Beware the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Not everyone that preaches the gospel is telling you the entire truth. In the Bible we are warned of false prophets and false teachers that are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15

These people are pretending to be Bible preachers and teachers but in reality they are teaching lies.  Many people believe the lies that they hear…why? The reason is that these false preachers do teach some truth, and when you listen to them you recognize the truth that they are teaching and you believe that they are true preachers. This is where the deception comes in, since they preached something true that you recognized as truth, when they preach something that is not true you are conditioned to believe that it must be true. You may not recognize this untruth that they are teaching you but since they have taught you something that you knew to be true already you may assume that what they are teaching is a verse that you are not as familiar with. Before long this “lie” will become truth to you. It is not hard to deceive people, all you need to do is make sure that 90% of what you teach is true and then slip the lies in the other 10%. Most people will easily believe the lies because of the trust that has been built with the actual true 90%.

How can you tell which teachers are false? Well the first thing that you need to do is make sure that you are reading your Bible and are familiar with it. This way, when you hear someone teach something you will be able to tell whether it is true or not. If you are not familiar with a teaching the best thing to do is to go to your Bible and look it up for yourself. Now, just because a preacher makes a mistake, it does not mean that they are false. They are human and they do make mistakes, but this would be a sign for me to keep a closer ear on what they are teaching. You may also want to speak to your preacher and confront them in love on the mistake they made. If someone is a true Christian, they will be happy to discuss any mistakes that they have made and are willing to be corrected. A false preacher will not answer you and will not allow you to correct him.

It is not only preachers that may be false prophets, there is an entire YouTube community of “truthers” that use their channels to point out ways that society is trying to pull you away from God. Many of these channels are very good and helpful in opening your eyes to what is going on around you. But, in a similar way, you need to be careful about what they teach and what they say. Make sure that you take it to the Bible and let it prove the truth of what they are saying. There is one channel in particular that I used to listen to, much of what he said was true, but there were items that I disagreed with biblically. This person claimed that he was a new Christian so was still learning and welcomed correction and conversation. I found out that this was a lie. This person discussed something specific that I knew to be false, I remembered him saying that he welcomed correction and conversation, so I sent him a message and corrected what he had taught with Bible verses to back up my truth. He never responded to my message and as time has gone on, I have heard the same thing from others as well. Then I noticed other Youtubers started distancing themselves from this person and even speaking out against him. I stopped watching this persons videos, but recently I saw a few videos uploaded by this person explaining away some trouble they had gotten into; drinking and partying and being arrested for drug possession. Then this verse came to mind:

¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7:16-20

From what I am seeing, this person has no good fruit. For all their claims of being a changed person and for someone that has made all these YouTube channels about living a godly life this person really fell fast. If it had been just one mistake, it would be ok. You could chalk it up to being human, everyone makes mistakes, but this person has been doing these things over and over and then asking forgiveness. The truth is the fruit is bad. So when you take everything and put it together the only thing that I can see is that this person is a false teacher that tried to fool many people, but now his true colors are coming out.

• Teaches things that are untrue
• Does not allow correction
• Continues to do things that he did before becoming a Christian
• Being a hypocrite and talking about how he no longer does the things he used to and then being caught doing them
• Having other people that know him well come forth and telling the truth about him

 

Keep in mind that we are close to the end times that Jesus spoke about. Things are only going to get worse and there are more and more false teachers out there trying to fool the masses. Be very careful what you believe, always take it back to the Bible and make sure that it is correct.

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.

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. Matthew 24:11-14

 

We are seeing more and more false teachers arise and preach a false gospel. They preach what itching ears want to hear, not the truth of the Bible.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3

Just look at how many people follow false preachers like Joel Osteen, he preaches all about what you can get from God, a prosperity Bible. Osteen would be fine if he was a motivational speaker, but since he claims to be a pastor he is responsible for the people that follow him. There is very little that is biblical that is even preached by Osteen, when he was on the Larry King show he basically denied what the Bible teaches.

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Jesus was pretty clear in this verse, yet when Larry King starts asking Osteen about other religions he would not take a stand on a verse that he says he believes. Osteen will not take a stand on anything that could offend anyone. He avoided every topic that could be controversial. He does not know the Bible and actually gets what little he preaches from it wrong many times. He is not even a real pastor, he never went to seminary, he was just ordained a pastor, and he actually dropped out of college after one semester. His wife made a statement that we do not obey God for God, we do it for ourselves; God is happy when we are happy. When you come to church to worship God, you are not doing it for God; you are doing it for yourself. She is a heretic and a false teacher. The Osteen’s have turned their church into a New Age worship center, they do not teach the Bible, they teach their own twisted version of a bible where God will give you things to make you happy. How many people are the Osteen’s leading to hell with their false gospel? I will be praying that these people open their eyes and see the truth.

For the Jews Still Waiting for their Messiah

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, an authority on Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, has claimed that the arrival of the Jewish Messiah is imminent and that all Jews should practice Aliyah. Aliyah is the Jewish word for “going up” which means immigrating to Israel. The Rabbi has claimed that the Messiah would be arriving very soon and when asked he claimed that it would be at the end of the Sabbatical year the 29th day of Elul which falls on September 12th.

I have a message for those still waiting for the Jewish Messiah, He came over 2,000 years ago in the person of Jesus Christ. Most Jews reject this teaching claiming that their Messiah would never have been crucified, their Messiah was to come and destroy their enemies and establish his eternal kingdom. For those that believe this I would challenge you to look at the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and then compare Jesus to those prophecies. He fulfilled every single one of the prophecies.

