Prophetic - RevelationHeart

CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD – Pastor Mike Taylor

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what {will be} the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3 NASB

Jesus has just come from the temple mount and prophesied that the temple would be torn down, “not leaving one stone upon another.” This disturbed the disciples, as the temple was the centre of their world, the world of the nation of Israel. The KJV has the last part of the above verse as “the end of the world.” We know that it is more proper in context to use the “end of the age” as when Jesus comes back to rule for 1000 years, it will be on this very earth we now populate, but with major revisions to return the earth to it’s former glory when Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden. It will be the end of the world, as we know it. But let us take a look at the signs that would precede the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory.

I will do a line by line bible study of this chapter that must be followed up with the next chapter of Matthew 25 in a follow up sermon, as all are connected, but let’s take the first sign of the end of this age. Continuing in Matthew:

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, See to it that no one misleads you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, `I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. Matthew 25:4-5

Folks have taken this to mean that many will come as claiming to be the Messiah. True, there have been many false messiahs that have claimed to be Him, but what was Jesus talking about? I don’t believe He was talking about what many believe. It’s pointing to false religions, false doctrines, and deception that will fill the churches in that day. Men claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ will use His name to appease the masses they wish to delude. These frauds and double agents would come in His name, that is, appearing to bear His authority. In particular, the name of “Christ” would be exploited as cover for their nefarious trickery, and by this ruse, great numbers of people would be deluded. The phrase, “saying, I am the Christ,” should not be understood, as the New King James Version has punctuated it, to mean that many would come claiming to be the Messiah. No, they would come claiming that Jesus is the Messiah, a truth, and thereby gain people’s trust. From that point forward, deception through doctrinal change, both major and minor, provides the means of deception. As the anonymous maxim puts it, “The nearer a lie is to truth the more deceitful it is.”

NEW AGE AND THE EMERGENT CHURCH

Folks, look around you. Have there ever been a time when there is false doctrine permeating our churches? They promote a feel good gospel. They promote false healing, miracles, and signs used to deceive. All the while they have agents in the background who are setting up this charade to influence the masses to what end? Money! They are religious entertainers in our churches that use smoke and mirrors to fool the people looking for truth. I have never seen so much imagery and modern technology that gets the juices of these adherents to a feel good gospel all whooped up in a frenzy and elevate the man preaching a feel good sermon, instead of Jesus Christ. Jesus warned us of these “wolves in sheep clothing” that would come into to devour the sheep. They have continued unabated in these New Emergent Churches and promote universal tolerant view that there are many roads to God. They preach that all religions will find the way to Heaven, meaning Gnostics, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews right along with true believers in Jesus Christ will all receive the same salvation and eternal life. “All roads lead to God and all religions are the same” God is love and no one will go to any “hell”. This flies in the face of Acts 4:10-12, in which Peter asserts that only by the name of Jesus Christ is salvation possible. I call this Emergent theology, the “First Church of Blasphemy”. They make a mockery of the saving Grace of our Lord and Saviour. They preach that all will receive “Universal Reconciliation” and no one will end up in hell, nobody. This is not found in scripture anywhere as Jesus spoke of hell more than He did heaven.

WAR AND RUMOURS OF WARS

Jesus continues in Matthew:
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:6-8

Men have been fighting each other for 2000 years since Jesus made this statement, but the last century of modern times has been the bloodiest of all the centuries past. More people died in this last 100 years of 2 world wars, and the various conflicts that have killed more people in them than the preceding 1900 years combined. Various wars and conflicts by count of the dead totals 262,000,000 people….that’s millions, folks. And this was the “beginning of sorrows”. That’s a large portion of every man, woman and child that resides in this country we called the United States of America as a population count.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:9-13

You look at other third world countries, the Middle East and other dictatorships say of Russia, or China, and it’s not safe to be a Christian even in our modern times. It hasn’t come to America YET, but Christians are becoming viewed increasingly with suspicion by the powers that be, even in our country, the USA. People are being slain for the name of Jesus Christ right now, even as you read this. Jesus said it would be so, and it is becoming more and more common place. As it was in Jesus day, being persecuted by the Romans and even the “Holy Roman Empire” (sic), ie. the Catholic Church has now come full circle to engulf our world with the same genocide of whole races and people who profess Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But stay tuned, as you haven’t seen anything yet!! Look at verse 12 of the above passage. Here in the home of the brave and the free, we have become a nation that is filled with iniquity in all shapes and forms and it has grown exponentially in the last 50 years. No one would have believed when I was growing up that men and women of this nation and for that matter, the world, would grow emotionally cold and not value human life. That is even where we have slaughtered over 60 million of the unborn in the name of sexual freedom and love for our off-spring has nearly died in many parts of our society. Not to mention crime growing worse every day and terrorist attacks coming even to our shores.

THE GOSPEL PREACHED WORLDWIDE

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand. Matthew 24:14-15

No other time in history has there been so many ways to transmit the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The technology has advanced at such a rapid pace, that an email sent across the world is delivered within seconds. The Gospel News has covered the entire earth. So what prevents the end of the age? I believe nothing, except the timing held by God the Father who knows when the last person will accept His offer of Grace.

JESUS REFERED TO PROPHECY in DANIEL 9 v. 27

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:27

Jesus speaks of the Abomination of Desolation that Daniel spoke of, and says when you see this man standing in the temple of God, claiming to be God, then RUN or “get out of Dodge” so to speak.

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:16-22

Notice the people Jesus speaks of? He doesn’t refer to the Gentiles, or the rest of the world, but those who live in Judea. Jesus takes dead aim at only one group of people. He was talking about Israel. Observant Jews cannot travel more than a days walk from their home on the Sabbath, and to travel with child is difficult. Pray it’s not snowing, as it sometimes does in Israel and it’s cold making travel a problem. But Jesus warns them to get out, head for the hills….hide yourself. Don’t take anything with you. Why? Because Israel will reject this “man” claiming to be a god and in his rage will attempt to destroy the nation of Israel because of their rejection of him as a liar and know they have made a deal with the devil.
The Holocaust of the Nazi’s will pale in the attempt of this man to destroy all remnant of the house of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I’ve spoken of it many times in sermons past. Israel will be refined as silver is in the fire. They will be persecuted and hunted down because they reject this “false messiah” and his “false prophet”. Malachi chapter 3,

2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. Malachi 3:2-4

How do you refine silver? You heat it red hot, but not too hot, or the silver is destroyed, but hot enough to remove the slag that floats to the top, to reveal the pure silver beneath.

That is what will be Israel’s purification. Until our Lord and Saviour can see His image in them, He will continue to allow the heat of persecution to turn them to their Messiah that they had rejected 2000 years earlier. Only when they realize this and proclaim, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Luke 13:35b, then swiftly, the Lord God will come to do battle for His people Israel and save them out of tribulation and set them as a crowning jewel of His city Jerusalem on a mountain lifted high. He will save them all for the promise He made to their father’s and because of His glorious Name. So much for Replacement Theology.

JESUS WARNS OF THE ANTICHRIST AND FALSE PROPHET

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. Matthew 24:23-26

Not only has there been false prophets and false messiahs leading up to this time, but I believe Jesus is talking of THE false messiah, and THE false prophet that all of the Gentile nations will follow who have pleasure in unrighteousness. He speaks to the Nation of Israel to believe it not, as the Gentiles who have rejected Jesus Christ and will follow whole hog after this charlatan who claims divinity. I submit that all nations will be fooled, as there is nothing to give them discernment of this false hood, as they believe in themselves, and reject God. They follow a god on earth, that leads them in their wickedness. Paul warns of this in 2 Thessalonians:

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceiveableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Notice the next few verses? Jesus, I believe is giving an almost chronological order of the time leading up to His glorious appearing and the events that happen right after that.

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Matthew 24:27-28

Some misinterpret this to mean the sun shining from the east to the west and all will see Him….I believe this is reference to the sudden appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, suddenly, when they think not. As lightning flashes suddenly from the eastern part of the sky and flashes to the west, this will be sudden and without warning. All will know something has happened, as the signs are all around them. People missing, people screaming for loved ones that have vanished and the realisation that an unexplained calamity has befallen their world. Untold havoc will rule the day.

But what of that next verse, verse 28? In the days Jesus lived in and we see it somewhat in our world here in the USA, carrion birds smell death. This verse is better translated as vultures, as eagles kill live prey, not dead ones. Vultures circle a carcass and many gather for this putrid feast. Jesus was making a comparison that Jerusalem was dead in spirit, and by extension of end time prophecy, saying that those who miss the greatest happening of our lifetime, will be devoured, as so much dead bodies as they are spiritually dead. Note that Revelation says that 2/3 of all mankind will be destroyed, by divine judgment, including natural disasters, and to a lesser degree, man-made persecution. I calculate upwards of 5 billion+ people will die in 7 short years. Notice in the opening lines of this sermon, 262 million people have died in the last 100 years by war….during the tribulation, this will be 15-20 times that amount, not millions, but billions of people who will die in 7 short years, with the majority in the last half. Woe to the person who reads this and puts off what I preach of the nearness of our Lord’s return, and not accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, by grace through faith. Then they will see just what I am referring to in all its horror, which is beyond anything I could describe.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:29-31

Notice the progression of events as Jesus explains them? Jesus came prior as a flash of lightning, quickly and without warning. People are then dying by the millions into the billions called the tribulation and then the Great Tribulation, where judgment from God gets kicked into high gear. Then immediately, a sign of impending doom covers the earth. Here we have people dying all around, so could things get any worse? Yes, much worse. Seven angels pour out 7 vials of the wrath of God in it’s full strength. The sun fails to shine, the moon quits reflecting the sun during night hours, stars are falling, and the powers of heaven and earth are shaken….what could shaken mean? Untold destruction, signs of impending doom and everyone knows. I mean everyone knows that something is about to happen and the dread grips them, until their hearts and circulatory systems collapse or maybe they go mad and crazy with fear. One can only speculate. People will mourn. It says that all the tribes of the earth will mourn. You will not mourn for something that gives you joy as we will at His appearing, but mourn because of spirit filled dread and loathing, so the church of God is not included in this analogy, as we prayed for His appearing, and it brought great joy 7 years earlier.

When Jesus comes to reign and rule and destroy all rebellion, will this time be sudden, without warning, without anyone noticing a difference in their environment? Would you notice? If you are witness to it, and I pray you are not, then you would definitely notice some type of world shaking event that is about to happen. Will men repent of their rebellion, what with all the disasters and environmental changes, not to mention inescapable displays of divine wrath that can only come from a Higher Power? They must know that it’s the God of Heaven doing this to them and to this world. Will they repent? God says they will not as found in the verses of Revelation. We see angels flying in the air proclaiming the Gospel to the nations left.
Why are Angels proclaiming the Gospel at this time? Was that not the Church’s job to preach unto the highways and the byways? Yes, but since the Church is NOT here, the job is left to an Angel to proclaim one last time that Gospel of Jesus Christ, as we are not on this earth…another sign of the rapture of the church. God gives them every possible chance to repent, but alas, they will not.

Then verse 31, He shall send His angels to gather all of the elect who have died for the witness of Jesus Christ. Who are these elect? During this time of Great Tribulation, there will be 144,000 evangelist from the 12 tribes of Israel. You will have two witnesses who are preaching nonstop for 3.5 years at the temple of God. Who will believe their message? The Nation of Israel will be their focus. People of the rest of the world have been fed a strong delusion, and they believe a lie. They have taken a mark of loyalty to the Beast Power and are spiritually doomed. The angels are gathering saints, fallen saints during this tribulation. They have died believing in their Messiah and have not denied Him, to the death. They are Israel and a minority of Gentiles, as God has purified them all as silver is refined in the fire….He has washed them as with fuller soap….clean, white, and pure because of the blood of their Saviour, our Saviour.

