We live in a time where grace is cheap; preaching void of sin and repentance is
cheap grace, a gospel that gives you the power to choose or reject Christ is
cheap grace, the omission of wrath and hell when speaking of Christ, God and
eternity is cheap grace, the omission of submission to Christ is cheap
grace.
The opposite of cheap grace is costly grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
defines this type of grace well in his book ‘the cost of
discipleship’…
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the
field, for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is
the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods.
It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciples leaves his nets and follows Him.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.
It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.
Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son: ‘ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon His Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered Him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God. ‘
Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from
the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the word of God, which He speaks as it pleases Him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow Him; it is grace because Jesus says, ‘My yoke is easy, my burden is light’. On two separate occasions Peter received the call ‘follow me’. It was the first and last word Jesus spoke to His disciple {Mark 1:17; John 21:22}. A whole life of discipleship lies between these two calls.
Each time it is the same grace of Christ which calls to him ‘follow me’ and which reveals itself to him in his confession of the Son of God. This grace was certainly not self-bestowed. It was the grace of Christ Himself, now prevailing upon the disciple to leave all and follow Him, now working in him that confession which to the world must sound like the ultimate blasphemy, now inviting Peter to the supreme fellowship of martyrdom for the Lord he’d denied, and thereby forgiving him all his sins. In the life of Peter grace and discipleship are inseparable – he had received the grace which costs… “The only man who has a right to say he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ”. D. Bonhoeffer
As we watch the end of days winding down, and we see prophecy unfolding all around us, multiple times daily, we can boldly say: “I stand with Jesus Christ”. And boldly is what has always been required of us, but especially nowdays it seems. I just read an article from Brannon Howse outlining a lot of “How could they do that? It’s just like we are told in the Bible!” things, that I am finding many who blog, post, email, use cell phones…er, well…live…do not know. To that end, I’m providing the link: http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8775
I highly recommend that you know what it may take now to stand, keep standing and boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel and of the inerrant word of God. We are being watched, monitored and scrutinized. The Government (really, the Anti-Christ, because he is the one pulling the strings that God is letting him pull…) is keeping tabs on all of us who publically proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn’t that cool? Seriously! That means we are on the right side, and that we are in the company of the apostles and disciples that went before us, and the saints who are being persecuted around the world daily for the cause of Christ. More than that…we are in the company of Christ Himself! And it is one more thing that the Bible (that the world hates and tries vainly to deny) tells us plainly should and will happen to us! This is just the beginning of bigger things in store for those who are Jesus’. And while it is all invasive and somewhat pesky, it also gives us time to get a good handle on what is in store for true Christians in this perishing world in times such as we have never seen before and shall never see again. Truthfully, I kinda find it to be exciting to watch and that God had all of us reading this be born for such a time as this. Wow. Anyway…nothing you do or say is private any longer….just letting you know. So be even bolder for our Lord! You’re already on record as being “one of them”…you have nothing to hide (nor should you want to hide it, just sayin…know what I mean?). 😉
And now for those prying eyes, who peer uninvited into my posts, etc…
Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, there is salvation found though no other.And if y’all wanna stone me, jail me, behead me, or whatever…let me know when you’re coming and I’ll be sure to be waiting for you. You can never silence the word of God, the truth of the Bible, nor do you have any power that GOD has not given you for…HIS…purposes. So even if you managed to quiet all the true Christians around the world, even the rocks would cry out. And in the end, every knee under heaven and earth will bow at the name of Jesus Christ and will declare Him King of Kings. And yes, yours will too. So, do what you want with Christians like me. Mislabel us “terrorists”, call us “fanatics”, promote the lie that the truth of the gospel is somehow “hatred” or…oh no, not the dreaded moniker!….”Hate speech”! There is nothing hateful in proclaiming the love of God in supplying His own Son as a sacrifice for our sins (yes, I said ‘sins’), and that He wishes that no man perish and be sent to an everlasting Hell for breaking God’s holy and righteous Law. To NOT declare the truth would be an act of depraved indifference, and we who are His are commanded to preach the Gospel. Sorry, Jesus’ authority trumps your God allowed authority every time. We must obey our Lord, first and foremost. Not out of fear (which is your kind of tactic, not His) but out of love for Him. And love for our Saviour trumps fear of your terrorism against us every time, too. That’s just the way it is.
