WHAT TO DO DURING THE COMING TRIBULATION

Christians living in the Western world are coming under increasing persecution as the world’s governments legislate increasingly godless laws on abortion, same-sex marriage, thereby redefining family, transgender/sexuality, and now with the advent of Covid and Climate control, more centralised government control with the loss of individual freedoms.

What we see unfolding in our world, Jesus prophesied two thousand years ago when the disciples asked:

Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Matthew 24:3

Look at the detail Jesus provides us with this amazing prophecy about what will transpire prior to His return and the end of this age. The following is just a small excerpt from what is called Jesus Olivet Discourse.

And Jesus answered them, see that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:4-14

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.Matthew 24:24

We cannot say that Jesus did not warn us of the persecution/tribulation that is already upon us. He also told us that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached throughout the whole world and only then will the end of this age come. The most important thing we can do therefore is to play our part in preaching the Good News about Jesus Christ and His coming Kingdom.

Also, keep in mind, the hope we have, we are told in the Bible about Jesus soon coming, Millennial Kingdom when Jesus and the glorified Saints will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Jesus’ thousand-year reign on this earth will fulfill all the prophecies God gave Moses and the O.T prophets that the nation God established for His purposes, Israel, will be the leading nation of the world.

The Messiah must reign over his kingdom until he has defeated all his enemies. Once this is accomplished, Jesus will hand over the kingdom to the Father. When the Kingdom of God is handed over to the Father, it will be free of sin and death, identifying it as the Eternal State, a new heaven and new earth. (Revelation 21:10).

But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:23-25

GOD GAVE US MANY BIBLICAL END-TIMES PROPHECIES

God gave all of his prophets a picture of the future that God had in store for them. There are at least 1800 prophecies of Jesus’ second coming. God wanted to prepare us for the soon coming time of tribulation when God will purify His church as He allows Satan to rule and reign for 3 1/2 years through the Antichrist (see 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 below).

In the case of the O.T. prophets, they were given the future of their nation Israel that God had established for His purposes. They all saw their prophesied Messiah (Jesus) ruling the nations from a magnificent Jerusalem in the land of Israel with the borders that God had specified to Abraham. This is Jesus’ Millennial reign on this earth prior to its destruction, the second resurrection, the White Throne judgement, and finally the new heaven and new earth where only the righteous dwell. It is a transition period, we have had 6000 years of Satan’s rule and we will soon have 1000 years with Jesus ruling and reigning the nations with the glorified Saints.

The Saints will be resurrected and those living raptured just prior to God pouring out His wrath upon the earth with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements. As I have covered before, a number of times, the rapture occurs after the celestial signs at the end of the sixth year (sixth seal) of the final seven years (70 the Week of Daniel). The wrath of God lasts one year and ten days, the length of time of a Jewish year that precedes a Jubilee year. God’s wrath at the time of Noah’s flood also lasted one year and ten days.

The N.T. apostles were given prophecies like the two below, to Peter and Paul. Jesus gives us far more detailed information in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 & 25, Luke 21, Mark 13) and Revelation. I will cover those in a future post.

You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 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 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. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.2 Peter 3:2-7

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be GodAnd then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

THE WRATH OF GOD IS COMING

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 1:18-20

This scripture reveals why God pours out His wrath, and on whom it is poured, the ungodly. Moreover, God poured out His wrath once before on this earth and destroyed all mankind except Noah’s family of eight people. Despite the evidence of billions of dead things preserved in the rocks and abundant fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas which could only have been formed due to catastrophic burial by fast-flowing water, still the world denies it ever happened. God knew they would and he had Peter prophesy that this is what they would do two thousand years beforehand.