Now Jesus backs up in time continuum and speaks a parable of a fig tree:

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Matthew 24:32-36

Earlier in Luke, Jesus blasted the Pharisees for not perceiving signs that were given them:

54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
:6 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Luke 12:54-56

In their blindness, they had the prophecy of Jesus appearing, as He was right in front of them. They did not perceive or understand. Today we have the prophecy right in front of us, as they did. They did not perceive His coming to them as their Messiah. Will we understand and perceive His glorious appearing and gathering His church, in the twinkling of an eye?
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on in-corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

A SURPRISE FOR THOSE IN DARKNESS

As I just mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, the time of His coming to rule and reign to put down all rebellion on earth, will not come as a surprise. All will know that impending doom is coming. It will be an unprecedented time and not a day like all others. Jesus speaks of an earlier time, when a fig tree is about to blossom and putting forth new leaves. When did that fig tree appear? Correct, in May 1948, when Israel was made a nation again after almost 2000 years. Unprecedented and amazing, not suppose to happen, but it did….divinely so. He says when these events start to happen, then know He is near…right at the door!

A generation will not pass till all things be fulfilled. What is a generation? The bible says in Psalm 90 that a man has 70 years to live his life and 80 years by strength to live on this earth. Now I warn others, we can’t make predictions about dates, or times, noting v. 36, but we can know the season….add 1948 plus 70-80 years….see what I mean, are we on the cusp of the fulfilment of this scripture? Note that the lower age of 70 years was fulfilled four years ago. How much longer, Lord?

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:37-39

Jesus speaks of a day, that’s like any other day. People are merrily going about their business. They continue their wickedness, not knowing anything is amiss, much like the people of Noah’s day. UNTIL, the warning ends, and the event takes place. Life will change for everyone who misses the warning and continues in their wickedness. Much like Noah’s Ark. This ship (Jesus Christ and Him crucified) of the Church of the Living God will leave port and bound for glory, and the world will wander around as blind people wondering what happened.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Matthew 24:40-42

Notice the suddenness of the event, as described here which is synonymous with the parable about Noah and warning people of the Antediluvian period. Some take this as a bad sign for the one removed, but I take it as to mean the elect being removed by force, without warning. Why do I say that? Because of the next few verses:

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:43-44

Jesus comes suddenly, without warning, much as a thief would break into your home. Another emphasis on the unforeseen. Did you know he was coming? No, that’s why he’s appears as a thief. Jesus is not a thief, but the analogy fits as it describes the unforeseen, so you take precautions and that you are prepared for the suddenness of His coming. How do you prepare? By accepting Jesus as your Saviour.

45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?(preaching the Word in the time we have left) emphasis mine.
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:45-51

Then comes this last part. Ministers that read this, take note. Who is Jesus speaking of here? Is it the everyday Joe that the Lord has given him ruler-ship over His household? What is His house? The church and the people who make up that church. Sadly, there are many so called “ministers” that take the office of shepherd lightly and abuse the office of their calling. That is many in the main stream denominations today. I believe Jesus is making special mention of men and women who have been called to teach, to preach the Gospel, to counsel, and to minister to the children of God who make up His body. To neglect that duty and wander into sins of the flesh, be it stealing, lying, adultery, or any other sin that abuses the folks, then woe to that servant.

Sadly, these wolves in sheep clothing, or ministers that abuse their office, have the flock looking to them for leadership. They look for spiritual meat for life, as found in the Word of God. If a minister falls, and fails in his calling, is it only him that it takes down? No, it takes many people who looked to him for spiritual leadership and they fall away from following God. They sadly, put their stock in a man, as their example and failed to realize, that there is only One example, and that is the man/God, Jesus Christ. Is this minister responsible for the spiritual condition of His flock? To a point, yes he is. But in the same breath, each of us are responsible for our own salvation. It’s just sad that this minister, or false prophet, since he failed, abused this office and the reward is severe. How severe? God is the judge, not me.

YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH

The signs of the end of the age are all around us. Jesus gave us the prophecy 2000 years ago, and it is being played out with pin point accuracy, in His day and in ours. Jesus is God and He knew when He spoke of these words to His disciples the path that this age we live in would take. The question is: Are you taking Him seriously? Do you read these words and scoff, or take warning? Have you been playing church, or wandering around in the dark and know not my Saviour? You say you believe in Jesus Christ, but do you live like you know Him? People, the time is growing short. History is winding down to the end of the Church age, or the Age of Grace. Suddenly, the Words of Jesus will be all too real for anyone that turns a deaf ear to the warning. Will you survive what is coming? Will you even want to? Will you make your home with the angels or with the demons of hell? Will you dwell with God Almighty for all eternity, or be banished to outer darkness where this is weeping and gnashing of teeth?

Many places within the Bible speaks of prophecy, as it is full of signs and wonders for the close of human existence on this planet. Will you be found in Him, by accepting His blood sacrifice on a cruel cross for your sins, and mine? Will you enjoy eternal bliss and glory in a world that no man can imagine? Or will you worship yourself and pay the penalty with everlasting punishment apart from God? I beseech you, that you present yourself as a living sacrifice to God and believe on the only name, that is above every name, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, as the signs speak of the end of the age closing fast.

The above verses are the whole point of the Bible, as it’s all about Jesus and what He did for mankind nearly 2000 years ago on a cruel Roman cross bleeding and dying for your sins, and for mine. You see, the salvation message is so simple that even a small child can understand their need for a Saviour.. I’ve seen children as young as 6 years old proclaim Jesus as Messiah, their Redeemer and their need for His sacrifice applied to their lives.

As Jesus said,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven Matthew 18:3
We may not fully understand everything about the Gospel message, but we understand God’s Grace through our faith confessing Jesus as Lord and Saviour of our lives.
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:8-13

till we meet at Jesus feet.

CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD – DURING TRIBULATION, GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE – Pastor Mike Taylor

25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:25-29

Have you ever heard someone say to you in light of a terrible tragedy, “Why would God allow such evil to exist in the world?” Many who turn away from God and disavow Him, as they cannot understand how there can be evil in the world, and a Holy God that co-exists or allows such evil. Many disbelieve in God, as they cannot understand how this can be, so they theorise “There is no God.” I spoke with a fellow during an online conversation that believes there is no God, as there is so much pain and suffering in the world. Why is this man an atheist? They try to get their mind around a word that identifies this problem for them, and the word is “Theodicy”. What is theodicy? According to the dictionary the meaning is thus:

Theodicy from Greek theos – “god” + dike – “justice” is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove possible God’s intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence (all-loving), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipotence (all-powerful). The fundamental dilemma of theodicy is the problem of evil: its continuing existence and God’s apparent inability or unwillingness to eradicate it. (Wikipedia)

They do not understand when they say, “why does God allow, if there be a God, evil in this world?” and another “why does God not make men that do not sin, if He’s so powerful?”. Do they not understand that He has made such a creature. They are called cows and horses. Do you want to be a cow or a horse? Of course not, we are men, and God gave us one thing that we are endowed by our Creator, LIBERTY also called “free will choice”.

13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. Galatians 5:13

You will find this concept in an unlikely place which defines what we enjoy and adhere to. It is found in the pledge of allegiance.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America:
and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, Under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all” The two are intertwined and cannot be separated.

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning, God made man with free will. He was made with a free moral character to choose either to following God, the Creator, or the god of this world. In a nutshell, he was free to choose between good or evil. But on the heels of what men chooses in liberty, there is enacted righteous justice. Men believe erroneously of a god of their imagination, not the clearly defined God of the Bible. They do not understand the distinction of a God of judgment, a God of justice, nor a God of consuming fire that is a direct result of that liberty.

Liberty to do Evil

Let us go back and examine several examples of people who by their own free will did evil and reaped judgment for their actions. I will try and show the error of their ways and how it applies to us, even today.

In the time of Moses and before, the Hebrew people became a great nation. Fear fell upon the heart of Pharaoh and the leaders of Egypt to deal with a growing problem. They were fearful that the Hebrew nation would become so large that Egypt would be overrun by them and eventually the Egyptians could be defeated in battle by their alignment with an invading army. You’ll find this story in Exodus chapter 1, but let’s look at a few defining verses:

15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. Exodus 1:15-16

But the midwives feared God and did not do as the Pharaoh had ruled, but saved them alive.

18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. Exodus 1:18-22

What the Egyptians did was to cast every male child that was born, or some believe that it included any of an age under two, to be cast into the Nile for the crocodiles. Why was this allowed to happen? Our God is a God of imparting liberty. If man is not allowed to do evil in the name of liberty, then he is not free at all, but judgment was coming and it started with the first plague given to Moses against the Egyptians.

THE NILE MADE AS BLOOD

20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that flowed in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that flowed in the Nile turned to blood.
21 The fish that lived in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood flowed through all the land of Egypt. Exodus 7:20-21

This was the beginning of judgment upon a people who had killed innocent babies who were thrown to the crocodiles and God gave them blood to drink, and it was a sign of judgment upon this evil. God gave the Egyptians ample time to repent of their sins and turn from their ways, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, as justice was being done, and judgment had already been decided against Egypt for their evil in God’s eyes. During the final plague against Egypt, a messenger from God, a death angel, came into the streets of Egypt and killed all first born male children that were not protected by the blood of a lamb upon the post and lintels of their doors, a sign of the coming Messiah.

4 Moses said, Thus says the LORD, About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt,
5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who works behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6 Moreover, there shall come forth a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as no one has ever heard before and such as shall never shall come again. Exodus 11:4-6

Then in Chapter 12 of Exodus, Almighty God enacted judgment when the death angel came, as God told Moses, but the children of Israel were saved, because of the blood, a sign of salvation:

12 For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments, I Proclaim myself the LORD.
13 The blood shall serve as a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (the blood was a foreshadow of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, although at the time they did not understand this, nor do they still). Exodus 12:12-13

You ask, why didn’t God just whisk these Hebrew people out of the land of Egypt, instead of killing all the Egyptian first born? The answer is justice. Judgment had been passed on Egypt for the crimes against their fellow man and the murders of the innocent.

Because of their free will, God allowed them to have liberty, to do good, or to do evil, but in His righteous judgment, He enacted justice.

JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL

This is a story that I cannot fathom, but it happened. After all the acts of God and His righteousness, the people of Israel became ensnared with the evil of this world, and by having liberty, did evil in the sight of a Holy God. But judgment came, as Jeremiah prophecies to them, and it came to pass. You may find this sad state of affairs in Jeremiah chapter 19. Jeremiah had been instructed by God in a two way conversation to bring the elders and the priest down to the Valley of Ben-hinnom. This was a place of 24 hour fires burning refuse, and dead bodies. It was like their city dump. There Jeremiah prophesied what God was about do to them for their evil:

4 Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent (babies and children).
5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind;
6 therefore, behold, days will come, declares the LORD, “when this place will no longer have the name Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.
7 I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
8 I will also make this city a desolation and an object of hissing; everyone who passes by it will feel astonished and hiss because of all its disasters.
9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them.
10 Then you will break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you
11 and say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts, Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which no one cannot again repair; and they will bury in Topheth because they can find no other place for burial.
12 I will treat this place and its inhabitants like this, declares the LORD, “so as to make this city like Topheth.
13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the houses on whose rooftops they burned sacrifices to all the heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 19:4-13

I spoke of this in past sermons that Israel erected pagan idols and Asheroth poles, even in the very Temple of God and had taken on the practices of Baal worshipers around them by killing their sons and daughters on pagan altars and deluded themselves that this was an acceptable way of giving Jehovah praise and worship. God had given them liberty to do this evil, but being a God of long-suffering and allowing men free will, there came a time when judgment and justice was enacted on this evil among a nation that was designed to be an example to all other nations around them, or a nation of priest, a holy nation. How far did they fall from their glorious intent of Almighty God? They fell to the pit and their eventual destruction as a nation.

FLASH FORWARD TO MODERN TIMES

In our history of “modern” times, we have experienced men who have killed other men in war and desire for conquest. I think on WWII, and Hitler’s delusional desire to cleanse the earth of inferior races of men and produce an Aryan race of super men. This was dealt with by the allied nations to the total destruction of Germany and the Third Reich. Why? Because of justice. Because of six million Jewish people, not to mention millions of what was deemed inferior examples of the human race, slaughtered by an evil tyrant. God allowed this maniac to exist and to cause untold suffering, but in the end, that liberty to do evil, was met with righteous judgment, and Hitler and his armies were destroyed utterly. BUT…..