Prophecy	Old Testament Prophecy	New Testament Fulfillment
Messiah Born of a Woman	Genesis 3:15	Galatians 3:16
Born of a Virgin	Isaiah 7:14	Luke 1:26-31
Must be Born in Bethlehem	Michah 5:2	Luke 2:4-6
Must be Born through Seed of Abraham	Genesis 22:18	Matthew 1:1
Line of Isaac	Genesis 17:19	Luke 3:34
Line of Jacob	Numbers 24:17	Matthew 1:2
Must be from Tribe of Judah	Genesis 49:10	Luke 3:33
Heir to King David’s Throne	2 Samuel 7:12-13	Romans 1:3
Messiah’s Throne Eternal	Psalm 45:6-7	Hebrews 1:8-12
Messiah would be called Immanuel	Isaiah 7:14	Matthew 1:23
Messiah Would spend time in Egypt	Hosea 11:1	Matthew 2:14-15
Children would be killed in Messiah’s birthplace	Jeremiah 31:15	Matthew 2:16-18
A Messenger Would Prepare the Way for Messiah	Isaiah 40:3-5	Luke 3:3-6
Messiah Would be Rejected by his own People	Psalm 69:8	John 1:11
Would be a Prophet	Deuteronomy 18:15	Acts 3:20-22
Preceded by Elijah	Malachi 4:5-6	Matthew 11:13-14
Declared Son of God	Psalm 2:7	Matthew 3:16-17
Called a Nazarene	Isaiah 11:1	Matthew 2:23
Would Bring Light to Galilee	Isaiah 9:1-2	Matthew 4:13-16
Would Speak in Parables	Psalm 78:2-4	Matthew 13:10-15
Sent to Heal Brokenhearted	Isaiah 61:1-2	Luke 4:18-19
Priest in Order of Melchizedek	Psalm 110:4	Hebrews 5:5-6
Would be Called King	Psalm 2:6	Matthew 21:16
Would be Betrayed	Psalm 41:9	Luke 22:47-48
Messiah’s Cost of Betrayal Used to Buy a Potter’s Field	Zechariah 11:12-13	Matthew 26:14-16
Messiah Falsely Accused	Psalm 35:11	Mark 14:57-58
silent Before Accusers	Isaiah 53:7	Mark 15:4-5
Spat Upon and Struck	Isaiah 50:6	Matthew 26:67
Hated without Cause	Psalm 35:19	John 15:24-25
Crucified with Criminals	Isaiah 53:12	Matthew 27:34
Given Vinegar to Drink	Psalm 69:21	John 20:25-27
Hands and Feet Pierced	Psalm 22:16	John 20:25-27
Would be Mocked and Ridiculed	Psalm 22:7-8	Luke 23:35
Soldiers Gamble for his garments	Psalm 22:18	Luke 23:34
No Bones Broken	Exodus 12:46	John 19:33-36
Forsaken by God	Psalm 22:1	Matthew 27:46
Pray for his enemies	Psalm 109:4	Luke 23:34
Soldiers would pierce his side	Zechariah 12:10	John 19:34
Messiah would resurrect from death	Psalm 16:10	Matthew 28:2-7
Messiah would ascend to heaven	Psalm 24:7-10	Mark 16:19
Messiah Seated at God’s Right Hand	Psalm 68:18	Mark16:19
Messiah Would be a Sacrifice for Sin	Isaiah 53:5-12	Romans 5:6-8

Now statistically the odds of even two of these events being fulfilled in one person is 1 in 10, and there are more than 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament. The odds of one person fulfilling every one of those prophecies is astronomical, the number would be 84 followed by 131 zeroes, but Jesus DID fulfill every single one of the prophecies. How could that be true unless He was truly the Messiah. I urge my Jewish readers to really study the Messianic prophecies and then study the life of Jesus, you will see that He is your Messiah! I pray that your eyes are opened and that you finally see the truth.  This was God’s plan and it was prophesied in the Old Testament, and the Torah that the Messiah would come but He would be rejected and crucified by His own people. That alone should make you believe that Jesus IS the Messiah.

Satan’s Attempt to Corrupt Man’s DNA

Satan wants to corrupt God’s creation, not just morally, that is easy to do. He wants to corrupt God’s creation physically. We are all created in God’s image

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  Genesis 1:27

Satan hates this and he and his followers, the fallen angels (demons) have tried to do everything to change this. Before the great flood the fallen angels slept with human women to corrupt their bloodline. This was the beginning of the nephilim.

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.  Genesis 6:2

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.  Genesis 6:4

The fallen angels and nephilim not only slept with humans but with other species, corrupting the whole earth. God saw the corruption and knew that the only way to get rid of it was to destroy the earth and everything on it.

And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  Genesis 6:7

Even after the flood there were nephilim as we can see from the occurrences in the Bible when they speak of giants in the land. For instance, when the spies were sent into the land to find out about it most of them returned with stories of giants and how impossible it would be for them to defeat them.

³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” ³² And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. ³³ There we saw the giants^[d] (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”  Numbers 13:31-33

⁴ And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.  1 Samuel 17:4

Depending on which definition of a cubit that you use, Goliath was between 7-11 feet tall. Goliath also had brothers that were near in height to him. King Og of Bashan was also said to be from the race of giants. His bed measured over 13 feet long and 6 feet wide.

¹¹ For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.  Deuteronomy 3:11

These giants had settled in the land that God promised the Israelites. God ordered the Israelites to destroy all the people in the land. This was not cruelty on God’s part, it was to destroy the remnants of the nephilim before they could corrupt the Israelites bloodline.

Why would Satan want to corrupt God’s creation? After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God pronounced judgment on the snake (Satan) and the woman’s seed (which is Jesus). Why is the woman’s seed Jesus? When a woman conceives a child it is because a man has fertilized the woman’s seed so the child is considered the child of both the man and the woman. Jesus was conceived by God on a woman, there was no man needed and therefore the child was the seed of the woman.

¹⁴ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  Genesis 3:14-15

Satan is trying to do whatever he can to ruin God’s plan. He tried to corrupt our human DNA so that instead of being in God’s image we would become the seed of Satan. This was in hopes of destroying the prophecy that the woman’s seed would cause Satan to lose the battle.

