Our Last Wake-Up Call

I never have liked alarm clocks very much. Most of you probably don't, either. Since we all have to get started in the morning, they are needed, but they sure are annoying.

You're asleep in your bed, probably dreaming peacefully, when...

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

Being suddenly jarred awake just doesn't seem appropriate! If you have a tendency to hit the snooze button, you may have already moved the clock to the other side of the room some years ago.

"Aw, come on!" you may be thinking, "what would be wrong with just a few more minutes?"

If it were not for the alarm going off, a lot of us would never keep a job, get to school or get going with what needs to be done. That is just the way we are, right?

God knows this better than we do. This is why there are so many warnings in the Bible of what is to come. Mostly, we just hit the "snooze button" again, and keep doing what we do best...
- - - business as usual!

It may come as a surprise that our Creator has actually arranged for a last "Wake-Up Call" to get us all "out of bed" and back to the business He intends.

What is this "wake-up call" you may be wondering. Just what exactly is God's "alarm clock?" Look at the Lord's words, recorded by the prophet, Ezekiel...

..."And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
...'Son of man, let your face be turned against Gog, of the land of Magog, the ruler of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and be a prophet against him,'
...And say, 'This is what the Lord has said: See, I am against you, O Gog, ruler of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal:
...And turning you round, I will put hooks in your mouth and make you come out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them in full war-dress, a great force with breastplate and body-cover, all of them armed with swords:
...Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with body-cover and metal head-dress:
...Gomer and all her forces; the people of Togarmah in the inmost parts of the north, with all his forces: a great number of peoples with you.
...Be ready, make yourself ready, you and all the forces who are with you, and be ready for my orders.
...After a long time you will get your orders: in the last years you will come into the land which has been given back from the sword, which has been got together out of a great number of peoples, on the mountains of Israel which have ever been a waste: but it has been taken out from the peoples and they will be living, all of them, without fear of danger.
...And you will go up, you will come like a storm, you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your forces, and a great number of peoples with you.'
...This is what the Lord has said: 'In that day it will come about that things will come into your mind, and you will have thoughts of an evil design:
...And you will say, I will go up to the land of small unwalled towns; I will go to those who are quiet, living, all of them, without fear of danger, without walls or locks or doors:
...To take their property by force and go off with their goods; turning your hand against the waste places which now are peopled, and against the people who have been got together out of the nations, who have got cattle and goods for themselves, who are living in the middle of the earth.
...Sheba, and Dedan and her traders, Tarshish with all her traders, will say to you, Have you come to take our goods? have you got your armies together to take away our property by force? to take away silver and gold, cattle and goods, to go off with great wealth?'
...For this cause, son of man, be a prophet and say to Gog, These are the words of the Lord: 'In that day, when my people Israel are living without fear of danger, will you not be moved against them?
...And you will come from your place in the inmost parts of the north, you and a great number of peoples with you, all of them on horseback, a great force and a strong army:
...And you will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land; and it will come about, in the last days, that I will make you come against my land, so that the nations may have knowledge of me when I make myself holy in you, O Gog, before their eyes.'
...This is what the Lord has said: 'You are he of whom I gave them word in earlier times by my servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those days went on saying, year after year, that I would make you come up against them.
...And it will come about in that day, when Gog comes up against the land of Israel,' says the Lord, 'that my wrath will come up, and my passion and my bitter feeling.
...For in the fire of my wrath I have said, Truly, in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
...So that the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven and the beasts of the field and everything moving on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth, will be shaking before me, and the mountains will be overturned and the high places will come down, and every wall will come falling down to the earth.
...And I will send to all my mountains for a sword against him,' says the Lord: 'every man's sword will be against his brother.
...And I will take up my cause against him with disease and with blood; and I will send down on him and on his forces and on the peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower and great ice-drops, fire, and burning.
...And I will make my name great and make myself holy, and I will make myself clear to a number of nations; and they will be certain that I am the Lord.' " (Ezek 38) bev

So, what does this all mean?

