The Silence You Can Feel

We know that when the Rapture of the church happens, there will be plenty of left over Bibles laying around. If someone were to pick up your Bible, what would they find highlighted? You might be pleasantly surprised when you open your Bible and take a look at what has been important to you over the years and when you consider the things that are highlighted with the foreknowledge that one day someone will be opening it and reading what you highlighted, what will they think?

As we open up our study today into Revelation, Chapter 8, we find silence in heaven according to the Apostle John for about a half an hour. Whatever is coming is announced by silence in the heavenly realm. Then we see God's implements and instruments being gathered for the coming judgment He is about to unleash on the world. These various angels are appointed with specific packages, certain aspects of judgment to be delivered, to planet Earth during that time. Why? Because both earth and mankind had rejected God and because of that sin, these instruments and actions are levied to a Christ rejecting world.

The seventh seal unveils the seven trumpet judgment of God. When we get to the seventh trumpet it will open the seven bowl judgments. In the Book of Revelation as we get to Chapter 8, it should not concern you if you are trusting in Jesus Christ, because we will not be here at that time. The church has been removed from the earth in the Rapture before the Tribulation period began. Some of you might be thinking, well if we aren't going to be here, why even study the Book of Revelation, because we need to know the whole Bible not just parts that pertain to us from cover to cover.

Revelation 8:1-13 ~ "When he (Jesus Christ) opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Another angel (an 8th angel), who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the agel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the living creatures of the sea died, and a third of all the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water - the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe! to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"

When you hear the use of the words "Woe!" it is not about stopping a horse but a warning that is coming, Danger! Danger! Danger! or simply Damnation! Damnation! Damnation! is coming to the inhabitants of the earth! We have to remember that no matter where we look at in the Bible in the Old Testament or the New Testament that God is a God of love, mercy and forgiveness. It is hard when you read chapters like this one in the Bible, because we don't want to spend long reading about what is coming to the future of this world one day. We'd love to skip it in fact. These are not the chapters that cause prolific church growth. Believers and non-believers do not want to hear about judgment, unless we understand the Scripture and why it is given we will see answered prayer and we will see God answer prayer, and the prayer that He answers will be His vengeance upon the earth.

There is a prayer that is a holy righteous prayer and I am not saying that we should pray it, but I am saying that we often feel it. We just need to make sure that our will is yielded to the will of God. and that God is the One who exercises judgment and not us. We don't like to admit to the fact that one day God will bring judgment. We are living in an age of grace right now and we should be thankful for that. There will come a time when God consummates His grace and then the time of judgment will come. God will then answer the prayers of those who have prayed for God to avenge their blood. That is what the Bible teaches even if you disagree with that. God is a loving God, a Holy God and a Just God. It is God in His perfect love, holiness, and righteousness is the only one to exercise judgment. Did you know that? Keep that in mind.

Psalm 86:5 ~ "For you are forgiving and good, O Lord; abounding in love to all who call to you."

Jeremiah 31:3 ~ "The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving kindness."

Hebrews 7:25 ~ "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." 

Revelation 1:5 ~ "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood," 

When we hear about God's judgment, we are tempted to see Him as an old man, with a sandwich board walking around that says, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." But we need to understand that God is righteous and holy in his judgment of mankind. He is doing everything he can to give us an opportunity to be saved through our faith in Jesus and not have to face the coming judgment. Sometimes we are mistaken in thinking that God is judging even right now in the age in which we are living. He is not.

John 16:33 ~ "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

But there is a time of God's judgment and wrath that is coming to this world that will be like no other time in all of history or the future! God will allow evil to have its day for a time, and then God will bring judgment. This is exactly what Jesus was warning about in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:21-22 ~" For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

We see Jesus now as He opens the seventh seal. When the judgment of God comes there will be a pause in heaven. This section is of great preparation. What is interesting is that in the very nature of eternity there is no concept of time, but here the Bible says, there is silence for about a half an hour. How can we reconcile that where God dwells, time is eternal but John says a half an hour. Easy! John is seeing a vision. John is seeing the unveiling of things to come in heaven and in earth to come. It is announced or shown to John that there is a pause in time for about half an hour. The word in the Greek for silence is that it is a silence that can be felt. Have you ever felt a silence like that? You might be tempted to say, No. Have you ever been on a jury? When you are called back into the court after the jury has deliberated and you are seated there, and the judge turns to the jury and asks, "Have you reached a verdict?" If you have ever been there, it is an ominous moment. There is dead silence. It is a silence that can be felt. Why? Because a verdict is about to be given. The defendant stands, the judge asks the jury if they have reached their verdict and they respond that they have. There is silence until it begins so to speak, until the verdict is given. There is a silence at that moment that you can feel.

There is a time of silence before all of this judgment comes, that in that moment of silence, God does not delight in judgement. Do you know that? The Bible says that God created Hell for the devil and his angels. Not for humans. God doesn't want anyone to go there. This is an ominous moment, there is a pause, a silence. We have seen that up until this point, we have been reading that in heaven, there is great noise, great praise, great adoration going on. Now there is a great moment of silence. Why? Because God does not delight in judgment, but judgment must come. There is a pause. There is a silent pause in heaven because of what Jesus Christ is about to do. Jesus is the one who will preside over the judgment of God. It is Jesus that opens the seventh seal.

Luke 4:14-21 " Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

This was Jesus' first sermon of Isaiah 61. It has a direct connection to Revelation, chapter 8. Notice that in the scripture of Isaiah he read, he ended on a comma before he sat down. This was the prophecy of the Messiah and Jesus was announcing that He was the one the prophecy was speaking about. Why did he stop at the comma in the midst of the book of Isaiah? What comes next in Isaiah 61:2 is ":and the acceptable day of vengeance of our God," He didn't say that, the very next statement. This is significant because at the comma in Isaiah 61:2 it correlates to Revelation 8 all the way out to Revelation 19.

Jesus paused at that comma, closed the book, because for the last 2000 years it would be time to preach the gospel of grace. Do you understand that? And so the gospel has gone out into the world. There is a day of vengeance of our God that is coming. God's judgment is the day of vengeance. It will come upon a certain group of people not believers. You might think you are under God's judgment now, but trust me you have no idea what God's judgment is! He is not doing that right now. God may discipline. God may chastise. God may scold you. But the truth is that right now, God is not operating in judgment or wrath or vengeance. There is also a pause in heaven for what they are about to see.

The grammatical picture that is painted here is very awesome and quite frankly it is frightening. Heaven is in awe of what is soon about to take place on the earth. I would venture to say that it is quite difficult to impress heaven. Heaven is where angels dwell. Heaven is where the saints have gone. Heaven is an awesome, wonderful and holy place. Yet heaven is aware of a future event that just before it happens John says that there is silence for about a half an hour. Heaven is about to witness the wrath of God.