So, for the record, in case you didn’t quite ‘get it’….Jesus Christ is my Lord and Master. I follow Him. And His Kingdom is my Home, not this world, so the truth is that, while you can do many depraved things to me physically, you can do nothing to my soul, it belongs to Him and will be with Him for eternity…more alive than it ever was here. Okay, enough of you…back to the brethren…
I urge all who are Christ’s to stand as well….let the powers that be call us whatever they make up for their own wicked agendas…they are all really Satan’s agendas anyway, and he is already defeated at the cross of Christ. Jesus calls us HIS, and we are now beloved children of the Most High God…the Creator of heaven and earth, and the firstborn fruits of Jesus’ obedience. And we will ultimately be with Him forever. When you look at the truth…there’s nothing scary there at all. So proclaim Jesus Christ to the world! You never know who just might be listening… 😀
Psalm 2….
2 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break[a] them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son,[b] lest [c] He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”
John 19:11…”Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above….”
Luke 12:4,5…”4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
Philippians 2:5-11…”Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
According to recent polls, most young people “have graded Christianity, and so far, the grades aren’t looking good.” Young believers do not want the name “Christian” because of “the baggage that accompanies the label.”
We all have baggage, but there is something very fishy going on here. Why is the most ethical, humane movement in two thousand years of Western history now covered in abject shame? Christianity has become “unchristian.”
Much of the malaise of the young is due to the culture’s intimidating opposition to the biblical world and life view, which sees Christianity as the great obstacle to a better human future. This pressure produces various reactions:
Silence is a virtue: Campus ministries, mission organizations, large sections of the Evangelical church are hospitals for the hurting, but their mouths are closed;
Deeds not creeds: avoid hot button issues. Christians invent a non-offensive Gospel, limiting their witness to “missional” socio-economic and environmental issues;
Cultural approval: Opposition will disappear if the church down-plays law, sin, the Cross, and personal salvation;
The Right Label: Jesus followers, not “Christians”;
Cultural adaptation: absorb the culture’s good, life-enhancing, progressive agenda; stop trying to save souls.
In the meantime, while our hearts may be warm, we are losing our voice, which is just what the godless culture ordered!
Liberals have been saying this for years. Lloyd Geering, an apostate Presbyterian of the last generation, states:
Christianity…needs to be seen not as something eternally fixed but as an ever-changing and developing process. The modern secular world is all part of that evolving process.
Main-line churches, faced with a dramatic loss of members and funds, in the words of one journalist, have undertaken “a great experiment to redefine [themselves] through an intense engagement with the surrounding secular world…to blur the boundaries between religion and the broader society.”
Why is Christianity so unpopular now?
The most satisfactory answer, in my opinion, is the documented fact that influential segments of the culture have recently converted in one form or another to religious paganism and have thus abandoned the fundamental worldview notions of orthodox Christianity. The younger Christian generation faces the enormous danger of allowing the culture to throw out our baby with their “baggage.”
It is crucial to understand the deeply anti-Christian origins of the present culture.
Among the first signs of this pagan conversion was the New Age movement (1960s–90s), which has matured into today’s progressive “New Spirituality.” Now the old hippies are joined by millions of ordinary, middle-class citizens in saying, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” This common phrase needs to be decoded.
Spiritual means “I define my own god whom I conveniently find within” (One-ism). It is authentic, and clearly good.
Religious is a code word for the religion based on divine revelation from the outside (Two-ism). It is an external imposition and clearly bad.
The once-marginal New Age has gone mainstream under our noses.
The catalyst for our present situation is the radical, marginal movement that occurred in the Sixties—the “Cultural Revolution.” Dr. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese was a radical feminist, Marxist American Historian, who taught at Harvard. In 1998, after her conversion to Roman Catholicism, and near the end of her life, she observed about the Sixties cultural revolution in which she was an enthusiastic participant: “within a remarkably brief period …has occurred a cataclysmic transformation of the very nature of our society.”As a historian, with a front row seat, she recognized that there was nothing “normal” about the Sixties cataclysmic transformation. In other words, the “new normal” is not normal.
The rising generation may not know the historical details, but the soul of this “progressive” view of life and the culture it spawned are profoundly opposed to historic Christianity. It is foolhardy to expect our culture to approve the Christian faith, when it was created with the very intention to eliminate that faith. More often than not, when the culture “approves” of a Christian action, that action is probably “unChristian.”
