Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

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ZNP

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This is where we are now

Luke 9:52 and sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he were going to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them. 56 And they went to another village.


This account is only in Luke. We are seeing these protests and some of the "social justice warriors" are thinking this is a war where if someone is not for us then we should bid fire come down upon them. This is not how the priests of God bear the ark of testimony through the wilderness. We are going to Jerusalem. We know exactly where we are going and exactly what we will meet when we get there and yet we are going because we worship the God of resurrection.
 

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We have a future hope

Saying 26

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. 14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

It is a completely different view to losing, if you have found wisdom losing is simply a master class on winning. Evil people cheat so if they lose they assume the other person cheated. Wise people know that there is always a way for them to improve and win, so if you lose they are showing you your weakness and if you learn that you will become stronger and be able to win in the future. So, there is always a future hope for you.

Saying 27

15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place; 16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

After the January 6 riot they claimed that the people in the Trump rally beat a policeman to death. This turned out to be a lie that was quickly disproved, so they changed it to they killed him by spraying him with bear spray. However, no one has ever been killed by bear spray and so people were naturally skeptical and wanted to see the toxicology report. Finally they admitted he died of natural causes. The righteous do not quit because they know the accusation is a lie. Think about the movie concerning “The Hurricane”. Though the righteous fall seven times they rise again. However, now that this lie has been exposed it is like calamity striking the wicked and they are stumbling all over themselves. This is why you have to learn to be righteous and have a righteous stance. The enemy can come at you repeatedly but as long as you are standing on solid ground you can hold your ground. We stand on the blood of Christ. That is a terrifying stance to the enemy.

Saying 28

17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, 18 or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.

How many times have we seen that. Think about last year, Jamieson Winston was gloating as the New Orleans Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice during the regular season, but the Lord turned his wrath away and Tampa beat the Saints in the playoffs. Or consider the Kansas City Chiefs, their star receiver did a back flip into the end zone in the regular season as they beat Tampa Bay, but again the Lord turned his wrath from them and Tampa beat KC in the SuperBowl.

Saying 29

19 Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, 20 for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

This is so awesome. Evil doers win by deceit. Once they have been found out it is over. This is why I was so impressed with Vince Lombardi. There was no deceit in his game, everyone knew it would be “the Packer sweep” but they executed it so well that no one could stop it. If you have to win by deceit what happens when others find out? Why do you think they are going crazy over these election integrity bills being passed in 47 states? Their deceit has been exposed and now they have no future hope.
 

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Saying 30 -- Who knows what calamities they can bring?

21 Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials, 22 for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Who knows what calamities they can bring? Think about that, maybe you can think of some terrible calamities but surely you can think that the king can think of things you never even thought of. Now if that is true of the king, how about the Lord? Read the Old Testament and the Lord toyed with evil men regardless of what they tried. Read the book of Revelation. The amount and variety of sudden destruction is astounding. Right now we have rebellious officials involved in voter fraud, they don’t fear the Lord, they surely didn’t fear Trump or any of the Republicans. But let’s consider that for a moment. Trump instituted the “space force” which is in charge of monitoring all communications worldwide that travel via satellite. He had access to the NSA which is able to monitor all communications via computer and phone. Also, Trump put in place very strict regulations concerning anyone involved in election fraud. You might think “hey, if he was going to do anything he would have already done it”. That is reasonable except for one thing, after January 20th anyone involved in rebellion would be emboldened. It will be easier to piece together everyone that is guilty and the extent of their involvement. You can also monitor all financial transactions, who is paying who and for what. All I am saying is this word “who knows what calamities they can bring” is a very scary thing when talking about the President of the US and who is he compared to the Lord?
 

ZNP

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The conclusion

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

Luke 15 & 16 have parables that are unique to the book of Luke. The parable of the lost sheep, the woman and the lost coin, the prodigal son, and the unjust steward. This is the conclusion to those accounts! This gives a whole new viewpoint on these stories.