There is much more information in the Book of Enoch. Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah. There is a lot of debate on whether the Book of Enoch was inspired or just a historical writing. Jesus and the disciples referred to Enoch’s writings in over 100 passages of the New Testament and the early church used the writings to study from.

In fact the nephilim were doing such a good job of breeding with humans and creating more nephilim that human DNA was almost completely destroyed. Not only did nephilim breed with humans but according to the book of Jasher, mentioned in 2 Samuel, they bred humans with animals and crossed animal species. This may be why we have mythology about mermaids, centaurs and other half-human species and these may be the gods that were worshiped by the Egyptians. The nephilim were evil creatures that participated in cannibalism and murder. They were violent creatures that delighted in chaos.

When God saw the wickedness on the earth and He saw the plan that Satan had to wipe out humanity, God had no choice but to wipe everything and everyone out with the flood. The corruption that is mentioned in the Bible is the corruption of DNA.

¹¹ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

¹² And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.  Genesis 6:11-12

The Bible says that there were giants in those days and after, this could be because on of Noah’s son’s wives had some nephilim DNA.  Considering how far the corruption had spread over the earth it is possible that one of the women had some nephilim DNA in them which would be spread once more over the earth through her offspring. It is thought that it may be Ham’s wife who had the corrupted DNA since the races of giants seem to come from Ham’s line.

⁶ And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

⁷ And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

⁸ And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

¹⁰ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

¹¹ Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

¹² And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

¹³ And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

¹⁴ And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

¹⁵ And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,

¹⁶ And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

¹⁷ And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

¹⁸ And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

¹⁹ And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

²⁰ These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.  Genesis 10:6-20

Satan has not given up on his plan to corrupt our DNA. It may be that there are people who have some corrupted DNA from this line. This may be why most people sin so freely and murder without care. Serial killers could be those people who have a higher than normal genetic map to the nephilim.

If there are people with corrupt DNA and God destroyed all life at the flood because of the corruption, how can we be saved? God knew the plan of Satan and He knew that the corruption would return, which is why he told the Israelites to destroy the people who carried the corruption in their genes. All the giants that we hear about in the Bible were destroyed by the Israelites. It could be that the main thread of DNA corruption was destroyed but some genes were still passed on throughout the ages. The corrupt DNA is not as strong or dominant as it was before the flood but I believe that the genes may be recessive. I believe that God may have sent Jesus to die so that we may be cleansed, not only from sin but from corruption.

⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

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.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  Ephesians 2:2-5

When we accept Jesus gift of eternal life we are made pure, the corruption is removed, just as sin is gone. It is also believed that the Antichrist will come from this corrupt line of DNA, basically he will be Satan’s seed that will stand against Jesus, the seed of the woman. 

Satan has not given up on corrupting the bloodline. His first plan was defeated when God sent the flood. Jesus was born of a pure bloodline which was in line with the prophecy of Satan’s destruction. Satan is determined to win the war against Jesus, but he will ultimately lose. He will not give up without a fight and he wants to take as many people as he can with him.

To understand the methods that Satan is using to pull man away from following God and turning man to follow Satan, you need to look at things from Satan’s point of view. What is the best way to corrupt people and to start them on the path of questioning God and following their own paths? Start when they are children. See my post on Idol Worship for more on that. The next step is electronics, there is a huge push for people to get “chipped” now. This would mean getting a microchip implanted in your body. For me, this is too close to the mark of the beast spoken of in Revelation.

¹⁶ And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

¹⁷ And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.  Revelation 13:16-18

Do I know for sure that a microchip will be the Mark of the Beast? No, but I do not want any microchips in my skin. Since the verse does specify “in their right hand, or in their foreheads” it does make sense that it will be something implantable, like a microchip. Anyone that has the Mark of the Beast is doomed to death, there is no changing your mind once you have received it. In ancient times when a servant chooses to serve his master even after his time is up, he is branded.

4“If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.5“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.…  Exodus 21:4-6

Once a slave bears that mark, they are forever a slave. The mark is a mark of ownership, just as when you choose to take the Mark of the Beast, you are giving ownership of yourself to Satan.

What other ways is Satan trying to get you to follow him? The movies and TV are promoting all kinds of Superheroes. When you see all the amazing things they can do you wish you had those kind of powers too. Now what if there was some kind of                   bio-mechanics that you could have added to your body, similar to plastic surgery except instead of changing your features you would be adding mechanical features to yourself. You could be just like a superhero, part human and part machine…..do you get it….you would no longer be fully human. You would now be a corrupted being. This is only an example of the many ways that Satan is working on to corrupt humanity both morally and physically. In the Bible, Jesus tells his disciples that when he returns the earth will be as corrupt as it was before the flood.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Matthew 24:37

Be wary of the schemes of Satan, he is crafty and is always looking for a subtle way to corrupt you.

Prophecy of the Popes

First off, let me say that I am not Catholic and believe many of the practices of the Catholic Church are heretical. I just found these prophecies to be interesting.

St. Malachy, a 12th century Irish monk received a vision while he was in Rome. The vision was about all the Popes that were to come up until the last Pope. Each succeeding Pope was described in a one sentence phrase describing them. He prophesied that there would be 112 more Popes from the time that he received the vision in 1139.

Amazingly, the prophesies have all come true, even when the conclave, knowing the prophecy for the coming Pope tried to make an effort to choose someone who it would not apply to. I will list a few of the Popes that fulfilled Malachy’s prophecy, you can research the rest if you are interested in learning more.

To thwart these prophecies, during the election of the 111th Pope, they specifically chose someone who could not meet the prophecy. The prophecy stated that he would be the ‘Glory of the Olive’. Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI was elected Pope, there seemed to be nothing about him that would meet the prophecy, but the name he chose, Benedict after Benedict of Nursia, who was the founder of the Benedictine Order. In the Benedictine Order, the Olivetans are one of the branches, so they did not get around that prophecy after all.