If you want to know the thinkers who mentored the “influential segments of the Sixties culture” you will have to wait for the next Inside/Out!
Suffice it to say for now that the origins of the present culture plunge deep into the occult, while its future projects include the silencing of Two-ist Christianity altogether. It can only be countered by courageous Christian believers from this rising generation who are willing to engage the revolutionary intellectual “strongholds,” the “arguments and “lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God,” in order to “take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) with “transformed minds” (Romans 12:2) by understanding and imitating “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Just do it!
(InsideOut Article ) by Dr. Peter Jones on September 12, 2012
And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)
Observe that Timothy was taught, not only to reverence holy things in general, but especially to know the Scriptures. The teaching of his mother and his grandmother was the teaching of Holy Scripture.
Suppose we get the children together on Sabbath days and then amuse them and make the hours to pass away pleasantly; or instruct them, as we do in the weekdays, in the elements of moral education—what have we done?
We have done nothing worthy of the day or of the church of God. Suppose that we are particularly careful to teach the children the rules and regulations of our own church and do not take them to the Scriputres.
Suppose that we bring before them a book that is set up as the standard of our church but do not dwell upon the Bible—what have we done? The aforesaid standard may or may not be correct, and we may therefore have taught our children truth or taught them error; but if we keep to Holy Scripture, we cannot go aside.
With such a standard we know that we are right. The Book is the Word of God, and if we teach it, we teach that which the Lord will accept and bless. O dear teachers—and I speak here to myself also—let our teaching be more and more Scriptural!
Fret not if our classes forget what we say, but pray them to remember what the Lord says. May divine truths about sin and righteousness and judgment to come to be written on their hearts! May revealed truths concerning the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Ghost never be forgotten by them!1
How many times have you heard someone say, ‘you don’t know their heart?’ If you know Scripture, you do know their heart, ‘for the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?‘ God examines our hearts, He knows every thought before it is even formed. The Lord Jesus teaches what comes out of the heart in Matthew 15:19, ‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.’ This is what defiles, or makes unclean.
Theologian John Gill details our ‘evil thoughts’ – ” Of God, of Christ, of the Spirit, of fellow creatures, and of all sorts of wickedness. The thoughts of sin are evil, are to be hated, forsaken, and for which men are accountable to God. All wicked imaginations, carnal reasonings, lustful desires, and malicious contrivances, are here included; which take their rise from, and are devised, and forged, in the corrupt heart of man.” I also like what Albert Barnes has to say about the matter and want to share his words, ““Evil thoughts” These are the first things – these are the fountains of all others. Thought precedes action. Thought, or purpose, or motive, gives its character to conduct. All evil thoughts are here intended. Though we labor to suppress them, yet they defile us. They leave pollution behind them.” Next on the Lord’s list is murder; once more, Gill enlightens us, “inveterate hatred of men’s persons, malice prepense, schemes to take away life, all angry and wrathful words, and actual effusion of man’s blood.” Matthew Henry’s commentary states “ sins against the sixth commandment; these come from a malice in the heart against our brother’s life, or a contempt of it. Hence he that hates his brother, is said to be a murderer; he is so at God’s bar, 1Jo_3:15. War is in the heart, Psa_55:21; Jam_4:1″.
Moving on to sexual sins – adultery and fornication- again, Henry says “Adulteries and fornications, sins against the seventh commandment; these come from the wanton, unclean, carnal heart; and the lust that reigns there, is conceived there, and brings forth these sins, Jam_1:15. There is adultery in the heart first, and then in the act, Mat_5:28.” If someone who acts upon their lust of homosexual desires, which is birthed from their own lust in their mind, how is that considered by some to be genetic? Sin is a choice we make because we are sinners, not because God made us do anything we choose to do.
Concerning ‘theft’, M. Henry writes “Fourthly, Thefts, sins against the eighth commandment; cheats, wrongs, rapines, and all injurious contracts; the fountain of all these is in the heart, that is it that is exercised in these covetous practices (2Pe_2:14), that is set upon riches, Psa_62:10. Achan coveted, and then took, Jos_7:20, Jos_7:21.” I have seen people at work take 20 minute breaks when we are only allowed 10, is that not stealing time from your employer? Theft comes in a variety of ways, sometimes we are unaware of all its ways.