This silence underscores a sense of foreboding, fear on earth as it were if you are a Christ rejecter, you're shaking your fist at God. Remember John said there was silence in heaven, not silence on earth. Apparently it is not very quiet in heaven until this very serious silence comes. This should underscore for us the terror and horror and awfulness of what comes to a Christ-rejecting world. We are heading in that direction. We are living in a country that was founded on Judeo-Christian values if you have read the letters of our founding fathers, the Mayflower Compact, and understanding what the believers believed in before they came to America. Now to see how far our nation has fallen from God. Imagine God saying, "You know, I have had enough. You don't want Me in school. You don't want Me in court. You don't want Me in your government any longer. You don't want Me in your culture. So I'll get out." People have no idea what this world would be like if God just got out. There is coming a day when He will get out. There won't be anything left for man to experience, except the wrath of his own sin.

What Will Be The Last Words You Will Ever Hear?

When you first read your Bible, which book did you start with? For me, it was the Book of Revelation. It was based on a movie I saw when I was in my teens, and I still remember how terrified I was after I saw it called Thief in the Night and it was about the Rapture. I was terrified for so many nights long afterwards, thinking I would wake up and my parents would be gone. Then as I entered high school I kind of fell away from God for a short time and found myself interested in the occult, witchcraft and ghosts. I was drawn to that sense of awe and power that existed, but never really made the same connection with God's power. Naturally I would be drawn into Bible Prophecy and End Times events and that is what initially drew me into church and the Book of Revelation. It was and continues to be my favorite book of the Bible. I mean who doesn't want to know how the world will end with 100% accuracy?

The Book of Revelation, reveals so much more than it appears to hide behind what many believe is symbolism. How scary to think what will happen when people get to the end of their life and face that Great White Throne Judgment of God and see what their future holds! Condemnation forever in Hell!

Matthew 7:21-23 ~ "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

These words are the most terrifying final words you will ever hear as a non believer. There is a saying that if you are born twice, you will die once; but if you are born once, you will die twice. What this means is to be born twice, that is a physical and spiritual (born again) birth, the only death you will face might be physical death of your body, unless the Rapture happens. If you are only born once, physically, you will die twice both physically in your body and spiritually in hell.

You have to remember that salvation is a gift from God, not by anything we can accomplish.

Revelation 20:15 ~ "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

You never came to Christ with your life, so you're name is blotted out from the book of life, despite how good you were in your life, what you've done. Without faith in Jesus Christ, there is no forgiveness of sin, and Jesus said, the wages of sin is death. Without Jesus' death and your belief that He came to die for your sin, you payment is then death! Spiritual and physical death in Hell. We are ALL sinners, in need of a Savior, and only through Jesus Christ, can that payment be made paid in full!

God's nature is love and forgiveness! He just wants man to say their sorry for their sins. It's been His intention all along to restore what Satan took from man in the Garden of Eden by disobeying God. It's not about what we do, it's about our willful intent to be disobedient to God and putting our will before His.

If you think you're going to heaven, based on who you think you are, you're never going to make it on your own merits.

There will be those who preached in the name of Jesus, did miracles in His name, cast out demons and even raised people from the dead, but because they never knew Jesus personally, they will be cast into hell forever.

Hell was created for Satan and his demons, not for humans. Humans have defaulted toward hell. God says call upon Him and you will be saved, what does man say? No! Jesus says, "Come to me and I will not turn you away ever and what does man say? "I'm going my own way!" The Bible says to bow your knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, man says, "No! I'll do it my way! Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me, what does man say? "I'll create my own cult. I'll put something else out there and flood the market with it."

It's unbelievable. It's true. In the end their names will be blotted out of the Book of Life. Why? Because when the books are examined, their name is never found in the Lamb's Book of Life, they never belonged to Jesus Christ! They didn't put their faith in Christ. You have to repent from the way you've been doing things, ask Jesus for forgiveness of your sins, believe that He came to die for you and to forgive you of your sins, trust Christ and turn your life over to Him. Once you do that, your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life and it can never be blotted out of the Book of Life!

Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can lose your salvation. Once saved, always saved as long as you are saved through confessing your sins and putting your faith in what Jesus did. Your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life and no one is able to remove it!

How many people say they believe in God, but don't?
How many people confess it with their mouths, but don't?
How many people based on their conduct look like they do, but don't really believe in God? 

How do you hear God's voice in your life? Is it loud, condemning and abrasive, something you fear? Or is it full of love and compassion?

Are you terrified that your name might not be in the Lamb's Book of Life or that it might be blotted out of the Book of Life. You're not really sure? If you died today, where would you go Heaven or Hell? If you don't know, you might not really be saved. Be sure. Know with absolute certainty that if you died today you would immediately go straight into the presence of Jesus, and avoid the Great White Throne Judgment altogether. Know that no matter what happens to you in this life, you'll be in heaven when you die for sure!

The Book of Life is the grand indictment of those humans who rejected God's gift, these will be removed, blotted out of the Book of Life.

Psalm 69:28 ~ "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous."

Exodus 32:33 ~ "But the Lord said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book."

Revelation 22:19 ~ "and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

Revelation 17:8 ~ "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come."

Know today, that if you die, you will spend an eternity in heaven and not hell. The Bible is clear what will happen to those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life or the Lamb's Book of Life. You don't want the last words you hear to be "I never knew you, depart from me." Instead, trust in Jesus and in the end, you'll hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the gates of heaven!"

What's the Difference Between the Book of Life and the Lamb's Book of Life?

No believer wants to be a part of the Great White Throne judgment, and as long as Jesus Christ is your Savior, you won't be. Everyone who stands before the Great White Throne is condemned to Hell. Every single one. You don't want to be a part of this event.

Everyone whose name is not found in the Lamb's Book of Life, will be standing before this Great White Throne. When people are born, their name is recorded in the Book of Life. It's God's record of every single person who has ever lived. But your name can be blotted out! What? How is that possible? When you're name is found in the Lamb's Book of Life, is can never be blotted out. That is what is important. It's what is meant when you are born again, a spiritual rebirth by claiming Jesus is the only way and He is your personal Lord and Savior.

The instant you make that confession of turning your life over to Jesus, your name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life and can never be blotted out from the Book of Life on the day of judgment. God can remove your past, secure your present and guarantee your future and all of this can happen in the instant you turn your life over to Jesus, ask for forgiveness of your sins, believe He came to earth as a man, to suffer and die on the cross for your sins, was raised from the dead and now awaits you in eternity if you simply ask Him to.

