’t work that way. And when it doesn’t, that’s when many fall away.

Let’s take God out of the box and consider a few things about him that go beyond our ability to comprehend. First of all, he is the creator and sustainer of all that exists. He breathes out galaxies. He keeps the solar systems in right order, each in its correct orbit, defying what the most intelligent scientists could even come near to understanding. Indeed, doesn’t the Word of God say exactly that?

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust,
avoiding profane and vain babblings,
AND OPPOSITIONS OF SCIENCE FALSELY SO CALLED
which some professing have erred concerning the faith.”
1st Timothy 6:20-21 (KJV)

When science opposes the Word of God it becomes “science FALSELY so-called.” That should tell you the worth of the sciences - which actually deny God as the creator. For those who deny the Creator - the Scriptures call them fools.

“ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”
1st Corinthians 3:19

The creator has the intelligence, the wisdom, and the power to call every single star by name. I’ve never known of a scientist who can come close to doing that. They actually don’t KNOW how many galaxies are out there, but God maintains each one.

“He counts the number of the stars;
he calls them all by name.”
Psalm 147:4

Anyone reading the book of Job would be astounded at the story, as it appears that God is being unfair in Job’s life. But does anyone have the RIGHT to call God unfair? He who sent his only Son to die a torturous death hanging bloodied on a cross - so that we might be saved, this is the God who is unfair? He who receives every believer on the merits of his son’s atonement - is unfair?

Philosophers will argue this issue till the end, but the end of the matter is that if we could see what God sees, we would realize he is the God of love and mercy, and that there is no unfairness in him.

When Job questioned God about the calamities that so seemingly unfairly fell upon him - God did not answer the question. Many have wondered why God would refuse to answer such a seemingly reasonable question.

The greatest explanation I have been able to even nearly approach and which may be sadly lacking, is the memory of my young child at age 5 asking me something that she had no way of being able to understand had I tried to answer her. In all truth, it would be closer to the impossibility of attempting to explain to your dog why he can’t run free. Try it if you think you can. We just are too limited to understand the ways of an Almighty Creator.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9

When you can’t answer your toddler who asks an unanswerable question, then you will understand that God’s answers are unanswerable to us. It’s not that he refuses to answer us, it’s that he knows we’d not understand.

We are incredibly distant from having any way to understand the wisdom of a God who creates and sustains all that exists, when that God seems to be doing something unfair in our lives. We can rest assured that the fault is in our arrogance, not in his wisdom.

If you are going through something that makes absolutely no sense to you, the quickest way to get your difficulty resolved is to COOPERATE with God, not to resist him.

The heart that is truly surrendered will see the power of God in a way that will be astounding. It will require the necessary pain of the waiting period, and the unshakable strength of trust, but when one’s heart is truly surrendered he will see the wisdom of God carried out in his life, and the power, and most of all ...the love of an extremely loving Father.

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“And they sang a new song, saying,
‘You are worthy to take the scroll,
and to open its seals; for you were slain,
and have redeemed us to God by your blood
out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation...’”
Revelation 5:9

In chapter four of the Book of Revelation we saw the Rapture of the saints from the passage, “Come up here...” There is no more mention of the church on earth until the end. Here in chapter five we see the church in heaven, all those who were redeemed by the Blood of Christ from every nation on earth, out of every people group, every tribe, every language. What a glorious sight is this multitude of redeemed believers in heaven singing a song to the One who redeemed them.

And then ...the Tribulation on earth is about to begin as Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, takes the scroll deed to the earth and opens it. This unleashes the first judgments called “the seal judgments.” And from here on is the wrath of Almighty God poured out upon the earth in increasing disasters until the end. Jesus said that if this time of wrath on earth had not been shortened, not a single person would survive it.

“And unless those days were shortened,
no flesh would be saved;”
Matthew 24:22

The world is about to undergo worse disaster than has ever been upon the earth since the beginning, nor ever would be again.

vs 21:
“For then there will be great Tribulation,
such as has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Before the flood of Noah, this righteous man preached for an entire generation as he was building the ark.

“...and did not spare the ancient world
but saved Noah, one of eight people,
A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;”
2nd Peter 2:5

Imagine the frustration of this man as he labored away with his sons building a ship in a place where no rain falls. Imagine the scorn levied at him. “You’re building a WHAT?” “Here???” “The man has lost his marbles!”