I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 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 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. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” 2 Peter 3:1-7

In all of the 1800+ Bible prophecies of Jesus’ Second coming to earth, one of the prominent ones is that Jesus told us that the world will be like it was before God poured out His wrath on earth for the first time with Noah’s worldwide flood.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.Matthew 24:36-39

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:30-31

For the Lord, himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR CHILDREN

Is the following good news an indicator that the world is turning back to God’s values? Sadly, God’s Word, the Bible tells us that godlessness and lawlessness will increase as we approach the time of Jesus’ Second Coming. God has given us at least 1800 prophecies of His return to earth, first to raise the dead in Christ and then to rapture believers to heaven before God pours out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced on Monday that he has implemented an emergency regulation imposing what his office calls “guardrails” on gender transition interventions for minors as the push to ban the controversial practices continues on a state-by-state basis. “Even Europe recognizes that mutilating children for the sake of a woke, leftist agenda has irreversible consequences, and countries like Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom have all sharply curtailed these procedures,”

The new regulation “clarifies that state law already prohibits performing experimental procedures in the absence of specific guardrails” and requires medical professionals to inform patients that the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones “is experimental and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)” and that “the FDA has issued a warning that puberty blockers can lead to brain swelling and blindness.” Bailey’s office says the move was necessary “due to the skyrocketing number of gender transition interventions despite rising concerns in the medical community that these procedures are experimental and lack clinical evidence of safety or success.”

Despite this information, the LGBTQ agenda is being promoted and adopted widely

Dylan Mulvaney appeared on the Drew Barrymore Show Monday imparting wisdom to fellow transgender people just starting their “gender journey,” and encouraging parents of so-called “trans kids” to support their confused children in their belief that they are members of the opposite sex.

At one point, Barrymore, one of the most famous women in the world, kneeled before Mulvaney in a gushing display of deference to the male who shot to fame performing an over-the-top ditsy-woman persona in the TikTok series 100 Days of Girlhood.

Trans activists like Dylan Mulvaney, whose painfully offensive internet content shows each day of his life of “girlhood” using outdated female stereotypes, may merit our compassion and an invitation to redemption — but Barrymore’s behavior was more akin to worship. She appeared to wholeheartedly celebrate everything that Dylan falsely proclaims himself to be, perpetuating the same façade that both she and everyone watching knew to be a lie.

Contrary to Barrymore’s example, in a culture where the existence and privacy of women are increasingly thrust into question by transgender ideology, it is more important than ever that women stick together in defending the dignity of our sex against those who parody it in the public square.

In a similar act of kneeling to transgender ideology, Wellesley College made headlines this week due to a student referendum that supported welcoming all transgender and so-called nonbinary-identifying students to the traditionally all-female institution. If adopted, this change would mark a significant departure from the original intention of the school, which was founded in 1875 with the goal of expanding higher education opportunities to women; notably, Ivy League universities didn’t accept female students until they began in the late 1960s. In more recent years, women’s colleges have offered young women an oasis of privacy, particularly for students with a prior history of sexual trauma and a desire to minimize the risk of suffering the all-too-common experience of campus sexual assault.

This is clear evidence we are living in the last days before Jesus returns to set up His millennial reign on this earth. As I mentioned before, there are more than 1800 Bible references to Jesus’ second coming so know it is next on God’s agenda for this earth. If you want to know more about what is coming next for this planet go to http://www.millennialkingdom.net.

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.Revelation 20:4-6

THE COMING WRATH OF GOD: HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

Jesus said the days of His second coming would be like the days of Noah. How will the time before Jesus’ return be like the days of Noah? For one, Jesus tells us that the unsaved will be totally unaware of God’s coming wrath as they were in Noah’s day. The people will also be lawless, a total rejection of God and His values.

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37-39

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.Matthew 24:9-12

Does the comparison with Noah’s Day even include parallels between the number of days of the Flood when God poured out His wrath for the first time on this earth and the coming Wrath of God that will be poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements?

Does God’s Word tell us plainly how long the Wrath of God lasts, and will it be a surprise to almost everyone? Yes, God does with a number of Scriptures so that we can know for sure.

Another great video from Nelson Walters.

IF ONLY OUR NATIONS LEADERS WOULD READ AND HEED PSALM 2

PSALM 2

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed (Jesus), 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.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
Psalms 2:1-12

If they did heed Psalm 2 then they would not face the wrath of God that is coming in the not-too-distant future.