If the shepherd does not go and find the lost sheep then he is unrighteous and unfaithful shepherd. If the woman does not sweep the house to find that lost coin she is unjust and unfaithful. If the father is not praying and seeking for the prodigal son then he is unjust and unfaithful, and if the steward doesn't figure out a way to sell his master's goods then he is unjust and unfaithful. This is a warning to the believers, if you are unjust or unfaithful you won't be raptured prior to the tribulation. It is pointless to say this in Mark, they can see why they weren't raptured, they were not faithful with the unrighteous mammon, hence the Lord did not entrust them with the true riches.

If you have been entrusted with 100 sheep to care for then you better care for them. When I was a teacher I would be held to account, not for the kids getting 90s or 100s, but I had to make an account for every kid failing the class. They wanted to see what actions I had taken to help that particular kid. Had I been calling the child's parents to let them know? Did I make accommodations, did I allow this child to make up missing work, retake tests, etc.

What about that missing teaching, like a gold coin? What about the rapture, everyone misplaced that one, let's find out what that is all about. Did you shrug that off or did you sweep the house?

Can you imagine the father would be judged for losing the prodigal son? Based on the context that is what is meant when he says "32But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."
Everything about this story makes it seem that the Father is a good guy and the prodigal son is profligate. But the context and this conclusion tells us that the children have been entrusted to you by God, if you lose a son or a daughter will anyone entrust true riches to you?

Then you have the unrighteous steward. We need to get this message out, we need to get this word out. It does no good if it sits on the shelf. If you need to put it on sale do so!
 

ZNP

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Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14 And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him. 15 And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

This rebuke is only in Luke. Why is it that pastors, priests, and churches do not want to talk about the rapture? We have had debates on every single doctrine in the church, just because there are differing opinions, differing interpretations is not a valid reason. I have heard some say "it will all pan out in the end" indicating that these debates are trivial and yet the Lord charges us repeatedly to watch for His return and He rebukes those in Sardis for not watching. I have heard others quote the verse that "no one knows the day or the hour" and yet the context of that word is the Lord's charge for us to watch. No one knows the day or the hour that their wife will give birth, hency you must watch and be ready with a go bag. No one knows the day or the hour that the field will be ready to harvest, therefore the farmer must watch daily. No one knows the day or the hour that a thief will break in to rob the house therefore you must watch. What hypocrisy to use that verse as an excuse to not watch.

So I don't buy their arguments, there must be another reason and it must have to do with mammon. It may be that warning saints of the Lord's imminent return and judgement would be bad for them financially. Maybe many members would leave the congregation. What I see from this warning is that financial concerns have influenced the pharisees so that they do not give the full counsel of God. The Lord is telling them very clearly that you will not be able to have a financially lucrative ministry if you are serving the Lord. True that last sentence will outrage many, I expect to get "scoffed" at for basically repeating the Lord's words. But what do we see them preaching? Seeking $5,000 gifts, looking for donations for private planes, using gold chains and luxury cars as evidence of being "blessed". Bottom line they use the word of God to justify themselves even though the Lord tells us "that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

Anyway, the rapture will be the rebuke to these ones. After the pre tribulation rapture it is no longer necessary to give this rebuke, hence it is not in Mark or Matthew.
 

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Further Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good: 24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.

Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of inciting a riot by telling people at his rally to “peacefully protest”. They inferred that this was code to go and riot. Also, they accused him of “inciting” the riot when the riot began prior to Trump even speaking. In that context of the standard she was applying to Trump to then excuse Maxine Waters for repeatedly inciting people to violence is not good. Maxine telling Antifa which has had 500+ violent protests in the last year that they need to become more confrontational and that they need to let people know we mean business and that she was demanding “guilty, guilty, guilty” to the three charges. Shortly after she told this crowd this two members of the National guard were injured by shots fired. How can Pelosi excuse this? She will be cursed by the people of the US and denounced by other nations.