There is coming a day, that may not be too far off, where evil men will do even more evil to good people. There has been, recent history, of many instances of atrocities, more than what was mentioned above, coming against good people by evil men who were given the liberty to do this evil. The coming period I speak of is known as the Tribulation, which flows into the Great Tribulation. Each combined to be a total of 7 years. In Revelation we see a picture of evil that has slain many Christians from time innumerable.

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had become slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?
11 And each of them received a white robe; and they learned that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would suffer martyrdom even as they had been, would come to completion also. Revelation 6:9-11

There have been good men and women down through the ages, (I recall the Spanish Inquisition and the Dark Ages of Catholic dominance and religious cleansing of all who would not bow before the Pope in Rome), that have died because of their faith and judgment has been withheld for their crimes. John speaks of a time when more people will be killed for the profession of the Name of Jesus Christ. As the verses and chapters progress, seal after seal is broken. Trumpet after trumpet is blown, and bowl judgment upon bowl judgment is poured out on this earth in preparation for the coming Kingdom of God.

One thing I wish you to ponder, does the blood of people slain only apply to Christians who were slain? Is not the destruction of many innocents, as was done in the preceding examples describe what is going on right now in our own land of the free? There is a wholesale destruction of whole class of people, the unborn. Is the USA ripe for judgment and divine justice? I believe we are on the cusp of it right now.

You read about the increased earthquakes, volcanic eruptions all over the planet. You read about pestilence that has invaded our world. In the news we are told of locust swarms that are ravaging everything green on the earth, from Africa, through the Middle East into Pakistan and China. We saw the Ebola virus come to Africa and even make a visit to the USA, but that has subsided for now…Now we are dealing with a so-called “Pandemic” of the Coronavirus and the world is in great fear. People are dying overseas, like in Italy, where I read 700 people die in a 24 hour period…Even the Pope may have been infected. The stock market loosing over 8000 points and trillions of dollars in what WAS an explosion in our economy. We see what looks like Martial Law coming to several states using the military to quarantine whole groups of people. Many Millennials have expressed a desire for a Socialist/Communist government, and now in California, New York State, and Washington State, they are getting a first-hand view of what the loss of our freedoms look like…

You read about the plight of whole groups of people who die in martyrdom in other lands around the globe, but are we not doing the exact same thing that Jeremiah prophesied to the land of Israel, or Moses to the land of Egypt? Have we not spilled the blood of the innocent who had no right to choose? It’s enough to make a person rise up to take vengeance. I understand the emotions of people who wish to stamp out abortion clinics with blowing it up, but is it our place to enact vengeance. My bible says it is not. Romans 12:19 (ASV):

Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.

Is God beginning the birth pains associated with the coming Tribulation right before our eyes? Is our God unleashing judgment on this world in a run-up to the most terrible time in all of human history?

And the wrath of God is what is coming as spoken of in Romans:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:18-20

Again, a warning in Revelation when the Tribulation actually starts and men know who is judging them :

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Revelation 6:15-17

Never underestimate the coming judgment. It is blossoming in all its unspeakable horror all around us, and it will only get worse as the earth is being shaken, and pestilence and diseases likened to the time of Moses kill more and more people. We saw the terror of Christians in the middle east, who were be-headed by Muslim fanatics, or women stoned for their insane description of belief in their Koran to do so. Men killing other men, and we wonder if the Tribulation is here already.

Is it? No, but this is just a warm up of what is coming, as it will be world-wide, not just a local atrocity in the Middle East, but coming to every continent on this earth. But that is at the hands of men. This coming time period we call Tribulation, is not to be compared with the evil committed by men. No, this coming time period is justice and righteous indignation of the wrath of God that will make everything else concerning the death of men, pale in comparison.

There is coming a period of time, which may not be long into the future, when this world will be plunged into the most horrifying time in all of our history on this earth. Where men will give allegiance to one man called the Anti-Christ, because he gives them what they want, to live in their sinfulness and unrighteous behaviour. All is asked of them is they take a “mark” in their forehead or in their right hand, which they take with full knowledge of what that “mark” means…it means worship of a false god on earth.

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Revelation 14:9-11

I have spoken of this in times past, but if you take the scriptures spoken of in Revelation and the amount of death of whole populations of the earth combined, of the approximately 7.7 billion people on this earth right now, greater than 75% of them will be destroyed in God’s wrath…that is estimating 5-6 billion people killed by God’s coming judgment of unrighteous, rebellious mankind. And who can blame God for doing so? God has been patient for 6000 years for man to rule himself and turn to God and follow His commandments. He even sent His only Begotten Son as a substitute for the penalty that we all deserve, and that is death. But the world, at large has rejected His salvation found in His only Son. God’s patience appears to be running out, as the signs and symptoms of a coming Tribulation is growing louder and louder, and the pangs of earth’s redemption from sin through excising rebellion from this earth, much as a surgeon uses a scalpel to remove dead and decaying flesh, is fast approaching.:

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Galatians 6:7-8

All who have committed evil in the sight of God will meet sure and righteous justice. Christians, make yourself ready to meet thy God, the Creator of everything in this universe:

1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.
3 May our God come and not keep silence; Fire devours before Him, And it is very tempestuous around Him.
4 He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people:
5 Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. Psalms 50:1-5

It speaks of sacrifice. Have you made a sacrifice to God? He is not speaking of animal sacrifice of bulls and goats that foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice that was nailed to a Roman cross almost 2000 years ago. That sacrifice was the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus the Messiah. If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour, been baptised, and follow His example, then you have made the perfect Sacrifice before God. You that have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you have been covered with the blood, which God imparts righteousness to you, because of Him. We wait for the adoption process to be completed. We have the down payment of God’s Holy Spirit residing with our spirit, but we wait for the adoption, to be born of the Spirit.

How do we know this? The answer is found in Romans:

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:16-23

You and I were given liberty to choose the god of this world, or cast it off and believe in the only Begotten Son of God, who takes away the sins of the world. You who have believed and exercised your faith that to you, it became so simple, so easy that you cannot understand why not all of the world doesn’t see it…..very simple reason, liberty.

1 Corinthians chapter 1:

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

You who read these warning, and examples of the coming judgment of Almighty God in all His righteous wrath, where do you stand? You, like all of us, have been given liberty to choose. Will you stand for good or evil, life or death? To choose this life and all it’s trappings of sinful pleasure, is to choose death, but to give your heart and soul to the Creator of your soul and spirit, by believing on the only Begotten Son of God, is to choose life. It is a free will decision. God will not beat you about the head into submission and He will not wait forever. He wants you to fall in love with Him and follow Him out of your own free will choice, not out of coercion, but because you see Him as He is, Almighty God and you long to be with Him and return to Him that gave you life, and He will grant you life eternal!
God’s Holy Spirit moved men to write in your bible the way to come to God and receive forgiveness, through liberty of choice between good or evil.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

And again, Paul tell us about what our Lord did for you and I in Romans:

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Romans 5:6-11

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:8-13

Take that God given liberty, your free will choice and make that commitment to follow Him, Jesus Christ, wherever He may lead you. Do it today, as to stand before Almighty God without being clothed in the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ at judgment day will convict you to receive the coming judgment in justice, or the wrath of a God as a consuming Fire.

Those who believed in the “One whom God hath sent” the time of our departure grows ever closer….as said in the Bible. “Lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh”

This is Pastor Mike Taylor, wishing God’s love and salvation through the shed blood of His Son come into your life. If you have a need, a prayer request, need counselling in Biblical Christian living or how to come to be saved through the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus Christ, then email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, God bless you all,

till we meet at Jesus feet.

TRIBULATION: UNLESS THOSE DAYS ARE SHORTENED, NO FLESH WILL BE SAVED!! – Pastor Mike Taylor

7 “But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.” .. Mark 13:7-9

There has been many prophecy teachers that have tried to explain what the coming Tribulation will be like. Many believe that we are in the tribulation right now. Surely with all the Christian persecution, the Middle East murders of the followers of Jesus Christ, the beheadings, the crucifixions, and the systematic purging of anything that looks like an aberration from what is defined as radical Islam, this must be the start of the tribulation. But they fail to understand what Jesus tried to convey when he spoke with the apostles 2000 years ago what this time period will be like.

I’m going to take a stab at trying to paint a picture for you of what the 7 years known as the Tribulation will be like, from scripture that describes a period so horrible, so demonically inspired that it will be the worst time in all of mankind’s history that Jesus said in Matthew 24 in the Olivet Discourse:

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.
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:21-22

Men and women of our world fail to differentiate between tribulation that has always been brought against mankind for the belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ down through the last 2000 years, and the Tribulation that Jesus speaks of. There has always been death and destruction by evil men that Satan has inspired to persecute the church of Jesus Christ. We have read of these crucifixions, beheadings, and people being burned alive at the stake by the “dark age” religious authorities, and pagan nations that condemned Christianity as an affront to their dictatorship.

Much of the confusion about the Rapture of Christ’s Church, His Bride, and when it occurs could easily be solved if we clarify what actually happens during this seven-year period. It is not just tribulation as the church has experienced during the past 2,000 years. Saints have been martyred by the thousands, sawn asunder, fed to the lions, had their own children slaughtered before their eyes, and suffered untold deprivations.

But what is coming upon the earth in possibly a few short years, or even sooner, will pale the time past of the evils of men killing other men. In short, it will be a thousand times worse. The coming destruction of mankind will be the Middle East we are seeing right now on steroids. To think that the “Tribulation” is just more of the same type of martyrdom we have seen in the past, is to miss the point of what Jesus was talking about and what scripture testifies that this time will be about. I can’t fully comprehend or grasp (and I don’t want to, because you would have to live it) what will be evident during this terrible time of man’s last gasp of trying to rule himself and failing miserably. Let us make a short list of reasons that could possibly be coming soon to a community near you, worldwide. When Satan is allowed to rule over this earth, even for this short period, the dwellers on this earth can expect the following:

1. The number one reason, is that Satan will be cast down to earth and will be physically and paranormally here for the duration of the 7 years we know as the Tribulation.

12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. Revelation 12:12

Satan has hated the Jewish people, as through them came Jesus Christ, and for the last 2000 years, he has raged against the Christian Bride of Christ. He has beaten up and ravaged the people of God, both Jew and Christian with a diabolically hatred that has only grown stronger as the end grows ever closer. But the last 7 years, when Satan is cast down, his rage will be unrestrained and frantic as he knows his time is very short. The Holy Spirit will be drawn back to allow him full sway over rebellious mankind and to attempt to destroy all human beings on earth.

2. Coupled with Satan being thrown down, he will have at his disposal the ability to lead billions of demons forces to torment men upon the earth.
3. as briefly mentioned in the first point, the Holy Spirit will step aside to allow Satan full sway in the destruction of mankind. 2 Thessalonians 2: NKJV

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10

4. Demonic forces will be allowed to take on grotesque shapes and forms and present themselves to torment and destroy sinful men. I envision the return of the Nephilim, a hybrid of half man, half demon that in Noah’s days were giants that enslaved and cannibalised other men.

5. Disease and plagues will be mutated into dark forms and there will be no cure for these diseases unleashed on the unsuspecting earth dwellers.

6. Churches will not exist and it will be suicide to meet with anyone to worship the True God of Heaven, as new converts to Christ will be hunted down for extinction.

7. Anyone taking the Mark of the Beast will take on Satan’s nature and will be the enemy of all who accept Jesus Christ during this time, and will cause many to be killed, even their own family members.

8. Those who refuse to take the Mark of the Beast will be brutalised, raped, tortured and possibly cannibalised after their death.

9. It will possibly be illegal for men and women to marry, as homosexuality will be worldwide, and the family outlawed.

10. With all the disease and plagues being rampant, hospitals and clinics will be extinct, or overrun with cases, and unable to meet the demand.