It is critical, in my opinion, for us to remember that our modern names for people, places, technology, weapons and even modes of transportation did not exist in Ezekiel's time. We can NOT expect people then to have known our modern terms for these things, any more than it would have been logical for Genghis Khan to be expected to have known the names of the cities in England, today. People who insist that this prophecy is wrong, for these reasons, are doing Satan's work for him. So, lets look at the meaning of some of the terms used here...

Gog - means either a mountain, lofty height or supreme leader

Magog - the south/central part of Asia, used to be part of the Soviet Union (the Islamic Republics)

Rosh (also Ros or Rus) - is the name for a specific group of people dwelling in a specific area in Europe, now named for these same people - Russia

Meschech - a part of present-day Turkey

Tubal - also a part of present-day Turkey

Persia - now called Iran

Cush - now called Sudan

Put - current called Libya

Gomer - part of present-day Turkey

Togarmah (also Beth-Torgarmah) - southern Turkey

OK, so it looks like the leader of Russia and several Islamic nations will stage an attack upon Israel, in part, to forcibly take back the land that was given to the Jewish people peaceably, and by treaty. It appears that this will not come about until Israel feels itself to be somewhat more at peace, perhaps they will be fooled by a false treaty. The invaders plan to completely take over the country, steal everything, and probably kill the entire population. They will attack in overwhelming numbers, "like a cloud covering the land," making their intentions quite obvious.

The Lord will allow this attack so that He can make plain His power, "so that the nations may have knowledge of me." God has said that His "wrath will come up", and His "passion and bitter feeling."

Why, you may ask?

At this time, God is giving the world one last chance. He wants the Jewish people to recognize that His Son is the Messiah. He wants all of us to accept our salvation. Remember, "The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is longsuffering towards us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2Pet 3:9) wev

Some time after this occurs, there will come the Rapture. Sometime after that will come a seven-year treaty with Israel, which signals the start of the Tribulation, which will be something like a sentence to Misery and Suffering Prison.

We do NOT know when the alarm will go off, because God does NOT want us to think we can wait until the last minute to get our lives in order.

All we really know is that it will be soon...

...maybe today!

......maybe tomorrow!

.........Don't Oversleep!

See you soon (very soon?), in Paradise!

The Man From S.A.T.A.N.

Back in the mid 60s, there was a popular television program called, "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." It was a humorous look at international spies, and their organizations. Its gave the viewer a chance to laugh, and relieve some of the tension created by the subversive activities of the superpowers and terrorist nations.

Today, organizations within our own country are the cause of dangers that far outreach anything even dreamed of when this show aired. A cursory reading of the Bible shows us that preparation is being made for the Antichrist to take the scene. Following the lead of the previously mentioned TV show, I feel we could simply call him, "The Man From S.A.T.A.N."

Resistance to the acceptance of the Bible's prophecy is widespread, and intensifying at a fearsome rate. Remember that biblical prophecy is history written in advance. Therefore, Jesus' words (here) are more than just historically accurate; He is there, now, while these things are happening.

..."As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, 'What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?' Jesus answered them, 'Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, `I am the Christ,` and will lead many astray. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren't troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
...Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name's sake. Then will many stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.' " (Mat 24:3-14) wev

This "Man From S.A.T.A.N." is coming! Make no mistake about that! He is the Antichrist. His entire purpose is to lead as many humans as is possible AWAY from an eternal reward, to deprive our God of as many souls as he can. Remember, Satan is not stupid. He can read the Bible as well as any of us can. He knows that he will lose, in the end. His goal is keeping YOU out of heaven! Making fun of believers is just one of his many tools to convince us that we don't need God, His grace, or His Word. Read on...

..."Give no belief to false words: because there will first be a falling away from the faith, and the revelation of the man of sin, the son of destruction, Who puts himself against all authority, lifting himself up over all which is named God or is given worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, putting himself forward as God. Have you no memory of what I said when I was with you, giving you word of these things? And now it is clear to you what is keeping back his revelation till the time comes for him to be seen. For the secret of evil is even now at work: but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way. And then will come the revelation of that evil one, whom the Lord Jesus will put to death with the breath of his mouth, and give to destruction by the revelation of his coming; Even the one whose coming is marked by the working of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, And with every deceit of wrongdoing among those whose fate is destruction; because they were quite without that love of the true faith by which they might have salvation. And for this cause, God will give them up to the power of deceit and they will put their faith in what is false: So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil." (2 Thes 2:3-12) bev

"False words," we certainly hear enough of these, don't we? Sadly, people are already "falling away from the faith" in incredible numbers, and Satan is encouraging them to do so. All who claim to be able to "better determine" what is needed in today's society have already accepted the Devil's influence with open arms. Satan is, right now, awaiting the "catching up" that is mentioned in Thessalonians, often called the "rapture."