There is a line between the Glory of the Olive and the final Pope, there is debate whether the line may mean there will be other Popes between this one and the last or whether it is all part of the last Pope’s description. The line says ‘In the final Persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit.’  Then the final prophecy is listed, ‘Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.’  Now the current Pope is called Pope Francis, neither his birth name nor his chosen name is in any way related to Peter, but many say that each Pope is the Peter. Many say that he is not Roman since he was born in Argentina, but his family is originally Italian, so if you twist the prophecy you can make a case for Pope Francis fitting the prophecy.

I have seen a lot of people saying that the Pope is the Antichrist or the False Prophet, I don’t think that he is, but he definitely has been speaking heresy and has been furthering the One World Religion goals. From the things that he has said, it makes me wonder if he ever read the Bible. The Pope declared that atheists will go to heaven, the Bible clearly states that believing in Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven.

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  John 14:6

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 3:36

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 10:32-33

The Pope also proclaimed that fish to man evolution is an acceptable teaching and that God is not powerful enough to create the earth in a literal seven days. BLASPHEMY!

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  John 1:1-3

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. Psalm 147-4-5

During a mass the Pope said that Jesus is not in the spirit and that he is just a man who prays for us.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  Hebrews 1:3

Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”  Matthew 26:64

Where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.  Hebrews 6:20

This  Pope also proclaimed that it is dangerous for anyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Now I don’t know about you, but my Jesus came to earth and was crucified for my sins so that I could have a personal relationship with him. The Pope does not want anyone to have a personal relationship because then they will realize that they do not need him to intercede for them. Christ is our intercessor! We are to go directly to him for everything.

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,  Hebrews 3:1

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Matthew 18:19-20

So not only is this Pope denying the divinity of Jesus, he is twisting the Bible and going against its teachings. This man may not be the Antichrist or the False Prophet of Revelation, but he is certainly an antichrist! For those that are Catholic, take a look at what the Bible really says, stop following this man, and yes, he is only a man who is evil and making up his own doctrine that does not agree with what the Bible teaches. I will be praying that your eyes are opened and that you come out of that false religion.

Satan’s Deception

If you can’t tell from the stories that you see on the news and the incredible disasters that seem to get worse day by day, we are living in the End times. If you read Bible prophecy you will see that so many things that Jesus talked about are coming true.

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all^[a] these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,^[b] and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.  Matthew 24:3-14

This was Jesus’ response when the disciples asked him about the end times and Jesus return.  If you take a look at what Jesus said, doesn’t it sound familiar? The first thing he mentions is that many will come claiming to be Christ, throughout history there have been many people who have claimed to be the reincarnation of Christ. These are just a few of the many: Arnold Potter (1804-1872) a Latter Day Saint leader who claimed that the spirit if Jesus Christ had entered his body. he died trying to ascend to heaven by jumping off a cliff. Krishna Venta (1911-1958) stated that he was Christ and that he led a convoy of rockets from the planet Neophrates, he was suicide bombed by former followers who claimed he mishandled funds and slept with their wives. Jim Jones, the leader of People’s Temple, he claimed to be the reincarnation of Christ, he orchestrated a murder-suicide of the cult in Jonestown in Guyana. Marshall Applewhite, the leader of the Heaven’s Gate cult who orchestrated a mass suicide to rendezvous with a spaceship he claimed was hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp. Shoko Asahara, leader of Aum Shinrikyo declared himself to be Christ and declared that Armageddon was coming and the only survivors would be those that were part of Aum; the group were responsible for the Sarin gas attack on Tokyo’s subway. David Koresh, the leader of a Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas, claimed he was the son of God, during a raid of their compound a fire began that killed 54 adults and 21 children.  Others include Yahweh ben Yahweh, Laszlo Toth, Wayne Bent, Ariffin Mohammed, Mitsuo Matayoshi, Inri Christo, Marina Tsvigun, Sergey Torop, Apollo Quiboloy, Alan John Miller, David Shayler, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, Lightning Deng and many more. These false Christs have risen up all over the world. You would think it is obvious that these people are not Christ, but they manage to deceive many people into following them, even worshiping them.

The second thing Jesus mentions is that there will be wars and rumors of wars. You only have to open any history book to see that the world has perpetually been at war for most of its history. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the War of the Roses, the French Revolution, World War I, World War II, Vietnam War, Korean War, Trojan War, Hundred Years War, Napoleonic Wars, Iraq War and the list goes on and on. There will continue to be wars and conflicts until Christ reigns.

The next thing Jesus mentions is that there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. Watch the news, these things are happening now! According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization there are 805 million people, or 1 in 9 people in the world,  that suffer from undernourishment or malnutrition; Most of these people are living in undeveloped countries. Pestilences are disease and once more the undeveloped countries are the hardest hit. There have always been epidemics and pandemics throughout history, we have all heard of the Spanish Influenza pandemic and the Bubonic Plague and the Smallpox epidemic. There have always been diseases that have spread and killed many people and there have been diseases that we have developed vaccines for and the disease is almost eradicated. The diseases in developed countries are usually more under control and the reemergence is usually an isolated case. In undeveloped countries it is harder to get diseases under control since many live remotely and do not get vaccinations. The living conditions also contribute to the spread of the disease, bad water and poor hygiene are also contributors. HIV/AIDS affects millions worldwide but 68% of all infected people live in the Sub Saharan region of Africa. The World Health Organization has been working to educate the people in the area about the risks and how to avoid contracting the disease and managing the disease for those that have it. AIDS is a relatively new disease that originated in the Congo region of Africa in the early 1900’s and has killed millions of people globally. Ebola is another disease that is relatively new, the first case was in 1976 in sub Saharan Africa. The disease was limited to Africa for all outbreaks until 2014. The recent outbreak began in Guinea in West Africa, the disease spread to nearby Liberia and Sierra Leone, health professionals and aid workers that were treating the sick have traveled back to their home countries before realizing that they were infected with the disease; the infected aid workers were from the U.K., United States and Spain. Other aid workers have also been infected and brought the disease to their countries as well, including Germany, France, and Switzerland. Most nations institute a quarantine for any people who are travelling from the affected areas. The plague….it seems like it is a medieval disease that belongs in the history books…in August of 2014 there was an outbreak of the plague in Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa. Since November there have been 40 deaths as a result of this disease. The latest outbreak is the measles, a disease that was thought to have been eradicated in the United States. An outbreak in the Philippines is thought to be behind the reemergence of the disease in the United States. The outbreak started at Disneyland in California and have spread to 17 states. As Jesus foretold, pestilences are rampant all over the world, even diseases that were supposed to be eradicated are now reemerging.