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb (Jesus), for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? Revelation 6:15-17

The Thousand Years reign of Jesus Christ with the resurrected Saints
​”Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while.
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:1-6

BRAVE NEW WORLD OF A.I.

Excerpts from Wallace Henley’s latest book “Who Will Rule The Coming Gods – The looming spiritual crisis of A.I.”

The existential crisis is that in the very age when the recognition of and reverence for the transcendence of our creator God is being jettisoned, technology is on the verge of dramatic breakthroughs in robotics. Where do these people think intelligence comes from? Certainly not from matter or energy.

In the rush to make artificial intelligence machines to better serve us, humans, the wizards of the cyber world are making machines that many predict will master us. Some are already worshiping at the feet of the great god AI just as the ancient Philistines once bowed before Dagon idols. However, “AI operates at the level of syntax and cosyntics (code+syntax), but lacks semantics, pragmatics, and apobetics” Gitt, W., Without Excuse, Creation Book Publishers, Atlanta, GA, 2011. Apobetics is the highest level of the information hierarchy. It questions the purpose, objective, plan or design, being transmitted in order for the receiver to achieve the desired successful goal or outcome. (It is derived from the Greek word, apobeinon.)

Stephen Hawking warned of an age when AI could develop a will of its own, a will that is in conflict with ours and which could destroy us…“We stand on a threshold of a brave new world,” one needing “effective management in all areas of its development.” (Stephen Hawking predicted a race of superhumans will take over the world,” by Nick Whigham, news.com.au, October 15, 2018)

The development of artificial intelligence promises either a brilliant future or a threat to the very survival of humans. Much will depend on the ethical values and moral codes programmed into the machines.

“If AI transcends into Big Brother in a way that appears to be the best thing for society, I’m worried the masses will buy it without vetting,” writes Lindsay Bell, a specialist in content marketing.

Considering such possibilities and portents many questions arise, like these:

  • Who will rule over the new gods? (Which is another way of asking: What will artificial intelligence regard as having transcendent authority over it?)
  • Who decides the values and ethical boundaries that will govern the machines that might have godlike status in the future?
  • Who will be the equivalent in the future of Orwell’s ‘Party’ that controls the god-like machines?”

To borrow words from C.S. Lewis in The Abolition of Man: Are people “without chests” building artificial intelligence robots “without chests”? Can we really expect such devices to “honor” and serve us, or is it inevitable we will awaken to the terrifying reality that we have “traitors in our midst” of our own making?

God has written His laws on the human heart, says the Bible. (Romans 2:15) But who is constructing the algorithms of ethical and moral criteria that will determine good and bad in the operating system of an AI machine?

Thus, the most troubling question of all: Who indeed will rule the coming “gods”?

Fortunately, we know the answer to that troubling question. God has told us in His Word, the Bible but it along with God, Himself is being jettisoned. Hence many, including many in our churches, do not know what the Bible teaches about Jesus soon coming return to rescue the Saints, to destroy the works of the devil, and pour out His wrath on an unrepentant world with the trumpet and bowl judgements.

Because the time before Jesus returns to earth is a time of tribulation that escalates into great tribulation for Christians with the appearance of the Antichrist, God provides us with great detail in His Word of what will transpire at that time so that we know He is still in control of the events. In fact, it is obvious to us now that much of His so-called church is so lukewarm that He will spew it out of His mouth (church of Laodicea). It has compromised with the world and its values: homosexuality, gay marriage, and transgender issues and even teaching that Jesus is not the only way back to God.

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:15:19

MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

Have you checked out my website http://www.millennialkingdom.net as yet? It is where you will find resources to prepare you for the soon-coming Millennial Kingdom where Jesus reigns with the glorified Saints on this earth.

One purpose of the thousand-year reign is to allow for the fulfillment of the promises God made with Jesus, Israel, the Saints, and the Creation, to vindicate His Holy name. The Messiah must reign over His kingdom until He has defeated all His enemies.