..."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."
(1 Thes 4:13-17) mkj

Why would Satan await this rapture of Christians? Because, at that time, he will have no opposition to his plans to steal as many souls as he can from God. In his efforts to thwart The Father, he does have many assistants. We call them "antichrists," with a lower-case "a." These followers of Satan are everywhere in our world today. Many are even active in churches across America and the world. If you ever hear a preacher, (priest, deacon, bishop, elder, or whatever) say something that just does not seem biblical, get out your Bible and check it out. If you discover that the Bible says something very different from that which was claimed by your preacher, there is a strong possibility that he IS a lower-case antichrist! Run! Do not just walk away. Try to show everyone your reasons why you have a problem with that "preacher," but remember that satanic influence is pervasive and far-reaching. Many will choose to NOT believe you. Others will dismiss it as nonsense. Keep reading...

..."Because a number of false teachers have gone out into the world, who do not give witness that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Such a one is a false teacher and Antichrist. Keep watch over yourselves, so that you do not make our work of no effect, but may get your full reward. Anyone who goes on and does not keep to the teaching of Christ, has not God: he who keeps to the teaching has the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you not having this teaching, do not take him into your house or give him words of love: For he who gives him words of love has a part in his evil works."
(2 John 2:7-11) bev

Those who do "not keep to the teaching of Christ," are doing Satan's work, and are "antichrists," despite whatever they claim their position within any church might happen to be. Do not be deceived! There are MANY agents in the employ of "The Man From S.A.T.A.N." Their stated goal is pry you away from God by any means. Don't let them guide you to the wide, easy path to hell. Get dressed in the "armor of God." Protect yourself and give aid to those you care about. The spread the Word.

God is counting on YOU!

Revelation churches - part 6

Next, we see the message to the church of Philadelphia. This city was built by, and named after, a king with the same name. It was demolished by the same earthquake that hit Sardis, but had vineyards, and probably a wine-making industry to keep it going.

"To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and that shuts and no one opens, says these things: I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn't deny my name. Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I come quickly. Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies." (Rev 3:7-13)web

Jesus makes them a promise here that blows peoples' minds. He tells them they will be kept out of the hour of testing that is to come! In other words, when the Tribulation begins, these people will be safe from the harsh times that will come upon all who live on the earth! This refers to the coming Rapture. Jesus makes it plain that those who are truly Christian will escape this horrible time.

Notice that Jesus warns them to "Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown." Do not go soft, and assume your work is done!

Be a pillar in God's temple. Wear His name proudly!

And... Keep those ears working!

But, what if you've "missed the boat?"

There are some churches, and quite a few preachers, who maintain that missing the rapture means you've forever lost your chance at heaven. I have never understood whether this opinion is an error on the part of those who should know better, or an out-and-out attempt to cause resignation on those who have missed the opportunity. Regardless, those who support that idea are doing Satan's work in your church.

They claim that, with the rapture, all that is good is removed from the earth, therefore, God is also no longer here. There is a lot of proof to the contrary contained within God's word. We will look into some.

Revelation, chapter 6, ends with, "For the great day of the wrath has come, and who will be able to survive?" nlt This occurs between the opening of the 6th and the 7th seals, during the Tribulation. Four angels have been given the power to wreak havoc on the land and sea. A fifth angel appears before them, and shouts, "Wait! Don't hurt the land or the sea or the trees, until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of His servants." (Rev 7:3) nlt

Consider, please, if there were no Christians on the earth at this time, there would be no need for the seal of God on anyone's forehead!