Jesus also speaks about earthquakes in divers places. The number of large magnitude earthquakes around the world has been increasing from the time that we were able to register the magnitude of the quakes. I broke up the earthquake records into periods of 38 years and this is the amount of earthquakes recorded of 7.0 and greater magnitude for the time periods. This information is according to the USGS.

1863-1900          12 (this was the beginning of the period of recording magnitude, the numbers are probably not too accurate)

1901-1938          303

1939-1976          466

1977-2014          604

As you can see, the amount of earthquakes recorded with a magnitude of 7.0 and higher has increased for each period.  There are large magnitude earthquakes of 6.0 and greater almost every week, I would say that the number of large earthquakes is definitely growing.

These signs are just the beginning of the birth pangs, anyone that has given birth knows that once the contractions start they just get stronger and closer together until the baby is born. It is the same with these signs, expect them to get stronger and happen more frequently as we get closer to the time of the end.

Satan is hard at work to turn as many people as he can away from following Jesus. He and his followers are working hard to take your attention off God. Think about how much music and TV has changed in your lifetime. The music business is around for one thing, that is to use music to lure you and your kids away from God. Have you watched the Grammy’s?? They may as well just come out and say that it is an homage to Satan, what are you watching? Don’t you see the fire and demons dancing around the stage, the blatant witchcraft and worshiping of Satan? Many of these celebrities have even come out and said that they sold their souls to the devil and that when they perform they are taken over by something else. Does that not sound like demon possession? The artists say they don’t even remember what happens while they are on stage. Believe me or not, the truth is in front of you and many of the performers admit to it. Satan uses any means necessary to deceive people, you need to be able to discern what is Biblical and what is not.

You may call this a conspiracy theory, and I admit that I did not really pay much attention to what the messages that were really being sent out were. My eyes are opened and I can never go back to looking at things the same way again. I tend to be cynical of conspiracy theories and usually don’t give them my attention but for some reason I looked into this and I can see it everywhere. Honestly, I am still a little cynical about some of it but I can see that a portion is true.

One thing that I found quite a few pages on is something called Project Blue Beam. Now I read a little on it and at first I set it aside as being unbelievable, but in delving deeper into prophecy I could see this being used as a tool. It may not be used according to the way it has been laid out, but I can see this used in other ways. First let me tell you about Project Blue Beam and the plan for its use. First you need to understand that this project stems from the Illuminati/Satanists desire to create a new world order and the use of this project to scare or intimidate people into asking for protection from the government. The premise of this project is to simulate a “second coming event” that will lead to a one world religion. The project has four steps:

• the first step is to use false archeological evidence to cause doubt about the information in the world’s religions. These planted “discoveries” will prove the doctrines of the world’s religions is wrong.
• The second step is an appearance in the sky of major religious figures. This will be accomplished by the use of holographic projectors that combine several light waves, ELF, VLF, LF to produce an image that looks real, it is not a flat picture projected in the sky. This will be lifelike and 3D, similar to the projection of Princess Leia in Star Wars. The images will be integrated with sound and effects that seem to come from the projected figure. These religious figures will speak and give a “correct interpretation” of the belief system before all the religious figures (Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, etc.) will all merge into one. This new god will usher in the one world religion system.
• The third step is the use of low-frequency waves that people hear in their heads to make it seem that their god is speaking to them.
• The fourth step is multifaceted. It involves using the same holographic technology to create specific scenes.

1. To create a false alien attack, forcing nations to use their nuclear weapons and lead to full disarmament
2. To create a false “rapture” where “good” aliens come to save all the good Christian people from a satanic attack.
3. The use of microchips installed in your technology to make is seem that ghosts etc. are haunting the person. This will cause panic and suicides and possible mental disorders

Now, do I believe this to be true? Maybe, in part.  I can believe that this is what someone would like to do, but I don’t believe they have thought through their plan. I have seen the first step in action, they are always “finding” these artifacts that disprove the scriptures. Most people ignore these finds and it does not affect their faith. I have heard that real artifacts that would prove the scriptures, like Noah’s ark have been found but the government agencies that are supposed to have these artifacts claim they do not.  Then, even if there was a projection of Jesus in the sky and it began talking about how we have misunderstood what he tried to teach us many Christians would know that it was false. I for one have read my Bible and know what Jesus says about false teachers and prophets and their plan to deceive. I know I am not the only one that would not believe this manifestation. I am sure there are many in other religions that would not believe what their “god” is telling them either. So this manifestation may fool some people but not everyone. Another reason that people may not be fooled is because we are so used to special effects in movies and TV and video games it is not a stretch of the imagination to think that a lot of people would assume this was a special effect rather than believing it to be true.In the third step, using low-frequency waves to “telepathically” speak to everyone, I don’t believe this would work on a worldwide basis even if the technology existed to create this effect. Now an alien invasion may fool some people, even the ones that are not fooled will not be able to stop the governments from launching their weapons. As for the fake rapture, I don’t see how they would be able to pick and choose the people they want to eliminate and how they would make them disappear. The use of microchips to materialize ghosts etc, yes that one I believe. All new electronic equipment has multiple computer chips to run certain things. You may think this is a one way kind of device but I must tell you that while you are watching your TV, there is a good chance that you TV is watching you right back. Samsung was in the news this week because their Smart TV, which responds to voice commands also records any conversations in its vicinity and passes them on to third-party companies. Any voice recognition device or internet connected device is capable of doing the same. Devices with cameras can easily be hacked and remotely turned on to watch what you do in your home. It would be easy for your devices to project a ghost or something into your home.

