Let Us Put the Blame of Evil Things Happening in The World Where It Belongs!

 

Did you know that the Book of Revelation references all the books of the Bible over any other book in the Bible? You will never understand the Book of Revelation without having knowledge of the Old Testament. When Christians tell you that they don't understand the Book of Revelation, they are announcing to you that they have never read the Old Testament or have an understanding of what they have read in regards to studying the Old Testament. What is concealed in the Old is revealed in the New!

Revelation 11:18 ~ "The nations were angry and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

This is a portion of Psalm 2 which is fulfilled by the time we get to Revelation 11:18 and was written over 3000 years ago.

Psalm 2:1-3 ~ "Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 

This part of the prophecy has already been fulfilled when they crucified and mocked Jesus, and continues even to this day against Christians and those that speak the truth found in God's Word.

Psalm 2:4-9 ~ "The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."  

This portion of prophecy is coming and will be fulfilled during the Tribulation period when the wrath of God is unleashed upon a Christ-rejecting world and when Jesus returns to earth in the Second Coming to establish His kingdom once and for all.

We have just finished studying from Revelation 10:1 to Revelation 11:14 what is known as a parenthetical pause in the chronological events in the story to provide some much need information to the reader of the book and from Revelation 11:15-19 we continue in the events of the Tribulation Period with John again.

Revelation 11:15-19 ~ "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven which said: "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever." 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. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great - and for destroying those who destroy the earth." Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of the covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm"

This portion of scripture introduces us to the coming kingdom of Christ. We are living in the time of the church age believers right now.

Acts 1:9-11 ~ "After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seem him go into heaven."

They watched Jesus ascend into the glory of heaven and we told to go forth and preach the Word of the gospel into the whole world. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and the church was born. Jesus said that He would be coming back and coming again. We wait for Jesus to return just as the Bible predicts because if He doesn't, He wasn't the Messiah and the faith we have in Him is nothing. But we know that Jesus has fulfilled all the Bible prophecy's up to this point regarding His birth, His death and His resurrection. Sandwiched between His first coming, that is His birth as a baby in Bethlehem to His Second Coming in Revelation 19 as King and Redeemer coming with the saints and the church with Him to earth. In between this time is the Church Age, that is what you and I are a part of and at some point in that time frame, that age will end, and from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture, the church will conclude.

There will be no church in the Tribulation period. There will be the Tribulation saints or the believers who are born again during that Tribulation period. If you are a Christian right now, you will not experience the events we have been studying about that will happen in the Tribulation period. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior even while reading this post, God has promised to deliver you from the wrath that has yet to come. The words "wrath to come" does not mean hell. The "wrath to come" is the Tribulation period, when God pours out His judgment and vengeance upon the earth. Today you want to make sure you are a Christian and that you know God personally! Make sure your relationship with God is not a religious position where you think just because you attend church on Sunday and that is it for the rest of the week. You might be able to say that you know God, but can you say with boldness that God knows You?

We are going to look at three major points of why we need to know Jesus today. When Christ comes, the Lord will reign on earth. God will reign on earth.

Revelation 11:15 ~ "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven which said: "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

Man's attempt to reign as president, as ruler, as king, is coming to an end. Yes, God has established earthly governments in fact in Romans 13, it states the governments in power have been established by God. That is true, whether you believe in that government or not. As Christians, we get a citizenship change or a passport change, as Paul taught in Philippians that our citizenship is now in heaven.

When we tell the world that the end is near, they will not believe that. Because it implies the end of man and the beginning of Christ in the world. The Bible makes it clear. We are running low on angels now. We are down to the seventh angel and he is the last one. There were seven of them, and this is the last one to blow his trumpet. From Revelation 12 to 19, we will cover a brief period of time, in those long section of Scriptures. The attempt of man to reign is nearly over.

Genesis 6:3 ~ "Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

That word was given to Noah and his generation and when Noah proclaimed those words it was exactly 120 years until the flood came. You might not believe the flood happened, but God and history says it has happened. Archaeology says it happened. A great flood happened and turned our world upside down. The word strive or contend in Hebrew means to sail a straight course. God will not always sail a straight course into man's heart. He will not always be speaking to you directly and trying to convince you to come to know Him.

Right now Jesus is enthroned in heaven and He supervises all that is going on in the earth. However there are things going on in the earth that He does not approve of. The time for judgment has not yet come. All of the evil that we see and experience and look at, think of all the horrible events taking place in the world today, we need to put blame where blame is due. That blame is due primarily on man's neck.

James 4:1 ~ "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight."

It all begins in the heart. How is it that someone would pepetrate evil against someone else? It comes from the heart. The Bible also tells us that Satan is the god of this age. Little "g". He is not God. He is the upsurper of authority of this age. You want to know why Satan has so much destructive power in the world? It's because man keeps leaving the door open. There are people wondering why their marriages are falling apart and when they back up and realize that they were flirting with someone else who wasn't their husband or wife all this time and now they can see why their marriage is falling apart. There are those who are wondering why their kids are rebelling within their family and they look back and say, "Well we didn't want to ram God down their throats, we wanted them to make their own choices." So they grew up not knowing God and haven't learned anything from the Bible on how to act. When a man leaves his home or family unattended, it goes to mischief. This earth has gone to mischief.

If there is an earthquake today or someone gets murdered today, we can't blame God, this is a world where the evil thereof needs to be directed toward Satan. Jesus says I have come to give you life, and that more abundantly. But the thief, (not a thief but "THE" thief) has come to rob, kill and destroy. Which refers to Satan. Satan loves when you are having a bad day. We know man's reign is about to end and the Lord's reign is about to come upon the earth.