"After this, I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne, and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white, and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, 'Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!' " (Rev 7:9-10)nlt

Who are these people? The apostle John was asked this question, and was told, " '...These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.' " (Rev 7:14b)nlt

If they came OUT of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (accepted salvation and become Christians) during this period of time, then the Holy Spirit is still hard at work upon the face of the earth!

Please also notice that chapter 7 of Revelation also mentions the 144,000 that came from the 12 tribes of Israel. If God were not active on the earth at this time, what possible purpose would these individuals have? There is another counter-proof against the erroneous claim of hopelessness after the tribulation starts. "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will be clothed in sackcloth, and will prophecy during these 1,260 days." (Rev 11:3)nlt

There is no need of sending witnesses into hell. Those souls are forever lost. If God sends two witnesses to the earth to prophecy, He is NOT sending them here to preach to those already condemned! He wants to offer a last chance to those who have not yet accepted Him.

The tribulation will not be fun, and the great tribulation will be torture to those who have to endure it. Don't wait to accept God's gift of salvation, but, whatever you do, don't let some (lower-case) antichrist convince you to give up. You don't lose your chance for salvation and heaven unless you accept the mark of the beast. "So the first angel left the temple and poured his bowl over the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his statue." (Rev 16:2)nlt "And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast - miracles that had deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and had worshipped his statue." (rev 19:20a)nlt

***Every once in a while I notice that I've made mistakes in typing. If you find one I've missed, please let me know. Thanks, I feel it is critical to make no mistakes while representing Our Lord!***

Till we meet, in Paradise!

The Rapture

Some people do not believe there will be a Rapture. Either their religion teaches there will be no such thing, or they may be agnostic, atheist, or a member of one of the many non-Christian religions. I am constantly amazed at the number of people, who claim to be Christian, but do not believe it will happen. Often, I am told, "the word 'Rapture' does not appear in the Bible." In a manner of speaking, they are right. You see, the New Testament was written in Greek, not English, so rapture, as a word, could not be there. But, what is written in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, in Greek, is the word;

Now, I do not speak Greek, so I have to depend on the work of translators. In Anglic lettering, they render that word as

- Rapiemur -

which, as near as I can figure, means "will have been caught up."

If you are better than I am with Greek (probably most who've studied it), feel free to correct me.

In English, we translate rapiemur as "Rapture."

From the Living Bible; "Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever."

So, while it is true that Paul simply didn't write his letters in modern-day English, he did tell us we would be "caught up" to be with our Lord.

Be assured, Paul did tell us the rapture is coming. The Bible tells us explicitly how to be ready, and Jesus tells us to spread the word to all.

.

Invest the "talent" He entrusted to you!

Behold! The Rapture cometh!

See you soon, in Paradise!

Mr Mike

Afterlife Insurance Policy

It seems everywhere you turn, someone is predicting "The End." Some find it disturbing or think it misleading. Some think it is wrong to warn of the coming end, because "God has it all arranged, and only He knows." Obviously, there are those who find preparedness interferes with their lifestyle.

God does not want us to know the exact moment of the Rapture. There would otherwise be some who would plan to have "their fun," then get saved at the last possible moment. God wants us to choose Him because we want Him, love Him, and recognize our need of Him. He does not intend to be only an "afterlife insurance policy."

Why is it so hard for people to see the inevitable? What does God tell us?
-In Daniel 12:9-10, we read; "Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." -kjv-

Sometimes I think it helps a lot to use multiple versions of the Bible when studying. The Living Bible reads thusly; "For what I have said is not to be understood until the time of the end. Many shall be purified by great trials and persecutions. But the wicked shall continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those willing to learn will know what it means."

(I use the Living Bible for faster reading, and to help "catch" ideas, but then go back and check it against the King James. For me, this helps.)

So, what is this passage trying to tell us?
-Those who enjoy evil will never try to learn.
-It will be hard to understand these predictions,
...right up until the time of the end.
- You will be made stronger by hatred, abuse, and
...neglect; and by being misunderstood &
...mistrusted.

Although we cannot know the exact time, the increase in numbers of those who see it coming are a sign that the end is getting closer. God granted us the priceless gift of salvation, don't bury it! Take His investment in you to the public and give Him a "return" on that investment!

See you in paradise!

Mr Mike