Yet he continued laboring and he continued preaching, because he knew his God and that what his God had told him would certainly be. The prophecy would be a long time coming. From the day he received the Word from God until the day it began raining, many years went by, only adding to the mockery of the people as they watched, wagging their heads year by year.

But we know the end of the story. In the end, Noah went into the ark with his family and two or more of each kind of animal, and God shut the door.

“So those that entered, male and female of all flesh,
went in as God had commanded him;
AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN.”
Genesis 7:16

...just as it will be when the Lord takes the born-again believers from the earth, and then shuts the door.

“After these things I looked, and behold,
a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet
speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here...’”
Revelation 4:1

The Rapture is in the Old Testament too:

“Come, my people, enter your chambers,
AND SHUT YOUR DOORS BEHIND YOU...
...For behold, the Lord comes out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;”
Isaiah 26:20

The day when the door will be closed is almost upon us.

Many, many are going to disappear from this earth in that incomparable and long-prophesied moment, leaving heartbreaking sorrow and regret to those on earth, many of whom will understand what has happened, because many friends and loved ones told them beforehand.

Friends, if you are not right with God, there is still time to change your fate. You may have committed the worst sins recordable, but Jesus Christ has borne the judgment on them in your place. All you have to do is receive this gift he offers to all. Surrender your life to him, ask him to become your Savior and submit to him as your Lord. You will never, ever regret it.

MORE:
The Rapture

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“The hand of the Lord came upon me
and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord,
and set me down in the midst of the valley;
and it was full of bones.
Then he caused me to pass by them all around,
and behold, there were very many in the open valley;
and indeed they were very dry.”
Ezekiel 37:1

This is the great “dry bones” prophecy which every student of Bible prophecy is familiar with.

The Spirit of God took the prophet and showed him a valley of very, very dry bones. And God asked him, “Can these bones live?”

The Lord went on to say that these bones are symbolically “the whole house of Israel.” And then he gives the great prophecy of how, after a very long time, he will raise them up and bring them back to their ancient land. Ezekiel saw God raise up these old dry bones, put flesh on them and bring them back to the land of their fathers, the land of their covenant, the land of Israel.

vs 12:
‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, O my people, I will open your graves
and cause you to come up from your graves,
and bring you into the land of Israel.”

The “graves” are all the countries the Jewish people had been scattered to, all over the earth. But there’s an interesting point in this prophecy, the point that though they are brought back to their land, they are brought back in a state of unbelief, there was no “breath” or spirit in them:

vs 8:
“Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh
came upon them, and the skin covered them over,
BUT THERE WAS NO BREATH IN THEM.”

“Breath” is a word associated with the Holy Spirit. And sure enough, the Lord HAS returned the Jewish people to the land of Israel, but as the Jews had left their land in unbelief having rejected God’s Messiah, so they have returned in unbelief, with a veil upon them blinding their eyes which were closed back then in unbelief.

“But their minds were made dull,
for to this day the same veil remains
when the Old Testament is read.
It has not been removed, because only in Christ
is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read,
a veil covers their hearts.”
2nd Corinthians 3:14-15

But that veil is going to be removed. The great redemption of Israel, the culmination of the Israel story that began millennia ago with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will take place when their Messiah comes. It will be a great shock to the nation of Israel when they realize WHO the Messiah is:

“And one will say to him,
‘WHAT ARE THESE WOUNDS IN YOUR HANDS?’??!!!
(emphasis added, can you imagine the shock?)

“Then he will answer,
‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’”
Zechariah 13:6

As they realize who the Messiah is when they see the wounds in his hands, when they realize that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah whom they rejected, the entire nation will go into bitter mourning:

“They will look on me,
the one they have pierced,
and they will mourn for him
as one mourns for an only child,
and grieve bitterly for him
as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
Zechariah 12:10

And then the Lord will bring them into the new covenant which he will establish with them. No longer will they be under the law which they couldn’t keep, no, they will receive the Holy Spirit and he will put the law into their hearts:

“’Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord,
‘when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...
...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.’”
Jeremiah 31:31, 33

This great story is playing out right before our eyes. The nation of Israel was raised up again in 1948, and the Jewish people have returned. The rest of the story is about to be played out and there are developments daily leading up to it.

