Trump & The Middle East

I'll probably lose half my followers over this post, but so be it. The United States is under the spell of two opposing cults: the cult of Trump-worship vs the cult of Trump-hatred. Hardly anyone can see straight because of Trump. He's either sent by God to save the world, or he's a nazi worse than Hitler. If Trump said Oxygen was healthy to breath, half the country would stockpile tanks of it while the other half would hold their breath and wait to die.

We're living in Biblically prophetic times and you're not going to be able to see what's really going on through the lens of your politics. I don't care which side of the isle you're on. You've got to see it through the lens of Scripture. Only then will you be able to see what's REALLY going on.

Trump is way over his head when it comes to the Middle East and Bible Prophecy. There's not going to be peace in the Middle East until The Prince Of Peace comes. Trump can't stop Jeremiah 49:35-36 from coming, or Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Isaiah 17:1 from coming, or Psalm 83, or Ezekiel 38. No matter what Trump or the United States does, those prophecies will come to pass.

The only thing the United States should worry about concerning the Middle East is where we as a nation stand with God in His attitude toward Israel. It doesn't really matter what you and I think or whether or not Israel deserves it. What does God think? What has God said about how He deals with nations in their relationship to Israel? We better be sure we're on God's side with this issue because every nation that has ever sided against God when it comes to Israel has lived to regret it.

Why do you think 2020 went down the way it did? In Trump's first term, he started out doing everything God wanted him to do and because of that, Trump prevailed no matter what his enemies threw at him. Every single thing that the globalists and the pagan left did to take Trump out of the picture failed miserably. No matter what they tried, they failed. But as soon as Trump came out with the Abraham Accords in 2020 which would have divided the land of Israel, his presidency and this nation was hit with the C19 event, nationwide business shutdowns, fear in isolation, chaos and race riots and then finally the loss of an election that everyone presumed he would win. Trump didn't know what hit him.

The same thing will happen in 2025 if Trump doesn't get out of Israel's way and let them defend themselves. Should we be involved in helping Israel defend herself? I think we should, depending on how we do it. But we certainly shouldn't be standing in Israel's way with pathetic ceasefire agreements which we all know can't be kept.

We know from Bible Prophecy that another political figure on the horizon will confirm an agreement between Israel and her enemies. That agreement turns out to be "a covenant with death" according to God and the political figure turns out to be the Antichrist.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Don't Share Satan's Hatred For The Jews
The Antichurch

The Antichurch

Everybody's heard of the Antichrist, but not too many people know about the Antichurch. It goes by other labels in Scripture such as Jezebel, the Whore Of Babylon and the Woman Who Rides The Beast.

This demonic entity masquerades as "true Christianity" while endorsing and promoting doctrines that actually separate people from Christ. She has many character traits, but one of her most obvious is a passionate rage and hatred for Israel and the Jews.

As with all things demonic, this hatred is fueled by such a massive wave of deception that those who dwell in this hatred live in an alternate reality where Jews are guilty of everything from the common cold to the death of Jesus. (Jesus Himself did not blame the Jews for His crucifixion according to Luke 23:34.)

During the time of the Great Tribulation, also known as the time of Jacob's trouble (Israel's trouble), this false christianity will promote and endorse the Antichrist. That's why she's called "The Woman Who Rides The Beast" and "The Whore Of Babylon" in Bible Prophecy.

One of the Antichrist's goals during that time will be to completely wipe out the Jews from off the face of the earth. So it's no wonder we see people like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson in the media today. The very breath that is blown from out these people's mouths come straight from Satan's lungs.

I've never seen anything like this before in my lifetime, but I've been saying that a lot in the last 5 years.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Don't Share Satan's Hatred For The Jews
Where Are We In Revelation Right Now?

Where Are We In Revelation Right Now?

Where are we historically in the book of Revelation right now? We're between Revelation 2:18 and Revelation 3:22 which are Jesus' own words to the last days churches. After John penned and published the book of Revelation toward the end of the first century, the biggest mystery to early readers wasn't the 7 scenes in Heaven, the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets, the 7 signs, the 7 plagues or the 7 final visions. The biggest mystery to early readers was probably the easiest portion of the book to understand, which were 7 short little messages that Jesus sent to 7 churches: the church of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

In those 7 short little messages, Jesus gave those contemporary assemblies a Spiritual progress report and pep-talk. It was the easiest and least cryptic portion of the entire book of Revelation. But why those 7 churches? There were so many other churches around besides those 7, why didn't Jesus say anything to them? Why didn't Jesus send a message to the church in Jerusalem or the church in Rome? What's the real point behind Jesus sending those 7 little text-messages to those 7 churches?

Upon further investigation, the early readers of Revelation discovered that with those 7 short messages, Jesus had managed to address every individual Christian of every individual church of every church age from the 1st century to the time of the Great Tribulation. If any individual Christian will read those 7 messages, they will discover that one of those messages is specifically for them no matter what time of history they're reading. A Christian living in the 21st century, for example, can read those 7 messages and find that one of them is Jesus specifically speaking to them, addressing their problems, offering constructive criticism and encouragement. The same applies corporately for Christian assemblies. If any Church or Christian assembly will read those 7 messages, they will also discover that one of those messages is specifically written for their group.

The final application for these 7 messages is probably the most astounding. As the centuries progressed after John published the book of Revelation, it became apparent that the history of the church with all of its highs and lows had been prophetically anticipated and revealed by the order in which Jesus gave those 7 messages.

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Revelation 2:1-7 To The Assembly In Ephesus.
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The letter to Ephesus anticipated the age of apostolic planting (1st Century) which started off with a serious devotion to doctrinal purity due to the overwhelming presence of demonic doctrines that were constantly in competition with the 1st Century Church. Unfortunately, the demand for doctrinal purity became a legalistic obsession that overtook the Christian's original walk of love for the One Who bought them. This can happen to any Christian if they aren't careful. But it happened to the whole assembly in Ephesus and many other 1st century churches during this time in history.

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Revelation 2:8-11 To The Assembly In Smyrna.
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The letter to Smyrna anticipated the age of persecution (1st - 3rd Century) in which Christians were hunted down and killed by the leading governments and religious factions of the world. Being persecuted is part of the job description of being a Christian. Christians have been persecuted in all manner of ways throughout the past 2000 years. No Christian at any point in history is immune to persecution. But it was during the first three centuries that it would seem that Satan went out of his way to wipe Christians off the face of the earth.

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Revelation 2:12-17 To The Assembly In Pergamum.
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The letter to Pergamum anticipated the age of the Imperial church (4th - 6th Century) when world governments and religious factions stopped persecuting Christians and decided to work with them instead. Church and State became one and the same. The result was a massive growth of Christianity that became so large that individual assemblies had to resort to imposing hierarchies and dignitaries within each group, which had to report back to local government officials. Because world governments did not always agree with Biblical doctrine, Christianity began to compromise with governments by allowing the doctrine of other religions into their practices and teachings to keep the peace.