Notice that the camera angle has changed and we are seeing through John's eyes what is happening in heaven. This is what He hears.

Revelation 11:15 ~ "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

Some versions of the Bible have dropped the "s" on the word 'kingdoms' and it simply says kingdom. That is an unfortunate translation. If you go back to the Old King James Version, it is as how I have written this portion of Scripture of the Bible. There are a lot of kingdoms in this world. Notice how they will all become the kingdom, dropping the "s". When Jesus comes in His Second Coming, He is going to establish His rule. But some things have to happen first before He returns.

The first was laughable when people read it until it came to pass on May 14, 1948 when Israel became a nation in one day. Now people have zipped their lips. The Bible said before Jesus came back, Israel would have to become a nation again. That happened on May 14, 1948. Not only that the Bible said that God would call all His people back home that had been scattered across the world and bring them back to Israel in unbelief. Not believing in God. When you look at the nation of Israel is is predominately secular and an unbelief in God.

If you keep on going, there will be an unification of Europe. That the European Empire would be resurrected and that is happening today. It is called the E.U. or the U.S.E. the United States of Europe. All these things are coming together. If that is not enough and there are more than 300 scriptures that have already been fulfilled in the most amazing detail that need to take place before the Second Coming of Christ, and in Revelation 13, there will come a time in technology that man will issue a decree to those belonging to the One World Government, of a One World Religion, of a One World Church (which is not really a church at all), will have to pledge alliegance to a European ruler and to a global church and receive a number on their right hand or forehead.

If anyone has ever been to Buckingham Palace in England, there are massive pillars that are out in front of the palace, one for example will be labeled New Zealand, one will be labeled Australia, or India and all of these pillar will label a kingdom, where the crown of England presided over, so one crown sat over the kingdoms where it had authority, so on a very human small scale, think of that and you will be able to better understand that portion of Scripture. Under the crown of Christ, remember He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, His kingdom will swallow up all the other kingdoms. A singular kingdom will consume plural kingdoms. Human kingdoms even though they have been presided over by God, the human kingdoms will be swallowed up by Christ. 

The Greatest Party of Hell on Earth is Coming!

Imagine turning to BBC or CNN or even Fox News and seeing a group of people dancing around the bodies of two men lying dead in the street. These people are more than overjoyed that these two men are dead. They are throwing things at them and having a great time. Sound far fetched that we could ever see something like this today? I might imagine that it wouldn't surprise us to see this on the news tonight. We see things like this happening all the time all over the world. The reason the people are so happy that these two men are dead is they believe they have silenced their message from God in heaven. I believe that if evil thinks that they can shut Christians up and killing us, they too would start dancing.

We see this spirit of zero tolerance happening during the Tribulation period coming to these two men. I believe we are moving toward that level of volatility where men will go nuts because they hate the things that God loves. They will rise up against them. It exposes man's hatred against the truth.

Revelation 11:9-11 ~ "For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them."

This is quite literally Christmas in hell. There is a great hatred that the world will have for God and God's witnesses. That is true even today. There is a hatred toward the Lord, a hatred towards His message. What surprises me is that this is a future event and the world is still talking about tolerance today. Everybody is told to tolerate every group of people except for one and that is Christians. You can outlaw them, get rid of them, anything to get them out of here because they drive the world crazy. Nothing is going to change in the future, in fact it will only intensify. It's a world of tolerance until it comes to these two men who are teaching the Word of God.

In light of the advances in technology, how does the whole world rejoice over the death of two men in Jerusalem? Satellite TV, CNN, and every one is going to see it and rejoice. They will be sending one another gifts all over the world to celebrate what has happened. Do you think this is too far for us to consider something like this happening in the world today? Have you taken a look at the news lately in the Middle East when something happens they rejoice over? Have you seen dead bodies dragged behind the back of a Jeep? Do they not stomp and burn bodies and rejoice over it while it is being televised? Are you not watching that? Or have you not seen that?

We need to wake up as a church. Here we are today reading a book that is 2000 years old and it seems as if we are turning on the news today and seeing how relevant this is in our culture today. We we see a body of a man being dragged in the streets in the Middle East behind a truck, burned on fire, beaten and hung over a bridge. That would never happen right, while the people who did it are rejoicing and claiming victory over the event? It is happening and it will happen all the more the closer we get to this future event. You don't have to use much of an imagination to see that happening in the world today. The earth dwellers will rejoice over this event!

This will be the biggest party in all of the world on earth and remember that even though it appears that Satan has the victory or the enemies of God, their victory once again is short lived. They will only be rejoicing for 3 1/2 days. The world hates God, even though they will be gathering together all the religions of the world except those that have to do with God. The world views the messengers and their message as evil. They refuse to tolerate others. What do you think these two prophets were prophesying about the return of Elvis? No it was the truth of God's Word. People today are so weak and fragile that they whine and whimper and have a breakdown of the slightest things.

They will allow these men's bodies simply sit in the streets right where they were killed for 3 1/2 days. The burial practices of the Middle East - that day! Our technology today is where this prophecy of the Bible foretells is today. This is a real time, worldwide event that will be seen by everyone, in every language of the world. Isn't it amazing how wonderful and true the Bible is even though this was written about 2000 years ago? The exposing of man's hatred against the truth, is a hatred that cannot be curbed.  Remember back in the year 2000 when people thought the world was going to end and they all celebrated and partied. We are not too far from these types of events being celebrated and heralded. It's a hatred that they can't not see.