So what is your future look like if you don't? Let's see what the Bible has to say.

Revelation 20:11-15 ~ :"Then I saw a great white throne with him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Than another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades, were thrown into the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he as throne into the lake of fire."

Does this concern you? It should as both believers and non believers alike! These people mentioned in these verses are physically dead, their bodies are dead, rejecting Jesus Christ and all He offered. They are now spiritually alive for this. That is why you, alone, are responsible for where you will spend an eternity. Only YOU! Everyone without Christ must stand before God at the Great White Throne.

Numbers 32:23 ~ "But if you will not do so, behold you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out."

Jude 1:11-12 ~ "Woe to them! For they waked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished to Korah's rebellion. These are the hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;"

God will judge all those exposed by sin. You will stand before God with nothing to say.

John 5:22-23 ~ "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."

Acts 10:42-43 ~ "And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

2 Timothy 4:1 ~ "I charge you in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom."

Psalm 2:12 ~ "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish i the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled."

When you read that the Sea shall give up its dead, it refers to the body and soul however it may have died. Shark attack, cremation, organ donation, whatever. When God resurrects the body, both just and unjust, God will put us all back together molecule by molecule, wherever those molecules have gone.

John 5:28-29 ~ "Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. "

Revelation 20:13-14 ~ "And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades, were thrown into the lake of fire."

When it refers to Hades, we need to realize that Hell right now is completely empty. There is no one there. Hades is a place of torment and a place of holding. There are people there that will be given up at the Great White Throne judgment. These are the condemned living in torment that have died prior to this happening, that are non believers. People don't go to hell until they have been judged.  

There is a collection of books that God records all our thoughts, every sin we have ever committed, every motive, call them Books of Performance if you will. These are the " books referred to in this study of Scripture.

 The Book of Life, just contains the name of every single person who have ever been born, but it can be blotted out.

There are Mormon's living today that can't wait for this moment, the Great White Throne Judgment, because they live for the day when their works will be judged by God. They truly believe that every good thing they've done will impress God so they will get into heaven, but they're being lied to.

In Hades, there are varying degrees of torment and suffering, those who aren't serial killers don't receive as much, but they are still in torment and suffering nonetheless. Trust me, no one wants to be there!

Revelation 20:15 ~ "And if anyone's name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Every single human being who has ever lived is recorded in the Book of Life initially, but it can be blotted out. This doesn't mean you lose your salvation! Some people remain in the book of life until the very end.

The Lamb's Book of Life is for those who trust in Jesus, give their life to Him believing He is all He has said He is. The day you gave your life to Jesus, you're name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life and can not be blotted out ever! Nor can you name be blotted out from the Book of Life. This is the only way that your name can never be removed from the Book of Life. It has to appear in the Lamb's Book of Life and that is the names of all the believers in Jesus Christ for their salvation. This book only records the names of believers of Jesus Christ. It's those who trust and put their faith in Christ for their salvation.

More on this next week Tuesday! 

Are You a Sheep or a Goat?

If you're a Christian, you'll follow Jesus. You won't get lost in the things of this world, that may attempt to lead you away. We know the sound of His voice above all others. We are safe in His care!

John 10:27-30 ~ "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Can you say today, that the Lord speaks to you?

Do you bring glory and honor to Jesus in everything you do?

Do you stand for righteousness?

Are you willing to yield to the will of God?

Matthew 16:24-26 ~ "Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"

Are you willing to take up your cross and follow Him? Your cross may be the same as someone else's but it differs. Is it something in your past, Jesus is asking you to leave behind, perhaps someone you need to forgive but don't want to. Do you feel that Jesus is telling you to do something for Him, are you willing to live the rest of your life as a Christian, always allowing Jesus to live and work through you? That is the sign of a true disciple!!! That is what He asks all of us to do.

Are you obedient to what Jesus asks you to do?  Daily, the LORD grants opportunities for me to grow under His loving eye. Remember Jesus Christ is coming again, and it will be ominous!

Revelation 19:20-21 ~ "And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh."

If you are into the New Age Movement, Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormon, please pay attention!!!

Ominous is God's judgment upon unbelief. The Scriptures tell us that there are no unbelievers in heaven. That should be a pretty good hint to whom we should hang out with.

2 Corinthians 6:14 ~ "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

How can your best friend be heading to hell? How can your future husband or wife be heading to hell, and you not wind up in a messed up relationship? If you're married to an unbeliever, that person is your ministry, day in and day out, 24/7/365.

2 Peter 3:11 ~ "Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people out you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,"

It's ominous because we were created to worship!

Acts 17:23 ~ "For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."

This broke Paul's heart to see what was happening and the idols the people were worshiping. About worship, Jesus said this...

John 4:22-23 ~ "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hours is coming and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." 

Psalm 96:9 ~ "Worship the LORD in splendor of holiness, tremble before him, all the earth!"

I'm not worshiping God, if I want to be entertained...It's not for me.
I'm not worshiping God, if I want to be touched...It's not about me.
I'm not worshiping God, if my life is not dedicated to God...that's a strange offering.

It's all about Jesus Christ, that is who our worship should be about. 

John 20:26-29 ~ "Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Don not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

We often make light of Thomas for being a doubter, but we need to be more like Thomas in our worship. It's ominous because we were created to exercise faith. This world is on a quest, the quest to find out what my life is all about. Thomas really wanted to believe, he cried out to Jesus to reveal Himself, based on his claims of unbelief! That describes believers perfectly. This is the reason why were are not going to be here with the Tribulation and judgment of God comes.

Why am I here?

The "Purpose Driven Life" has already been given by God, step into it! Stop being so careful and exercise your belief and faith in Jesus Christ. If God's calling you to do it, step out in faith!

Philippians 1:6 ~ "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

You've been create to exercise faith.

Hebrews 11:6 ~ "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Personally, practically, I have no need for bungee jumping or skydiving or plunging. My Christianity is exciting. Sometimes too exciting! Just by being an active Christian, people will want to hug you and hit hit. They'll want to love you and hate you.

It's ominous, because we were created to love and be loved. Man in his rebellion is rejecting God, and rejecting Christ.

Luke 17:24-37 ~ " For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot - they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all - so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other one left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." 

This event of Jesus' earthly judgment at His Second Coming is also found in Matthew 25:31-33, 46 ~ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Joel 3:11-14 ~ "Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision."

The real life application is this... the reality is certain. I want to be a light to the world around me. That will happen when Jesus is living His life through me. But listen...

Jesus living His life through me means...LOVE! Real Christians are commanded and real Christians desire to love one another.

John 13:34-35 ~ "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

How can I love you practically?

Galatians 6:2 ~ "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

What is the law of Christ?  Love!