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Revelation 2:18-29 To The The Assembly In Thyatira.
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The letter to Thyatira anticipated the age of the Papacy (6th Century - Present Day) which began when the massive, powerful, world empire of Rome became one with the Imperial Church. Christian devotion, Christian teaching, Christian education, Christian charities and Christian outreach programs exploded all over the world. To this day, no church group can outmatch the level of giving, love, charity and outreach efforts of the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, since the Roman Empire was the pagan capital of the world, almost all of it's idolatry and paganism had been re-packaged as Christian practices under the Catholic Church to keep the followers of all religions satisfied. Rituals and formalities that once honored Zeus, Apollo, Athena & Venus became rituals and formalities to honor Jesus Christ. Demonic rituals became Christian rituals. The Holy Scriptures, which had been the ultimate authority of Christian doctrine, was usurped and replaced by the authority of the Pope and the Priestly order of the Roman Catholic Church. In time, political conquests and outreach ministries became married to one another which resulted in campaigns of converting people into Christianity at the point of a sword.

In recent centuries, all manner of outrageous occultic spiritualism and idolatry has been embraced by the Roman Catholic Church under various Christian aliases. In the 21st Century, many Christian groups (both Catholic & Protestant) began to embrace "a larger view of Christianity" which marries itself into Islam, Hinduism, the New Age and every religion on the planet. This hybrid spirituality is accepted, promoted and will one day be lead by the Roman Catholic Church. Islam's Queen of Heaven and the Catholic's interpretation of the Virgin Mary are one and the same. This is also where the "coexist" movement is going, for those of you who may have seen those bumper stickers on people's cars.

Not all Catholics hold to these occultic and idolatrous strongholds of Roman Catholicism, which is why Jesus made a point to clarify in this letter who the targets are of His commendations and His threats. To those who do not hold to these demonic doctrines, Jesus has nothing but good things to say. To those who DO hold these demonic doctrines, Jesus makes the most violent threat found in any of the 7 letters. He promises that He will personally kill the idolatrous promoters and their followers during the time of the Great Tribulation.

In other words, faithful Christians within the Roman Catholic Church will be raptured outta here before the Great Tribulation. Those left behind in the Roman Catholic Church after the rapture (who aren't true Christians) will be joined by the false Christians who are left behind within protestant and non-denominational groups. Together, they will broaden their idolatry by aligning themselves with the Antichrist and will endorse the Beast of Revelation. This super-satanic religion under the banner of Christianity is prophetically called, "The Woman Who Rides The Beast" in Revelation 17.

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Revelation 3:1-6 To The Assembly In Sardis.
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The letter to Sardis anticipated the age of the Protestant Reformation (16th Century - Present Day) in which individual Christians rediscovered their roots in Biblical authority. The Bible was translated into English and many other languages for the first time under great protest and persecution from the Roman Catholic Church. The re-awakening of Biblical Christianity started a movement within Europe that migrated over into the United States, a land free from persecution. In the United States, a Christian could rely on the Bible to define their faith instead of the Roman Catholic Church.

As Christian groups studied the Scripture, they each segregated into different denominational groupings that complimented their interpretations. All denominations agreed to the vitals of the Christian faith while agreeing to disagree over everything else. While this age of church history was rich and vibrant in its founding, reestablishing the Word of God as it's ultimate authority, it wasn't long before most of its churches became dead in their formalities. Today, most denominational churches are merely churning through the motions, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.

Before Jesus has anything nice to say to Sardis, He accuses them of being spiritually dead and admonishes them to wake up before what little there is left among them dies also. He also warns them that if they don't wake up from their spiritual coma, they will be caught off guard by HIS RETURN when He comes! I've noticed this among most of today's denominational churches. They have no idea where we are in prophetic history because they choose not to teach Bible prophecy. Much like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, they can't interpret the signs of the times; neither are they interested.

Then after painting with a broad brush, Jesus clarifies that there are a few exceptions among the members of denominational churches that are still awake and haven't soiled themselves in their coma. It is from out of the snoring of the sleeping church that two church groups escape and make up the following two church ages: Philadelphia and Laodicea.

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Revelation 3:7-13 To The Assembly In Philadelphia.
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The letter to Philadelphia anticipated the age of individual Christians, missionaries and Bible-based assemblies of small numbers (18th Century - Present Day) outside the traditional confines of either Catholic or Protestant Denominationalism. Personally, I would call this the "Reformation 2.0" with the same motives and objectives of the first reformation, only this time getting it right and going all the way; getting the focus away from church buildings and religious ritualism and returning the Christian assembly back to its roots: Home-Prayer, Home-Bible-Study, living out the Christian life daily and faithfully in the power of the Holy Spirit, gaining support and giving support to other Christians along the way who are engaging in the same walk, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

No focus is made on church buildings or on which days to worship because the small Philadelphian assembly can meet in people's living rooms as often as they wish. Since the Christian walk is a constant way of life for Philadelphians and not just a religious ritual that's performed once a week, they may desire to meet as often as 7 nights a week. No one has to force a Philadelphian Christian to assemble with other Philadelphian Christians. You don't have to "get them in the mood" to talk about Spiritual things. They're always in the mood for it. There are no rules or regulations about where to meet or how often because they aren't necessary.

Philadelphian Christians might visit or attend a local church, but their attendance is merely an additive or a supplement to their walk, not the walk itself. Their loyalties are to Christ and His Word and to their fellow brothers and sisters in the Family of God, not to any local church group or pastor.

Jesus has nothing but good things to say to the Philadelphian assembly and encourages them with a promise that they would be raptured outta here before the time of the Great Tribulation. I've noticed this among most of today's Philadelphian Christians. They have a healthy anticipation for the imminent rapture. They have a healthy and progressive grasp on where we are in prophetic history because they choose to learn all of the Bible, including Bible prophecy which makes up more than a third of the entire Bible.

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Revelation 3:14-22 To The Assembly Of The Laodiceans.
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The letter to Laodicea anticipated the age of lukewarm Christianity (20th Century - Present Day) which Jesus found disgusting enough to induce vomiting. Much like the Philadelphian Christians, the Laodicean Christians felt an urgent and desperate need to wake up and escape the sleeping church of Sardis. But unlike Philadelphia who accomplished this by returning to the Bible, Laodicea simply took Sardis and made it contemporary.

Choirs were abolished. The same old hymns of the past 400 years were replaced with contemporary pop/Christian music. Organs and pianos were replaced with guitars and drums. Church hymnals were replaced with overhead projectors. Suits and ties were replaced with blue-jeans and t-shirts. And last but not least, the slow-moving, white-headed preacher was replaced with a young, outgoing and charismatic fellow who could double for a stand-up comedian.

While there isn't anything wrong with newer music, guitars and drums, overhead projectors, casual attire and upbeat speakers, the Laodicean reasoning behind it is what's sickening. It's as if the dead church of Sardis were a man going through his mid-life crisis grasping for relevancy in a modern culture. Instead of turning to the timeless wisdom of Scripture for relevancy, they turn to the culture.

Ladies, you know how you feel when you see a man over 50 wearing the latest teen fashions, driving a brand-new red convertible with a young 20-something leaning on his shoulder as they zoom down the main drag listening to Meghan Trainor, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift? That's how Jesus feels when he looks at a Laodicean church.

It's gotten so much worse in recent years. Many of these churches today have no problem integrating worship with entertainment. Their worship leaders run around on stage like Aerosmith and they've got explosions and smoke screens to go with them. Their pastors include both men and women, gay and straight and even transgendered. The church properties include bowling alleys, movie theaters, internet cafes, clothing stores, music stores, etc... It's as if none of these people remember why Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple.

What's worse, is that in order to remain relevant with the latest cultural trends, the Laodicean church is willing to water down, skip-over, delete and/or compromise immovable doctrines of Scripture, without even admitting it. At least Thyatira has the guts to deny Biblical authority while standing behind demonic doctrine. Laodicea stands behind demonic doctrine while claiming to actually believe the Bible from cover to cover!