11. Famine and starvation will be universal. No one will be exempt.

12. The earth will become a God forsaken hellish place to live and to die upon.

THE WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD

In past messages, I’ve tried to convey another aspect of this hellish time, when Satan will have unlimited access to destroy the dwellers of the earth, known as the nations. The Tribulation will be bad, so horrible beyond description, but will be even more horrifying to those who are actually alive on earth at this time. Oh, it will be so much more terrifying beyond your wildest nightmare, as a Righteous and Holy God has unleashed all the power of His might upon a rebellious mankind who have rejected Him and His payment for their sins, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ and His atonement written in His own blood, that God’s fury is unleashed full strength. Revelation chapter 6

14“Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:14-17

This period is the time of God’s wrath. The only precedents in history to this time are the worldwide flood of Noah’s generation and the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, this event of God’s wrath will be the ultimate judgment of wickedness and will certainly surpass those two prior events as named above. The first time, destruction was by water. This time the destruction will be by fire…Jesus made it clear in Matthew 24 that this is the finale of judgment against the vileness of human sin.

OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE

The Old Testament prophets wrote of this time period through Holy Spirit inspiration when Isaiah wrote:

“Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.” Isaiah 30:27-30

And again Isaiah prophesied:

“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?

I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that for I will tread them in mine anger and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth” treadeth in the wine fat? I have trodden the wine press alone; and of the people there was none with me:” Isaiah 63:1-6

This language has no connection with the tribulation that has been present from the beginning of the Church Age, even up until now. God Almighty will tread down evil mankind, as wine is pressed in a wine vat. God will march through His creation and destroy those who have rejected His mercy and His grace and have accepted the Mark of the Beast. His judgment will be for the rejection of his perfect judicial opportunity for man’s redemption and His cup of wrath will be full to the brim of His righteous indignation for their lawlessness. God will purify this earth from either end of the earth and back in man’s blood. God will wipe all rebellion and sinful men from this earth leaving no one, but a remnant that He supernaturally protects from the Anti-Christ. Many will be saved during this time, but for their belief they will be killed in many terrible ways. The death and destruction will be world- wide and the only ones that will live any length of time, are the ones who take a mark of the Beast, and their life will be short lived and will be doomed for all eternity and separated into a devil’s hell.

God will judge the world because they rejected His Son and His ultimate love to man. Jesus describes this judgment Himself,

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” Matthew 22:1-7

If you closely read scripture that describes the scene of God’s righteous indignation, then you get a glimpse of the carnage that will be on this earth, when by calculation of the billions that live on this earth right now…(estimated at over 7 billion people). 80%-90% will die in 7 short years, with the majority dying in the last 3.5 years, known as the Great Tribulation.

Can you even imagine close to 6 billion people dying in that short a time by untold acts of violence and environmental disasters? I can’t and I don’t want to, as I don’t plan to be a witness to it for those years of man’s complete hell on earth. When the picture of this event Jesus called “The Great Tribulation” is understood Biblically, then it bears no resemblance to the present tribulation that all believers endure to some degree. The gas chambers of Hitler were hell on earth and snuffed out millions of lives. At least six million Christians died, along with six million Jews. But this judgment to come is not the death of men to yet be raised in resurrection to face God in judgment. This Tribulation is the wrath of God Himself to which there are no claims of higher appeal.

I can’t even imagine what the Jewish people went through as they were systematically slaughtered and I hurt for them. But to have evil rampant in this world that you will live in and have even God Himself raining judgment down on the top of your head makes your life very short and full of misery and pain. The environment will become completely toxic with rivers and streams of blood, water becoming bitter, people dying by the millions and billions until it finally takes your own life, then I hope your imaginations can grasp the hell on earth I’m describing.

GOD’S WRATH IS AGAINST UNGODLY MEN

For we are not appointed to wrath, but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Revelation 3:10

To those who are Pre-Tribulation rapture deniers, I ask you to show me in your Bible where God’s wrath comes against His servants who are living for Him. Save yourself some trouble, as there are none. There is no place in Scriptures that this day can be identified to affect the Godly servant of the Lord. Whenever the First Testament prophets spoke of judgment, they always showed that God provided a haven for the righteous. Isaiah spoke of “a day of indignation.” He clearly revealed the provision of the Lord for the saints,

Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpassed. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. Isaiah 26:19-21

Scripture after scripture in your Bible proves that God never, ever subjects His chosen servants to His righteous wrath…and I mean NEVER. Malachi made the same argument when he wrote how God provides for His own:

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Malachi 3:16-18

PRE -TRIB DENIERS

I have had individuals email me and chastise me for giving Christian’s a false hope, that when the Tribulation comes, they will not be prepared. Let me explain something to those who scoff at the scriptural sound doctrine of God removing His children from this earth before the 1st seal of Revelation is broken and His wrath is unleashed. Let us think logically here for a moment as I give you a scenario and tell me what the answer is.

According to our Bibles, Jesus will come and the dead in Christ will rise first, at the last trump, and we who are alive and remain will join those who have been raised to join them in the clouds…right? 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

If this happens at the end of the Tribulation, and Jesus returns to do battle with those who are gathered in the valley of Megiddo and destroys all rebellion on this earth, and all who have taken the mark of the Beast, (as there will be no middle ground) will be destroyed, then my question that I have proposed many times is, who will go into the Millennium as mortal beings to repopulate the earth? See the problem? The answer is NO one will be left mortal…the only doctrine that makes sense of the return of Jesus Christ before the Tribulation even starts, as those who survive the Tribulation are saints that escaped the wrath of the Anti-Christ, or those God supernaturally protected in the wilderness according to Revelation chapter 12:14-17 and they may be all Jewish. Those are the ones who go into the Millennium alive and mortal to repopulate the earth. Now back to the subject at hand, the horror of the coming Tribulation.

SEVEN BOWLS OF THE WRATH OF GOD

If the scenario that I have painted for you isn’t bad enough, and if you’re a fence sitter and have not made a decision for Jesus Christ, as Lord and Saviour, then read Revelation chapter 16 if you really want to get into a depressive state which describes:

1. Grievous sores that cover men, much like running boils or cancers.
2. The sea is turned into blood, as that of a dead man, and everything dies.
3. All fresh water, streams, rivers, and fountains of waters become blood.
4. The sun becomes so hot, it scorches men with fire to burn men alive.
5. Darkness covers the land that cause men to gnaw their tongues in distress, as the darkness must be painful.
6. Rivers are dried up to allow the gathering of kings and men to Armageddon for man’s last stand against God Almighty.
7. 7. Earthquakes, hailstones of 100 # weight called a talent weight, every mountain falling down flat, and islands sunk verse 18-21 of Revelation

18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. Revelation 16:18-21

Are you starting to get the picture? This earth will literally be hell on earth, where mortal men will die by the millions daily, every day for 7 years. It will be a most ghastly and horrific time that my words cannot even begin to address in any adjectives that conveys the extreme pain and suffering that men will do to one another in their evil ways, and a Holy God who will purge this earth of every sinful, rebellious man and woman left alive on this earth. It will be near total destruction that Jesus said, if it were allowed to continue to its climax, “no flesh would be saved, but for the elect (tribulation saints) the days would be shortened”. Matthew 24:22 God will rescue the last remaining humans alive to prevent man totally destroying the righteous remnant left.

Now some will say, “Hey, Pastor, are you trying to preach hell fire and brimstone?”…my answer is yes, to a point. The intent is to get a sane individual to weigh and think upon what I’m describing. No sane individual that values their own mortal life would want to live through what I’m describing briefly and live out its details in real time. I really do hope I scare the “living daylights out of you” or as some say tongue in cheek, “Scaring hell right out of of you”, as that is what mankind left on this earth is headed for, hell on earth. If I was living this horror that’s coming, I would have prayed someone would have scared me enough for me to think on my eternal future. Are you thinking about it? What is the answer to avoid such a horrible end of one’s life? It’s right in front of you, if you have your bible in your lap.. His name is Jesus!!

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should NOT perish, but have everlasting life.

17 God sent not His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be save. John 3:16-17

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (his name is Jesus) Acts 4:12

Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. 2 Timothy 1:9

Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

God our Father is long suffering not willing that any should perish, but also is a Holy and just God that will repay those who have rejected His free gift given in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. I will close with a scripture that identifies our God who is a God of love, but a God of judgment when His righteous wrath finally is poured out on this earth.. and my friend, it is soon. Paul the apostle echoes Isaiah when he spoke of God as a consuming fire:

I pray I have shaken you, made you feel uncomfortable, and unsettled your mind and spirit while in your refusal of the free gift of grace given by God, because my friend, the coming Tribulation will be a horror that I pray you miss out finding out about. Repent and turn to Jesus while the time and chance is available this side of the Tribulation. Jesus could come any moment and without warning.

This is Pastor Mike Taylor, pleading for your acceptance of the free gift of our Lord Jesus Christ and your salvation. If I can be of any assistance, either in counselling, prayer, or just a friendly, listening ear, drop me a line at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, God bless you all.

TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET

THE COMING DAY OF THE LORD’S JUDGMENT UPON THE EARTH – Pastor Mike Taylor

2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.” Zephaniah 1:2-3

Have you seen what is in the news? Everyone who reads the newspaper, listens to their TV, scans the Internet, or reads even the Drudge Report, sees all the strange reports of worldwide calamities in nature that no one can explain. Of course, the lame-stream media is not reporting this unexplained events as they are too busy with political shenanigans, but I looked to see if they are still going on this last year, or even the first part of this year. Here is what I found by searching Google:

“There is a list of worldwide mass animal deaths for 2021, that shows a mass die offs from the previous 8 years. There are animals dying all over the world today in huge numbers, due to the polluted state of the sea and air. Millions of Fish and massive numbers of various marine creatures are washing ashore dead. Birds are falling dead out of the sky, and millions of poultry and wildlife are dying from avian flu. The animals of the land are also dying in large numbers. Now although animals and fish have been dying all throughout history, we have not seen the massive consistent numbers that we are seeing today. Please remember! This is just one of the MANY signs of the last days. It’s time to wake up!” (End Time Prophecy.org)

In many of these events people from all walks of life are saying that they have “never seen anything like this before”.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS AND ON THE EARTH.

We see signs in the heavens. We see asteroids coming very close to our world and the scientist can’t explain them or predict them all. Historically, Russia had a meteor , in the recent past, fall to the earth that was the size of quarter of a football field exploding in the atmosphere and caused injury and damage to thousands of people and property. There was a reported sighting over Cuba and it was not even known it was coming. Same event has happened over in California. From news report, they continue to happen and with no apparent explanation. What is coming upon the earth?

Now we find out, even though it is being under reported, that deaths of different species of animals continue unabated. It gives a person pause to try and understand what is happening, as this is not normal in any sense of the word. Lame stream media has tried to spin this as caused by electrical storms, fireworks going off, or environmental changes due to “climate change”. Then others dismiss it as a normal occurrence that has happened before and that this was seen in the past?

Oh, really media hounds, have we? We see the reports of thousands of seal pups washing up on California’s coast line and we have not a clue why this is happening. We see various animals, fish and even pollinating bees that make our vegetables and fruits from the earth grow and are pollinated, but when bees die, then many in the world will starve from lack of food. If it’s a natural occurrence in regards to these animals and insects dying, then why is it just one species affected in several cases?

Remember the black birds by the thousands falling out of the sky in Arkansas, or drum fish by the hundreds of thousands washing up on the banks of an Arkansas river that is not a hundred miles away, in times past? Why does it not affect the other fish, if it’s natural? Why not other birds in the area, if its a natural occurrence, or environmental? How about the recent past news of 200 head of cattle suddenly dying in Wisconsin? The whole herd was found dead. Can’t explain it in the natural? Neither can I and it makes some people very apprehensive what could be the cause?

This phenomenon keep happening all over the globe as suddenly aquatic life is washed up onto our shores, or beast found dead in fields, or birds falling from the sky. If you think this is past, read the latest online at this web address:

Mass Animal Deaths 2021 – Updated List of Worldwide Die Offs (end-times-prophecy.org)

They just seem to keep happening even in recent news and most likely will continue without explanation. I have reported and preached on this in times past, and the signs just keep coming unabated, so it is time to wake up and see what is coming upon the earth.

Signs in the heavens are rampant in our skies. Unexplained phenomenon that have men searching the heavens for a doomsday, life extinction strike upon the earth from a distant traveling asteroid coming into our solar system. Not to mention the coming signs that we went over about blood red moons, and solar eclipses that were predicted in the recent past from NASA and still near misses of our planet from outer space are reported. Are all these just business as usual?