Romans 8:2 ~ "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."

In light of the obvious in what we have been studying and what the Bible says, what are you doing with your life? 

Will you be left behind on the earth, rejecting Jesus Christ, or will you be part of the heavenly celebration as a Bride of Christ. Jesus said you are either for me or against me. With Jesus there is no gray, lukewarm, Jesus tells us you are to be vomited. You are either hot or cold.

Judgment Comes in An Hour

(Image courtesy of Huffington Post)

We serve a God who is always there, anytime, day or night. We can call upon Him whenever we need to. Today, we find ourselves close to wrapping up the final moments of the Tribulation judgment that is coming to the world and God is still calling out to us, wishing none should perish. The patience of the LORD whether Old Testament or New Testament is beyond remarkable. His enduring mercy and grace and love for His people is amazing. It will run its course however when He deems it so, much like the door on the Ark for Noah. God extends His grace and mercy to us every single day, but He won't wait forever for you.

Revelation 18:5 ~ ""for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities."

This the most remarkable verse and speaks of something ancient, something current, something futuristic and it is an amazing verse. The meters been running since the creation of the tower of Babel. The sin has finally reached God's breaking point and He finally says, "Enough is enough. "Reached" her sins have been laid one upon another until a great tower has been made. It is like when you overload the circuits in your home and the circuit breaker is tripped. You don't have any more electricity until you reset it.

The sin of humanity from the beginning of the tower of Babel has reached the end of God's mercy and God is saying, "No more!" His judgment will come, make no mistake about it. Don't think because God hasn't judged you from the way you've been living your life apart from Him as acceptance because nothing bad has happened to you. That is simply His grace, love and mercy for you, hoping you'll turn to Him before His patience with you runs out and the only way to correct your bad behavior is punishment. Its the same way parents discipline their own children. Why wouldn't God care enough about us to get us back on track? Don't wait thinking you still have time to turn to God one day while you continue to live your life apart from Him. You might just wind up like Pharaoh and God will harden your willful, sinful heart and you won't be able to make that choice because you denied Him for far too long.

You'll know when you are born again, because it is something that God does. You don't have to change your own life to be a Christian. We don't become holy by our works, but in trusting in the power of Christ. God will begin to clean your house, your mind, your heart, one room at a time. And the older we get, there comes a time when He discovers rooms in our life that we have padlocked. He has to take that Hazmat suit and power washer and really get to those places in our life, we had hoped He might just overlook. That is what it means to grow spiritually old in the Lord. All we have to do is present ourselves to Him. He'll take over from there.

Genesis 11:3-4 ~ "And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said,'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

They had begun to build a tower of sin! What was their sin?

Revelation 18:2-3, 24 ~ "And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth."

Its the love that is devoted to that thing or system that brings it about. The Babylonian system, rather than giving God the glory, is a worship system of the earth. Babylon will come to know that God is just to the unbeliever because they'll have their reward.

Revelation 18:6 ~ "Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed."

God says to take the cup of the woman who is riding the beast, mix it up, doubly strong. That's the wrath that I'm going to give her. This Babylonian system will reap what it sows and Babylon will come to know destruction.

Revelation 18:7-8 ~"As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, I sit as a queen. I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her."

We already know that according to Jeremiah 44, she has declared herself to be the Queen of Heaven. It will be destroyed because it will be a system without God. Remember the worship of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz in Jeremiah's day, promised prosperity. It's a dangerous thing to be self sufficient. When you see yourself like Nebuchadnezzar, when he proclaimed to the city, "IS this not the great city of Babylon that I have created?!!" In Daniel, God judged his arrogance and pride and he spent 7 years without a kingdom living like an idiot among the animals. Only after 7 years did God have mercy on him and restored him to King again. Then He realized that he needed to give God the glory and that is when you can see the real attitude change that being humble had on him.

When the Lord is in it, you love where God has placed you. You can't wait to get there. When He is not, everything is difficult, and it becomes judgment from God. We know in the Tribulation Period, this city will be greater than any city in the world. It will be utopia, heaven on earth for those who see it and dwell there in their own eyes. But since it doesn't have God in it, it will face destruction.

Isaiah 47:1,5, 7-9 ~ "Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throe, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall be no more be called tender and delicate. Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. You said, "I shall be mistress forever, so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end. Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children." These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children or widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments."

This woman, Babylon, is going to have another son, the antichrist.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 ~" 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 God."

Matthew 24:15 ~ "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),"

Matthew 4:8-9 ~ "Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Babylon will come to know destruction and will be destroyed because she has led the world astray.

Revelation 18:8 ~ "For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her."

This is all going to happen in one single day.

Remember 9/11 and everything that happened that day, it all took place in a couple of hours. Prior to this day, we never imagined how things could happen suddenly to change our world in a matter of under 2 hours. If man can do this in a couple of hours, imagine what God will be able to do in one single hour!

America is hated for supporting Israel! That is why Jihad began in 1990, despite what they would have you believe, to bring us down financially from being able to support Israel. Why? Because according to the Qu'ran, Allah can't capture the earth as long as Israel exists. Did you know that?

There is no promise given to America to succeed or fail, but there is a promise to Israel, that it should never again be uprooted from its land, says God from the Bible. This is the agenda today. It's all about Israel and destroying those who support her. Israel must stand alone in the last days. (Ezekiel 36-38). All the nations of the world will condemn a Russian-led attack by its Islamic neighbors according to Ezekiel 38. It might be by a UN resolution. That coalition will come down from the north to swoop down on Israel in the last days and it will fail! God said, I will not let my people be destroyed.

Revelation 18:8-9, 17, 19 ~ "For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her. And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste. And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off...And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been lad waste."

On 9/11 people were told who were still in the buildings of the Twin Towers, that the fire department would not be able to reach them, as we have heard in the stories of those who communicated this by phone to family and friends. So what do you do in that hour? You tell them about Jesus, like one man named Al did. Makes you wonder how many people went to heaven that day by making their decision to accept Jesus in that final hour. We believe in a God who moves in a split second. God further asked one man in a Century 21 building to stop fleeing that day and instead go back in the shadow of his building and begin to pray for each person who jumped that day. Why? Because judgment can come in a single hour.

What will you do with yours?

The Temple on Earth is Just A Copy!

There are so many living in Israel that are living for the day when the Temple will one day be rebuilt in Jerusalem. They are preparing for that day to happen even now, from researching the linage of the Levitical priests to the Red Heifer and all the Temple implements. But did you know that this Temple is merely a copy of the eternal Temple, the original that is in Heaven?

In order to understand the Book of Revelation, we need to know the Old Testament first. It is the only way you will make sense of what you read. It's not symbolic in nature as some would have you believe, but even the Jews today understand the references to the things found in the Book of Revelation, and it is why so many people today avoid reading it.