While most of the time the Lord isn't seen as a person to put an end to a party, He does after 3 1/2 days. When the breath of God enters these two men and they come back to life, imagine the horror and terror that will come over those that believed they were dead. Millions of people will see this happen.

Revelation 11:11 ~ "But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them."

This great fear that will come upon those that witness and see this event will be the kind that cause mass hysteria, causes panic and immobilize those that see it.

God's final witness to the world will be a powerful testimony of grace and judgment. These two are exclusive. You can not reconcile these two, they are both true and false at the same time. God who is holy and righteous, has to be just. But God is also a God of grace and mercy. The more we learn about God the more we can come to terms with just how we chose to live our lives and how responsible we are. You and I are the only ones responsible for the decisions we make. We can often look back in our life often before we were Christians and realize how stupid some of those decisions are. However, when we became Christians we made less stupid decisions.

As we grow older, often times when faced with making a decision, the one in our minds is often times the one God doesn't want us to take. Since He is such a God in whom knows how it will all play out in the end, who knows the decision we need to make, and how often we get into trouble when we act in our own minds instead of waiting on Him, we should pray for patience to be willing to wait for the time in which God will give us the answer to what we need to do and to be willing not to jump ahead until He does. Now that is wisdom. Sometimes God wants us to find the answer ourselves so we can learn how to do this in our own lives personal through seeking Him. Don't take someone's else opinion on what you should do, even if it is a pastors. If he is worth his weight in salt, he will instruct you to prayer and to seek God's truth in the Bible.

Revelation 11:12-14 ~ "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was 
 a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

When it says that the two men ascended or went up to heaven, this was not a quick disappearance. This was a slow process and the same one used when Jesus ascended from the apostles for the last time. So much they as the apostles were watching, their mouths hung open so long, two angels appeared to them to ask what they were doing looking up so long.  In grace, the Lord will not leave anyone behind.  Regarding the justice of God, He will never leave justice undone. This is something we need so much in our world today.

Revelation 11:13-14 ~ "At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

This means that a tenth of the city of Jerusalem fell down. What is truly interesting is that in the King James Version is says that 7000 men were killed, it doesn't say how many total number of people at that point were killed only the number of men killed in the earthquake. No one knows the exact number. None of us rejoice in judgment and neither does God. However when something horrific happens, do you not want to see justice done? We all want it so long as it doesn't affect us.

When we make a huge mistake you know what we want most from the judge? Mercy! The problem is that we live in a system now where the whole system is corrupt. If you have money, you will get off. There are older people who should be retiring or not working, that have to return back to work. They worked hard all their lives and invested money and because of white collar crime, their retirements have been stolen from them. There will come a day when God will exercise perfect judgment. The Bible says in Genesis by Abraham, "Shall not the Lord of all the earth, do right?" He knows every motive to every crime.

The final portion of today's study offers a bit of confusion and begs us to answer the question, who are the people who gave glory to God, while the rest were afraid? One scholar might argue it doesn't matter they simply were so afraid, they didn't know what they were doing and gave credit to anyone. But it was short lived. They didn't really know what they were saying. Others will say, if you look at the chronology of the events and this being a parenthetical pause, this event brought about the sealing of the 144,000 saints. No one knows for sure.

Do you have Jesus Christ in your life? No, more matter what you have in your life today, it is nothing compared to what He offers! No money, no possessions, no position or job. Only Jesus can offer you what the world can't. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. We need to make sure our faith in Jesus is real.

Why Do You Blame God When Bad Things Happen To You?

Why do bad things happen to good people? According to God, there are no good people. That might offend someone reading this, but remember the Bible says that there are NONE righteous. Not one. So it begs to ask the question, why does any good stuff happen to any one of us? The wrath that is coming to the world, is for a world that has rejected God. That would be like standing outside in the rain and asking God, why are You allowing it to rain on me? It's your choice, put your umbrella up, go someplace it's not raining. Don't blame God. When things happen in our lives, it might beg to ask the question, have we walked out from under God's umbrella in our own lives? Is that why certain things are happening to us? What is coming to the world will be the result of unbelief. There is no one in hell right now blaming others to why they are there. They are there because they chose to be. Maybe they made the wrong decisions in life, they wind up in hell however, by their own choice. To accept God or reject Him.The things that are coming are what happens to man who has left the protection of God. He has no one else to blame but himself. If you cast aside your umbrella in the midst of a storm, you are the one responsible for getting wet.

You don't go out and live your life without God. He is the one who made you. He loves you. He has a plan for your life. He has a plan and path for you in mind to walk on. Why live your life on your own? It will never wind up good for you. You will come to a point, of living a life of unbelief and it hurts, and eventually it kills.

Revelation 13:14 ~ "and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived," promises that the Antichrist will deceive those who dwell upon the earth. The earth dwellers will make an image of the beast to worship. We will study that more in depth when we get to Revelation 13. 

Revelation 14:6 ~ "Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people."

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."

You can escape this stamp or title of earth dwellers, by the way, by coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. How can you escape God's judgment? Run to Him with all your sins in hand. What have I done to deserve God's judgment? Only one thing, you have refused to receive God's free gift.

When the judgment of God comes, the prayers of God's saints will be heard, and the Lord will represent His people.

Revelation 8:3 ~ "And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was give much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne."

1 Timothy 2:3-6 ~ "This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."

When the judgment of God comes, the prayers of the saints will be heard, and the Lord shall be both Priest and Judge.

Revelation 8:4-6 ~  "and the smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel'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."

Exodus 30:6-10 ~ "And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations. You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD." 