Lastly, we will look at false witness and slander, this is a huge problem in my workplace. Let’s look at commentary from Matthew Henry, “False witness, against the ninth commandment; this comes from a complication of falsehood and covetousness, or falsehood and covetousness, or falsehood and malice in the heart. If truth, holiness, and love, which God requires in the inward parts, reigned as they ought, there would be no false witness bearing, Psa_64:6 : Jer_9:8.Sixthly, Blasphemies, speaking evil of God, against the third commandment; speaking evil of our neighbour, against the ninth commandment; these come from a contempt and disesteem of both in the heart; thence the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost proceeds (Mat_12:31, Mat_12:32); these are the overflowing of the gall within.”
Albert Barnes goes a little deeper into these sins.. “5. “False witness.” Giving wrong testimony. Concealing the truth, or stating what we know to be false – a violation of the ninth commandment. It proceeds from a desire to injure others, to take away their character or property, or to do them injustice. It proceeds thus from the heart.6. “Blasphemies.” See the notes at Mat_9:3. Blasphemy proceeds from opposition to God, hatred of his character Rom_8:7, and from a desire that there should be no God. It proceeds from the heart. See Psa_14:1. Mark adds several things to those enumerated by Matthew:(a) “Covetousness.” The unlawful desire of what others possess, this always proceeds from the heart.(b) “Wickedness.” The original here means malice, or a desire of injuring others, Rom_1:29.(c) “Deceit,” i. e., fraud, concealment, cheating in trade. This proceeds from a desire to benefit ourselves by doing injustice to others, and this proceeds from the heart.(d) Lasciviousness. Lust, obscenity, unbridled passion – a strong, evil desire of the heart.(e) “An evil eye.” That is, an eye that is sour, malignant, proud; or an eye of lust and passion. See Mat_5:28; Mat_20:15; 2Pe_2:14, “Having eyes full of adultery, that cannot cease from sin.”(f) “Pride.” An improper estimate of our own importance; thinking that we are of much more consequence than we really are. This is always the work of an evil heart.(g) “Foolishness.” Not a lack of intellect – man is not to blame for that – but a moral folly, consisting in choosing evil ends and the bad means of gaining them; or, in other words, sin and wickedness. All sin is folly. It is foolish for a man to disobey God, and foolish for anyone to go to hell.”
In Luke’s Gospel we find this…
Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Once more, we look into Matthew Henry’s commentary, “The heart is the treasure, and the words and actions are the expenses or produce from that treasure, Luk_6:45. This we had, Mat_12:34, Mat_12:35. The reigning love of God and Christ in the heart denominates a man a good man; and it is a good treasure a man may bring forth that which is good. But where the love of the world and the flesh reign there is an evil treasure in the heart, out of which an evil man is continually bringing forth that which is evil; and by what is brought forth you may know what is in the heart, as you may know what is in the vessel, water or wine, by what is drawn out from it, Joh_2:8. Of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; what the mouth ordinarily speaks, speaks with relish and delight, generally agrees with what is innermost and uppermost in the heart: He that speaks of the earth is earthly, Joh_3:31. Not but that a good man may possibly drop a bad word, and a wicked man make use of a good word to serve a bad turn; but, for the most part, the heart is as the words are, vain or serious; it therefore concerns us to get our hearts filled, not only with good, but with abundance of it.”
Unless God has regenerated you, which includes the renewing of the mind {Romans 12:2; Eph. 4:23} you will wrongly ‘assess’ your own heart. Most compare themselves to those who are more wicked than themselves and figure since they do not kill, they aren’t that bad; they do not cheat on their husband or wife literally but they are unaware of what Christ taught in Matthew 5:28, if you even look at another with lustful intent, you are guilty of adultery. How many are in this category, thanks to pornography and the entertainment industry. Only a regenerated heart/mind can discern the teachings in the Bible concerning the wickedness of the ‘heart’. In our time, to tell someone how wicked their heart is simply isn’t done; instead, you hear motivational speeches as well as humorous stories as pastors strive to please men and tickle the ear…their condemnation is not idle and their destruction is not asleep {2 Peter 2:3}.
I close with this from Thomas Watson…
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9
The human heart is full of hostility against God.
The human heart is the very nursery of sin. The human heart is the storehouse where all the weapons of unrighteousness lie. The human heart is a lesser Hell.” For from within, out of a person’s heart—come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:21-23
You may also be interested in John MacArthur’s sermon entitled ‘sins of the mind’, which I HIGHLY recommend…found here…
Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him…
Remember, God laughs as the wicked plot against Him, for nothing and no one can stand against Him without His judgement and wrath coming upon them…all the plans of man are futile, all the schemes of the evil one (Satan) are futile.