So, in conclusion, do I believe this is real? I will not say yes or no. I believe that it is someone’s plan that was not too well thought out. I believe some of it can be used and maybe it will. The one thing that I do know is that if by some strange way this plan is put into motion, I will not be fooled. I am prepared for any form of this plan in the case that it is carried out.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Be vigilant…Satan is always looking for ways to fool you and to keep you from following what the Bible says.  Stand firm in your faith and don’t let Satan fool you.

Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?

Haven’t you all heard people ask this question? Many people say that they don’t want to believe in a God that lets such bad things happen. When a disaster happens or a loved one dies, when people see horrible things happening on the news they always say that a loving God would never let things like that happen. The truth is that God is a loving God and He is not the cause of all the bad things that happen on the earth.

How can this be? Isn’t God supposed to be all powerful? Yes, He is, but there is a reason that He lets bad things happen and does not step in and stop them. When God created the earth it was perfect, there was no sin in it, then He created man. Man was sinless and lived in a perfect earth until Satan, as the serpent manipulated man to eat of the forbidden fruit. When God first created Adam He gave him dominion over the world and all that was in it.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number;fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.  Genesis 1:26-29

When man disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil dominion passed from man to Satan. By bringing sin into the world man gave his dominion to Satan. How do we know that Satan has dominion? When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness before the beginning of his ministry, Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him. If Satan did not have dominion over the world, he would not have been able to make that offer to Jesus and Jesus would have told Satan that he did not have the authority to offer it. Since Jesus did not correct Satan we can see that Satan did have the right to offer what he has dominion over.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The temptercame to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[b]”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[c]”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[d]”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[e]”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.  Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus was sent to the earth to rescue us from sin. The only way for man to have atonement for sin was by the shedding of blood. In the Old Testament of the Bible there was a system of animal sacrifice set up for atonement. Sacrifices had to be given at prescribed times and the priests would intercede with God for your forgiveness by the shedding of the animal blood. This had to be done continually since an animal’s blood could never give you permanent forgiveness. That is why God sent Jesus to die for man’s sins, only by the blood of God in the flesh could our sins be permanently forgiven. Some people wonder why Jesus came as a baby and did not just come down as God in the flesh, God needed the world to see that it was possible to live a sinless life. It is also easier to live a life following God when you have an example to follow. Jesus grew up and lived a life just like we all do, we just need to walk in his footsteps.

The world we live in is a sinful world. Sickness, disasters, evil deeds and people, these are all possible because Satan has dominion of this world. So the answer is that God does not let bad things happen, they happen because of the evil that is in the world. After the rapture God will once more make His presence known in the world, during the Tribulation period God will rain down judgments on the world like in the Old Testament. These judgments are being sent down for a purpose, they are a final call to the Jewish people to remind them of who God is and to draw them back to Him. No one on the earth will be an atheist during this time, it will be too obvious that God is sending judgments down on the earth.

Don’t use the excuse that a loving God would not let bad things happen. God is a just God and He loved us all so much that He sent His son to die so that we could live. He is not responsible for the sickness and all the bad things that happen on the earth. Trust Jesus for your salvation, He loves you so much that He died for you.

The Tribulation, or the Seventieth Week of Daniel

We have reached the end of the age of grace, or the church age. Jesus came to save His people, the Jews. When the Jewish people turned their backs on Him and crucified Him the gift of salvation was given to the gentiles. Anyone that is not of Jewish descent is considered a gentile. This fulfilled the prophecy given to Daniel,

“Seventy weeks[a] are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.

25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street[c] shall be built again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”  Daniel 9:24-27

In verse 25 it states that Messiah would be cut off after 69 weeks, (a week is considered a year). The 69 weeks are finished when Jesus is rejected by His people and crucified. Since the Jews rejected their Messiah they were cut off and the gift of salvation was given to the gentiles as it was prophecied in Isaiah.

“Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

This is an interlude in the period of time where Israel will be brought back into fellowship with God. After the age of grace and the rapture there may be a short period of time before the 70th week begins. This final week will begin when the Antichrist signs a seven year peace with Israel. You have to imagine that after the rapture the world will be in chaos. Millions of people just disappeared and all the children that were not old enough to make a decision to follow Jesus. There will be horrific damage and death from cars and other vehicles crashing when their drivers disappear, planes will fall out of the sky when their pilots disappear. Most people will be missing family members or friends, people will be terrified wondering where the others went and if others will be taken too. With so many people missing you have to imagine that the stock market will crash, government will be left short staffed as well as hospitals, the police and the military. Martial law will be instituted to protect as many people as possible while the country tries to recover.  This will be much worse in countries with many Christians, but every country will lose people. The world will be looking for someone to step in and bring things back to normal… A man steps onto the world stage, the people of the earth are mesmerized by what he says, this man seems to have answers that the world desperately needs. Before long this man is pushed into taking charge of a one world government. He speaks of peace and before long he has done what no one has ever been able to do before, he has brokered a peace in the Middle East. Israel has signed a seven years peace treaty. The world will look on in wonder at what this man has done, they will think that he is the leader that the world has always been waiting for. The truth is far more frightening, this man is the Antichrist. He will come onto the world scene talking about peace, he will seem to be the answer the world has looked for. He will actually have peace for three and a half years, but then he will break the treaty and start persecuting the Jewish people.  When the peace treaty is signed, that is the beginning of the final seven year period before Jesus second coming. During this period God will send judgments down on the earth like He did in the Old Testament, the purpose of these judgments are to remind Israel that their God is real and has not forgotten them. It is a call to Israel to come back to God. God will send judgments that get progressively worse, He will send two witnesses to preach the truth in Israel, these witnesses will cause many Israelites to turn back to their God and to preach the truth and bring others to truth.