When the judgment of God comes, punishment must fall upon this world. This is the section of gross devastation. From here on out, it gets pretty intense. The first four trumpet judgments are all concerning nature. The created elements of nature, be it humans, things in the sea or the stars above. They are of a physical nature. The last three judgments of the trumpets are of a spiritual nature. In the first four judgments to come upon the earth, the environment will suffer.

Revelation 8:7-13 ~ " The first angel sounded his trumpets, 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!"

 Jesus laid all of this out in chronological order 2000 years ago about the last days, when he taught in Matthew 24:7 ~ "Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."

Can you imagine what is coming with the first trumpet blast on an ecological scale that " hail and fire mixed with blood, will be hurled down upon the earth" This means that hail and fire will strike down and kill those on the earth at that time. Hail will hit people so hard that it will break their bodies open. Blood will be mingled with it. Hail and fire? How can that be? Did you know that it is a meteorological fact that hail and fire have been found together throughout human history? Did you know that when Mount St. Helen's erupted that what followed was hail falling to the ground and lightning striking the earth at the same time? Did you know that when the gases were belched out of Mount St. Helen's, by the way it formed its own weather system, it formed such a violent reaction in the plumes above, that it rained hail and the gases caught fire by the virtue of the lightning. This is documented not only in Mount St. Helens but all major volcanic eruptions.

Jesus said that there will be famines as a result of this. Just look at the devastation that Mount St. Helen's caused. The dust cloud circled the earth 6 times before the dust began to settle. It changed the flight patterns of air craft. It changed weather patterns all around the globe.

Exodus 9:23-26 ~ "When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.  Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields - both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were." 

So when it says that hail and fire mixed with blood, what it means is hail coming down to the earth, and gaseous explosions in the atmosphere and and when it struck the earth it killed people.

Joel 1:19-2:1 ~ "To you, O LORD I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures. Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm"

Joel 2:30-32 ~ "I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." 

This is volcanic eruptions that happen just before the Second Coming of the LORD, and it will devastate the earth. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted it cause devastation like the world had never known. If you read the eye witness accounts it was horror on a scale human history had never seen before. The Bay of Naples was unnavigatable due to a huge tsunami. (Zondervan Illustrated Background Commentary, Vol 4, Encyclopedia Britannica.) Do you know what triggers warning systems for tsunamis? There is an earthquake and the sea begins to drop and it sets off the alarm. It means you'd better head for the high ground. Why? Because when the sea drops, it comes back in a giant wave We have seen such things like this happen in history. We need to keep those things in mind.

When the judgment of God comes, punishment must fall upon this world, because of man's unbelief, the seas will suffer.

Revelation 8:8-9 ~ "The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed."

Remember when we see terms like " something like a huge mountain," means it wasn't a huge mountain. This means that something is going to impact the seas that 1/3 of those sailing on the waters and 1/3 of those living in the sea will be destroyed.

Hosea 4:3 ~ "Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beast of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying."

Zephaniah 1:3 ~ "I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea."

A polluted sea will kill 1/3 of the seas life, and 1/3 of the ocean going ships will be sunk (10,000 +). Punishment must fall upon this world because of man's unbelief, the heavens will shake.

Revelation 8:10-13 ~ "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 blast about to be sounded by the other three angels."

The Bible gives three words for the word heaven. Heavens where God lives in the spiritual realm.(2) where the stars and galaxies dwell, and (3) the atmosphere from sea level to about 126,000 feet. This means this will be impact the space heavens, like meteors or asteroids. It says a great star, blazing like a torch ( once again this is symbolism, it doesn't mean it was a torch). Think of the ecological impacts if the sun does not shine properly? Can you imagine what it will look like when a 1/3 of the stars cascade from the sky and fall to the earth? How will that happen? I don't know. The days will be radically shortened. Jesus says when people see this, their hearts will fail them, they will have heart attacks and die out of fear.

When you look the word "Wormwood" up it takes you to a study on pharmacology and leads you to a very fatal and toxic herb, a hallucinogenic, that used to be used primarily by the Europeans and most recently by now of the French, that was added to liqueur  to give you a tremendous buzz, rush or high, but it could also lead to a heart attack. But before it does that, it leads to great hallucinations. Do you remember when Jesus was on the cross, they offered Him vinegar mixed with gall?  It was a pain killer. When we look at the word "Wormwood" we have the pharmacology word, "thujone,"and it's fatal. It causes whatever it comes into contact with to turn extremely bitter, and it kills you. They actually did a study of what would happen if a meteor or comet struck the earth like what we see here, and evidence shows it would turn the waters of the earth to come forth and be bitter.  (NASA Indirectly Confirms Wormwood Prophecy).

On March 21, 1823, there was a volcanic eruption in the Aleutian21, 1823 Island and when the volcanic dust settled it poisoned the waters the dust came into contact with and it killed both animals and people.

When we look at the final verse in Revelation 8:13 ~ "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 blast about to be sounded by the other three angels."

In some Bibles we have the world eagle and in other translations it is the word angel, It means the same thing. You don't ever want to hear Jesus or an angel say, "Woe!" It means condemnation, grief, or danger! The word "Woe" in Greek, means damnation upon you. Jesus, meek and mild, says this word as well in Matthew 23:13 ~ "Woe to you, teachers of law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!"

He's saying, "Condemnation be upon you, religious people who know so much and don't practice it."

Matthew 11:21 ~ "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!" 

The city of Korazin has been annihilated from the earth. No one lives there. Jesus was warning these towns because they refused to believe when He came there. The towns of Korazin and Bethsaida are ghost towns, no one visits or stay there in Israel tours. 2000 years on the beautiful shores of the Galilee Sea.