God gave Moses a construction permit long ago, to not only build the Ark of the Covenant, which Steven Speilberg replicated almost perfectly in Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, but also for the Tabernacle or the Temple. It was a temporary one, laid out on a prescribed blue print based on the actual Temple that exists in heaven. If you want to research that further read Hebrews, chapters 8-10, and see that the Bible reveals that the Temple on earth is only a copy. Just like our salvation isn't based on temporary things but eternal ones in heaven that can't be destroyed. It is secure.

God's wrath is perfect and it is measured. Just as He is perfect. When He comes in judgment it won't be too long or too short. The Will of God is perfect in all its ways. From the temple, to the priest to the sacrifice.

Revelation 15:8 ~ "and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished."

In order to understand this we need to meditate on John 3:16.

"For God SO loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." ~ John 3:16.

God is love. Every one of us requires love to function. God SO loved us. Put the emphasis on the word "so" and read it again. It implies truly purpose and that is the point in this verse. God gave us His only begotten Son. He gifted us His most prized possession to save us. We are that "whosoever!" All we simply need to do is accept it. To understand what it is to "believe" means that whenever we sit down - we don't question whether it will support our weight and hold us up. We just accept that it will in faith. That is what it means to believe in Him.

Our world is pagan when we reject Christ. We are saying we want anything else but Jesus. What a sad state our world is in because of our rejection of Christ. It's not the president's fault but it is the matter of our own hearts growing hard against the gospel message of the only hope in this sin-filled world.

Hebrews 8:1-5 ~ "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest (Jesus), one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according the the pattern that was show you on the mountain."

This is speaking of completeness. God showed Moses a pattern of the original that was in heaven. Don't mess with copies when you can go to the direct source. Only through Jesus and no other.

Hebrews 9:2-14 ~ "For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all side with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Jesus was offered up on the cross only once, that is why the Christian cross is empty, and it doesn't have Jesus on it. He did it once and for all, not to be repeated. On another note, verse 14 of Hebrews 9 mentions the Trinity in it.

Hebrews 9:14 ~ "how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

What's this mean to us? Jesus not only lived a perfect life, but died the perfect death, dying as a sacrifice for all of our sins. The Bible says...

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ~ " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."

Run to God's presence every single day in perseverance.

Welcome to the Digital Age, Ready to Receive Your Mark?

Perhaps the hardest question any Christian has been asked is "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" While we rest in the knowledge knowing that nothing that happens in this world passes without God's knowledge, we understand that this is now a sin-filled world ruled by Satan for a limited period of time and his purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. So while it may feel fine to blame God, the real person or created being is Satan for why bad things happen in the world. We need to remember that Satan is alive and is real and the blame needs to be placed on him. The biggest lie we fall for is that he doesn't exist and that God is somehow responsible for what is happening. We buy into his deception when we believe that.

The Bible is the only book that promises that all that it contains, all the promises and prophecies will come true in 100% certainty and detail. God has promised that one day evil will have run its course and He will place judgment upon those who have followed in the ways of Satan and rejected Christ, along with the Antichrist, Satan and all his demonic followers. The Bible promises that in the last days in Revelation 13 beginning in verse 11, those who are left on the earth will need to pledge an alliegance to the European Ruler through the taking of a mark on his right hand or forehead. Notice it doesn't say left hand? If the mark is unable to placed on the right hand, it will be placed on the forehead and it will be the same prefix for everyone, even though their numbers will vary. That prefix will be 666. Its like those of us that live in a certain area, all of us have the same area code that identify those of us that live in specific places.

Did you know that in Hebrew the number 6, is represented as man and that 666 is man declaring himself to be god. Just like in Hebrew the number 777 is the complete rule and reign of God of Heaven. 666 is the attempt of man to become like God. The book of Revelation warns us about this. Did you know that in Mexico under the leadership of Vincente Fox, because his key cabinet members are often used to gain access into secure facilities, he wanted to ensure that they were able to be tracked by receiving a mark in the right hand painlessly. This is the brain child of a company called Digital Applied Solutions which has been marketing this product under the name "Digital Angel" and is using the issues of medical illnesses and the premise for making this a product it believes consumers will use. It is the same "Verichip" technology that is being used by vets to scan all those run away pets but as of right now does not have government approval for use in the US at this time. They also lack the tools needed to track location of people must like GPS does but they are working on incorporating the use of RFID to help in the process.

It's amazing when you consider how the Bible is thousands of years old and yet predicts this type of technology would be available to be used in the future and we are watching it unfold before our very eyes. If you are a skeptic, what more do you need? The Lord is coming back. Jesus is coming back and if He said it, you'd better believe it. Jesus must come back unless He is the wrong one.

Matthew 6:9-10 ~ " This, then is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. "

You ever prayed that prayer before? You know what you are asking for? For God to establish His kingdom on earth. When you pray that prayer you are asking for the return of Jesus Christ to take place. Next time you pray it, pray it and mean it.

Isaiah 9:6-7 ~ "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Where is the throne of David? It's in Jerusalem but it hasn't been established yet. It will be when Jesus comes. If Jesus does not sit for 1000 years on the throne of David in Jerusalem in a literal sense, He is not the Christ. The Bible teaches that He must come back.

Psalm 93:1-2 ~ "The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity."

How long will the LORD reign? Forever and ever! When we say Praise the Lord, we ought to really mean it. We should be thanking God in all things. Jesus is coming one day soon and we need to be thanking Him both now and forever. We know however at this time, that Satan is in control of the earth and what happens here only through God however, and we know that the current state of our world is growing darker wouldn't you agree? Why is that true?

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ~ "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Put blame where blame is due. It is Satan who has blinded the minds of those living in this world who does not believe. Don't blame God when people are starving around the world, God is not sending the earthquakes that destroy people lives or sending horrific storms that are killing people. God is not sending those things. This is a world that is repeatedly sold into the hands of Satan. 

John 12:31 ~ "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the price of this world will be driven out."

John 14:30 ~ "I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me."

John 16:11 ~ "and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stand condemned."

Matthew 12:25-26 ~ "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" Satan is behind the destructive forces that kill and destroy. Not God.

In the end, it will be the Lord who is worshiped. He is worshiped because He alone is the Savoir.

Revelation 11:16-17 ~ "And the twenty four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign."