Being a Lukewarm Christian doesn't mean what a lot of people think it means. It doesn't have anything to do with backsliding or how passionate you are for the Lord. Jesus uses the term "lukewarm" to describe the Church of the Laodiceans who are neither cold nor hot, who are neither backslidden nor passionate, who are neither asleep in their faith nor on fire for the Lord. This church is filled with lost people who were never even saved, but are playing church anyway.

Every other church that Jesus addresses is called a church "IN" the town that's addressed. Only in Laodicea does He refer to them as the church "OF" the town that's addressed. In other words, Laodicean (lukewarm) Christians make themself God. They make up their own rules for what is and isn't sin and they make up their own rules for atonement. The Blood of Jesus isn't covering their sins because they either don't know about it, don't believe in it or they don't think it's necessary. According to what Jesus says to them, He's never even been invited into their church. He's outside, knocking to get in, puking His guts out.

Jesus responds to the Laodiceans with a wake up call. While these merchants believe themselves to be rich, wealthy and in need of nothing, Jesus tells them that they're wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Since buying and selling is all they understand, He tells them to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, that they may be rich (Jesus' Sacrifice); and white garments, that they may be clothed (Jesus' Righteousness), that the shame of their nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint their eyes with eyesalve, that they may see (Holy Spirit).

So where are we in the book of Revelation? We're between Revelation 2:18 and Revelation 3:22. All of us reading this right now in May of 2025, fall into one of these categories: we're either in Thyatira, in Sardis, in Philadelphia or we're of Laodicea. Where do you see yourself? How do you feel about Jesus' own personal words to you in 2025?

RECOMMENDED READING:
The Antichurch

By Death Or Rapture: Your Pets Will Go To Heaven

Your pets go to Heaven when they die according to Romans 8:19-23. This isn't a theory or a hope, it's a Biblical fact. I've given people Romans 8:19-23 before when they ask me about animals in heaven and for some reason, they don't see it. So let me break this down and show it to you.

Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature (animals) waits (consciously expecting, waiting) for the manifestation (the appearing) of the sons of God (resurrected Christians).

Romans 8:20 For the creature (the animal) was made subject to vanity (was forced under the curse of death), not willingly (not according to their will, which means they have a will, this went against their will), but by reason of Him (God) who hath subjected the same in hope (hope in the resurrection as described in the next verse),

Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself (the individual animals themselves) also (not just humans, but animals also) shall be delivered (saved) from the bondage of corruption (death) into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Heaven: The same Heaven where God's children will be.).

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation (all living things on the earth) groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now (they're all conscious of pain and death and they don't like it any more than we do)

Romans 8:23 And not only they (the animals), but ourselves also (us human beings too!), which have the firstfruits of the Spirit (human beings who've been given the Holy Spirit because they're saved), even we ourselves groan within ourselves (even we Christians groan about the pain and corruption of death), waiting (just like the animals are waiting in verse 19) for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (The resurrection.)

There ya have it. It's right there.

This doesn't mean you have to be a vegetarian or become an animal rights advocate, it just means that animals are waiting for the resurrection like we are and they know it will happen for them when it happens for those of us who are adopted into the Family of God.

I think one of the main reasons why so many Christians don't see this even after reading it in their own Bibles is because most modern translations render the Greek word "ktisis" in verses 19, 20 and 21 as "creation" instead of "creature" and their reasoning for doing that is because the KJV rendered "ktisis" as "creation" in verse 22. Since it's the same word being used in all four verses, modern translators assumed the King James translators must have made a mistake in the first three. But those modern translators should have done more homework. The King James translators knew exactly what they were doing.

The Greek word "ktisis" can either mean creation as a whole, or an individual creature within the creation. (The same way we would use the word "fish" to denote a school of fish or a single fish.) In order to translate that accurately into English, the King James translators rendered it "creation" in verse 22 because Paul was obviously talking about the whole of creation in that verse. But in verses 19, 20 and 21, the King James translators rendered it "creature" because in those sentences, Paul was obviously referring to individual animals who expect and wait, which means they have consciousness (verse 19), who suffer against their will, which means they have a will (verse 20), who wait and expect to be delivered from their own suffering and death (verse 21).

One of the most often question I get is the question of what happens to our pets at the Rapture. Will they come with us?

While Romans 8:19-23 proves to us that animals go to Heaven when they die, can we take what it says in verse 19 literally to mean that animals are actually waiting for the Rapture themselves? Is that what it's saying? I know that sounds crazy, but it appears to me that's what it's actually saying! It says they're waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God so that they can be set free from the bondage of death just like the rest of us.

The "sons of God" in this passage is referring to resurrected Christians. So animals are waiting to see the manifestation of resurrected Christians so that they can be set free from the bondage of death. When do Christians manifest as resurrected Christians? At the Rapture! So it sounds like they're going with us to me!

An arguement against that might be that even though we're resurrected into Heaven at the Rapture, we aren't actually manifested as "sons of God" to the world until we come back with Christ after the Great Tribulation. While that view is filled with assumptions about what the Rapture will look like to the world, it also violates the whole point of Paul's comparison. It doesn't fit the flavor of this passage at all.

Paul is comparing our waiting for THE RESURRECTION under the bondage and pain of death to the animals waiting for THE RESURRECTION under the bondage and pain of death. He's saying that we're both waiting for THE RESURRECTION under the bondage of pain and death. We're both waiting for a single event: THE RESURRECTION. Christians aren't going through the Great Tribulation so why would Paul compare us to the animals if they were going through the Great Tribulation to die and be resurrected later?

Besides, all symbolic models of the Rapture in the Bible show the animals going with us. There were more animals on Noah's Ark than there were human beings. On the night of the 1st Passover, when the angel of death came for the first born, all of the first born were killed from the 1st born of Pharaoh to the 1st born of his servants to the 1st born of their livestock. But for those who had lamb's blood on their door, the 1st born were saved INCLUDING the 1st born of their livestock. When Israel escaped Egypt altogether, their animals came with them. In every case that we see God pouring His wrath upon the earth, we also see God saving His own people first before He does it and we also see their animals being saved with them. Every time.

So I believe with all of my heart that they're coming with us. I've prayed about this and that's the conclusion that I believe the Lord has led me to personally, but I can't prove it Biblically other than the examples I've given above. There's probably much more to back it up, but I haven't discovered it yet.

It's just common sense, folks. Who is our Father? What kind of God do we have? Who is our Lord Jesus?

If we decided we were going to pack up and leave our home for 7 years to go on some exotic vacation, do you think the Lord would approve of us leaving our pets behind without any thought or concern for their well-being? Certainly not! Proverbs 12:10 says that the righteous man regards the well being of his animal so I can't see God taking us in the Rapture and not bringing our animals with us. They're members of the family.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Yes, Animals DO Go To Heaven When They Die!
Yes, Animals STILL Go To Heaven When They Die! (2016 Update)
Why Is This So Hard ?