Matthew 11:23 ~ "Woe to you Capernaum," 

What is left in the city of Capernaum is Peter's home and an old synagogue. Jesus warns this cities that of the miracle done there they should have believed but they didn't.

Luke 11:52 ~ " Woe unto you, lawyers," 

Matthew 23:16 ~ "Woe unto you, ye blind guides,"

These were people who wanted to lead others to spiritual enlightenment. Jesus proclaims damnation upon them.

Matthew 26:24 ~ "Woe unto that man who betrays the son of God" 

This is pretty serious stuff and you don't have to have anything to do with Revelation 8. It's your choice. No one knows how far away this time is, but the Bible says when the gospel is preached, you need to respond today.

Today is that day.

You know that Jesus died for your sins and He rose from the grave. Isn't it great to open your Bible and stand in the place of an empty tomb? To go to a place today that is carved like a skull, Golgotha or Calvary? What keeps you from trusting Jesus? You want more evidence? There is too much evidence! Evidence has nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with your intellect either. If you'll use your brain, you'll become a Christian.

It has to do with a spiritual issue. Are you willing today to yield to King Jesus and to receive Him? That is my prayer to those of you reading this, that you never hear the words, "Woe unto you." For you heard the Word of God in the 21st century, and you saw the evidence, for some, you even stood in the place, but you would not believe. You rejected, neglected and denied, Woe unto you! That will only be your choice. May it not be your choice today.

Jesus isn't going around saying, "Eeny, meany, miney, Woe!" to people. Notice who He says, Woe" to. The Pharisees, the scribes, the lawyers," they had formed doctrinal beliefs that we not of God. They were not Biblical. In John 3, we read that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it. The Bible says that we are all under condemnation because of our sins but that Christ has come to deliver us. All of us without Jesus are living under the sentence of condemnation, the woe! But you can have it lifted. the charges dropped, because someone has met the demands of God. All you have to do is believe and to put your trust in Him!

Do You Know About a Parenthetical Pause in Revelation?

We have just finished up the first six chapters of the Book of Revelation and we come to what is called a parenthetical insert or pause as we begin Chapter 7 today, it's God's way of pressing pause as it were, and provides us with some background information. Despite what you may hear that is going on around the world with regards to the Jews and Israel, that somehow God has abandoned them, here you will see what God's plan is for them, and how He enumerates 144,000 Hebrew Jewish believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, to present the gospel to the world. There are 12,000 from each tribe, they are Hebrew speaking, Jewish virgin men that are called by God for this special evangelistic event ministry as salvation is brought in the midst of trouble.

This is going to take us about 6 separate sessions to get through the magnitude of what is going on here as we come to a portion of Scripture that is very technical, not so much for its content but where it is placed in the Book of Revelation. Up to point, we have been walking through the book in a chronological order, and as the chronology goes on, the Lord in revealing to the apostle John futuristic events, puts a comma at the ending verse of chapter 6. In your Bible, there is a period there, but it should be a comma. God takes John's face at this point and turns him to two very specific events, phase one and phase two. things that will happen in a sense that are an overview with chapter 8 commencing the last three and a half years of the seven-year Tribulation Period. It explains some things before Chapter 8 begins. There are the first 3 1/2 years, a pause, God shows John some things which he tells us in chapter 7 and when he is finished speaking with us, then it picks back up again and it goes.

This chapter is very important in understanding the rest of this book. If you miss this chapter, you will never understand the rest of this book, and you will always be misunderstanding eschatology or the prophetic study of God's Word. We will look at the entire proximity of the first twelve verses and then begin an indepth study of just the first few today.

Revelation 7:1-12 ~ "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. 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: "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." Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000, from the tribe of Gad, 12,000, from the tribe of Asher, 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. AMEN!"

The word AMEN in Hebrew, Greek and English simply means "Let it be so, or let it be true." From the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, keep this in mind, God spoke in times past. He said, "Thus sayeth the Lord, we have heard a voice of trembling, of great fear and not of peace. Ask me now and see whether a man has ever labored in pains to give birth as a woman does. So then why do I see every man holding his hands over his lions like a woman who suffers in labor? And all their faces shall turn pale from the pain. Alas for is this great and terrible day, it has come and there is none like it. For it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but Jacob shall be delivered out of it." Jeremiah 30:5-7. 

This portion of scripture from Revelation 7, introduces us in verses 1-8, to a dynamic group of people. And it lists them to give us no doubt as to who they are. There is an introduction of 144,000 people whom God will call out from their place in this world. They will be ordained. They will be summoned. They will be called and there will be 12,000 of them coming from the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. Chapter 7 prepares for Chapter 8, that final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Period. It's going to be tough.

Remember the first 3 1/2 years has been the advent of the Antichrist, he will deceive the world through prosperity and demonic peace, he will deceive the world through a restoration or implementation of the environment, and he will be a tremendous politician. The Bible tells us that in the Old Testament, there is no doubt where he will arise, and will come out of what was, the Ancient Roman Empire, was has been affectionately labeled as the revised Roman Empire? The nations of ancient Rome, at the time of Christ and before, will come together in the last days and in that conglomeration of those nations there will arise 10 predominate leaders almost like what we have in the world today, you know like the G-7? Are you familiar with that?