Now I don’t know exactly the cause as I am not a scientist, and I’m not into conspiracy theories, but when things start becoming strange and unexplainable, I turn to my Bible for any possible explanation that might give comfort or an answer to these type of events, especially when I believe that we are in the very last days before the start of the Tribulation. If the news is supernatural, it will it only increase in intensity? Time will tell, as if these events continue, then stress on men’s minds and hearts will increase. To me, it sounds like warning signs of a coming judgment on this earth. I believe that Tribulation is straight ahead of us. From what I read in our Bible, if you think these events are mysterious and foreboding, you haven’t seen anything yet. Wait till God gets really busy bringing on this earth signs that we know must be interpreted as only Divine, as men will know in their hearts that the signs they see, spell doom to this world they cling to.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:25-26

Are these events causing distress amongst the nations? It is coming, and if this is what men fear, it will only get worse, as the above verses lay out. So what could be the explanation of these strange events? You can find many of these end time events in Revelation, but I turn to the book of Zephaniah and look at this prophets words concerning his prophecy concerning judgment on the city of Jerusalem and Judah, the southern Kingdom of Israel. I believe the prophet speaks of a people who have turned their back on God. Zephaniah speaks to them, and I believe he speaks to us in these last days of man’s history on this earth. I don’t want you to just read these excerpts from God’s Word, but take that Bible in your lap and read of our future in this book of the Bible that many have yet to read, or have long forgotten. It will surely come to pass in your life-time.

THE PROPHET ZEPHANIAH GIVES US WARNING.

1:1 The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

1:2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.

1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

1:4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

1:5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;

1:6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.

1:7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. Zephaniah 1:1-7

In verse 5, who is Malcham? It is another word for Molech and God saw how they passed their children through the “fires of Molech”. Child sacrifice was what was going on by the idolatry and worship of Molech. Not to mention all the abominations of the worship of the other false gods of this time.

This prophecy was Zephaniah warning the people about their idolatry and about coming judgment for their sinful ways. Have we not passed our children through the fire? Can you say elected abortion of a whole generation of American citizens who never got a chance at life?

There is a battle going on now, about defunding Planned Parenthood and the laws that two states have passed that allows a baby to be killed right up to the time of its birth. I even read a horrifying piece that a live infant after birth awaits the decision of its mother and the doctor attending whether to let it live, or to murder it even as it breaths the breath of life into its lungs.

Zephaniah was a prophet of judgment. He prophesied of the imminent devastation of the land of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem because of Judah’s injustice, hypocrisy and idolatry (chap. 1, sound familiar?) This prophecy was fulfilled in 586 BC. This is why the faithful remnant is called to seek Jehovah when the nations near and far will feel Jehovah’s vengeance, chapter 2. The actual corrupted state of things stands in contrast to the future blessings of the people as described in chapter 3.

3:16 In that day it is said to Jerusalem, `Fear not, O Zion, let not thy hands be feeble.

3:17 Jehovah thy God `is’ in thy midst, A mighty one doth save, He rejoiceth over thee with joy, He doth work in His love, He rejoiceth over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:16-17

So it was with them, so it is also with us.!!

The blessing of God being with us, will remove all the wrath and judgment, as God has laid waste all who rebel against Him, and He will appear in the clouds of Heaven and return with His Saints to rule and reign for a thousand years. The Apostle Paul spoke of the wrath of God being brought to bear on those who are in rebellion during this time:

25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

29 For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:25-29

Leading to His judgment on these people, God gave them ample warning and likewise, so does He give us the same today. He warned them and He warns us to seek His face and to repent.

2:1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

2:2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you.

2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger. Zephaniah 2:1-3

Again, God speaks to us from His word, especially for this time that we live in:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14,

A BULLS-EYE ON AMERICA

In recent times past, I would have believed that America had a chance to turn back to God and He would forgive and heal this nation. I don’t believe that anymore, as the nation as a whole has turned reprobate and if God would withhold His hand from this nation in judgment, He would have to apologise to Sodom and Gomorrah for it’s destruction, as we have become them. The homosexual agenda continues unabated, and to turn a blind eye to this abomination will only bring God’s judgment even quicker.

We see murder in many states and it’s all over the news promoting “gun control”. We see same sex marriage the abolition of the nucleus of a civilisation, the family. Divorce is rampant even among so called Christians. The only thing that was holding back full scale judgment was the leader we had in the USA that tried to undo the unadulterated evil that was fostered upon this land by the preceding so called “president” of the USA. But I believe it is only a reprieve of coming judgment, as who knew who would be in the oval office in the future.. We now have a Socialist, mentally challenged puppet doing the will of the global elite…In the past, God’s people prayed for this country and God chose an “imperfect” man (but aren’t we all) to lead this country, and every liberal from Washington DC on down to the most liberal of states opposes a man who only wanted to put the American people first and the country we inherited from our fore-fathers. If they are against him, then he must have been doing something right, as Satan opposes anyone who believes the Word of God and attempts to act upon it. Our wicked ways in this nation have gone the opposite direction now, and the last election, I believe, was stolen to prevent another 4 years of President Trump and America’s continued sovereignty and being the only super-power on earth.

The whole book of Zephaniah makes it clear that the prophet looks far ahead of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem on to that dreadful day of Jehovah, the day of His anger and judgment, upon which however will follow the blessing of the millennial reign of peace.

You can see our nation, this land we called the USA, in the words of Zephaniah. We are Judah, we are headed for judgment. God is trying to get our attention, and worldwide. It’s not just happening in America, it’s happening all over the globe, but America is where I live. Events described in the above reports are coming from England to the other side of the globe to Australia, not just the USA. Unexplainable events that Zephaniah was warning the land of Judah about are being seen right now.

Zephaniah was speaking of the “Day of the Lord”. It was an imminent time in their history, but it does not stop with this ancient people. There are peculiarities in the prophecy when Zephaniah is warning the people about the coming day of the Lord.

The day of Jehovah is mentioned as follows in the book of Zephaniah:

Chapter 1:7 – the day of Jehovah,

Chapter 1:8 – the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice,

Chapter 1:9 – the same day,

Chapter 1:10 – that day,

Chapter 1:14 – the great day of Jehovah,

Chapter 1:15-16 – a day of wrath, of trouble and distress,

Chapter 1:18 – the day of Jehovah’s wrath,

Chapter 2:2 – the day of Jehovah’s anger,

Chapter 2:3 – the day of Jehovah’s anger,

Chapter 3:8 – the day that I rise up to the prey, says Jehovah,

He is speaking of the imminent day of wrath and is speaking of that Day in their time, but also of a future event that will precede the “final coming of the Lord”. He is speaking a duality of prophecy of our time, not just theirs. He speaks of the signs of the great day of wrath that is to come upon this earth….our earth, our time. He is speaking of the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for His 1000 year reign upon this earth, which is preceded by a cleansing of the earth in righteous judgment and His fiery wrath, immediately after the rapture of the bride of Christ.

What will it take for America to wake up, or will she wake up? I believe she has been lulled to sleep bathed in her wickedness. Will a catastrophic earthquake that destroys large land masses and their population shake her awake? How about a new terrorist attack that makes 9/11 pale in comparison? Remember how we came together after the attack of the twin towers, the pentagon, and the fields of Pennsylvania that shook our nation and we returned to our churches in unprecedented numbers? How long did that last? After 6 months of being convicted and shaken, we returned to our old ways and our continued sinful way of life. It seems so long ago, doesn’t it? How quickly we forget how we felt and our need for God. The Church needs to wake up from its sleep as we must warn others to get on the Ark of Jesus Christ while there is still time to do so.

I just read a commentary of what our downfall will look like. A third world nation that has no power, no authority to do anything to solve a worldwide calamity, as this nation has ceased to exist in its superpower status. Is that time closer than we even think? I’ve written of different scenarios, as no one knows how this will shake out. America will be either decimated, or become the facilitator or home of the beast power and all its tyranny. Either way, judgment is coming.

WORLD-WIDE DESTRUCTION IS COMING

Worldwide calamity has started. Time will tell how fast it will move to our shores. As it becomes stronger and stronger, and the convulsions of a earth ripe for judgment fills the airwaves and the news outlets are coming fast and furious, you can see what I quoted above coming to pass in all its fury. Quoting Luke chapter 21 again:

21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:25-26

Some who read this commentary, will come away with fear and a dread playing on their hearts and minds, but we have a promise, even as we see these events start to unfold.

As a believer in my Lord Jesus Christ, I put my faith and trust in Him alone and stand on His Word, as I have on my coffee table an open bible that is turned to this passage of protection from Almighty God in the coming times of trouble ahead:

91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Psalm 91:7,8

This would make the average man on the street fearful and many will experience health issues because of one thing and that is fear and anxiety. My brethren in Christ, do not fear, do not let your heart be troubled, as God is in control, even as times of tribulation get closer and closer:

5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

This is the time when we must be warning others who are outside of God’s protection. These are those who see what is coming on the face of the earth and are starting to feel anxiety. They know something is coming. They know that “evil is coming this way upon the earth.” Just look at the news stories being reported right now. Many don’t buy the stories coming out of the media, as they have lost confidence and trust in them. But, they feel a dread and a sense of foreboding. You see survivalist who think they can weather the storm and for how long?

No, my friend, when this happens, all will be dealt a most horrific future. Nothing will save those who go through what is coming. It is a time of untold death and carnage, not so much at the hands of men who will take many lives, but at the Hand of Almighty God in fierce judgment and wrath aimed at rebellious and sinful mankind. What will you do if you witness the coastline of California experience the BIG ONE and fall off into the ocean?? What if the Yellowstone volcano that is having seismic activity constantly were to suddenly erupt? You would see death on a scale that you have never seen or read about.

You who read this message, do you feel the dread in your mind and soul? So what are you to do? Paul warned in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5:

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4

As a warning messenger on the wall, I admonish you and give you an open invitation to quiet the fear in your mind and in your heart with God’s Salvation supplied by His only Begotten Son.

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:8-13

GOD IS CALLING WHOSOEVER WILL

God is trying to shake everyone awake to what is coming. God is calling whoever will believe on His only begotten Son unto salvation. The time is drawing down. The start of the coming 7 years of Tribulation of Daniel’s 70th week could be in the imminent future. And the rapture of the Church will precede this time of worldwide destruction, where millions of people suddenly disappear in the “twinkling of an eye”. So what do you do with this warning, this call unto repentance? You could discard it as the ravings of a madman, or look around you and see that things are becoming very fearful and mind troubling. You may feel a tug at your mind and your heart. Jesus said in the Gospel of John,

6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.

6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me. John 6:44-45

Listen to that voice inside your spirit. Listen to the call in Romans 10:13, “whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, he shall be saved.” But in the end, don’t take my word for it, all that I have written, search God’s Word for yourself. Take the news all around you, and the warning in your Bible and in your heart, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit calling you. Make that decision for Jesus Christ today, right now.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18

If there is anything that I can pray with you about, counsel you with, or give you biblical support, then email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying for your eternal salvation.

TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET, MARANATHA!

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? – Pastor Mike Taylor

There is no other doctrine that is more central to the Christian faith as when Jesus spoke with Nicodemus and proclaimed that a man must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was obviously very confused, as written of the account of the meeting the Pharisee had with Jesus after coming to Him after sundown and it was dark.

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:1-5

Nicodemus was thinking in physical terms and could not understand the concept thinking that he must he enter the womb of his mother and be born again? He wasn’t thinking in spiritual terms and it seemed totally illogical to him at that moment.

Many Christians use the term to describe their being a believer of Jesus Christ, but do they fully understand in Spiritual terms exactly what Jesus was driving at? Many use the label to describe themselves as a believer in Jesus Christ, but is belief enough? Remember what James said :

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19

Let us examine what it means to be “born again” in the physical and in the spiritual.

As an illustration, when I was a young man, I used to be only concerned with myself. I was single and single minded of what I wanted. But when I got married and especially when I had a child between us, I changed. My identity of who I was changed dramatically. Oh, before when I was a happy go lucky young man, without the responsibility of being a husband and then a father, I would have been happy with a condo on the beach. That would have been wonderful. But now, my focus was on someone else. My money went to take care of a wife, and then a new life born into our family. I changed and my focus changed. My identity changed. I was no longer responsible for just myself. I now had a wife and baby and I was a father. My focus was different. I was a changed man.