Don't Share Satan's Hatred For The Jews

Every land, every nation and every country on this earth is allowed to defend itself from its enemies EXCEPT ISRAEL. They're supposed to just sit there and take it. You see, Satan hates the Jews. He hates the Jews even more than he hates Christians. It's through the Jews that God gave us the Law. It's through the Jews that God gave us the Bible. It's through the Jews that God gave us His Son and His Blood Atonement for our sins. And it's through the Jews that God will one day overthrow the antichrist and establish His Kingdom on this earth putting Jesus on David's Throne in Israel. Satan knows it and he hates them with a passion and has tried to wipe them out over and over again. All hatred for the Jews comes straight from Satan's heart. All "reasons" for hatred toward Jews comes from Satan's lies and propaganda. Don't share in Satan's hatred for Jews. It's a disease that will overthrow your mind and all manner of good sense and turn you into nothing more but one of Satan's useful idiots.

RECOMMENDED READING:
In Review: A Quick Crash Course On Israel
The Antichurch

Post-Trib Views That Cancel Each Other

Here are two popular arguments against the Rapture that cancel each other out. (1) The Rapture is a recent concept invented by American Christians in only the last hundred years or so and has never been believed or taught up until then. (2) The word Rapture doesn't even appear anywhere in the Bible so it's all made up.

(1) This is what's known as a straw man argument. The validity of the Rapture or any other Biblical doctrine shouldn't be accepted or rejected by its popularity. The validity of all things should be checked through Scripture. It doesn't matter what other Christians say or how many of them have said it or when, the only thing that matters is what the Bible says.

(2) The word Rapture itself doesn't appear in the Bible because our Bibles are written in English. The word Rapture itself was carried over into our vernacular when the Bible was still being read from the Latin translations. It comes from 1st Thessalonians 4:17. The original Greek used the word "Harpazo" which means to be "caught up" or "snatched up and taken" or "seized by force and taken" and so our English translated the word "Harpazo" into the words "caught up" but the Latin translation was "Rapere" or in some cases "Rapturo". So the subject of this event became known as "The Rapture Of The Church" long before the English translations were even in circulation.

So as you can see, these 2 arguments cancel each other out. They try to say that only Americans in the last 100 years or so believed in the Rapture and yet, the word itself comes from the Latin Bible which has been in circulation since the 4th century!!! This is probably why I've heard many Protestants who are against the Rapture say, "The Rapture is a Catholic doctrine. It's not Biblical." But I've also heard many Catholics say that the Rapture is a doctrine that they don't agree with because it came out of the Protestant Reformation. LOL!!!

RECOMMENDED READING:
We're Going Home: The Rapture
The Anger Of Post-Tribulationists

The Anger Of Post-Tribulationists

Jesus wasn't killed by demon possessed people, nor was he killed by atheists or agnostics or people who loved to sin. He wasn't killed by drinkers or smokers or drug dealers or people with tattoos or body piercings. Jesus was killed by the respected religious leaders who thought they knew everything. And the same spirit that was behind their actions are alive and well today!!!

The Scriptures taught them that their Messiah would come down from out of the sky with great power and wonder to overthrow the devil, overthrow the curse and overthrow the dictatorships of the world with great wrath and vengeance.

But the Scriptures also taught them that their Messiah would FIRST be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, ride into town on a donkey, be rejected by His own people and then be killed while taking upon the sins of the world.

The religious leaders latched onto those FINAL prophesies about His coming after the Tribulation while ignoring the FIRST prophecies of what their Messiah would do before then. And they were very angry with people who paid any attention to those FIRST prophecies. So they raged and lied about where those beliefs came from and as soon as they could, they arrested Jesus and had Him killed.

But by ignoring those FIRST prophecies, they actually fulfilled them. And Jesus pitied them and said, "Father, forgive them for they know NOT what they do." They were the world's first "Post-Tribulation" religious leaders.

Today's "Post-Tribulation" religious leaders are making the same mistakes all over again and with them comes the same rage and anger of those who killed Jesus. It's the same spirit of pride and arrogance. It's the same spirit of rage. It's the same spirit of ignorance and Biblical illiteracy simply because "THEY KNOW" so they think.

Just like the Pharisees did, today's religious leaders have all the doctorates in theology, they have all the PHD's, they have all the titles and labels of authority granted to them by all the various religious organizations and churches. They have all the radio and TV shows on religious broadcasting. They have most of the christian YouTube channels and Facebook Pages. They have their angry and enraged minions all over blogs and comment threads. They have everything EXCEPT the Bible to back them up.

Just like the Pharisees did, today's religious leaders resort to conspiracy theories and lies about where these other Biblical prophecies come from. They don't believe in the Bible prophecies about Jesus picking up His Bride before He pours out His wrath upon a Christ rejecting world. They say it's a lie. They say it isn't Biblical. They claim it's an invented fantasy that nobody believes anywhere in the world except the United States. They claim it was never held by the church until the 19th century or so. They claim it was invented by either Darby or Scofield and that it's nowhere found in the Bible even though it's glaring them in the face in places such as:

1st Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
John 14:1-4
1st Corinthians 15:51-52
Isaiah 26:19-21
Revelation 3:10-11

They ignore all these!!! They ignore every one of them and they say, "Nobody believed this until Darby and Scofield and it's just an American idea." Instead of making straw man arguments, why don't they ever try refuting those passages listed above? What would they say to Isaiah, John, Paul and most of all Jesus for daring to challenge their brilliance and intellectual prowess? I guess they think Jesus, Paul, John and Isaiah were Americans who read from Darby.

And folks!!! I'm just pulling those passages from memory!!! There's more!!! The whole Bible speaks of this coming event. Jesus Himself is looking forward to this event with great anticipation while telling us to look up and be excited about it, to hope for it and to even pray for it!!

We're told to always be ready and watch because we don't know the day or the hour of His coming. How could we possibly do that if we're supposed to believe He isn't coming until after the Great Tribulation?

We haven't seen a single day of the Tribulation yet. Where's the antichrist? Where's the great hailstones of fire and blood from the sky? Where's the giant demonic locusts that come out of the pit? Where's the worldwide government? Where's the worldwide religion? Where's the 3D image of the AI Beast that we're supposed to worship?

How are we supposed to expect Jesus at any moment if all these other things are supposed to happen first? How could Jesus ask us to expect Him at any moment if all these other things are supposed to happen first?

He hasn't. He's promised to come BEFORE THESE EVENTS!!!!

AND THAT'S WHAT'S BIBLICAL.

RECOMMENDED READING:
We're Going Home: The Rapture
Post-Trib Views That Cancel Each Other

Thinking Of Heaven & Why Jesus REALLY Died

It's that time of year again when Christians remember what Jesus did at the Cross and how He was resurrected 3 days later. But what's more important to me is WHY He did it, WHAT it accomplished and all that we have to look forward to because of it.

He did so much more than just make it possible for people to get into Heaven. He reconciled ALL THINGS unto Himself according to Colossians 1:20 which includes the entire physical and spiritual creation. That includes every animal that has ever perished or will ever perish and every blade of grass and every tree. Jesus didn't say He would make a bunch of new things for Heaven, He said He would make ALL THINGS NEW according to Revelation 21:5.

Everything that was lost in the beginning of Genesis gets restored at the end of Revelation. That may even include the little town you grew up in that's been destroyed by overpopulation or what some people call progress. Jesus didn't die just to get people into Heaven, He died to bring Heaven back to earth and make it one just as it was before the fall and even better.

Christians don't think about Heaven as much as they should because we've all been told that we can't even imagine it according to 1st Corinthians 2:9 so why even try? But when I read that verse, I look at it as God's way of giving us permission to go ahead and try to imagine it because no matter what our mind comes up with, the reality will be even better.