They are the seven global economic powers of the world of which the United States, at least at this time is number 1, and they include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Russia is not included in this list because of the amount of debt it owes everybody. But there is more than 7 nations in all the earth isn't there? Yet these are the 7 that manipulate the world through money, and they meet every year to discuss how things are going to go. It's a very powerful group of people right now but there is a time coming, which I don't think is very far away, where we are already seeing the revised Roman Empire which is called the U.S.E. or the United States of Europe or the EU, the European Union. They will have their own dollar, now it's called the Euro, they will have their own economic base, their own leaders, and the Bible says that out of 10 predominate nations like G7 types, but it will be 10 types and will arise and broker the powers of the world that be. This will happen under the power and control of the Antichrist. Then all the events that we read about in Chapter 6 will happen and all within the first 3 1/2 years of the 7-year Tribulation Period.

Now we come to the pause in Chapter 7, where we see the focus of God on the nation of Israel. Most people who oppose what I am about to say next and it's called heresy, and they are so called Christians, and its damnable heresy to say that it is antisemitic and demonic and there are those that have lived from generation to generation that believe this: that God is done with the Jewish nation. That whatever God promised to the nation of Israel was lifted when Christ was crucified, and is now placed not only on the church but some people have been so arrogant as to believe that those promises have been lifted from the nation of Israel and have been given to the English speaking peoples of the world. That is called British-Israelism. It is a demonic doctrine.

God is not done with the nation of Israel and is in fact preparing the nation of Israel not only for its existence, but it has some horrifically tough times ahead in the Tribulation period before its glorious days that God intended for it to enjoy comes. This is very important. If you don't understand it, you better take some time to study this in the Bible. Don't buy a book on it, just read the Bible and you'll be fine. God has not given up on His people and He prophesied in the Book of Jeremiah in Chapter 30 where they will have to undergo a very tremendous and horrific time. Yet God said He would deliver Jacob out of his trouble, a time known as Jacob's trouble. What was the other name God gave to Jacob after He changed his heart? Israel! When you read about Jacob in the Bible, you are reading about Israel. Yet when God speaks through the prophet Jeremiah about this terrible time that is forthcoming, it is called the time of Jacob's Trouble or Israel's Trouble. Yet Israel shall be delivered out of it.

Psalm 94:13-14 ~ "you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance."

This is not a promise given to you and I. That is a promise given to Israel. We know however, that God will not forsake us either, but God will not forsake Israel either. This is something you need to keep in mind when you vote too! The first thing we should consider when contemplating any politician running for office is how do they feel about Israel. Why? Because I want America blessed. If you want America to be blessed, vote for someone who will support Israel! You want to see America come apart at the seams? Vote for someone who is not pro-Israel. We don't have to agree with everything Israel does, but God didn't ask us to agree with them with they do foolish things, God simply says I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you. You might not like that. It might upset you. Get your heart right with God and understand that it is God that says they, Israel, are His chosen people. God says He is not done with them.

Romans 11:1-5 ~ "I ask then: Did Gog reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah - how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me?" And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."

God's not done with Israel. For the last 2000 years the Lord has placed aside the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, but He has not neglected them. What God is doing at this time is drawing out of the world at this time, a host called the church. A bride of Christ says the Bible. Made up of Gentile believers, but when the church is raptured up out of the earth, and the 7-year Tribulation Period begins, at some point after that, it will be God dealing with Israel again. Did you know that Jesus is espoused or engaged to the church which is a Gentile but God the Father has already married her and her name is called Israel! It's very important to keep that in mind.

But God will turn the nation of Israel during the Tribulation period they will cry out to the Lord and they will find out that not only did they have a Jewish prophet they did not listen to for the last 2000 years who goes by His Greek name Jesus, but He is also their Messiah! We are going to be reading about that in Revelation 7.

Luke 19:41-44 ~ "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

Jesus is saying all these things are going to come upon you because you didn't recognize me as your Messiah! Has not that been true for the last 2000 years? They have suffered for their rejection of Him.

Romans 11:25 ~ "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in."

Just think that every time someone accepts Christ, we get one more closer to that number being fulfilled. Only God knows this but there is a number of Gentiles, that during the church age period which we are living in today, that when that number is reached, the fullness of the Gentiles will be complete. When that happens the focus of God shifts to the nation of Israel, to fulfill so much of the Old Testament prophecies. So when that number of believers is reached, the Gentile nations of believers and also those that won't believe, will be complete, God will rapture the church and then take the reins to deal with the nation of Israel and the remainder of those on the earth.

The challenge today is do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If you don't, now is the time to meet Him and accept that Jesus Christ, died on the cross for your sins and mine, and He rose again from the dead. He is the God of the Bible, read it and you will fall in love with your Creator!

Hard to Believe That Things Are Going to Get Worse, But They Are!

Only through faith in Jesus Christ, can you escape the events that are coming in a 7 year period that is coming to the earth known as the Tribulation Period, that begins the moment God removes the church or the bride of Christ, from the earth.

Chapter 15 sets up the scene for what will happen in Chapter 16, which are known as the vial or bowl judgments of the Tribulation Period. We have already studied how only Jesus Christ was found worthy to take the scroll that was sealed with 7 seals from the hand of God and as each one was opened, judgments began to transpire upon the earth. When we get to the 7th seal, that begins the 7 Trumpet judgments. On the sounding of the 7th Trumpet, we begin the 7 vial or bowl Judgments. These are the worst of all, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. These are the last of God's Judgments during the 7 years known as the Tribulation before Jesus returns in His Second Coming.

Setting of the players is where we found ourselves today. They are getting ready for the final act of warfare and most scholars believe that these 7 bowls will be completed in a matter of months. Once they begin they move rapidly until at the last bowl judgment, Jesus Christ will return to the earth in the Second Coming.

Revelation 15:1-8 ~ "Then I saw another sign in heaven great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire - and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothes in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. And one of the four living creatures gave to teh seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 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."