So it is with becoming “born again”. We change. Our identity is changed. Our core being is changed. We are not the same person. Know one thing, my brethren. God is not doing a remodelling job on the same old house. He’s not coming in and saying, let’s knock out this wall, or let’s put in a new refrigerator over here, and put up some new nice curtains for the windows….No, God comes to us and since our life was built around being lost in our sins, objects of His wrath, and considered a walking dead man, spiritually, God started from scratch. It’s like an episode of “This Old House”. The old house is so much in disrepair, with rotting walls full of termites, leaky roof, a foundation that is falling part, that they come in with a bulldozer and tear it all down and start over completely. There is just no way to repair what is without ability to be repaired. . They dig a new foundation, pour new concrete with cement blocks for a foundation and build a whole, brand new structure. That’s what we become. A complete new creation or a “new structure”. The old is gone, and the new has come. We were changed at our very core. Our being was changed inside. Oh, we may look the same on the outside, but spiritually we are different and God has taken the old man and killed him and buried him with His only Son, Jesus Christ and raised him to a new life in baptism.

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Ephesians 2:1-3
We were hopeless, lost and objects of God’s wrath. We were walking dead men who didn’t realise it until the Holy Spirit drew us to the foot of the cross of Calvary. There we believed John 3:16-18 and the surrounding Gospel message of Jesus and Him crucified for the sins of the world. Then by obedience to the Lord’s example we were baptised by immersion into a watery grave just as Jesus demonstrated when baptised by John the Baptist. Matthew 3:14-17

Why do we immerse a person? Why not just sprinkle some water on his head, or stick his head in a bowl? Because the water of baptism is a symbol of the grave. We died to the old man. We were raised to newness of life. But the question raised, is baptism necessary for salvation? No, but as mentioned, it is a sign of obedience and knowing that we have died to the old man and raised a new creature. Romans 7:

4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. Romans 7:4-6

The law was our school-master to point us to our need for a Saviour, as there is none that can keep the law.
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Romans 3:10-12
That is what confused so many during the time of Jesus, as they thought that the law of Moses would save them. No works of keeping the law will do anything but one thing, CONDEMNS US.
Through Christ Jesus, the law has no hold on us, in that it condemns us, because we have been baptised into the death of Jesus Christ and the old man has died and we are now raised with a changed identity. Oh, we still have that sinful nature, because we are still mortal. But Paul addresses this conflict of the flesh waging war against the spirit.

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Romans 6:6-15

In Paul’s day, it was believed by a heretical belief held by a sect called Gnostics that we could sin all the more, so that grace could be even more grace. Paul says no. For we are not under the law, but under grace and dead to sin. He continues:

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. Romans 6:16-18

You see, because of grace and the mercy of God, it doesn’t allow us to wilfully sin and act like nothing ever happened. Some people feel if they come down to the front of the church, give the preacher your hand, and join the church and “believe by being an assenting Christian” in Jesus Christ, that they are fine.

“Party time now, because it’s all good. I can live like I want, do what I want and I’m covered, past, present and future. I just got my free ticket to heaven”….

See there is a difference between believing as the demons do, by assenting to the fact that Jesus is God, and becoming a follower of Jesus and being conformed to His likeness. It’s speaks to the level of your faith, and decision to allow Jesus to be Master of your life. But let us go a little deeper, as what does the term really mean to be “born again”?

Born again is a phrase used by many Protestants to describe the phenomenon of gaining faith in Jesus Christ. It is an experience when everything they have been taught as Christians becomes real, and they develop a direct and personal relationship with God. …that is true enough, as we are become a new creature in Christ Jesus….BUT

WHAT IS THE END RESULT OF BEING BORN AGAIN?

As said, it is true enough that we are supposed to change into a new creature, even though we are still living in these mortal bodies that are prone to sin. We struggle everyday to be more like Jesus, but if you are still human, you will fail at times and come to the ABBA Father in heaven through Jesus to repent of a sin that you fell into sometimes with much weeping and remorse. But remember the words that Jesus spoke to the Pharisee in the above mentioned passage in John 3?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. John 3:5-8
Paul speaks of this in Romans in my most favourite chapter…
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Romans 8:29-30
That gives us thoughts of what Jesus and Paul were speaking of….we are justified upon being saved by faith and ultimately baptised unto our Lord’s death and struggle to live and be conformed to the image of Jesus, our Saviour, but what of these words above about being glorified?? The Bible, I believe gives us clues to what being “born again” truly means. It is not about just being a new creature in Christ on this earth, but goes way beyond what many of us can only imagine. Let us consider the following verses, some that I have already quoted.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. John 3:8
Jesus explains to Nicodemus, that those born of the Spirit, those who are “Born Again”, will be as the wind, that comes and goes and you only see the effects of their presence on the natural world, much as the winds moves the leaves off the trees.
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus came to two of His disciples and they knew Him not…even as He walked and talked to them….then at the end…..they knew Him ultimately.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. Luke 24:30-31
Even when Jesus came to the apostles who were hiding behind locked doors, Jesus appeared to them.
36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
43 And he took it, and did eat before them. Luke 24:36-43

Just as Jesus had revealed Himself on the road to Emmaus to two of His followers, here Jesus reveals Himself to His Apostles and they were afraid, but as they touched Him and saw Him eat, they knew it was Jesus and He had come right through the walls to greet them. Jesus described Himself as “flesh and bone” as now His life force was the Spirit of God, not blood as required for mortal life.
Remember also what Jesus told Nicodemus?
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. John 3:3-7
So from just a quick look at these verses tells us that we will not enter into the Kingdom of God as flesh and blood mortals that are part of the “Bride of Christ”. We will be changed, glorified into what Jesus was and is. Note as I have preached in the past, that Jesus was a “new type” of what man will become. He was the first, the “prototype” of what we will be. The above verses only hint at what that will encompass and the glory that will be found in us. As Paul said in Romans:
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:14-18
We will be heirs of God and JOINT HEIRS with Jesus Christ, our Saviour. The only thing is we don’t know exactly what we will be when Jesus comes, but we KNOW that we will be just like Him.
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Someday, I believe very soon, we will be changed into what Jesus is and inherit as joint heirs in the Family of God, as Jesus our “big brother” our kinsman Redeemer and the Bridegroom for the Bride of Christ will usher us into the Kingdom of God being adopted into the family of God and we will be Kings and Priest to God on this earth for a 1000 years.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10

WOULD YOU BE THANKFUL?

Let me ask you a hypothetical question. If you came to your doctor and he pronounced that you had advanced stage IV cancer and prescribed a treatment that cured you, would you be indebted to that doctor? Most certainly you would be. You might even hug the man, or kiss him, because he just saved your life. What has God done for you then? He just saved your life. You were dead, dead, dead. But He has made you alive in Jesus Christ and promised you eternal life and a future beyond your wildest dreams. Would you be indebted to Him? Would you follow His plan for your life in humble submission to a Father in heaven and our Lord Jesus Christ who just gave you a pardon from a death sentence?

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Colossians 2:10-14

God our Father, gave us a new life, with endless possibilities and future heavenly rewards, apart from the blessing of this temporal life we live. He made us glorious promises found in God’s Word to those who love Him.

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:32-34

Did you catch that? He will freely give us all things, and the greatest of these is a life without end, eternal life. As Paul testified in Philippians chapter 4,

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
BUT STILL YOU SIN?

But you lament, as many that email me struggle with the complaint, “but I still sin”. Yes, we are still mortal. We are still afflicted with a sin nature. But Paul spoke of this seemingly conflicting paradox of those buried with Jesus Christ and find that when they say something they should not have, or look at something they should not be looking at, or think a thought that is not very Christ-like they are convicted and the need for repentance is strong, even as Paul lamented in Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me…..(skipping down)
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Romans 7:14-17,19-20

But he identifies the solution to be a mortal man and having God’s Holy Spirit living inside us in the verses further down in the same chapter:

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:24-25

It seems to be a conflict that is present all our lives. We are “born again” as a new creature in Christ, but still mortal that has this war going on inside us. But with God’s Holy Spirit within us, strengthening us, leading us in the paths of His righteousness, when we sin because of the frailness of our mortal flesh, it is not our identity that is doing it, because we have become the children of God (sons and daughters), but it is the sin nature that is doing it and not my changed spiritual identity, but the sin nature that lives as a part of my flesh. When we sin because of being flesh and mortal, we bring that failure to our Lord and repent and ask forgiveness and the fellowship that was hindered is restored completely. We will finally overcome the sinful nature, when the deposit of the Holy Spirit that melded with our spirit finally overcomes.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest (deposit) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14

When will we finally overcome? Rapture verses:,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1 Corinthians 15:52-55

Then the deposit of our purchase possession will be changed into His likeness at His coming for His church. As Paul spoke of in Philippians:

21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Philippians 3:21

As Jesus could come and go at will right before men’s eyes because He was now flesh and bones with a resurrected body, we will have the same body that He possesses now. We will be able to be touched, possibly eat as Jesus did, but come and go as a breeze through the trees that Jesus described. We will be the purchased possession, as the deposit of the Holy Spirit has now quickened our mortal bodies into eternal spiritual bodies with properties and powers that no mortal man can describe save what the scriptures define. All I can say is, I can only imagine. And I want it, more than anything…Do you? Those of us who have made that decision to follow our Lord and Saviour, by accepting His free gift of eternal life, through His death and resurrection will sing His praises for 10,000 years on into eternity forever thankful, forever forgiven, and forever part of the Family of God. Then we will be truly “Born Again”.

A DECISION TO MAKE

Have you been really “born again” in this life as a new creature in Christ? Have you received the deposit of God’s Holy Spirit living within your spirit as a guarantee of your future glorification into the “sons of God”? Have you accepted the only payment for the purchase of your soul to live eternally with Almighty God, a loving Father and His only Begotten Son? Are you an assenting Christian believer in your mind, or a true follower of Jesus Christ, in Spirit and in Truth in your heart of hearts? You must ask yourself these questions, as signs and symptoms of the closing of this church age is growing exponentially louder and more pronounced with each passing day. As any minister would give an altar call at the end of a message, I call you now, by God’s Holy Spirit and the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to repent of your sins, accept my Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of your life, and be changed forever inside your very core of being. Become a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, our soon coming King and Lord…Be ye, BORN AGAIN! What must you do to be born again? You must be saved by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Mankind was born for one reason, “what will you do with the God/Man, Jesus Christ? Will you accept His payment for your sins in His own blood, or follow the lies of the Prince and Power of the Air, Satan the devil? To be saved is so simple, even a 10 year boy (Me) did it in vacation Bible school. You must become as little children and believe by faith, that Jesus died and rose again, and He is coming soon. Borrowing this from pastor JD Farag, here is the simple recipe to be saved.

Believe the following verses in your heart and you will be saved….

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:8-13

This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying for you to be born again in the Kingdom of God. If you should have a need, would like prayer, counselling or just a listening ear, then email me atrealteam1999@sbcglobal.net, . Or visit me online for more biblical lessons from the Word of God at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, God bless you all,

TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET

The Prophetic Implication of the Mark of the Beast – Jonathan Brentner

One of the more familiar phrases in the book of Revelation is also one of the most misunderstood ones. Many people have heard about the “mark of the beast” and its corresponding 666, but few recognize its prophetic significance or believe it will ever become a reality. Among those who believe it signifies a future and literal prophecy, it has become a source of confusion for some amid all the talk of COVID-19 vaccines.

The main passage regarding the “mark of the beast” is Revelation 13:16-18:

Also it [the beast} causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,[e] to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

Before tackling the prophetic significance of the mark for today, let’s look first at what we know about it from Scripture.

WHO IS THE BEAST?

The beast referred to in the above text is none other than the antichrist. He is the beast that will rise to power at the start of the tribulation and assume total control of all the nations of the earth by its midpoint if not before. He’s the “man of lawlessness” that Paul wrote about in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10. Halfway through the seven-year tribulation, the antichrist will defile the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

This desecration will begin his reign of terror in which he will demand that everyone on earth worship him as God. Rev. 13:5-9 It’s during the last 42 months of the tribulation that the antichrist will “make war on the saints” as well as the Jews. This is the time Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:15-22, which will be a time of great persecution for the Jews as well as for those who refuse to take the mark.