What a time to be alive! What a privilege to be alive to witness this ancient prophecy taking place in our time, right before our eyes. No other generation could have witnessed this because the return of the Jews to Israel is the central part of the story and only in this generation has this taken place. Truly we are privileged to see it.

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“Now there was a man in their synagogue
with an unclean spirit.
And he cried out, saying, ‘Let us alone!
What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?
Did You come to destroy us? I know who you are,
the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him,
saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’
And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him
and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.”
Mark 1:23-26

The ministry of “deliverance,” such an important ministry in the life of Jesus Christ as he walked this earth - where has it gone? Why do we hear little about it these days? The ministry of deliverance, or setting people free from demonic affliction, played a major part in the ministry of Jesus and also in the ministries of his disciples. There is account after account after account of Jesus’s interaction with demonic spirits.

Early in my walk with the Lord, I was reading a book on deliverance and I remember putting it down on my lap and asking, “Lord, is this true? Are there really such things as demonic spirits? And if you casted them out of people, where did they go? Are they still here?”

Shortly after that prayer, I found myself in the first Christian conference I ever attended. After one session, I stayed behind while the others left because I wanted to ask the speaker some questions about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, a doctrine I had only just heard about.

As we talked, I heard a terrible sound coming from the back of the auditorium. It was so startling that I automatically turned around to see what it was. There was a young man about the age of 20 sitting in a chair, and two ministers of the Gospel were commanding a spirit to leave him. What was so astounding was that the spirit answered back in a voice that was definitely not human. It argued that it had been in this man since he was born, and that this was his house and he would not be leaving it! The ministers answered, “oh yes, you will leave, because he has surrendered his life to Jesus Christ who is now the owner, and you are no longer welcome here.” The argument continued for quite some time, with the spirit convulsing the man several times, sweat dripping from his very pale face, a look of utter misery upon him.

Finally the command was given to leave immediately, and the spirit once again convulsed the young man, brought him to the floor, and it looked like he was dead. But he wasn’t. He was set free. It was a spirit of homosexuality. The next morning he was at the conference and he radiated the freedom he had obtained the day before.

I knew someone, a believer, who had a lying spirit, and saw that spirit cast out of him. He who had been a compulsive liar ...never spoke a lie again, and that was earth-shaking to me, because I knew this person well.

An argument one hears from many believers is that a born-again person can’t be “possessed” if they are filled with the Holy Spirit. The error in this argument lies in the mistranslation of the word. It isn’t “possessed,” it is correctly translated “demonized.” One wouldn’t say a person cannot be “possessed” by a bacteria or virus. No one would make that connection. A person can be afflicted with agents of evil, bacteria, viruses, and also evil spirits. Once a believer realizes this, then it becomes easier to recognize a demonic affliction as a source in people so afflicted.

Believers can be held in bondage by deaf spirits, dumb spirits, spirits of infirmity, the number and name of them is myriad. A believer can be afflicted in their bodies and in their souls. They can be afflicted with “mental illnesses” caused by demonic spirits, making the soul sick. “Science” puts names to these afflictions, such as “paranoia,” “schizophrenia,” but paranoia and schizophrenia won’t hold conversations, yet the demonic spirits behind them will if one with authority casts them out. Medical illnesses don’t speak. But demonic spirits do. Jesus told the one in the passage above to “be quiet and come out of him.” To whom was he speaking to be quiet? And to “come out of him?” These are sentient beings who speak and act and can cause all manner of havoc in a person so afflicted.

For many afflictions, doctors can only give a person medications and treatments which can subdue the symptoms somewhat. A person with an affliction caused by a demonic spirit cannot become well because the underlying cause is not taken care of. The best they can hope for is medication to ease some of the suffering. A tell-tale sign that an affliction is demonic lies in the fact that nothing and no one can succeed in curing the person.

If Jesus were walking the face of the earth today, his ministry would be the same. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). If you have an affliction that won’t yield to any kind of treatment, or a sin you cannot control, ASK the Lord to reveal to you if it is being caused by a demonic spirit, and if so, ask him how to proceed to deliverance. Don’t ever try to deal in this area alone, because you will encounter resistance and even retaliation. Ask the Lord to bring someone to you who is trained in this ministry. Better yet, ask Jesus himself to set you free.

Jesus said:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to preach the Gospel to the poor;
he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the CAPTIVES
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are OPPRESSED;”
Luke 4:18

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