My project

Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. Ezekiel 36:22-24

But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:23-25

The main purpose of the Millennium is to prepare the Nations and Saints for the Father coming in the fullness of His glory. Then, there will be a new heaven and new earth free of sin and death, identifying it as the Eternal State.

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

Revelation 22:3-5 “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” 

UN DECLARES ISRAEL’S ESTABLISHMENT A CATASTROPHE

Did you know the UN General Assembly voted to formally recognize “Nakba Day,” an annual memorial event characterizing the establishment of the State of Israel as a disaster? It was a major victory for pro-Palestinian activists.

The word “Nakba,” which means catastrophe in Arabic, has been used to describe the 1948 War of Independence that led to the creation of the Jewish State.

The UN resolution, which was sponsored by the Palestinian delegation to the UN, Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, Yemen and Tunisia, calls for the “commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, including by organizing a high-level event at the General Assembly Hall” on May 15th, 2023.

Both Egypt and Jordan have decades-old peace treaties with Israel, though tensions with Jordan have escalated in recent years.

It is telling that Israel’s so-called new “friends” in the Arab world, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan supported the anti-Israel resolution.

“Recently, the UN General Assembly passed a shameful resolution calling for an official event to commemorate the Palestinian ‘Nakba’ on the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel,” wrote Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. “By passing such an extreme and baseless resolution, the UN is only helping to perpetuate the conflict.”

“Try to imagine the international community commemorating your country’s Independence Day by calling it a disaster. What a disgrace,” Erdan added. “The Palestinians’ lies must no longer be accepted on the world stage, just as this body must stop allowing the Palestinians to continue pulling its strings. I urge you all to stop blindly supporting the Palestinians’ libels.”

90 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 30 voted against it, and 47 abstained. The majority of those countries that voted to formally recognize Nakba Day are Muslim Countries.

The following Scriptures tell us exactly what God is going to do to those nations in the not too distant future:

First God is going to judge all of those nations that want to destroy Israel. Jesus will destroy them at the battle of Armageddon.

For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.” Joel 3:1-3

Jesus will refine one third of national Israel during this time of judgment. They will come to know Jesus as Messiah, possibly some through the ministry of the two witnesses and some when they see Him returning to earth with the Saints, but either way they will help to populate the Millennial Kingdom.

In the whole land, declares the Lord ‘two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:8-9

Then Jesus will gather the Jews from all the lands where they have been scattered.

Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:21-23

All of the nations of the world will acknowledge Jesus as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.
“Thus, says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them:
to increase their people like a flock. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.Ezekiel 36:36-38

Note what happens when nations do not go up to Jerusalem to worship Jesus as King, the Lord of hosts.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.! Zechariah 14:16-19

Please use this information to evangelise the lost. They need to know what will happen in the future. The proof the Bible is God’s Word is fulfilled prophecies. All of the prophecies of Jesus first coming were fulfilled and there are many more about His second coming like those above and these will be fulfilled.

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING FOR?

The Scriptures reveal what our hope should be in, it is in Jesus Christ’s return. Verses about Jesus’ glorious return and the years immediately preceding it comprise nearly 25% of the Bible.

Our hope comprises all of the following: resurrection from the dead”(Acts 23:6), the hope of glory (new amazing body) (Col 1:27), to rule over the nations with Jesus (Rom 15:12), the presence of our Lord Jesus and all of our loved ones who know Jesus (1 Thessalonians 2:19). Note what Peter tells us to do: prepare our minds for action.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.1 Peter 1:13

.This is a lot to hope for, and all of these things happen upon Jesus’ return. Paul had this to say about those who only hope in this life and not in the return of the Lord:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” 1 Corinthians 15:19

The Coming of the Lord
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this, we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord, himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body,Philippians 3:20

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.Revelation 2:26-27

Our hope is for Jesus’ soon coming return when all of these wonderful promises will be fulfilled. Surely, we are prepared to face the coming tribulation knowing that the indwelling Holy Spirit will ensure we can handle it just as He did for Stephen when he was stoned to death. Even more important, surely you want to complete the work God has for you to do in these last days in order to receive His commendation.

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God… And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.Acts 7:55-56, 59-60