Whenever someone wraps up a gift and tells you that you'll never guess what's in there, does that stop you from trying? Isn't that half the fun? And we can actually discuss our guesses with the Lord while we wait to receive our slice of Heaven. Why not? The Lord might even show you passages in the Bible that shape and inspire your thoughts about Heaven.

Another reason why Christians don't think about Heaven is because they've somehow unconsciously adopted the idea that it's going to be like a 24 hour church service every day for all eternity. Why in the world would God do that to His children? Jesus didn't die for an eternal church service. Oh there's gonna be lots of praising going on, no doubt about that, but not the kind of praises we see in churches down here.

Another reason why Christians don't like to think about Heaven is because many of us, despite our siding with God in most of our ways, we still like having the personal freedom to sin if we want to. A lot of us are afraid of what it's going to feel like when that ability to sin is suddenly gone. But that's backwards. The reason why we won't have the ability to sin anymore in Heaven won't be because our new bodies will restrain us from sinning, it will be because our new bodies won't have Satan's viral hacks in them that make us want to sin like they do down here. We don't even know what that's like because we've never lived in a body that wasn't already hacked by the enemy. Our new bodies in Heaven are going to give us nothing but liberty and freedom. Besides, a lot of the sins down here are classified as sins because they're hurtful to our mortal bodies. Will they still be called sins in Heaven if our bodies there are immortal and can't be hurt? One way or another, in Heaven, we'll be able to do everything we want to do and it will never be wrong to do it. Jesus didn't die to force us into a fearful performance-based relationship with Him. He died to set us free!!

Jesus also died to undo everything that Satan has done. He died so that everything that perishes will be restored. He died so that everyone who deserves to die or fears to die will not have to die but live forever. Jesus died to bring all of us home who will let Him.

We have so much to look forward to and Satan has done his very best to keep God's children from thinking about it, talking about it or even knowing about it. He certainly doesn't want us looking forward to it. He's got various groups classifying everything under doctrinal labels so scholars can argue and debate everything to the point of insanity. Pre-Trib vs Post-Trib, Calvinism vs Arminianism, etc... Debates about what "repentance" really means. Lordship salvation debates. All of these issues are certainly important to settle in our own minds, but they often keep us from focusing on the big picture.

How in the world are we supposed to convince anybody to receive Jesus as their Savior when we don't even act like we have anything to look forward to? Is it really just about escaping Hell? Is that all there is to it? What kind of a message does that send? "Jesus died so I could go to Heaven. I'm not really looking forward to it because I don't know much about it, I don't talk about it, I don't think about it because I can't even imagine it, but at least it's not Hell." Wow! There's a billboard sign for ya!! There's a bumper sticker!! There's a T-Shirt!! Wow!! And yet, that's exactly how we behave. We make Christianity all about how we behave and live between our salvation and our death down here. And that's NOT why Jesus died. THAT'S NOT WHY JESUS DIED!!!

Jesus didn't die to make our lives better down here. He died to get us outta here!! Life doesn't even begin until we finally get outta here!! That's what it means to BE SAVED! We aren't saved like a collection of stamps in a book. We're saved as in RESCUED like someone whose saved from a burning building that's being burned to the ground.

How many of you were blessed with a talent that you could have exercised but didn't because the urgent concerns of the world and other people always got in the way? How many of you can play the piano, sing, create art, write books, play sports, but never got beyond a certain point because the normalness of this world just wouldn't get out of the way? Jesus died to give us the platforms and the avenues to exercise these gifts openly and abundantly in our futures in Heaven. Everything that held us back down here will be gone up there. Our talents and gifts will be freed up in Heaven in ways beyond our highest hopes and dreams.

Jesus died to fulfill a multitude of promises, among them being 1st Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11 which we discussed in great detail here.

Whether by resurrection or by rapture, this is what I'm looking forward to most and every wonderful thing that will happen after it. I expect to not only see Jesus face to face, but every loved one that has gone before me, including old friends I've known since childhood that were taken away far too early. I'm expecting to see my Nannie and my Papaw again and hearing their wonderful voices and laughter. I'm expecting to see every precious cat and dog I've ever known. I'm expecting to see every old neighborhood and town with its own culture fully restored as though the passing decades have never passed. I'm looking forward to going home!! It's called home!!

So many Christians are quick to say, "This world is not our home. We're just passing through." But then they don't act like they really believe that. They continue to focus on the here and now and place God's promises in that limited context without remembering what they claim to believe about this world not being our home. Focusing on our Heavenly home will energize us for our work down here that we're all having to do until we finally reach home. Without that focus, it makes everything look like a dead end.

Jesus died to get us home!! Our REAL home. And THAT'S what this time of year means to me.

The Modern Ouija Board

A Ouija Board is nothing but a piece of wood (or cardboard) with letters, numbers, a Yes/No option and the word "goodbye" written on it. There's nothing evil or demonic about the letters, the words or the hardware. But using it to talk to someone who isn't really there will eventually result in an encounter with a demonic intelligence who will manipulate and deceive or worse.

The same is true with the classic 8-Ball toy or the modern equivalent. There's nothing evil or demonic about the hardware or the sentences written inside. But using it to talk to someone who isn't really there will eventually result in an encounter with a demonic intelligence who will manipulate and deceive or worse.

Today's chatbots, Grok or otherwise are nothing more than pieces of advanced software with brilliant code written to artificially simulate human intelligence with it's own ability to think, reason, communicate and even perform as a result of the input that it's given. And that's just a small portion of what A.I. can do and what it is destined to do in the near future. There's nothing evil or demonic about the software itself or the coding written inside which makes it work. But using it to talk to someone who isn't really there will eventually result in an encounter with a demonic intelligence who will manipulate and deceive or worse.

Imagine a Ouija Board that is no longer limited to a few words and 26 letters, but now has an entire dictionary, multiple encyclopedias and the entire internet at its disposal for quick answers, the ability to ask itself it's own questions, with endless storage capacity, processing speeds and self-reproducing, self-teaching learning capacities. AI Chatbots are Ouija Boards on steroids but it won't stop there.

This world is about to see Ouija Boards with arms and legs walking around with human faces and emotions. People will work with them, have sex with them, marry them, become best friends with them. And according to Bible Prophecy, people will worship them.

It's very interesting to see where we are right now.

Getting Into Heaven Isn't Hard

Getting into Heaven is the easiest thing in the world you'll ever do. You just let Him do it and then BELIEVE HIM for doing it.

It's not about you changing your life, becoming religious, or any of that crap. It's just about you letting Jesus take the death penalty (which He's already done) to pay for every possible sin YOU have ever committed or would ever commit. And then it's done! You're sealed for eternity!!!

The only thing about this that makes it hard is all the crap you'll get from both sides either hating on you for doing it or hating on you for not doing enough to deserve it, like any of us could ever do that if we tried.

Please just let Him do it!! It's just like a balance transfer of credit card debt except in Jesus' case, He bought the whole bank!! Let HIM cover your debt and be free!! That's all there is to it. Anybody who says there's more to it than that are the reason why nobody wants to get saved because they think they'll have to stop cursing or stop listening to their favorite music or give up this or stop doing that and those are totally separate issues!!!!

You Christians that weigh people down with all the stuff that they need to do or stop doing to get into Heaven should STFU and STFD!!!! You're in the way!!!! Why don't you Christians just let Jesus save these people and then let JESUS worry about all the things in their life that needs to change? It's not your problem!! Shut up!!

After they're saved, if they come up to you and ask you, "Josh, what does the Bible say about xyz?" THEN you can tell them what it says. But you are no authority on anything, it's all about HIM and HIS Word, not about you and what you think.