This makes sense when you read it backward. Because you have begun to reign and have taken your great power, (this is something that the world has longed for), the fact that You are the One who is, who was and is to come, You have absolute authority and there is no doubt about it. You are the One and we give thanks to You because you are the Lord God Almighty. The twenty four elders and seated and secure in heaven. We know in prior studies that then 24 elders are none other than a representation of the church age believers from the day of Pentecost to the day of rapture. They are introduced to us in Revelation 4 and are never seen again on earth. In Revelation 19, we see Christ coming back in the Second Coming with His church. How did they get there? Revelation 4:1.

Why the number 24? Study previously what we have gone through but quickly, there were 24 order of priests dedicated and commanded by God in the Old Testament. They were to live before the Lord, doing the work of the Lord. What does the Bible say we are as Christians? We are a kingdom of priests. These 24 elders represent the entire body of church believers from the Day of Pentecost to the Day of the Rapture. The only way you get to heaven, is through faith in Jesus Christ alone not a religious affiliation. It is the same for anyone who calls on the name of Jesus. It is hell without Him literally. Remember this is a future event.

It is the Lord who is worshiped because He alone is Almighty. Who is this in verse 17? He is the Lord, Almighty.

Revelation 1:8 ~ " I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

Revelation 1:17 ~ "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last."

Revelation 1:18 ~ "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

Revelation 4:8 ~ "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stopped saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come."

Revelation 2:8 ~ "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the word of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again."

Titus 2:13 ~ "while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,"

Titus 2:10 ~ "and not steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."

Isaiah 42:8 ~ "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols."

Hosea 13:4 ~ "But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall have no other God but me, no Savior except me."

Phil 3:20 ~ "For our citizenship is in heaven, for which we also eagerly await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

 It is a great time to really know who Jesus is! If you are not a Christian, what in the world are you doing? Why don't you know Jesus? What is keeping you from being a Christian because Jesus is everything! There are no second changes when your life ends. There are no do overs. No mulligans. If you are really smart, you will give your life to Jesus today!

Why is Jerusalem the Most Sought After Piece of Real Estate on Earth?

The city of Jerusalem belongs to God. It does not belong to the Palestinians, the U.N., the E.U or the United States and technically it doesn't even belong to Israel! God says that it is His city, He has set His name upon that city. When you listen to Rabbi's speak about how God spoke creation into existence, not only did the land form beneath His feet but also the Temple Mount. He takes the city of Jerusalem seriously and here in Revelation, we hear God comparing them to Sodom and Egypt. When God has issues with you, He brings them to your attention. Doesn't mean He doesn't love you any less, but He does have to address what is displeasing to Him that you are doing. Remember that God has already done this in the letters to the seven churches earlier in our studies. It is a way of bringing these things to focus and help us to get right with God again.

If you have ever visited the city of Jerusalem, as you are walking around the city, you can get a sense that this is not how God intended it to be. It's like that in almost any city you walk around in, yet the one big difference in Jerusalem compared to anywhere else is that God is not done with Jerusalem yet. He has eternal plans for Jerusalem! Like those amazing renovations shows, Jesus when He returns will be doing the ultimate restoration on this city and what a city it will be!

Revelation 11:8 ~ "Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."

The great city is referring to Jerusalem because it was the city in which our Lord was crucified. But why is God calling it Sodom and Egypt? How does God use these two cities to compare His own city and people with those who have deep spiritual issues? We know that the city of Jerusalem belongs to God and it makes you wonder why so many people fight over this small little pieces of land and why it is so widely contested. The most sacred piece of real estate in the world today and most sought after is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is what all the wars have been about going back as far historically as we can. It's a spiritual battle and a spiritual situation.

God refers to any city when it is not walking with Him, being obedient to Him, worshiping Him as it should be, God calls it as it is. So what does God do to a city that isn't doing what it should be doing? He brings judgment to the city. That is how God disciplines even though we don't want to hear about it. Even to the own Christian, when we walk in disobedience, God brings about chastisement. This does not mean your salvation is being called into question. Your salvation is fine, just like you don't disown one of your children when they make a mistake, the same is true for God. Discipline is necessary to get you back where you need to be. The Bible says, "Whom the Lord loves, He chastens!" The Bible also says that if you are not a child of God, He will not discipline you. As a parent, you don't discipline someone else's child when they are misbehaving, each parent takes care of their own child because they have a vested interest in their child's well being. So does God. Just because you think you're getting away with stuff doesn't mean God doesn't care. You might just want to be sure you are truly a child of God's.

From the beginning of time, God has chosen the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem and the Jews to be His people. Nothing that the world does will change that. As Christians, God has placed His seal upon us as His chosen children as well. Just because discipline comes doesn't mean God has rejected you. So when we look at the first of the two cities that God compares Jerusalem to in looking at Sodom, we need to remember what they were known for. God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their rebelliousness to God, and that they went after strange flesh. God has sanctioned special perimeters in regards to sexual activity. Only a male and a female in marriage! God only blesses the sexual activity between a married husband and wife ONLY! All other bets are not sanctioned or approved by God. In the Book of Hebrews, God says the marriage bed is undefiled. God is against fornication and adultery. Did you know from a scientific perspective that when a husband and wife come together as one in marriage that the exchange of bodily fluids help build each other's immunities up instead of tearing them down? God brings the biology of a husband and a wife together to strengthen them. 

If you step outside those perimeters and do things you aren't supposed to do, is it any wonder that you feel run down, get sick or fall victim to certain diseases? The Bible says if we sow to the flesh of the flesh and we will reap corruption. Have you seen how the pornographic industry is reeling from the impacts of aids and other sexually transmitted diseases? It's slowly killing them all off and then they wonder what is happening to them and why? God is saying that He is calling Jerusalem, spiritual Sodom, God is looking at spiritual diversity, paganism, or as God calls it harlotry. God calls it adultery in the spirit.

Jerusalem during this great time of Tribulation will be it a city of internationalism embracing all religions and all faiths, and most of the Jews you meet today in the city are atheistic Jews who do not believe in God while they walk in the Holy land. They refuse to believe in Scriptures, our God and simply chalk it up to being in our culture. The Bible says that God would bring Israel back into their own land in unbelief. If you go to Israel today, you will meet people who don't believe in God. We know that the Pope has even given credence that Jerusalem in the spiritual center of the world, that the top three leading religions or beliefs come together there. It will shift from Rome and Mecca and all combine in a homogenization of the religions in the city of Jerusalem, or a one world religion. Just type in one world religion and see what you come up with today. There is a great movement in the world today for us all to worship one God. They say that Christians, Jews and Muslims all believe in God and that they are all the same God. Yet let me ask these questions? If we worship the same God, then why aren't you Christians trying to build a temple to sacrifice animals for the removal of your sins? If we worship the same God, why aren't we going out and beheading our enemies? It's not that it isn't politically correct, it's that we do NOT worship the same God.

