“These words are faithful and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book'”(Revelation 22:6-7 NAS).
ABOUT END TIMES PROPHECY:
Though I’ve studied prophecy for years, writing about it is something I’ve only done once—in an article for Crosswalk Online Magazine. However, when someone posed a question on FB about heaven last week, I responded from the Word about the signs of the times, events happening, and events that are sure to come.
A blistering response exploded on my screen—there is no such thing as a rapture. I know you got that out of Thessalonians. That’s a lie. There is no rapture. I only allow truth to be spoken on my page. No rapture!
I sat stunned, asking God for guidance. Then gasped as my eye caught the woman’s profile at the top of her page—she advertises being a Christian counselor. Oh Father, escaped my lips as words of our pastor Sunday a week ago replayed in my mind.
“I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19 NAS).
And the Old Testament admonishment:
“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2 NAS).
THE WORDS FALSE PROPHET WHISPERED IN MY HEART:
Oh Lord, do I confront her? Do I try to reason with her? And there was another lady who asked this question, “I don’t see why there’s a second coming any way, our dead loved ones are already with Jesus? What’s the point?”
LET ME BE CLEAR:
This woman knew enough scripture that if she’d been of a mind to search for Truth, God would have corrected her wrong thinking…I pray He will. But what about the lady who didn’t know the Word? Undoubtedly repeating fragments she’d heard…not the Word. And the Spirit stirred my heart write a blog post about this situation. And I wondered…
How many church members don’t know truth about the signs of the end of this age?
How many haven’t read Father, that You said we were not made for Your wrath?
How many don’t realize the Old and New Testaments talk about the end of the age?
How many haven’t a clue nor care about anything other than their here and now?
“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come” (Thessalonians 2:1-2 NAS).
False prophets told these persecuted believers of Paul’s days, Jesus had already come and they’d been left behind. Left to suffer the wrath of God…much like some today…saying there is no rapture…repeating to others they’ll be left on earth ‘til after God pours out His wrath during the final seven years of the Tribulation. Then what? How would that line up with the rest of God’s Word? Satan’s lies do not line up or blend with God’s Truth.
WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY:
“Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7 NAS).
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 NAS).
BUT HE NEVER SAID WE WOULD NOT BE TESTED:
Does God leave us any clue as to what signs to look for? Does He tell us what’s to come? Oh, my yes! Three major events are on God’s calendar, in 2 Thessalonians and in 1 Corinthians. He gives us a countdown and tells us to watch and be ready.
THE GREAT APOSTASY COMES FIRST:
“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NAS).
Paul never participated in one of my edit groups…’cause I always ask…who or what is “it?” Remember these Christians thought they’d been left behind. “It” refers the Second Coming of Christ. So, let’s jump out of sequence and take a quick peek at the second coming of our Lord Jesus to put us in context. When studying the Word, remember two things:
1. Begin with what you know. What Scripture clearly states.
2. God’s Word is the best commentary on His Word.
So, let’s begin with the event that is set out in great detail as to the who, what, when, and where questions.
THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD:
“And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16 NAS).
THIS IS THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS—TO THIS EARTH—
TO BRING JUDGMENT:
He first came to the manger in Bethlehem. The second time He will come to rule and reign right here on earth. But who are those armies clothed in fine linen, following Him on white horses? How did they get there? Where did they come from? They are not angels.
As I studied in preparation to write this post, I found an interesting and eye-opening account tucked in the 5th Chapter of Revelation. Please read verses 1-5, then 6-7, then 8-10, drawing a mental picture of what John sees. You might even want to take pencil and paper and sketch what he describes in each of these scenes. I prefer the New King James Version.
Now, ask God to give you understanding as you read verses 11-14. Watch the word “then” in the NKJV. In the NAS or KJV the word is “and.” This is a time phrase. It might be helpful to mark every use of “then” or “and” in these four verses and record what God shows you in this passage that you’ve never seen before. Watch descriptions and tenses in the “four” separate scenes God showed John and is now showing you. Rehearse and think about the scriptures so far and make your own list of who and what they are, and what they’ve told you so you don’t need someone to remind you what they think scripture says.
We’ll pick up right here this coming Wednesday morning with Part Two of THE TRUMPET AND THE ARCHANGEL.
I posted Psalm 42:1 on Facebook recently – just the psalm, no commentary, and one of my “friends” replied, “These post are all Old Covenant. They are meaningful but not for us to identify with.We that have been born again and received the Holy Spirit have the fullness of God living within us and lack nothing of that kind. The OT is a valuable history book. The NT is instruction”
I responded: “Wrong, friend. All of it, from Genesis to Revelation, is God’s Word. When Jesus said not a jot or a tittle would pass until all was fulfilled, He was not referring to the New Testament because it did not exist. Was Jesus wrong? Every time Jesus quoted Scripture, He quoted the Old Testament. Jesus did not consider the Old Testament just “valuable history.”
Then he replied: “That was a nasty way to put your two cents in. All 66 books are God’s infallible word. We don’t offer burnt sacrifice anymore. We don’t even obey the 10 commandments. (All of them are repeated in the NT except the fourth relating to the Sabbath.) Because of your rudeness, I will now delete you.”
I don’t think I was rude. I guess some people are just offended by the truth. No great loss. I didn’t know the man. He sent me a “friend request” because he knows some people I know, so I accepted his request. I think the nearer we get to our Lord’s return, the more we will be faced with these kinds of challenges.
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Ernie, you weren’t rude. You spoke truth and even he knows you spoke truth. He just didn’t like the truth you spoke. Which doesn’t change God’s truth, but departing from God’s truth in fact changes us. Dr. O.S. Hawkins led our Senior Adult Old Time Revival and his messages have been answering the questions Jesus asked. Last night he spoke about “fear” or more particularly, the lack of the fear of God in our generation. You know Jesus said in the last days He would send a deluding spirit among men so they would be unable to determine truth from lies…and lies from truth…looks like we’re here, doesn’t it?
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