God is GOD, Jesus is on the throne, and regardless of what this world or the minions of hell do, Christ has won the victory and we are His, and we are more than overcomers through Jesus Christ…we share in His victory over death and Satan.
The devil and mere man can do nothing that our sovereign Father does not allow, and neither one has any true power, both are on God’s leash, and both are under God’s authority and wrath, and God will have His way….and His children (those who are in Christ alone) WILL come Home to be with Him forever. Whether it appears to be by the hand of wicked men or whether by the physical effects of a fallen mankind, or by the rapture…all of our roads lead straight to the embracing arms of THE Father, and we shall live in the house of the Lord forever…so,it’s all good. It matters not how the wicked and the nations rage and plot….God is sovereign and His prophecy, His word, is being fulfilled daily…..keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith! And keep looking up! ♥
I know that many people will have ignored the Gospel, either thinking they had a lot of time to continue living as they pleased, or who refused to believe it, or even those who falsely believed they were saved…and I’m not meaning to even attempt to change your mind right now. What I’m doing is making sure that anyone who reads this blog has the true resource to draw upon when they are left here after the rapture of the Church…the Church is comprised of those who are Christ’s followers in truth and in life. So…in the hope that after it happens, you will remember having seen something about it, you can come back here for the truth of what really happened.
You will be told many things in the days and weeks to come, but the only truth of the disappeareance of millions of people into thin air is that Christ called us to Himself, and we are now alive with Him in Heaven. No matter what you hear to the contrary, how convincing it seems, or reasonable, or true…if it is not that the rapture of the Church happened, you are hearing a lie. And you now have seven years to get right with God through Christ, and they will be hard years, the last 3 1/2 being so terrible that God will put an end to them or no one will survive. With the Church gone, the entire world is now under God’s active wrath, and contrary to what you will be hearing, any “good” that was in this world is now gone along with Christ’s Church (God’s Holy Spirit is not present anymore…and sinful fallen mankind is left to live as sinful depraved people do, and it is not going to be pretty. You are living in a COMPLETELY depraved world now, and depravity is ugly, violent, perverted, selfish, and deadly.
And despite what you have heard and are probably being told now (a lot)… no, people are NOT ” basically good”. That’s humanist baloney that attempts to sidestep the truth of what God says about HIS creation. There are no platitudes or humanist “theology” or “New Spirituality” that can even come close to addressing and changing the true heart of depravity…which is the true state of the total fallenness of all mankind. Only God, through Christ can change that, because only GOD the Creator of everything can change the internal hearts of men. Read Romans 3:2-24 ” for allhavesinned, and fall short of the glory of God”/ II Corinthians 5:17 “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is anewcreature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.”)…So, I want to arm you with the word of God, and with a correct focus to help you get through them and come Home with us and be with Christ. For if you do not, as hard as these years will be…they will be the closest to Heaven that you will ever experience, and then your entire eternity will be Hell. I cannot tell you HOW much I don’t want that for you…and Christ gives you every opportunity to make sure it doesn’t have to be that way. (Get a Bible, there are many now sitting idle, and read the book of John. It’s a good start.)
With that in mind…I am reposting a recent video, this time along with an article that will help you. Hang on to both. The day is soon coming when you may desperately need them. May the Lord bless you with His salvation, His peace, and His presence…and may you choose wisely BEFORE you need this stuff. God wishes for no man to perish, and that is my prayer as well. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
Jesus Came. What’s Next?
Further details on life during the Tribulation.~by Nathan E. Jones
If you are reading this because millions of people have suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, then you are looking for answers to what has happened, why it has happened, and what will be happening next.
What Has Happened
First, as to what has happened — Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has returned.
For 2000 years the Bible has been proclaiming to the world that Jesus would be coming back. Jesus stated in John 14:3, “I will come back.”
Because Jesus has returned, millions of people who have put their faith and trust in Jesus as Savior, accepting His free gift of salvation, have disappeared in an event called the Rapture.