These are the passages of Scripture that scare people when they simply open the Bible and read them. Kinda of like, Bible roulette. You don't jump to the end, by the time we get to this point in the Bible, the earth is ripe for God's wrath. God doesn't grade on a curve.

It's like those that celebrate Christmas, but don't celebrate Christ. If you aren't celebrating Christ at Christmas, stop saying it and celebrating it. Call it something else. People however, love the money that Christmas brings in, they simply wait for it all year, but their missing the point. Christmas isn't about presents and Santa, it's about Christ!

If you don't like all this judgment stuff and God's wrath coming upon the earth, do something about it! If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you won't experience any of this. Hell, remember, is not the same as God's wrath.

God always leaves a witness for man.

Revelation 15:1 ~ " Then I saw another sign in heaven great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished."

Notice the words, "another sign?" This is the third such sign God gave to John. The first two were found in Chapter 12 of Revelation.

Revelation 12:1 ~ " And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothes with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."

We have studied this earlier in our walk through the Book of Revelation and know this refers to the nation of Israel. It must ask the questions, Is there a nation of Israel today? What role does Israel play in the past and the future of God's plan and what significance does it have to do with God?

God promises to deliver the church from that great and terrible time of God's wrath coming to the earth. What kind of groom would beat up his bride before marrying her? These Scriptures back up the fact that the Bride of Christ, the church will be spared from the Tribulation Period and the Wrath of God. He has always done so and will do it again.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 ~ "and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."

1 Thessalonians 2:19 ~ "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?"

1 Thessalonians 3:13 ~ "so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."

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

1 Thessalonians 5:9 ~ "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

This does not have to be your future, waiting on God's wrath to be dispensed, you can choose Jesus Christ and have faith in Him, and miss out on this entire experience. You definitely want to miss this one!

There is NO ONE Good Enough to Get to Heaven!

One of my favorite movies that I can watch over and over and never get bored watching is Tombstone with Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer. It conveys the movie version of the Earp brothers and the famous battle at the O.K. Corral. At one point in the movie, it seems like the Earp brothers are on the receiving end of a losing battle. The town of Tombstone has been overrun by a group of notorious gang of cowboys known by the red sashes they wear. They have a disregard for the righteous law and instead seek their own vigilantly style of disbursing judgement where it benefits them them most including keeping most of the town under their proverbial thumb. But things change when Wyatt Earp moves to Tombstone along with his brothers Virgil and Morgan and their wives in hopes of starting a new life..

But like all bad guys, the cowboy's don't like the law that the Earp brothers want to enforce in town and soon things get out of hand when Morgan is shot and killed, and Virgil is wounded so much that he can no longer act as Sheriff of Tombstone. Wyatt believes that it is based on his willingness not to take a stand as sheriff leaving his brothers with no choice but to right the wrongs. The movie takes a dramatic turn when the remaining Earp brothers pack up all their belongings and high tail it out of town, leaving the cowboys to their own brand of justice once again. In fact they mock the Earp families on their way out of Tombstone.

But that is not where it ends by a long shot. You know that Wyatt Earp, a notorious lawman quick with his guns isn't about to let this go without a justice being disbursed. In fact, one of my favorite lines of the movie is when Wyatt is about to board the train out of town with his family when the cowboys attempt one final ambush on the Earp's and Wyatt and his cohorts come out of the shadow and kill them all except for one man, Ike Clanton. He cautions him to take a message back to the rest of the cowboys, "you tell em' I'm comin', and hells comin' with me!"

And so begins Wyatt's cleasing of the earth of all the cowboys wearing red sashes and taking back all the unrighteousness they have been wrecking upon the towns they oversee.

But there is a day coming on earth, when God will do just the same to the inhabitants that are left here that didn't take the short cut to heaven by believing in the salvation of Jesus Christ before the rapture of the church. Now when the Tribulation is about to be unleashed, God's only reason for doing this is pretty much just like Wyatt's. He has given them all plenty of opportunity to repent, meaning stop doing wrong, accept Jesus Christ as salvation and follow Him. God is so patient and merciful, because He doesn't want anyone to perish.

Yes, even all those child killers, wife beaters, murderers and people you can't help but believe are so evil everyone else looks like a saint in comparison. That is the reason we shouldn't be glad when we hear people say, "I can't wait for God to judge that person, I hope he goes to Hell!" Or "They will get what they deserve one day, I just hope God comes back now!" We shouldn't rejoice over anyone being judged by God and cast away from His presence.

Every one of us deserves such judgement, but he has shown mercy to us in Christ and allowed us to experience his forgiveness and salvation. It is His nature, (meaning God's) to love and to forgive. He doesn't want to judge people but He must. Why must God judge people?

Because God is not only loving, but He is also righteous and holy. He cannot look at sin. Habakkuk 1:13 says of God, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing."(NIV)

This is the reason for Jesus Christ to come to earth and die for our sins. Because if He didn't, God couldn't stand to see us stand in His presence. It is only through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ that when we accept what He has done for us, and ask for forgiveness of our sins, we become covered by the blood of Jesus. God no longer sees us as sinful, but saved. God required blood sacrifices to atone for all sins and when Jesus came He paid the price for ALL of our sins, past, present and future.

But only those of us that have accepted the gift of Jesus Christ's sacrifice and salvation that ONLY comes through a belief in Him will have the gift of heaven when we breathe our last breath here. There is NO other way!