Jesus says, "You can't come to the Father, except through Him." The other thing is that the Bible says we know God's name. Adonai, is what God calls Himself. He introduces Himself as being our Father who art in Heaven. Yahweh or YHWH,  the LORD God, and He is approachable. We can pray to Him. The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ. We can pray directly to the Father through Jesus Christ. You don't need to go through anyone to get prayer to God. We can pray for you, but so can you. You can pray to God yourself. We can't talk to God for you, God expects you to talk to Him yourself. That's gotta set you free no matter where you are in the world. How liberating is that!

You don't have to get a little lamb and sacrifice it to God while talking to Him while the blood runs out. You don't have to go out and perpetrate all kinds of evil against humanity to earn God's favor, and to enter some sort of paradise. The Bible says, you bow your knee or open your heart to pray to the Lord in Jesus Name. Anyone and everyone can do that. God says however that Jerusalem is a spiritual Sodom. It will become a place of paganism and spiritual adultery and fornication. God also says that Jerusalem is compared to a spiritual Egypt. We have to consider what is Egypt famous for regarding the children of Israel? Bondage, slavery. Did you know that when Israel was in the bondage and slavery of Egypt, they were completely ignorant? That is why the way Pharaoh dealt with Moses is so unique. He was saved by Pharaoh's daughter and raised up in his house, being schooled in their ways and would have been given the best the world had to offer.

In the Book of Hebrews, it says that when Moses saw his people, he put away everything he had access to at his fingertips for a moment, so he could be associated with the inflections of God's people. Moses left Egypt. Then the people of Israel through Moses also left Egypt. God led them out and they became a great nation. Egypt in Scripture, is also a reference to the world. When the Bible refers to Egypt you can also use it as a reference to the world and its system. Worldliness, flesh and the like.

Matthew 23:37-38 ~ "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets ad stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate."

It was left desolate, referring to the house which represents the Temple, because of paganism and not recognizing Him.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ~ "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

God does want to be number one on a list of ten. He wants to be number one on a list of one. Idolaters are those that put anything before God. ANYTHING. Things can be idols and the things we most identify with. What we spend our money and time on. As you read this list, repent of them as you read them. Remember we don't have to do the actual act, but simply looking at another man or woman is guilty of adultery. Simply tell God you have sinned against Him and ask for His forgiveness. The Bible says if we confess our sins, God will forgive us from all unrighteousness. God doesn't make people idolaters, adulterers, fornicators, thieves or homosexuals. These are all sins of choice. The rest of the list continues with sins of choice as well. We are wanting things others want and we are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Even paying taxes. While we may not like how our government spends our money, the Bible says we have to do what He has commanded. They will have to give an account to how they spent that money. We need to keep on doing it until God changed it now matter how much we might not like doing it.

Even though God knows all of this, He is not surprised. He is hurt and it pains Him to see how much His own creation rejects Him, those are human emotions and He wants us to know He understands it all. God announces in all the Book of the Prophets, Amos, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah and promises that He will gather together His people from all the corners of the world because they have been scattered, and He will bring them back to their own land in unbelief. They are very made at God because they want to know where He was through the Holocaust. How can you be angry at someone you don't believe exists? The Jews won't believe in God again until Ezekiel 38, where God rescues them from an impending war that is being lead by Israel's enemies from the furthest points north!

Will God will judge people that He loves?

There are a lot of people who are making grave mistakes when looking at Bible prophecy, and that is replacement theology, which is taking Israel and replacing it with the church. That is so wrong on many levels and does a great disservice to the Bible. People think that the church is going to be destroyed during the Tribulation period. Yet Jesus said, "that the gates of hell will not prevail against My church." The church is not present during the Tribulation period. What is happening is that we have the 7 year Tribulation period in which God is focusing on Israel.

Daniel 7:21 ~ "As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,"

God gives power to the Antichrist to destroy or devastate God's people, predominantly the Jews and secondary those to come to faith by virtue of the ministry of the born again Jews during the Tribulation period. We always want to read the Bible for what it says, don't read stuff into the Bible, let the Bible read its stuff into you. Don't let people convince you that the Bible isn't really saying what it is saying. It means exactly what it says. Let the Bible be the commentary on the Bible.

Yesterday we began to study sack cloth ministry and today we continue to with in regards to it meaning judgment and grace. Even Jesus had a sack cloth ministry. Jesus was ministering and a bunch of Pharisees, professional sin sniffers and fault finders and legalists, and they brought a woman to Jesus' feet and threw her down in front of Him, who they caught in the very act of adultery. They turned to Jesus and said, "Moses said she should be stoned for committing adultery, what do you say? For we have caught her in the very act?"

The Bible doesn't say what I am about to say, but I wish it did. I wish Jesus would have said, "What were you doing watching?" "We caught her in the very act, I mean, we were walking by..." Jesus said, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone." No one stepped forward. Then He began to write in the sand remember? It says that they were convicted from the oldest on down to the youngest. Why? What does an older person have over a younger person? They lived longer. The longer you live the more you have opportunities to sin. The oldest left first,  because they lived longer and had racked up more sin, and even though the Bible doesn't say what He wrote the Old Testament says, "I have written their sins in the dust." I believe that Jesus was writing with the finger of God, who was the Son of God, writing in the dust, looking up to see who he was looking at and writing down all the sins that person committed before moving on to the next one. I believe He wrote their sins in the dirt and they saw what He had written, were convicted and walked away, the oldest to the youngest. Now that is judgment! Sack cloth!

Jesus turns to the woman and asks, "Woman, where are your accusers?" She was smart, remember what she said, "Lord, I have none." Did she not have accusers? Yes, but they were not present. They left! Can people accuse you of things? Can people accuse you of things that are true? Yes all of us! Where are they? You might say, "They are breathing down my neck right now!" Where are they before the presence of God? What is one of Satan's natures? He is before the throne of God accusing us day and night. God doesn't hear it when we are washed in Christ. I'm hidden in Christ!

Now that the woman's accusers were gone, He didn't say she didn't have any, Jesus said, "I do not accuse you." When God says that, you are free! Are you free? Is your conscience clear? Do you know that if you are a Christian right now, God says I do not accuse you between you and I is an interesting filter and that filter is My Son, Jesus Christ! You are washed in the blood as long as you continue to put your faith in Him. That is good news! The world does not like this because of what it implies. God's final witness to the world is a witness that is not acceptable to everyone because the message of God to man is divisive.

You know that to be true because the minute you give your life to God and rush home to tell others about it, they don't receive it well. There are some that when they give their lives to Jesus, found that their parents threw them out of the house. Jesus has said, "Don't think that I have come to bring peace, I've come to bring a sword. That a man in his own home will be divided against his wife, or a child against a parent." Jesus isn't into home wrecking. Jesus knows that within the same house if you have someone who believes and someone who doesn't, there will be division. That is true in many of our homes.