You might be thinking that there was something mysterious in the sudden disappearance of millions of people, but the Bible has already explained this so-called mystery. Jesus said that when He came again, He would come for those who are saved. He said, “I will receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-4). The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
The Rapture happened to those of us who accepted Jesus as Savior, both those alive and those who had died since Jesus was resurrected. Both groups — living and resurrected believers — were caught up to be with Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
This all happened very quickly, like a flash of lightning. Jesus left as suddenly as He came, taking those who have accepted Him and His salvation, and leaving behind those who have rejected Him. And you, sadly, have been left behind.
Well, maybe you know a loved one who has disappeared — a wife, a husband, a child, a friend — and are wondering what has become of them. In that flash, as those who had accepted Jesus as their Savior were caught up to meet Jesus in the air, they traded their earthly bodies for bodies that are perfect, imperishable and immortal (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50-55).
They sit with Jesus now in Heaven at a great banquet called the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19). They will live in great joy and know no sorrow. They will be with their King and live in love forever. They are well taken care of, and you don’t have to worry about them.
Why It Has Happened
But, it is the why of the disappearances that is your cause to worry. For believers in Jesus were taken out of this world to spare them from the great wrath that has just begun to befall the planet (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9).
Jesus’ return for all His true believers was just a prelude to His final Second Coming. The second phase of Jesus’ return is to set up His Kingdom on earth. Jesus’ Kingdom is why this whole thing is happening.
You see, we have come to the end of one age and will soon be beginning the age of Jesus’ glorious reign right here on earth. But first, God has to deal with rebellion — sin — before setting up His Kingdom. God’s going to use this intermediate time period you now live in to pour out His wrath on mankind for its continued refusal to accept His Lordship. The time you live in is called the Tribulation.
What It’s About
What is the Tribulation all about? The unparalleled horror of the Tribulation is spelled out in detail in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Isaiah wrote that it will be a day of “the terror of the Lord” when “the pride of men will be abased” (Isaiah 2:10,17,19). Zephaniah proclaimed that it will be a “day of wrath,” “a day of trouble and distress,” and “a day of destruction and desolation.” Men will stumble around like they are blind and “their blood will be poured out like dust” (Zephaniah 1:15,17).
This dreary picture is echoed in the New Testament. Jesus said it will be a time of tribulation “such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.” In fact, Jesus said it will be so terrible that if it were not stopped at the end of seven years, it would result in the destruction of all life (Matthew 24:21-22).
The Apostle John states that the chaos will be so great that the leaders of the world will crawl into caves and cry out for the rocks of the mountains to fall upon them (Revelation 6:15-16).
Why is there going to be such carnage? How could a God of grace, mercy and love allow such an outbreak of unbridled terror and bloodshed?
One reason is to satisfy the justice of God. Yes, God is characterized by grace, mercy and love. God is a God of love. Jesus says so in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
But, God is also a God of justice. The Bible also says in John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” It is God’s very nature to love, but also in love to see justice done for evil.
What Comes Next
So, what comes next? For starters, people are going to try to explain away the Rapture with all sorts of wild theories, like possibly Global Warming or UFOs. So-called “Christian” leaders are going to come out and say the Church is still around because they didn’t disappear.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 that they cannot be believed, for the times will be filled with false religious teachers. The greatest of these false teachers the Bible calls the False Prophet, and he will seemingly be able to do many miracles and will promote a one-world religion and leader (Revelation 13:11).
Amid all the chaos from the Rapture, the Bible teaches that the world will turn to a dynamic leader to bring order and peace (Revelation 6:1-2). He will succeed where no other person has been able in establishing a peace treaty for Israel (Daniel 9:27). That treaty marks the official beginning of the 7 years that the Tribulation will last.
But, the world leader, known to believers in Jesus as the Antichrist, is anything but peaceful. He will plunge the planet into nuclear world war, resulting in terrible famines, pestilence and mass death. Violence, disease and starvation will be a way of life. A quarter of the world population — almost 2 billion people — will die from this war (Revelation 6).
In Jerusalem, 2 men will appear and preach there for 3 1/2 years that Jesus is the Messiah the Jews have been looking for (Revelation 11:3). 144,000 Jews will call Jesus their Messiah and also preach about Him throughout the whole world. Millions will accept Jesus as their Savior — hopefully you will be one of them. But, many of those millions of believers will be killed by the Antichrist for not pledging their loyalty to him by receiving his mark on either their right hand or forehead. The persecution of believers in Jesus will be awful in the Tribulation (Daniel 7:21; Revelation 7).