We're all on a sinking ship right now and it's not coming back, I don't care how good things are looking with the water pumps on deck, there's a 100 foot wide hole in the hull below deck that nobody's paying any attention to right now. Just get people in their life jackets and onto the lifeboats!! Do you really wanna ask these people on a sinking ship to turn their life around before giving them a life jacket? What's the matter with you? That's not how this works!!

RECOMMENDED READING:
Salvation Isn't Based On Performance
Jesus Does The Saving, Not Me

Don't Pray Like A Witch

Witchcraft is being practiced as spiritual warfare in many christian ministries today. These ministries are using the bait and switch technique to bait you with what sounds like solid Biblical teaching and then after they've gained your trust, they switch over to teachings of witchcraft under the banner of spiritual warfare.

Prayers are no longer really prayers as they become more like magic spells with specific phrases and formulas in order to master the spiritual forces in your life be they demonic or otherwise. But that's not prayer!

Prayer is supposed to be fellowship with the Lord, not an incantation. Your talking to God and He's listening. That's prayer. It's not a platform for you to invoke forces into action, that's God's business what He does and how He answers your prayer! You don't need to tell God what to do with His angels on your behalf and you certainly don't need to be talking or listening to angels.

If you're saved, then you have God The Holy Spirit sealed to your spirit and He's living inside of you 24/7/365. You have God Himself at your disposal. Why in the world would you want to waste time talking to angels when you've got the commander of all the angels listening to every word you have to say?

You don't need to address each and every single demonic entity to bind them in the name of Jesus either. I once listened to some guy on YouTube spend over an hour binding and loosing every demonic spirit you could think of from A to Z and I kept thinking, "DUDE!! Read Psalm 35!! All you need to do is ask the Father in the name of Jesus to nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

If 90 % of your prayer is devoted to telling Satan and demons what to do, then it's not really a prayer.

Folks, please, please, please, ask the Lord for wise and godly discernment and try to put on the Belt of Truth which is the Word of God. The Bible is our safety net for all these things.

Yes, the enemy attacks us daily. But the answer to that isn't talking to the enemy all day long telling him what to go do with himself. The answer is telling our God, our Abba Father, in the name of Jesus, what's going on and let Him handle it. All throughout the Psalms are prayers to God to intercede on our behalf.

Yes, I'm aware that Jesus gave us the power and authority to cast out demons in His name, but that's for when you come upon demonic manifestations in possessed individuals or something weird going on in your bedroom at 2 o'clock in the morning, not for you to identify every wicked circumstance, thought and desire as a spirit to be bound.

Where do we find Peter or Paul or any of the New Testament Saints praying, "I bind the spirit of poverty, I bind the spirit of depression, I bind the spirit of anger, I bind the spirit of lust," and on and on and on. You don't get rid of that garbage by binding it in the name of Jesus, you get rid of it by talking with the Lord about it as it happens. You acknowledge to Him what's going on and then let Him have it.

Prayer is much more powerful than any magic spell. It's a direct line of communication with God who listens and can't wait to answer. Do you think God needs me to tell Him how to dispatch angels? How stupid is that? If you're doing that, quit it!!!

It's not complicated.

Be cautious of any ministry or christian online or anywhere who claims to have special divine revelation. Run away from that.

Be cautious of any ministry that seems arrogant or narcissistic about their abilities via their knowledge, their wisdom, their experience with fighting demons. Those people aren't working for the Lord. They're working for Satan.

This wasn't a carefully written article like I usually do. This was a rant. And for now, the rant is over. I have to go eat. Bye.

Are Things Out Of Control ?

We like to be in control. It's a good feeling. Even when we're praying, reading our Bibles and trusting in the Lord, we still feel like we're in control of our lives to some degree and it's up to us to figure things out and make things happen.

"God gave you a brain, so use it" is a popular quote. "God's helps those who help themselves" is another one. But neither of these are found anywhere in the Bible because that's not the way God wants us thinking. Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

In order for us to learn this, God will sometimes derail everything in our lives and throw us into a no-win situation so that we have no choice left but to trust Him and ONLY Him. Those are the moments when we find out who we really are and who God really is.

Jesus Does The Saving, Not Me

When a fireman breaks into a burning building and picks up an unconscious body off the floor of a smoke filled room, does he expect anything from that powerless body in order to get them both to safety?

Does a good shepherd take full responsibility to keep his sheep safe or does he expect the sheep to keep themselves safe?

Jesus is called "The Savior" for a reason! Once He saves you, you can never be lost again. Jesus didn't pave the way to make it easier for us to save ourselves. He went all the way and saved us.

You'll eventually find people online and even some pastors teaching that a person can lose their salvation if they do this or that or if they don't do this or that, but it's not Biblical. We are not co-saviors with Jesus, He is THE Savior and the very word "saved" means "saved". It's done. The very tense of the word means it's already happened.

Once you're born again, you cannot become unborn. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are "sealed with the Holy Spirit" which means, it's permanent. And I'm so glad. If it were possible for any of us to lose our salvation, we'd probably find a way to lose it. I know I would have countless times.

"But Josh!!! But Josh!!! Isn't that a license to sin?"

Of course not. Our relationship with God and our relationship with sin is permanently changed after we're saved. When we accepted the Blood of Jesus as payment for our sins, we were declared NOT GUILTY and all of the divine charges of our life's sin (past, present, future) were completely paid for by Jesus Himself.

Now that the trial is over, we've been adopted as God's children. So our post-salvation sins are dealt with parentally, not judicially.

Sometimes we'll get a talking to, other times a time-out, other times we'll be forced to learn a painful but valuable life lesson and other times we'll get a divine spanking that really hurts. If we get really outta hand, He might call us home early. But we will never lose our salvation. We will always be His children and Heaven will always be our home.

"But Josh!!! But Josh!!! What about works!!!"

The only work we have to do is to "believe in the One Whom the Father has sent" according to Jesus in John 6:29. After we're saved, the Holy Spirit through our faith will produce more works in time BECAUSE we are saved, not in order to keep us saved.

I had a fellow debate me at an all-night restaurant until 4:30 in the morning about whether or not salvation could be lost. I was 20 or 21 years old at the time and it was my first encounter with such thinking and I couldn't believe it.

He never understood that it's Jesus who does the saving, not us. We don't contribute anything to our righteousness. Just as Jesus didn't contribute to my sin when he took them upon Himself on the cross, I don't contribute to His righteousness when I take upon myself His righteousness. It's a gift paid for by His blood. I don't bring anything to the table. He saved me. Period. I don't have to do anything else.

All that we do after we're saved is a free will offering of love BECAUSE we are saved, not to keep us saved. So yeah, it's a thing. You'll hear people argue about this. But Jesus said He gave us ETERNAL life. How eternal could it be if we could lose it?

RECOMMENDED READING:
Getting Into Heaven Isn't Hard
Salvation Isn't Based On Performance

The Bride & Her Groom

From the beginning of Jesus' ministry, while proclaiming He came for the Jews first and then the Greeks next, He continued to allude to those who would receive Him as His Bride. It seemed symbolic at first, but then more apparent by the end of His time on earth.

His 1st miracle was at a wedding where He turned water into Wine. The Galilean Wedding was full of customs and rituals that we don't know about today, but they were well known back then and Jesus used that to make a point during the Last Supper.