Revelation 11:7 ~ "Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them."

Remember how we have learned that you will never understand the Book of Revelation without reading the Old Testament? Where is this answered in the Old Testament? Daniel 7, specifically verse 21.

Daniel 7:21 ~ "As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,"

God will allow the beast, (the Antichrist) to kill the two witnesses, or believers in God during the Tribulation period. Those of you that are born again Christians, when the rapture happens, you will be taken directly to heaven. You will not be here when this happens. Those who come to Christ during the Tribulation period are called Tribulation saints. You and I right now are called to live for Christ, and it is not easy. The Tribulation believers will not live for Christ, they will die for Christ. I suggest making the decision now! Daniel 7 is the key to understanding Revelation 11. Daniel 7 is one of the most remarkable passages of Scripture and a must for understanding Bible prophecy. Why? Who is the beast? He ascends out of the bottomless pit or the Abyss and that has a connection with Satan. It is connected with demons, and it is where an eternity in hell is deposited.

Whoever it is that ascends out of the bottomless pit we have an apparent problem. If we keep studying, our problem will go away. Why? This guy is a human being. He is human. So how does he ascend out of the bottomless pit where demons come from? The question we want to ask is what does the Bible say about his life? That will answer this apparent dilemma. First of all the Bible in Daniel 7, Daniel 2, and Daniel 11, teaches us about four world governing empires, that God mentions. It is all historic until the very end.

So God says in the Book of Daniel, world governing empire number 1, under the governing powers of Nebuchadnezzar was the Babylonian empire. God says so and calls it by name.

Number 2, the Medo-Persian Empire, under Darius and Sirus.

The third empire was under the rule of Alexander the Great, the Grecian Empire.

The fourth empire is a very interesting empire. The Bible says the fourth empire is the Roman empire, but unlike the first three, the Babylonian, Medo-Perisan and Grecian empires were all defeated by invading armies. The Roman empire was never defeated by an invading army. The Roman empire grew so massive that it began to break up. No one ever conquered it. Technically according to the historian rule book, it has never gone away. Its like in a coma or hibernating. The Bible says that in the last days out of the Roman Empire, when it broke up formed two sections, the eastern and western sections, and as the Bible describes its legs going down, and that in the it will be reassembled as toes in the end. This is key, because the Bible tells us that out of the toes, out of the kingdoms, that came out of the Ancient Roman empire, a ruler will emerge. Daniel and Revelation calls him the beast. You know him even if you are not a Christian as Mr. 666.

Don't confuse yourself when looking at this and see this guy coming out of various areas. in Revelation 13:1, that John saw him come up out of the sea and the sea were the nations of the world. Yet in Revelation 11 it says that he came up out of the bottomless pit. How does that happen if he is just a man? This is where it gets technical. We know he is empowered by demons, and he is possessed by Satan. Did you see John freaking out about the introduction of the beast? When John is confused, he asks a question in the Book of Revelation. He will ask, "What is the meaning of this or what are these things?" He doesn't say anything here. When the beast is introduced like it is to you and I in this study right now, there is no debate from John. The answer is so simple.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem in Matthew 23 beginning in verse 37, and into chapter 24 of Matthew,

Matthew 23:37-39 ~ "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Matthew 24:15 ~ "So when you see standing in the holy place 'abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

When you see the Antichrist, standing in the Temple, where he ought not to be, run for your lives. Jesus knew Daniel 9 and so did the Jews, as well as John. He knew Daniel 7, Daniel 2 and Daniel 11. All the Jews know Daniel. It is the key to understanding Bible prophecy. Do you see how wonderfully technical this is? John didn't question the introduction of the beast, because he already knew who the beast was. The beast would come bringing in the last world governing empire that would subdue God's people, based upon the Book of Daniel. Specifically Daniel 7:21.

Daniel 7:21 ~ "As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,"

God will grant the Antichrist power to destroy and subdue the saints, until the Ancient of Days is seated and there shall be judgment in favor of the saints. This is the introduction to the Second Coming of Christ. So we must know Daniel. John did. This is why the beast is totally normal thinking for him. Guess what Christians have always referred the emperor of Rome as? The beast!

Daniel 9:26 ~ "the prince who is to come." 

We know that the beast will make war with them, overpower them and kill them. So this man has been granted authority to do such things. The reason this witness is not acceptable to everyone is that this message is convicting.

Revelation 11:8 ~ "Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called the city of Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."

Where was our Lord crucified? Jerusalem. How then can it be called Sodom and Egypt? Throughout all of history whenever people have rejected God, judgment always follows. God is so patient right now but it will not always be the case. When Israel went astray, how did God judge Israel? He sent an unbelieving pagan nation against them. There is a pagan cult that is beginning to wreck havoc on our nation, the cult of Islam. God knew about 9/11. Why didn't He stop it? As tragic as the death of those people were, as a nation as a whole, shouldn't worse things happen to us for what we have done? Did you know that we are the number 1 pornographic producing nation in the world? In the nation where it is the biggest producing nation, California is where it takes place! In California, it's in LA County. It's in the cities of Northridge, Hollywood and Burbank. God says I won't stand for it. God's not asking for your opinion or mine. He won't stand for it. He says I am holy and I have to do this. I am wondering what is holding back God from moving the Mojave Desert 25 feet to the north right now? So while people in California are sitting back enjoying the pornography and loving it, a great earthquake comes and now all of a sudden they want someone to pray. What is God's response? 

Isaiah 59:2 ~ "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; you sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." 

That is this nation is it not? It will happen. It's coming. I just hope as Christians, He comes for us first. And if he doesn't, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." If we live, we live for Christ, either way it's a win-win thing for us. Will God will judge people that He loves? God has promised that if you are His child, He will chastise you. He will punish us for our wrongs. If God loves America, despite being founded on Christian principles, He will discipline us for our wrongs. It's called national judgment. He does this to nations. He promises to do this to nations. He will do it to America. He does it to His children.

The Bible says if He doesn't do it to His children, if He doesn't punish you for your wrong, I'm not talking about your sins, Jesus paid the price for our sins at the cross. Now that you're a Christian and you belong to God. If you go do something dumb against God and your backsliding away from Him,

Galatians 6:7 ~"Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."

God will discipline us because we do the wrong things. Jerusalem, Israel had done the wrong thing. The 7 year Tribulation period is God focusing on the nation of Israel, and He is dealing with them on national judgment, and that judgment will bring them to a place of repentance. This is how God works. It's fundamental, it's historical, it's biblical, it is what we are observing here.