Next, the greatest earthquake the world has yet experienced will devastate the planet (Revelation 6:12-14). Something falling from space will then burn up a third of all the world’s vegetation. A second item from space, probably a meteor, will crash into the ocean and annihilate a third of the world’s marine life and ships. A third object from space will taint the world’s water supply, poisoning millions (Revelation 8:7-11).
The devastation to the atmosphere will block out most of the sun and moonlight so that the days appear shorter (Revelation 8:12).
Next, some supernatural “woes” will befall mankind. First, the holding place for a demonic hoard is opened and millions of locust-looking demons pour out and sting people like scorpions. The pain will last 5 whole months. Second, 200 million riders on horse-creatures will burn and impale, wiping out a remaining third of the people (Revelation 9:1-19).
Three and a half years into the Tribulation will see the 2 men witnessing in Jerusalem killed, but 3 1/2 days later come back to life (Revelation 11:7-12). It will also see the Antichrist supposedly killed and appear to come back to life as well (Revelation 13:3).
And that’s just the first half of the Tribulation. As bad as the first half of the seven years is, the next half is even worse (Revelation 16).
Those who take the Antichrist’s loyalty mark on their hand or forehead will suffer from painful boils. Those who don’t take the mark will be cut off from commerce and hunted down, but the Bible assures (Revelation 20:4-6) that those who take the mark have made a decision that will last forever — eternal damnation — so don’t take it!
The oceans and everything in them are totally destroyed, as well as all the fresh water. The heat from the sun will become scorching. The Antichrist’s kingdom will fall into pitch darkness.
An even greater earthquake than the one 7 years earlier will flatten the earth and 100 pound hailstones will crush the inhabitants.
The Euphrates River in Iraq will dry up and a massive army from the East will cross and enter the Valley of Armageddon in Israel to fight the Antichrist’s army. This is what the Book of Revelation calls the battle of Armageddon.
It is the moment that Jesus will gloriously return with all those who disappeared in the Rapture. Jesus Himself by just speaking will destroy the armies at Armageddon. Jesus will throw the Antichrist and the False Prophet into Hell, and Satan into a deep pit. Jesus will be victorious and all who continued to rebel will be put to death — all of them (Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-3). This is the Tribulation — the wrath of God.
What You Can Do
Now, you may be asking “God, why didn’t you tell us all this before the Rapture so we could get ready.” Well, He did. The Bible clearly teaches that God never pours out His wrath without warning for He is a just and loving God who does not wish that any should perish. That is why God provided the Bible, the Good News about Jesus spreading across the planet, and the many signs alerting us to the fact that we were living on the threshold of the Tribulation and soon return of Jesus Christ. God gave the world every possible chance for 2000 years to repent of its rebellion and return to Him.
But, it’s not too late for you to be with Jesus unless you’ve taken the mark. You see, this story has a happy ending. Jesus’ return at the end of the Tribulation means great joy to those who love him. Jesus will cleanse the world of evil and the damages from His wrath and restore the planet to pristine condition. Jesus will rule from Jerusalem over those who throughout human history have put their faith and trust in Him (Revelation 20:4-6,9).
You can be one of those people. Whether you die in the Tribulation or not, it is where you end up eternally that truly matters. Everybody who does not accept Jesus as Savior during the Tribulation will go to Hell for their rebellion. Anyone who accepts Jesus as Savior, though their earthly bodies may die during the Tribulation, will then live forever in glorified bodies with Jesus in His love and glory.
Remember Jesus’ promise in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Pray now for forgiveness for your sins and ask Jesus to be the Savior and Lord of your life. Don’t delay!
In what little time you have in this life, get a Bible or download one from Bible.org, so you know God’s will for your life. Download this and everything you can from our website at lamblion.com or others like raptureready.com so you can know more about Jesus and what is in store for you in the Tribulation and the glorious return of Jesus. Gather quickly with others who have accepted Jesus as Savior for support and to worship together.
If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, we will be waiting for you on the other side of this. May God bless you and keep you. Maranatha!
“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” (Nahum 1:7 NIV)
If it’s NOT the Gospel, it’s NOT a “mission”, it’s a sandwich….don’t feed stomachs and starve perishing souls of the real “food” they need, the GOSPEL. That would be depraved indifference that only serves YOU to make YOU ‘feel’ good, but it is NOT what God calls us to do in HIS word (Mark 16:15)…just sayin. Okay, mini-rant is now over. 😉