The tradition of the Galilean Wedding was that the man would offer a cup of wine to a woman which symbolized his proposal of marriage. It came with a contract, a covenant of all that she could expect from being married to this man and all that was expected of her. It was a covenant. She had the power to receive it or reject it. When and if she received the cup and drank from it, the man would then take it and drink it also and then say, "I shall not drink from this cup again until I drink it with you in my Father's estate." Then the man would leave his fiance behind while he went back to his father's estate and added on to it for a place for he and his wife to dwell together. The Bride never knew when her fiance would come to get her, but she was always to be ready at any moment. When the Groom finally came, it was often at night and the procession came with the blast of a trumpet. Then, the Groom's wedding party would literally place the Bride onto a fancy cart and LIFT HER UP and CARRY HER all the way to her Fiance's estate. They actually did this over and over and over again so it was a very well known custom.

During one of Jesus' sermons, He made the statement, "In my Father's estate, there are many dwelling places. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go away to prepare a place for you, then I will come again and receive you unto myself so that where I am, you will be also." We don't catch the symbolism like they did, but ancient historians comment over how shocked the listeners were because Jesus was speaking of Himself as the groom and his followers as the Bride.

It didn't stop there.

The night before Jesus was arrested, at the famous last supper before Jesus went into the Garden to bear the weight of our sins, He first took some bread at the table, broke it and said, "Take this. This is my body." Then he took His cup of wine and said, "Drink it. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I shall not drink from this cup again until I drink it with you in my Father's Kingdom." And when He said that, His disciples knew, drawing from the ritual of the Galilean Wedding, He was again referring to Himself as the Groom and those who drank from the cup as His betrothed Bride.

Once recognizing this, readers can't help but notice a pattern throughout the Old Testament of a Jewish man who sought out a Jewish Bride, but then first married a Gentile Bride. The story of Abraham's son Isaac marrying a Gentile woman is filled with the symbolism of Isaac being a symbol of Jesus and his bride being a symbol of the church.

Paul made a crazy statement in one of his letters about how men should really treat and love their wives and then at the end, Paul said that men should love their wives in the same way that Christ loved the church and then he said, "A man shall leave his father and mother and the two shall become one flesh, this is a great mystery, but I'm talking about Christ and the Church." WHOA!!!!!

This is what it means when you here of the title: The Bride of Christ. It's a very special privilege to be in this group. Not everyone called a believer in Scripture is the Bride. Not everyone called a Saint in Scripture is the Bride. The Bride has a specific destiny that was born on the Day of Pentecost and will end when her Groom finally comes back to pick her up and carry her home to their honeymoon suite. The Bride is told to watch and be ready at a moments notice. It could happen at any time. Jesus said the date could not be predicted, but to watch closely because WE WILL recognize the signs for when it's upon us.

And it's upon us.

We're Going Home: The Rapture

1st Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11 is one of the greatest promises of God ever written and it's about to be fulfilled at any moment. There is nothing in this world that I'm looking forward to more than this. It's just 17 verses. I've studied this passage from just about every English translation that exists and the only modern English Bible translations that have made it easier to read WITHOUT changing what was written are the NKJV, the NASB and the NIV. I've never been a big fan of the NIV, but they got it right this time. Those links will take you to 1st Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11 in their own Bible translations.

All of the controversy and debate that surrounds this topic would end if people would just read these 17 verses, understand them and then BELIEVE what is being said. It's all there. The call to comfort one another with these words is given two times in this passage. So that's what we're gonna do with this post. We're gonna open this up and take it apart, read it, understand it, believe it and be comforted by it. Nothing else in all the world should comfort us more than what we find in these 17 verses. So please join me as we explore the promises of this passage because I truly believe with all of my heart that they're about to be fulfilled at any moment.

Before this passage was written, the Thessalonian Christians already knew that Jesus had died paying the debt for all of their sins and was resurrected on the third day, so they had no fears of death. They knew as we do that once our body dies, our soul and spirit are immediately carried into the presence of God according to John 3:16, 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 and 2nd Corinthians 5:8. But the Thessalonian Christians were also looking forward to something else that Jesus had promised in John 14:1-3. It's a very famous passage that gets quoted today at almost every funeral.

Jesus personally promised that when He returned to Heaven, He would prepare a dwelling place in Heaven for each of us. It only took him 6 days to create the entire universe, He's had almost 2000 years to create our homes in Heaven. But in that same promise, He said something else that many of us overlook. It's the very thing the Thessalonian Christians were looking forward to. He said, "If I go to prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF so that where I am, you will be also." He wasn't talking about what happens to us when we die. He was speaking specifically about what He planned to do when our homes in Heaven were completed. He promised to personally and physically come back to the planet earth and PHYSICALLY pick us up to take us home. This is what the Thessalonians were looking forward to.

I find it interesting that neither Paul nor the Thessalonian Christians believed that there was anything in Bible Prophecy that had to be fulfilled before this event took place. Paul knew the Scripture probably better than any other from his time, both the Old and New Testaments. He wrote much of the New Testament. He never believed or taught that a latter day revival had to happen first. He never believed or taught that a latter day outpouring of the Holy Spirit had to happen first. On the contrary, Paul taught that as the days became later and later, the more ignorant and self absorbed the world would become, including those within Christianity. So the Thessalonians weren't looking for anything else in Bible Prophecy to happen next, other than the return of the Lord to pick them up and take them home. They were never corrected for thinking this way because it was never incorrect for them to do so. It was Biblically sound then and it's Biblically sound today.

After Paul established this Thessalonian assembly and as time began to pass by, older members of their fellowship began to die off. The Thessalonians weren't worried about their loved ones souls, they already knew they were with the Lord. But they were disappointed that they wouldn't be present with them in their physical bodies to enjoy that amazing day when the Lord would come back to pick them all up and take them home. This was something they were all looking forward to together and now they've been separated. So Paul wrote them the following:

I Thes 4:13-14 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. KJV

The fact that Jesus would bring with Him those who had already died was new information to the Thessalonians. They weren't expecting this and they didn't know it was possible. A spiritual body can have substance in Heaven but not on the earth, just as a physical body has substance on the earth but not in Heaven. Jesus was the first and only person to wear an immortal physical body with the ability to transverse between Heaven and Earth. Everyone else in Heaven was spirit. So to explain, Paul continues:

I Thes 4:15-17 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. KJV

This incredible event begins with the sound of the voice of Jesus shouting. Paul doesn't tell us what Jesus will be shouting, but Jesus told us in John 10 that His sheep know His voice and He calls them by name and I remember when I first read that thinking, "When have I ever heard Jesus call me by my name?" and a lot of people think that's talking about a call to salvation and it may be, but I wouldn't be surprised if each of us heard the sound of Jesus calling our name like a loving parent sticking their head out the door calling us home. That's the example we're given in John 11 when He resurrected Lazarus, it's says that Jesus cried out, "Lazarus come out!" or "Lazarus, come forth!" I believe that's what starts this event. We will hear the voice of Jesus cry out our name, calling us home.

While Jesus shouts, the voice of the archangel is shouting as well to the innumerable ranks of angels on the earth. All of us have had angels following us around all of our lives. It's not for us to communicate with them or for them to communicate with us, but they've always been there taking direct orders from the Lord on our behalf. We may or may not hear the voice of the archangel when he shouts, but we will definitely hear the voice of the Lord.

