There can be no better witness to others who are in fear. You and I were born for this very time, to be anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit. This was only possible through Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. He alone made it possible for us to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit to those needing hope all around us. The Holy Spirit speaks to us today. He is our counsellor, teacher, and comforter He provides the gifts of the Spirit for ministry as we go He will lead and His power is evident.
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1
That is a wonderful “assignment” each day from the Lord.As we submit our will to His will, we are perfecting holiness in Him and truly living eternal now.
The LORD is in charge. He’s allowing the Covid 19 pestilence and the economic and political chaos to shake us like never before, certainly in my lifetime. Hopefully, it will awaken Christians in all nations, so that His people called by His Name will repent and pray.
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Our prayers and daily repentance will support this process for His Will to prevail.
Darkness will cover the earth. We now live in a world that largely denies God’s existence and His ability to judge us. A world that is under the control of Satan. Jesus acknowledged His current sovereignty over this word. Just as the first man, Adam, rebelled against God, the Bible reveals that Satan an angelic being (created by God to serve Him in the heavenly dimension but able to impact and even manifest in our earthly dimension) rebelled against God wanting to be God. We are told that one-third of the angels followed Satan in his rebellion and are now demons taking part in Satan’s demonic plan to subvert God’s redemptive plan.
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
A world that denies the true history of this world including the worldwide flood of Noah’s day when God judged and destroyed mankind and the animals except those on Noah’s Ark just 4000 years ago. Probably, the greatest lie that Satan has got the world to believe is the evolutionary origins of this universe.
The world also largely denies God ever established a nation to represent Him on this earth and from whom would come the redeemer, the one who can save mankind from sin, man’s rebellion against their Creator. The true history of this world from its beginning to its prophesied end has been given to us by God Himself through the prophets. Fulfilled prophecies already prove the Bible is God’s Word. Jesus came into His world and changed history forever. It is 2020 because God ensured this event could not be denied. When the resurrected Jesus departed this world He said He would return to the same place where He left it, Jerusalem. Extensive details of His second coming were revealed to the O.T. prophets and to the N.T. apostles particularly John in the book of Revelation. There are more prophecies about Jesus’ second coming to earth than there were about His first coming and there were plenty of those.
Christians we need to start living eternally now, ready for Jesus’ return. We can use the coming prophesied events to prepare the church for the coming tribulation and also for what I call apocalyptic evangelism.
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We think much of the meek and gentle side of Christ’s character. Perhaps we do not think enough of the strength of it. We do not sufficiently realise the enormous strength that was required to complete that sacrifice. In Him was an iron will, unchanging purpose, strength from consecration, strength from righteousness. In Him was the heroism of prophets and martyrs.
Jesus hanging on the Cross is therein revealed as ‘the power of God’
The contrast between the characteristics of the historical Jesus at His first coming and the rider on the white horse of Revelation at His second coming is difficult to reconcile. The contrast between the suffering servant of the historical Jesus and that of the Divine Warrior, the Man of War, the Conqueror forces us to widen our conceptions if we are ever to understand the greatness of His love or the terribleness of His judgments. ‘The wrath of the Lamb’ sounds like an impossibility, but the righteous Judge is logically and chronologically the completion of the picture of the merciful Saviour. Sadly, the world today does not understand that the consequences of sin are terrible and that divine love must be in irreconcilable antagonism with it and must discipline and smite it. Throughout the Old Testament runs the longing that God would ‘awake’ to smite evil. That is the last and in some sense the greatest act by which He shows Himself ‘mighty to save His redeemed.’
Jesus coming with the saints to defeat the Antichrist army and to liberate Israel. He then begins His Millennial reign on this restored earth. In the same way that Jesus alone provided the atoning sacrifice for our sins, so will Jesus alone tread the winepress of God’s wrath and crush His enemies.
This is a study from the Book of Daniel 11:21-31 with Dalton Thomas of FAI and Marantha Bible Studies. In large part, the study is about the entry of the Antichrist onto the world scene. As well, Dalton gives us a lot of valuable information from Revelation 13 about the Antichrist. Be blessed, it will prepare you for the end times so you will be ready for Jesus’ return.
‘Also, it (Antichrist) was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” Revelation 13:7-10
“Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”1 Peter 1:13 ESV
From the beginning of the Bible to the end,the return of Jesus and the establishment of His Kingdom is theprimary focal point of all expectation, longing, and hope.
What is the primary hope of your church? If you follow my blog then you know I call it living eternal now because I know His return to this earth to establish His Kingdom is not too far in the future. Time is short, we need to get on with the Great Commission. Maranatha
I am sure that if the church will prioritize meditating upon, teaching, and emphasizing the hope of Jesus’ return, it will grow and bear good fruit.
The more that we recover an unshakable passion for His return, the more eager the church will be to finish the Great Commission.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works… encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25
A film which will hopefully give you a clearer vison of Jesus and will inspire you to love Him more dearly. If nothing else, I hope it drives you to want to know more about the book of Revelation which is ultimately the book of the Revelation of Jesus. It is the last book of the Bible and it needs to be the book we know best in these last days so we know Him and what to expect will happen on this earth before He appears.
You need to connect with Maranatha Ministries (download their app) to get great teaching on Biblical “end times” prophesied events. Make sure you work through the Maranatha series on Daniel. It will prepare you for the coming series on Revelation. I am confident that God has raised up both Dalton Thomas and Joel Richardson to prepare His church for His second coming. I met Joel at an “end times” convention in Texas and we have corresponded over a number of years now. Joel and Dalton have been working together for a number of years now and it has been interesting to see how God has expanded each of their ministries as they have been faithful with the tasks God has given them.