While the technology for the mark may already be in widespread use before the halfway point of the tribulation, at this point it will become mandatory along with the worship of the antichrist (see also Rev. 14:9) The penalty for refusing to worship the beast and take his mark will be certain death, most likely by beheading. Rev. 20:4

WHAT IS THE MARK?

The word in the Greek for “mark” suggests that it will be a visible stamp or a permanent tattoo that will display one’s allegiance to the beast as well as allow that person to engage in commerce. It could be some sort of barcode whereby the store scans the person and the groceries or clothes one is buying into the system. More likely, one’s identifying information will be stored on a computer chip underneath the mark that will instantly connect the person with all his or her information on a distant central database that will instantly reveal whether or not the person has the necessary digital money to complete the purchase.

Peter Koenig, a geopolitical analyst and former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), wrote the following about ID2020, which contains all the key elements for the coming mark of the beast described in Revelation 13.

What is the infamous ID2020? It is an alliance of public-private partners, including UN agencies and civil society. It’s an electronic ID program that uses generalized vaccination as a platform for digital identity.

Another hypothesis, at this point only a hypothesis, but a realistic one, is that along with the vaccination – if not with this one, then possibly with a later one, a nano-chip may be injected, unknown to the person being vaccinated. The chip may be remotely charged with all your personal data, including bank accounts – digital money. Yes, digital money that’s what “they” are aiming at, so you really have no control any more over your health and other intimate data, but also over your earnings and spending. Your money could be blocked, or taken away – as a ‘sanction’ for misbehavior, for swimming against the stream. You may become a mere slave of the masters.

We are moving towards a totalitarian state of the world. This is part of Agenda ID2020 – and these steps to be implemented now – prepared since long, including by the coronavirus computer simulation at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore on 18 October 2019, sponsored by the WEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[i]

We know from Scripture that without the mark of the beast, people will not be able to buy or sell. Peter Koenig, who is not a believer and does not reference the mark in his articles, says that even with ID2020, one’s behavior may determine whether or not one has full access to his or her funds.

When I first learned about the Mark of the Beast, it seemed like something that belonged to a far distant time, although I believed it would happen someday. Now decades later, we not only have the technology to make it a reality, but the globalists at the World Economic Forum (WEF), UN, and elsewhere talk openly about ID2020, which sounds remarkably similar to the mark of the beast described in Revelation 13.

WILL ACCEPTING THE MARK OF THE BEAST SEAL ONE’S ETERNAL FATE?

Revelation 14:9-11 tells us that those who worship the beast and receive his mark will face an eternity in hell. These verses do not allow for repentance or for turning to Christ once a person receives the mark, which will seal their eternal fate.

Besides worshiping the antichrist, is there anything else about taking this mark that might make a person’s eternal destiny irreversible? Yes! Many prophecy speakers suggest, and I agree, that the transhuman element inherent in the future plans discussed by the WEF may be the reason for this. If the mark that the antichrist will force people to take during the tribulation changes the DNA of people as the globalists plan to do through future vaccines, these injections may change people to the extent that they are no longer part of the human race for which Jesus died on the cross.

Bill Gates openly discusses his plans to change our DNA with vaccines. The globalists make no secret whatsoever of their intent to change humanity into something unrecognizable at the current time.

It’s what Klaus Schwab, the founder of the WEF, refers to as “Fourth Industrial Revolution;” though it’s far different than the previous ones. He wrote this about the transhuman nature of people once this new industrial revolution takes hold during The Great Reset:

Previous industrial revolutions liberated humankind from animal power, made mass production possible and brought digital capabilities to billions of people. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is, however, fundamentally different. It is characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human.[ii]

Klaus Schwab intends to dramatically change the human race by combining individuals with machines that decades ago was only the stuff of wild science fiction. Now, it’s a part of The Great Reset that has captured the admiration of world leaders other than President Trump who opposes globalism.

When one considers the words of Klaus Schwab, it stands to reason that those who take the mark will surrender their lives to the control of the beast. The mark may render people incapable of placing their faith in Jesus. Could it also make disobedience to the antichrist impossible as well?

Peter Koenig, who bases his future hopes on people rising up and thwarting the plans of the WEF for The Great Reset, wrote this about the tyranny the globalists’ plans for humanity:

It is not without reference tongue-in-cheek to the 2010 Rockefeller Report which foresaw and planned as the first phase of their deliberate “Human Transformation” – the Lockstep scenario.

The transformation as we now know, is planned to be nothing less than a modification and digitization of the human genome, robotization of our brains – so as to gain total control over the population – those that are left of us, after the UN agenda 2021-2030 is fully implemented.[iii]

It’s staggering to contemplate that the elite of our world have already put so much planning into what appears to be what Revelation 13 and 14 describe as the mark of the beast. And if we see such open discussion preparation for something that the antichrist will not be fully implement and enforce until the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation, how close are we to its start?

THE PROPHETIC IMPLICATION OF THE MARK OF THE BEAST

With the current emphasis on the COVID-19 vaccine and the push to make it mandatory, some wonder if this is the mark of the beast. While it appears that the mark will likely include a vaccine, any such injection before the start of the tribulation cannot be it. The church will be in heaven with Jesus well before the antichrist gains control of the world and forces everyone to take his mark under penalty of death.

Some wonder if its possible for someone to unknowingly accept the mark today. Again, the answer is no; the antichrist will require those who receive it to worship him. People with any understanding of Scripture during the tribulation, will know what the mark signifies as well as the consequences for taking it.

What is the key prophetic implication of the mark of the beast? The open planning for it among the world’s richest and most powerful people tells us that the Lord’s appearing to take us home must be exceedingly close since we know this happens before the start of the tribulation.

As it is, I never thought I would see so many signs of tribulation before the rapture as I see today.

Our departure from this world may not happen this week, this month, or even in the foreseeable future, however, we are well past the time when we can assume it will not happen today, this week, or in the very near future.

We may see Christmas 2021 before the rapture happens, but it’s also quite possible the Lord will come for us before January 1, 2021.

What we do know for sure is that the rapture is closer than most believers think it is. Its nearness is good news for us because it’s the moment we receive glorified bodies and a glorious and joyous eternal adventure begins for us. It does not get any better than that.

Maranatha!

The Persecution Of Christians Is Escalating Dramatically All Over The World – Michael Snyder

All over the globe, thousands upon thousands of Christians are being ruthlessly killed simply because of what they believe. But if you only rely on corporate-controlled media sources for your news, you literally never hear about this relentless persecution. In fact, in this article I don’t link to a single mainstream news source. I had to go to Christian news websites to document what I am about to share with you, because the mainstream media avoids stories such as these like the plague. Of course if innocent people were being systematically butchered for a reason that aligned with the various agendas that they are constantly pushing, the mainstream media would be all over this. It greatly upsets me that the deaths of Christians are treated as if they don’t really matter, and we continue to see the global persecution of Christians escalate year after year.

For example, just take a look at what is happening in Ethiopia. Extremists have been conducting a door-to-door campaign as they search for Christians to kill…

At least 500 Christians have been killed in an ongoing spate of coordinated door-to-door attacks and thousands of traumatized survivors have fled for their lives over the last two months in southern Ethiopia’s Oromia regional state, including its capital Addis Ababa, according to reports.

For most of you, this is probably the very first time that you have ever heard about this.

This just shows the power of the mainstream media. If they don’t talk about it, then most of the population will never even know that it exists.

But we should be talking about it, because what is taking place is absolutely horrifying. In some instances, Christian parents are literally being slaughtered in front of their children…

“The Qeerroo extremists arrived in cars and, armed with guns, machetes, swords and spears, sought out and slaughtered Christians. Children were forced to witness their parents being brutally murdered with machetes,” it added.

An Oromo Christian was beheaded after he refused to tear off the thread around his neck, which is worn by many Ethiopian Christians as a sign of their baptism. The attackers told his wife that only those who prostrate before Allah for prayer are considered part of the Oromo community.

This should be one of the greatest human rights causes of our day, but the silence coming from the mainstream media is deafening.

It is almost as if there is a concerted effort not to talk about this.

But I refuse to keep silent. These precious lives matter, and I am going to talk about them.

In South Sudan, 23 Christians were gunned down at a church gathering on July 27th, and the attackers apparently decided that was not enough and so they decided to burn down an entire village…

Meanwhile, in South Sudan, six children who had been taken hostage were among the 23 people killed when unidentified gunmen attacked an Anglican church in Jonglei State on July 27. At least 20 others were wounded.

“After killing people in the church, the gunmen went to the homestead village and killed people there,” Bishop Moses Anur Ayom told the Episcopal News Service. “The gunmen burned down the whole village in Makol Chuei.”

Once again, I’ll bet you never heard about this story until now.

On the other side of the continent, thousands of Christians are being systematically eliminated by extremists in Nigeria…

This year already nearly 2,000 Christians have been mercilessly hacked and shot to death in surprise raids on their villages. These deadly, senseless attacks are often portrayed as ongoing clashes between farmers and herders. Those who follow closely believe they are part of a larger agenda – seemingly supported by government officials and security agencies – to drive Christians off their lands. Nigerian citizens have been disarmed by the government, but somehow, the Militant Fulani herdsmen are armed to the teeth and have no fear of encountering security response or capture.

This is something that has been going on throughout all of 2020, and this is another story that I’ll bet you have never heard about until this article.

I could keep going through more examples in Africa, but let’s switch gears.

In India, religious extremists regularly kill Christians, but those deaths rarely get much attention. Here are just a few examples…

A young woman in the Khunti district of Jharkhand has become the fifth victim in a string of Christians killed in India because of their faith.

The woman, 25-year-old Suman Munda, was found dead on July 19 in a deserted place near her home, according to Vatican News. Just one month earlier, on June 24, another Christian, 27-year-old Ramji Munda, was killed outside a village in the Khunti district.

Overall, the number of attacks on Christians in India just seems to keep rising year after year. In 2019, one group recorded “527 cases of persecution against Christians”…

The killing of Christians in India is on the rise.

In 2019, Persecution Relief, a group dedicated to helping persecuted Christians in India, recorded 527 cases of persecution against Christians, compared to 447 cases in 2018.

Sadly, the final number for 2020 will probably be the highest that we have seen so far.

But at least things in India are not as bad as they are in China. As I have discussed previously, the Chinese government seems to have decided that the elimination of the Christian faith should be official government policy. Over the past couple of years, countless churches have been raided, countless pastors have been imprisoned, and countless Bibles have been burned.

And even hundreds of pro-government “churches” that do everything that the central government tells them to do are still having their crosses taken down…

Bitter Winter reported on June 9 that crosses had been removed from over 250 state-run Three-Self churches in the eastern province of Anhui in the first four months of the year. According to the newly received information, an additional 656 state-run Protestant venues in the province had lost their crosses during the first half of this year, the total exceeding 900.

Thankfully, we aren’t facing this level of persecution in the western world yet, but many of our politicians have used the pandemic that we are experiencing to implement very strict restrictions on Christian gatherings.

In fact, the city of Seattle temporarily shut down an entire park the other day in order to prevent a Christian worship event from taking place. The following comes from Todd Starnes…

The City of Seattle shut down a local park in advance of a massive gathering of Christian worshippers.

Christians were banned from the park, but not Black Lives Matter or Antifa. Let that sink in, folks.

The organizers could have completely canceled the event, but instead they decided to take it to the streets and rebrand it as a “worship protest”…

But instead of canceling the event, the Christians simply relocated the service to the street and called it a “worship protest.”

Brilliant!

It was wonderful to see such a diverse group of people all worshipping the Lord together under a beautiful blue sky.

But you can be sure that officials in Seattle will be brainstorming ways that they can prevent such a thing from happening again in the future.

Hatred of Christians is rapidly rising all over the globe, and it is going to get a whole lot worse in the years ahead.

Sadly, the corporate-controlled media will almost certainly continue to ignore the persecution that is happening because it definitely does not fit any of the agendas that they are trying to push.

That is extremely unfortunate, because every one of these lives that is being lost is of immense value, and their stories deserve to be told.