And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days,clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”[a] 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Revelation 11:3-6

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.  Revelation 7:1-8

 

The first half of the tribulation will be bad, but the second half will be even worse. After the Antichrist breaks the treaty he will insist on being worshiped. He will institute a new program, everyone on earth will be required to have the number 666 on their right hand or forehead or they will not be allowed to buy or sell. Part of taking this mark is the worship of the Antichrist. As you take the mark you then need to walk over to the statue of the Antichrist and bow down and worship it. If you choose not to take the mark you will be immediately executed by guillotine.

Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e] That number is 666. Revelation 13:14-18

This will be a terrifying time to live if you are a believer. Many believers will be martyred during this time, but they will immediately be with God.

As for Israel, the Antichrist will be trying to kill the Jews any way that he can. The only way for the Jews to survive would be for them to escape Israel and run to the mountains where God will protect them. Many think the mountains that are mentioned is the rock city of Petra. Some believers have gone to Petra and buried Bibles for the Jews to use once they are in Petra.

 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a]spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.  Matthew 24:15-22

At the end of the seven years, when all seems lost, Jesus will return. All will see Him. Jesus will destroy the Antichrist’s armies and at the end of the one sided battle He will take the Antichrist and the False Prophet and throw them into the lake of fire.

 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is calledFaithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen,white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will [d]rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the [e]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

17 Then I saw [f]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying toall the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of [g]commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”

19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs [h]in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with [i]brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Revelation 19:11-21

 

No one wants to live through these times, and the good news is, as a Christian you will not have to. You will be with Jesus, in heaven at this time. What about those that don’t believe? Well the good news is that there is still time. The age of grace is still here, you have a chance to escape the tribulation, all you need to do is accept the free gift that Jesus is giving you. You don’t need to be perfect to accept this gift, it is a free gift of salvation. Think of it as a do over. All the bad things that you have done in your life are gone, the slate has been wiped clean. There is not one sin that God does not know about, or one that He can’t forgive. All it takes is a quick prayer and you will be saved from these things. Yes, you may die before the rapture, but you will be with God at that moment and at the rapture you will receive your perfect body and live in heaven, which is too beautiful to even imagine. I want to see you there. Pray this simple prayer to join God’s family.

 

Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name I confess that I have sinned and ask for forgiveness. I ask that Jesus come into my heart and become my  Lord and Savior. I believe Jesus died for my sins and was raised from the dead.
Thank You Father for saving me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Judgment. No one wants to be judged for their actions, good or bad. As Christians we know that we will not have to be judged for our sins, through our belief in Christ we know that we are forgiven. That does not mean that we will not continue to sin, we are not perfect, but because we put our trust in Jesus our sins are forgiven. Many people will say, “I am a good person”, but because they reject Christ, they are actually committing the worst sin.
⁸ “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. ⁹ But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Luke 12:8-10

The unpardonable sin that is being spoken of in this verse is rejecting Jesus and His gift of eternal life. When someone does this they are telling Jesus that they don’t need Him to forgive their sins, they choose to be judged for the sins they commit.

Jesus offers everyone this free gift of salvation, it is up to us whether we accept or reject it. 

There are three judgments that are talked about in the Bible. They each happen at different times. The first will be for the raptured church, this is not an actual judgment but we will be rewarded for our deeds. The second happens at the second coming of Christ, this is a judgment for those in the tribulation period. The final judgment is a judgment of the wicked dead, all those that have died in unbelief since the beginning of time.

Lets start with the first judgment, this is called the Judgment Seat of Christ, or Bema Seat of Christ. Those believers that have been raptured into heaven and have received their resurrection bodies will be judged and receive rewards according to their deeds on earth. These believers will not be judged on their sins, those have been forgiven by their belief and acceptance of Jesus. Believers will give an account of their lives to Jesus and will receive crowns according to what they have done.

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

There are five crowns that are mentioned in the New Testament as rewards for the faithful believers.

First is the Incorruptible crown, this crown is promised to Christians that are focused on doing God’s will. They do not let external things distract them from the work they are doing to bring others into God’s kingdom.

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

The apostle Paul compares the training and endurance and focus of a person running a race to get a prize to the Christian that is focused on doing God’s will in their lives to receive the Incorruptible crown.

http://ubdavid.org

The second crown is the Crown of Life, also called the martyrs crown. This crown is for the believers that endure testing and tribulation and are ultimately martyred for their steadfast belief in Jesus Christ. They hold firm to their beliefs in Jesus even if it means their death.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12

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The third crown is the Crown of Rejoicing, or the Soul Winner’s Crown. This crown is for those that have been witnesses to other people and have brought others to belief in Christ by this witness. God is not going to judge you by the number of people that you have brought to belief, He will reward you for your willingness to be used by Him to tell others about Him.

¹⁹ For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 1 Thessalonians 2:19

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The fourth crown is the Crown of Righteousness. This crown will be given to all those who long for Christ’s return. Those who read the prophecy in the Bible and believe it, and wait expectantly for its fulfillment.

⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8

http://ubdavid.org

The fifth crown is the Crown of Glory, this is the Pastor’s crown. This crown will be given to all those that preach and teach the word of God. Those who teach and preach are held to a higher standard, they are judged not only for what they have done, but for what they taught their congregations. They have a responsibility to teach the Biblical truth and to live a life that reflects those teachings.

⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 1 Peter 5:4

http://ubdavid.org

The Rapture: What Will Happen?

I would like to talk about the Rapture. There are three schools of thought on when the Rapture will occur. The first is the pre-tribulation rapture, which I believe and will discuss. The second is the mid-tribulation rapture, in which some people believe that the Rapture will occur during the midpoint of the seven year tribulation period. The third view is the post-tribulation rapture, which they believe will occur at the end of the seven year tribulation period and before the Glorious Appearing of Christ. These two views are the minority view, I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture and I will be discussing Bible verses that support this view.