We can never be good enough to get to heaven on our own, no matter what kind of godly lives we live. How do I know that for a fact, it's simple. The Bible states it as truth. In Romans 3:10 "As it is written: THere is no one righteous, not even one." (NIV)

Every person believes that they are good but others aren't. How do we determine what is good, we have to take the Bible's stand for what being good means. Otherwise the standards we set for what is good is up for debate. One person has their opinion and someone else believes something different That is why we need the absolute truths the Bible defines as the standards in which we all must measure up to. Getting to heaven isn't about being good enough, on our own merits, it's only through being forgiven. Those are the only people you will find in heaven. Those that have found forgiveness in Jesus Christ, and in Him ALONE!

God takes no pleasure in judging the wicked. Ezekiel 33:11 states, "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their wicked ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!" (NIV)

It is not too late, but it will be one day. Don't you want the assurance of going to heaven when you die? Don't you want to know without a shadow of a doubt that when this life ends, it won't be THE END? All you have to do is believe that Jesus Christ was God's only Son, sent here to save you through His death on the cross. That He rose again on the third day and now sits in Heaven. Ask Him to come into your life and to forgive you of your sins. .Turn away from the sinful life you were living and instead ask Him for help to live a godly life. Without Him, you can't do this on your own! In Jesus name, AMEN!

If you sincerely prayed that prayer with your whole heart and meant it, I want to welcome you to your future home when this life is done. Who knows when the rapture of the church will happen, but if it comes after you prayed this prayer, you won't be here to see Hell coming to Earth. You will be in heaven safe from the Tribulation that is coming. When is it coming? The Bible says no man knows the day, but it will come. Don't wait until it's too late. You never know when your number will be up! Have that assurance today! If you don't take God up on this opportunity today, you are rejecting His offer by not making a choice. Hopefully you will make the right one. In fact, I have prayed if you have found your way here today, it is not by accident. God is calling your name. He is calling you to come to Him! Try Jesus, there is NO other way!

Sitting on the Fence!

Have you ever found yourself stuck in the middle of a difficult decision, not knowing quite what to do? How do you figure out what to do? How do you know that your decision will be the right path to take? Whom do you ask for help?

Hopefully your answer would be to pray first before tackling anything that you have doubts about. You never know the path that God would like for you to take. Even though you may think that the choice would be easy however, God may have something even better in store for you.

Too often we find ourselves sitting on the fence between the world of black and white. We call sitting on the fence, those areas of shades of grey. Nothing could be that simple, shouldn't we compromise? The question we should ask ourselves is do we know what is right from wrong?

In today's world, people are accepting things that they know are wrong, and calling it acceptable, and the things that should be good such as things based on Biblical teachings are now be tossed out as wrong. In Micah 3: 1-2 it states, "Should you know justice, you who hate good and love evil."It is wrong to eliminate God in government buildings, schools and churches. Sorry but it is what our country was founded on but has seemed to slide lately in favor of what the majority wants. Since when has the majority ever been right? Aren't we compromising things that we seriously shouldn't? We were once a nation that feared God, now this country wants God removed from everything except the church. Even that now is being called into question because people don't want to hear what is wrong in their lives. Are those that make the laws above the laws? But be careful, when you look in the mirror, look out for the double standard in your own life as well.

I will never apologize for my beliefs and if asked I will be prepared to share those with anyone who asks. Do you find yourself feeling less shocked when you see things on the news or in the movies because it is the new norm for you? Do you find yourself becoming more and more tolerant of that which is evil and less interested in that which is spiritual? Do you find that your words seem to have no effect on the nonbelievers you share them with?

If we don't pick a side and in this case it should be the white side of our fence, then when we try to correct someone in the error of his ways, we won't have any affect. There won't be any power in our witness because we lived a compromised life.

Our current government has done what is right in their own eyes. They need to do what is right in God's eyes instead of their own, otherwise we will continue to have problems in our country. It's like when 9/11 happened, we had people everywhere asking this country to pray, people were praying everywhere. In schools, government buildings, office buildings you name it, people that day and days that followed begged God for his help. Did you ever notice that God didn't really do anything to help this country following that tragic event? He could have exposed the terrorists responsible and had them eliminated but amazing enough, we still can't find them. It's because we never repented in our evil, greedy ways and yet still asked God for help. We were still sitting on the fence, not wanting to pick a side one way or another. We wanted our cake and eat it too! Micah 4:4, states "Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done."

Even today in the ministry, there are people that are in the ministry using it primarily to make money. They tell people what they want to hear, so that people will send in their money. But it doesn't last. Leaders and authority figures love money and they love themselves. They believe everything that they are doing is justified, but God will allow judgement to occur because of their continuing to sin. Nothing this president and his cabinet attempt to do on their own will work to restore our country. We need to change our ways.They need to change their ways and turn their hearts back to God. We can't accept things we know are wrong and accept them as right. We need to help people out and stop turning our backs when people are hurting. We need to genuinely care about people again.

You can't experience peace until you make peace with God. So as a person who claims to be a Christian shouldn't be afraid of anything. Our lives should be a reflection of what lies beneath. We shouldn't worry about offending anyone, otherwise we shouldn't be a Christian. We are the light and salt of this world and the world that is currently dwelling within the darkness it has brought upon itself, hates the light. It hates to be shown the error of it's ways because it would be forced to change, and it feels too good right now to change. Even in church there are people who will say, "I don't want to hear that!" I just want a pep talk. I want someone to to tell me what I want to hear.

Peace in our lives fails when we put our eyes on our circumstances instead of on God. Stop sitting on the fence. Stop trying to justify your actions! Stop living the lies you keep feeding yourself. Time to pick a side, there are no areas of grey in God's eyes! Time is running out for you to make that choice, do you really want to be left behind, thinking that you can always do it tomorrow?