The Soon Return of Christ – By Pete Garcia

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Revelation 22:12-13

The skeptic and scoffer will laugh and point to this verse, and mockingly ask, where is the promise of His return? It’s been 2,000 years and He still hasn’t come back. They have been mocking now for 2,000 years. Every generation has had their fill of these boastful ingrates, beating their chests and proudly blaspheming the name of Christ. Our day is only different in that it is getting worse.

Two points.

First, is that every generation over these past 2,000 years has had their share of skeptics and scoffers. Every single one of those mockers prior to our generation, have since died. In death, they now know the truth as they await their judgment. You see, death is not the end for us as we will spend the rest of eternity in either one of two places. Our physical body will grow old, and our heart will one day stop beating, but our conscious never dies. And at the point of death, we will slip out of this physical, fleshly, body and immediately go into the next. What we believed in this life, will ultimately determine, where we spend the rest of eternity.

But death is not the end.

In fact, as one pastor eloquently puts it, for the unregenerate (the unsaved), their conscious becomes amplified in death. Every habit they craved in life, whether benign or evil, is amplified in hades. If you were addicted to drugs or pornography in this life, your conscious, immortal body, will have that addiction amplified without ever being fulfilled for the rest of eternity. For example, if you lived by the satanic law of do what thou will (fulfilling the lust of the flesh), you will suffer never, ever, being able to fulfill those lusts for the rest of eternity.

Every thought is amplified (for all to hear). Every impulse, addiction, craving, and every regret, is amplified so profoundly, that aside from the oppressive heat, darkness, and the pain, the person in hades/Sheol/torments, will spend every second for the rest of eternity with that profound gnawing of withdrawal eating away at them. They will never again satisfy whatever it was that got their rocks off in their former life. (See Luke 16:19-31)

Thus, those who are still alive today, have only their fellow mockers to keep them company. They mock in blind ignorance today, hating God (Romans 1), and are singularly comforted by their present company of mockers. But the moment they die, they are forever separated and alone for the rest of eternity.

The second point is that according to Scripture, God created time for mankind. He has not bound to it Himself. For Him, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years, as a day (2 Peter 3:8). In other words, our concept of time and His are very different. We in our present state, are in our mortal, physical, beings. We are generally limited to 70-80 years (Psalm 90:10), and then we die, and then our real selves, the soul of man, goes to either one of two locations: either with God in the heavenly, divine, realms, or apart from God, in hades/Sheol/torments. When, at the end of human history, and after the Great White Throne Judgment, God will cast those who are in hades/Sheol/torments into the Lake of Fire. This is their true and final home for the rest of eternity.

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10-14

All things considered, 2,000 years is not really that long a time to wait. Each person has whatever time in their life to make their amends with their Creator, and then, death. As the writer of Hebrews put it, and as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Heb. 9:27-28). Yes, it has been 2,000 years since Christ last walked the earth, but each generation has had to come to grips with who Jesus was to them, and have long since marched into the grave.

How Soon?

Ultimately, the born-again believer (spiritually regenerated) would like to have the single, most important question of our life answered. When is Christ returning? To this, I say what Christ said….soon. We are told we cannot know the day nor hour, but we are also told that we could see the day approaching and that we would not be in the dark regarding His return.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:36-37

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thessalonians 1-4

As I put in a previous article, we can both know and not know, by the shadow looming over us. Although we don’t know when specifically Christ will return, we know we are now standing in the shadow of the 70th Week of Daniel. It looms large over us, and the watching believer is joined by the Holy Spirit, with other believers, who sense the nearness of Christ return. In other words, for the believer who is watching and eagerly anticipating the soon return of Christ, we are being reaffirmed by the Holy Spirit who indwells us that His coming is very soon.

So how soon is that?

If I had to wager a guess, I’d say between now and ten years from now.

I’m sure there were people in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc. who probably felt the same way. They, in their humanity, could not fathom Christ’s return extending beyond their immediate future. We here in the year 2019, soon to be 2020, feel the same way. We cannot fathom Christ’s return going beyond our immediate future.

I like to think of it as a window of time.

Those speculating that Christ would return in the 1970s were too early. Those who think Christ’s return will be no earlier than the year 2050, are too late. We here in the middle of those two boundaries must keep in mind that although God’s specific timing is unknown to us, they are not random or arbitrary. His return will be tied to something significant, whether we recognize that or not, is irrelevant. So what makes me think we are in the middle of that 80-year window? (1970-2050)

The nation of Israel.

If for nothing else, the Christian today, has Israel as God’s timepiece. I’ve chronicled before in much more depth about Israel’s timeline (here), but keep this simple principle in mind.

Israel, the people, is the year.
Israel, the nation, the hour-hand.
The city of Jerusalem, the minute-hand.
The temple, the second-hand.

We (since 1897) are the only generation in 2,000 years to see God stir the Jewish people to return to their ancestral homeland. We also saw the world fight two global wars (WWI and WWII) which, as a result, allowed for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland.
We (since 1948) are the only generation in those 2,000 years, which has had the nation of Israel, back in existence as a sovereign nation.
We (since 1967) are the only generation in those 2,000 years, which has seen the Jewish people reclaim their ancient, ancestral city of Jerusalem.
We (since 1987) are the only generation in those 2,000 years to see the most serious, concerted effort to rebuild the third Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

Simply looking at Israel as God’s timepiece then, we are in the last seconds, of the last days, which is why I don’t think we can really push the envelope of God’s patience beyond 10-years. Even escalating this timeline, was the election of the most pro-Israel president the US has ever had since Harry Truman. President Trump, as the leader of the most powerful nation on earth, became the first president to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital. Not only that but by moving our national embassy there, he cemented this decision into policy.

The world, which is currently being run by Satan himself, does not like this. (1 John 5:19). This is why President Trump has the entirety of the globalist, bureaucratic, satanic architecture coming down on his head. They are being steered with this blind, irrational hatred of him, and they do not even understand why. The reason why is that Satan hates Israel, and he will try everything in his power, to destroy them as a nation and as a people. If he can destroy Israel, then he can break/thwart God’s prophetic promise to them, thus, potentially, nullifying his own fate of spending the rest of eternity in the lake of fire.

So how much longer will all this go on?

We know, according to Scripture, that Satan will make four attempts at wiping out the Jewish nation and the city of Jerusalem.

Psalm 83: has not happened yet historically, but could happen at any moment. We’ve seen numerous attempts (1948, 1967, 1973, etc.) already, but there is coming one which will significantly expand Israel’s border for good. This time, they will not yield the land back. Sunni Islam as a religion will suffer a significant, devastating blow.

Ezekiel 38-39: has not happened yet, but we see the chess pieces (the nations) already in position. Nations who historically have always been at odds with each other, are gathering for the first time in what used to be Syria. The nations of Iran, Russia, and Turkey (the three major nations) are staging in Syria under the pretense of keeping the peace. This will change and God will put a hook in their mouths and lead them to war, where He will destroy them. This will put the final nail in the coffin of Islam, as both the Turks (Sunni) and the Iranians (Shia) are overwhelmingly defeated.

Revelation 19: will not happen until the end of Daniel’s 70th Week. At the end of the seven-years (70th Week), the antichrist and the false prophet will lead a final charge against the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant. Christ returns visibly, as He peels the sky apart, and destroys ALL the armies of the world gathered there. See also Zechariah 14:1-15

Revelation 20:1-9: will not happen until the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign on the earth. Here, Satan is released from the bottomless pit for a “short season” and is allowed to persuade those who were born in the millennium, to rise up against Christ who is ruling the world from Jerusalem. Needless to say, this is a short battle, as Christ calls down fire from heaven and consumes them for the last time.

As J.D. Farag once put it, these prophecies have a shelf-life. Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 (destruction of Damascus), and Ezekiel 38-39 are already primed and ready to go. I don’t see how much longer these things can stay in their present state without falling apart geopolitically. As much as I believed God used a Trump-presidency to accomplish His purposes (just as He used the Truman presidency), the world-situation is exactly where He said they would be. The world hates Israel and has been coming against it since 1948. The world hates the Trump Administration because Trump enthusiastically supports Israel.

I can understand some people’s sentiments regarding how they used to believe Christ would return in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc. and have felt burned by believing that. HOWEVER, they were not where we are today, regarding ALL that has happened since Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth first got published (1970). His book, like the Left Behind series, were runaway bestsellers. They were used for their time to point to the soon return of Christ.

Understandably, soon, can be a relatively subjective term. When I tell my children that Christmas is six-weeks away that seems like a lifetime to them. However, as parents, we recognize how soon six-weeks really is, and we begin to scramble to buy the presents and get the travel arrangements in order, and so forth. Although God isn’t “scrambling” per se, He is methodically allowing for events to unfold that will prepare for the return of His Son, Jesus Christ, to take His rightful place on the throne of David.

To David, from Nathan the Prophet;

Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ‘ “According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 2 Samuel 7:10-17

So where is the throne of David?

It is in Jerusalem.

Which is in the land of Israel.

Which is why we say Israel is God’s time-piece.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:30-33

The current reality of a national-Israel being full of Jews, who are back in their ancestral homeland, makes us the first generation in 2,000 years to meet these prophetic conditions. Although we are overflowing with prophetic signs and markers these days, we often lose sight of just how prophetically significant Israel really is. I say lose sight because we start looking at a lot of different signs trying to determine just how close we actually are. Then we become inundated with information and begin to chase our tails.

It has to come back to watching Israel. This is because if you were born after 1948, you’ve only ever known Israel to be back in her land. However, if you lived before 1948, you understood that the nation of Israel existed only in history books. I’ve often wondered if this is why so many of our great Christian prophecy scholars have already graduated into glory, leaving us young bucks to carry the water. We get enamored with all the technology, signs in the heavens, geopolitics and so on, thus, we know we are near the end, but we forget to do our proper cross-scan (across the dashboard of all the prophetic signs).

The Bible emphatically states that Christ will one day rule from David’s throne, which is in Jerusalem. The Bible emphatically states that Israel will build a third temple. The two previous temples were destroyed; the first by the Babylonians, and the second by the Romans. However, in order for there to be a third temple, Israel had to control Jerusalem. In order the Jews to control Jerusalem, they had to control the land of Israel. In order for the Jews to reclaim the nation of Israel, God would have had to preserve them as a people through 2,000 years of Diaspora.

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:1-6

Are you ready?

THE BIBLE – PROPHETICAL, ACCURATE AND TRUE

No other book than the Bible contains as many prophecies concerning the future. There are 737 distinct prophecies in the Scriptures and 594 have been fulfilled to date, with one-hundred percent accuracy every time. In other words, eighty percent of the prophecies have already been fulfilled down to the last letter.

Did you know Jesus literally fulfilled 109 prophecies relating to Himself in His First Coming? In the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life, 25 specific prophecies came to pass, all of which were written into the Old Testament between 500 and 1000 years before his birth. Do you know what the odds are of 25 specific predictions coming to pass in one 24-hour period of a specific person’s lifetime? Billions to one!

Here are a few of the prophecies from the Old Testament which were fulfilled in the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life:

1. 1. Jesus would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
  2. Jesus would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9).
  3. Jesus would be forsaken by His disciples (Zechariah 13:7).
  4. He would be accused by false witnesses (Psalm 35:11).
  5. He would be dumb in the presence of His accusers (Isaiah 53:7).
  6. Jesus would be scourged (Isaiah 50:6).
  7. He would have His garments parted (Psalm 22:18).
  8. Jesus would be mocked by His enemies (Psalm 22:7, 8).
  9. He would be given gall and vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21).
  10. Not one bone in His body would be broken (Psalm 34:20).
  11. He would die in the presence of malefactors and thieves (Isaiah 53:12).
  12. The 30 pieces of silver would be used to buy the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13).

God promised to restore His people to their homeland and this would be a sign to other nations that we are living in the last days:

“And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the world” (Isaiah 11:11,12).

This Scripture was written over 650 years before Christ and, now over 2,600 years later the Jewish people are returning to their homeland! Now here we are in the 21st century. The Jews have been back in Israel for over 60 years, so this prophecy has come to pass. We are told that in the future this world will perish on the rock which is Jerusalem.

^“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness” (Zechariah 12:2-4).