First, what is the Rapture? The Rapture is meant for the church age, the time from Pentecost until the present time. The Christians that have believed in Jesus and trusted Him for their salvation will be caught up to heaven and given their incorruptible bodies. Even the ones that have been in the grave, or have been cremated will be given their perfect bodies at this time. These Christians will be taken out of the world at this time in preparation of the Tribulation period that is to come. God will be sending down judgement on the world in a last effort to get the attention of non-believers. The ones left behind after the rapture are not lost, they still have a chance to turn to God and to trust Jesus for their salvation. They will have to endure the horrors of the Tribulation period, but even if they die during this time, they will be with Christ.


The word “rapture” does not occur in the Bible at all. The Latin word rapere was translated from the Greek word harpazo, which means “caught up”, it became commonly known as the Rapture. Many people say that the church did not start preaching about the Rapture until Reverend Morgan Edwards in 1742.  Grant Jeffrey found a writing from 373 AD in which Ephraim the Syrian had been writing about the Rapture.


          “For all the saints and the elect of God are gathered prior to the Tribulation that is to come, and are
           taken to the Lord, lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sin.”


As you may have seen in the news, some people like Harold Camping this past year, try to predict the day that the Rapture will occur. No one knows the day that this will happen.


 ³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.


   ⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:36-44


Even Jesus did not know when the day would be, He said only God knows. If Jesus did not know, do you really think someone could “figure it out”?????  We are only told about the signs that Jesus would be returning for His church so that we may be ready.


According to these verses, the Rapture will come at an unexpected time. I believe that this proves that the Rapture will have to come before the Tribulation period. If it were to happen at any other time, like mid-tribulation or post-tribulation, then it would not be unexpected. We would be looking for it to happen at a specific point. The only way these verses can make sense is if the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation.


What will happen when the Rapture occurs? Many people know that the people that believed in Jesus for their salvation will be taken up to heaven. 

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18


⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53





There are many other verses in the Bible that prove that there will be a Rapture.


¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God^[a]; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3



⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7-8


¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:10


The coming wrath would be the Tribulation that will come upon the earth once the church is removed. 


⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9


¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ Titus 2:13


The Blessed Hope is another name for the Rapture. It is what we look forward to so that we do not have to suffer through the Tribulation period where God will unleash His wrath on the earth.


¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation 3:10

This is another verse where we are told that we, the church, are to be saved from the Tribulation. That does not mean that Christians do not suffer tribulations and trials while we are on the earth. God never claims that we will be exempt from these things, but it is a promise that we will not have to suffer the final seven years of the Tribulation when God will pour out His wrath, like nothing you have ever seen or experienced. 


I felt that I needed to discuss the Rapture at this point, before I began on the next part of Revelation because the church is notable absent from chapters four through nineteen. 


Before I begin on chapter four, I would like to invite anyone that has not accepted Jesus free gift of salvation and wishes to do so to pray the following prayer:


Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name I confess that I have sinned and ask for forgiveness. I ask that Jesus come into my heart and become my  Lord and Savior. I believe Jesus died for my sins and was raised from the dead.
Thank You Father for saving me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The End…the Beginning

We have reached the final chapter of Revelation. I will break it down into sections.

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

At the beginning of this chapter, we are still with John as the angel is showing him the New Jerusalem. John sees a river of the water of life flowing from God’s throne. This is eternal life that comes from knowing God. There will be a tree of Life on each side of this river bearing twelve crops of fruit. Since we will no longer rely on the sun in the sky to show us the changing months of the year. The crops of the tree will designate the months. The leaves of the tree will be for the healing of nations, unlike the leaves Adam used to cover himself after eating from the original tree. No longer will there be any curse, the curse that Adam brought down on mankind is gone. All those in the city will serve God and reign forever.

John and the Angel

⁶ The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”   ⁷ “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”
⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ⁹ But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

The angel speaks to John and tells him that these words are true and he has been tasked with showing John the events that would transpire soon. “Look, I am coming soon” Jesus will return. “Blessed is the one that keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll” this is a call to faithfulness. John, feeling overwhelmed, falls at the feet of the angel to worship him, but the angel stops him and directs him to worship only God. Unlike earlier, John is told not to seal up the words of prophecy written on the scroll. He is told that the time is near when the prophecies in the scroll will come to pass. He is also told that sinners will continue to sin and believers will continue to believe, even with the words of this prophecy available.

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.   ¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you^[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Now we see the words of Jesus saying that He is coming soon. He will come in a blink of an eye
⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed 1Corinthians 15:51-52
He will bring to each believer their reward, their crowns according to what they have done.
Crown of Righteousness
⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Incorruptible Crown (Victor’s Crown)
²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Crown of Life (Martyr’s Crown)
¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Revelation 2:10
Crown of Rejoicing (Soul Winner’s Crown)
¹⁹ For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? ²⁰ Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
Crown of Glory (Shepherd’s Crown)
¹ To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:1-4
Jesus then reiterates that He is the first and last, the Alpha and Omega, He is sovereign.
Those that wish to enter the Holy city and have eternal life must wash their robes. They must become followers of Jesus and be made pure. Jesus tells John that He has sent the angel to give John this revelation. Jesus names Himself as the Jewish Messiah.
Now the reader is beckoned to become a believer and accept the gift of eternal life that has been paid for by the blood of Jesus for you.
Now there is a warning not to add or take away from the words written in this prophecy. Those who preach it or write commentaries or the readers themselves have a responsibility to keep the words of this prophecy whole. They are not to add things to it and they are not to take parts out.
As a final exhortation to the reader, Jesus reminds them that He is coming soon. Amen or so be it. The writer ends with a plea to Jesus to return…”Come Lord Jesus” the Aramaic word is Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with us all. Amen.

Maranatha!