God is in control of His universe, anyone who does not believe this will face God’s wrath. His Kingdom will come. Jesus will rule and reign on this earth.
“Why do the nations rage and the people’s plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” Psalm 2:1-6
Jesus will rule and reign in a new Jerusalem that will be on the highest mountain on earth
ETERNAL LIFE OR THE WRATH OF GOD ARE THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS: “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:35-36
WE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE – HIS CREATION REVEALS THE TRUTH: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-29
GOD POURED OUT HIS WRATH ONCE PREVIOUSLY WITH NOAH’S FLOOD: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8
Replica of the Ark built by Johannes Huiber located in Holland. Answers in Genesis have also built a life sized Noah’s Ark in Cincinnati USA
GOD KNEW THAT THE WORLD WOULD IGNORE HIS SECOND WARNING OF COMING WRATH. WILL YOU?: “Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of His (Jesus) coming? For, ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” 2 Peter 3:3-6
JESUS GAVE US THIS WARNING ABOUT HIS SECOND COMING AND WRATH: “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day. But first, He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation (Jesus was speaking to His disciples just prior to His crucifixion. They were asking Him about the “end times”) . Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:24-27
The following end times scholars: Chris White, Charles Cooper, Alan Hultberg, David Rosenthal, Ryan Habbena, and Alan Kurschner unite to produce this excellent video – Seven Pretribulation Problems and the Prewrath Rapture. You can watch this film as a whole or in parts. The individual parts pages below also have written transcripts available on https://7pretribproblems.com/7-problems/
You need to settle this issue so that you are prepared for the coming tribulation which will occur before Jesus returns to rule and reign on this earth with a “rod of iron”. God set up the nation of Israel to be His nation on earth to accomplish His purposes. During the Millennial reign of Jesus from a completely restored/restructured Jerusalem, God’s purposes for Israel will be finally realised. Satan is bound in the Abyss during Jesus 1000 year reign so it is reasonable to assume that there will be a great harvest of souls during this period. Sadly, at the end of the thousand years Satan is released from the Abyss and Scripture reveals that he is still able to get an enormous army to come against Jesus and the resurrected saints who are ruling and reigning with Him. The fact that we are told Jesus needs to rule and reign with a “rod of iron” tells us that people will still rebel against Jesus ruling according God’s commandments.
“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10
According to recent Lifeway Research, many pastors are apparently having an “aha” moment due to the tide of our times. They are at last seeing current events today as things the Bible forecast for the end-of-days. The big question is; how will this affect what they preach and how they do church?
Let’s be optimistic. When real church resumes, the pulpits will boldly announce that we are in the last days and Jesus is coming soon. Get your houses in order!
Numerous biblical texts speak of disturbances in the creation. These disturbances have quite a range: earthquakes wars, famines and plagues or pestilence explicitly in Luke 21.
Three out of four pastors in the survey have noted that world and church events have meaning today. They include the rise in apostasy, the love of believers growing cold, the decline in traditional morals, national conflicts, natural disasters, famines, and even the rise in anti-Semitism. So is a new day in the church approaching thanks to some kind of a wake-up call?
Almost 25 years ago, the church-growth movement said teaching any kind of eschatology would not grow the church. Pastors were encouraged to keep quiet about the soon return of the Lord. Pastor Rick Warren even said in his Purpose Driven Life book that teaching Bible prophecy would distract you from your purpose and make you unfit for the Kingdom of God. Pastors listened to him!
In the information produced by Lifeway Research, Joel Rosenberg states, “For too long, many pastors have shied away from teaching on birth pangs and events leading up to the Second Coming of the Lord, but the current pandemic demonstrates the need for solid, non-sensational preaching done in a biblical manner.”
Almost 70% of those surveyed believe the modern re-birth of Israel and the re-gathering of millions of Jewish people were fulfilment’s of prophecies in the Bible. That’s great news but that was 72 years ago. Why haven’t you been preaching that, pastors? More than that, 40% of the pastors surveyed believe that the establishment of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem two years ago was a sign of the last days! This is great sermon material! It could get a church fired up! But most pulpits I hear about are still silent on the topic.
ABORTION LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN 2019 AT 42 MILLION
Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide last year, with termination procedures accounting for some 42 million losses of life. The latest figure was highlighted by renowned stats website “Worldometers” which keeps a tally of many different world statistics in a live format. The specific abortion number is based on the most recent figures published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This abomination is just one of the reasons why God could decide it is time for His Son to return and rule with a rod of iron. His Word reveals that lawlessness will abound in the “last days”. Jesus said the “end times” will be just like the days of Noah when mankind was so wicked that God destroyed all but eight people with a worldwide flood. Many other prophetic “end times” signs are coming to pass, the big one was the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in 1948. God has miraculously preserved it despite repeated attempts by its hostile neighbours to annihilate Israel from the map. Jesus also said pestilences, plagues, famines, and so called natural disasters will be more evident in the “end times” and it is hard not to see the evidence of those events unfolding across the world.
Are you living with an end times focus now? Are you preparing for the coming persecution of Christians that hold to the word of God and His values? Are you ready for Jesus return when He will rule and reign on this earth for 1000 years?
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 