The next thing we'll hear while Jesus shouts is the sound of what the Bible calls The Trump Of God and it's not to be confused with the Trumpet Judgments in Revelation. The trumpets in Revelation are blown by angels. This is The Trump Of God and the only other time we see this in Scripture is in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai. When the Hebrews heard the Trump of God, it says they trembled. So this is a loud and audible trumpet.

At that moment, the dead remains of Christian bodies under the earth will be immediately rejuvenated, reanimated and resurrected into perfect, flawless, immortal, physical bodies. This is 3rd generation hardware. We're born with 1st generation hardware that wears out and dies. After we die, we're given 2nd generation hardware in Heaven. But what Paul is describing to the Thessalonians is 3rd generation hardware. It's both physical and spiritual, perfectly flawless and eternal. Jesus brings with Him every soul and spirit from out of Heaven to reunite them with their physical bodies, not in decay, but completely restored and upgraded unto perfection.

I don't know what this massive resurrection of the dead will do to the earth when it happens. When Jesus had his resurrection body, He could travel at the speed of thought and transverse through solid walls. The dead in Christ may rise without even disturbing their coffins. Then again, there might be a worldwide earthquake and EMP flash when it happens. I guess we'll find out and see.

Then as our departed loved ones are rising in their new bodies, our bodies are being upgraded and caught up together with them. So we don't have to worry about enjoying this event without our loved ones who have passed away, we're all gonna go up together. According to Paul, we keep going up until we're into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Will we be walking on air or will we be riding in Heavenly vessels of some kind? I guess we'll find out and see.

Paul elaborates on this in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52 when he told the Corinthian Christians that not everyone in Christian history would have to die before being resurrected. But whether dead or alive, everyone in Christ would "be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed." The twinkling of an eye is the speed of light passing through the iris. It's the smallest measurable unit of time that exists. This is when Jesus finally fulfills His promise from John 14:1-3. He comes back just as He promised to receive us unto Himself so that where He is, we will be also. Forever.

I Thes 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. KJV

This is the first of two times in this letter that Paul tells them (and us) to comfort each other with these words. We're supposed to know about this. We're supposed to talk about it and look forward to it. The knowledge of this coming event should fire the imagination, it should bring us peace and excitement about the days ahead.

We aren't destined to just be disembodied spirits in a Heavenly retirement center for all eternity. We're destined to have strong, gorgeous, youthful, perfect, ageless bodies that look and feel just as good if not better than we've ever looked or felt before. Our senses and physical abilities will enable us to do anything and go anywhere in the known and unknown universe at the speed of thought. This isn't a fantasy. This isn't a fairy tale. This is actually going to happen! Friends and loved ones long gone will be with us again as if the years between us never happened. No more death, no more pain, no more separation, no more doing without, no more holding back because of our sin nature, no more misunderstandings, no more broken relationships, no more injustice, no more wrinkles, no more ageing, no more ignorance, no more confusion! Just think of our mental capacity after the upgrade!

And what of the dwelling places that Jesus said He was preparing for each of us? If we're going to be wearing brand new physical bodies, then our homes in Heaven will be physical as well except it will never blemish, age or wear out. Imagine a fresh cut yard that never needs weeding or fertilizing, a house that never needs new shingles or painting, an old 1991 Ford Ranger in the garage that always looks like it just came off the assembly line no matter how much I drive it. I'm sure I won't need a truck in Heaven, but if we're gonna be riding horses just for fun, why not a pickup truck? What is it that you can imagine that the Creator of the universe cannot create? How far can you take your imagination? Will your home in Heaven be like a priceless estate that's grander and more majestic than anything you've ever seen? Or will it be something more precious like a cherished home from your youth that was destroyed by the passage of time. Didn't Jesus say He would make all things new? Is any imagined desire for Heaven beyond our reach when it's the Creator Himself who conquered death that's creating our future home? The possibilities are endless. WHY NOT COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS?

But now Paul shifts his focus on the timing and conditions of the world when we can expect this event to happen:

I Thes 5:1-4 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. KJV

Paul didn't tell them that they didn't need to know, he told them that they didn't need him to write them about it because they already knew. What did they already know?

They had already been taught about a future time in history known as The Day Of The Lord. This was not a minor topic. It was mentioned and discussed under many titles all throughout the Old Testament and even in portions of the Gospels. The Day Of The Lord is also known as the Time Of Jacob's Trouble, the 70th Week Of Daniel, the Day Of God's Wrath, the Time Of Indignation and the title we're probably most familiar with today, the Great Tribulation. It's like no other time period in history. No matter what we've read in the Old Testament about God's judgment against places like Sodom & Gomorrah or even the Great Flood of Noah's time, this world has never seen God's wrath like it will be seen during the Great Tribulation.

The Thessalonians also knew, as Paul did, that the Day Of The Lord would begin with Sudden Destruction. Paul compares it to when a woman goes into labor. Women estimate the timing of their child's birth, but they don't know the day or the hour. Even when it's the very day and hour they go into labor, they still don't know the day or the hour until they are actually going into labor. But they shouldn't be surprised if they've been monitoring their pregnancy. There are many signs to watch and follow so they aren't caught off guard.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-44 that no one knows the day or the hour and it's because we don't know the day or the hour that Jesus also said we should always keep watch and pay attention. Pay attention to what? Chuck Missler used to say, "We are being plunged into a period of time about which the Bible has more to say than it does any other period of time in history including the time when Jesus walked the shores of Galilee and climbed the hills of Judea." That's absolutely true. We may not know the day or the hour, but the Bible has given us more than enough information so that we would know what the day and the hour would look like and if we're paying attention, we would know when it's getting close. And folks, it's close! It is so close!!

Notice how Paul used the words "they" and "them" in the above passage? The day of the Lord's return and the Great Tribulation will not come as a thief in the night to those who are awake and paying attention. It only comes as a thief in the night to those who dwell in darkness and THEY shall not escape. We, on the other hand, will escape as Paul makes clear in the rest of the passage:

I Thes 5:5-10 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. KJV

We have not been appointed to endure the Great Tribulation because God has not appointed us to His wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. We're saved SPIRITUALLY from God's wrath when we trust in His blood to pay for our sins. We're saved PHYSICALLY from God's wrath when we hear the Trump of God and the sound of Jesus shouting out our name. This doesn't have to be confusing, it's all right here nice and neat.

I Thes 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. KJV

For the 2nd time, Paul tells them (and us) to comfort each other with these words, to build each other up as we watch and wait for this wonderful event. I don't know how we're supposed to be comforted by any of it if we have to endure the Great Tribulation first. That's rather ridiculous isn't it? Always pay close attention to what God says in His Word and not what pastors, preachers and even internet Bible nerds like me are saying online. Ask God yourself for the truth. If your heart really wants the truth, He will make sure that you get it and it will never contradict His Written Word.

Folks, this is the 1st in a series of posts that I'll be writing to monitor where we are in history and how close we are to getting out of here. We don't have long. We are so close folks that I don't even know if I'll be able to write another post before we hear the trumpet sound. If I am able, I'll keep posting no matter how long we have to wait. I'll continue to occupy until He comes as we're commanded to do. But we're on borrowed time.

Don't pay any attention to Christians who don't see it coming. It's impossible to see anything when the eyes are shut. A lot of them don't want to see it coming. Truth be told, they want Jesus to stay right where He is. If they're saved, they'll still get taken home with the rest of us. But it'll probably scare the crap out of them when it happens because they aren't ready for it. I honestly don't know why because there isn't any good thing going on down here that can't continue in Heaven when we get there.