But what Maxine did is worse than this. The prosecution had a nine minute video which was very damning, it would be very difficult for anyone to see that and not agree that this was negligent homicide at the very least. It only took the jury one day to come back with their verdict and they never asked one question of the judge, so we can infer from that that they were all pretty much in agreement from the get go that he was guilty. However, even the judge admits that what Maxine did was a veiled threat to the jury. She told them to give a guilty verdict to all three charges even though negligent homicide contradicts murder 2 as murder 2 says he intended to kill him and negligent homicide says he didn’t. They did what she told them to do and said “guilty, guilty, guilty”. So now, thanks to Maxine, the defense has a powerful basis for a mistrial. Add to this that the jurors were all doxed by several newspapers. All of their personal information was published so that anyone wanting to know their identity could. If Maxine wanted the cop convicted why give him a powerful basis to call for a mistrial? Either you think Maxine is stupid or else the only real explanation is she wants a riot. Everyone assumed it would be a guilty verdict, but now she is giving them a chance for a mistrial which would cause riots all thanks to Maxine. Still Joe Biden also helped by leaning on the jury as well as the local mayor.

This guilty verdict was in the bag but Biden wanted to take credit for it and the Mayor was concerned about the potential damage to the city. That is the definition of mob rule, Biden is playing to the Mob and the mayor is playing to the local businesses. These are perilous times.

25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.


This “but” indicates we aren’t talking about the jurors who convicted Chauvin. No, “convicting the guilty” is referring to the previous verse about Pelosi, Biden, and Waters. They are guilty of jury tampering. We are referring to the papers that doxed the jurors, they are guilty of intimidation. We are talking about the mayor and the chamber of commerce who wanted to make it clear to the jury what the verdict needed to be, they also are guilty of jury tampering. We are witnessing mob rule, bullies pushing around the lily livered. You do this with someone who is clearly guilty, like Chauvin, and then you blur the lines of what is legal so you can do this to those they want to be guilty. It is not hard to see a day where people would be convicted of bludgeoning the policeman to death on January 6th even though he didn’t suffer blunt force trauma and instead died of a stroke completely unrelated to the event.

26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

My wife moved her IRA to a bank, I was there at the time. We told the person at the bank we wanted it in cash because in a month or two we would be buying a house. He put it into a fund that you pay 1% per year up front as a transaction cost even though they pay less than 1% interest on the money. Obviously a very disadvantageous fund for my wife, but quite good for him as he made 1% of her total IRA for an hours work. Then a month later when we needed the money he acted like we hadn't told him that we would be pulling it out to buy a house. That was absurd, I worked as a stock broker for years, I knew exactly what we had told him. That was a dishonest response and I knew why he said it, he was laying the groundwork for a defense in the event we were to sue him for violating his fiduciary responsibility. Our conversation was not recorded, it would be our word against his, and he now has made a basis to claim he had not understood the purpose of the money. We are not interested in all that, the Lord will judge, it just would be nice if people were honest and tell the truth. The truth is had he done what we asked he never would have been paid, he gets paid a transaction fee and 1% on her IRA balance was a very nice payday for him.

27 Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.

Get your priorities right. If your work and fields are in order you will be able to support your house. Most divorces are due to financial issues. These people got married when their outdoor work was not in order and their fields were not ready.

28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause— would you use your lips to mislead? 29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.”

If an honest answer is like a kiss on the lips what does it mean to use your lips to deceive? That is like what Judas did when he kissed the Lord as a sign to the soldiers. You think you are so slick but the soldiers know what you did, the king knows what you did, the Lord knows what you did. You will get sudden calamity, sudden destruction. You will get the field of blood and a name of ignominy.

30 I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; 31 thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. 32 I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 34 and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.


I see this in my job all the time. Teachers have to grade papers every day. I have close to 150 students so it is a lot of grading every day. However, it is the same amount of work whether you do a little every day or a whole lot during one weekend. You do not save yourself work by putting it off, all you do is allow thorns and weeds to grow and walls to be in ruins. By keeping my grade book up to date several times a week kids always know where they are at and I can send weekly alerts to parents of kids who are falling behind.
 

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Hosea 10:11-15 When the day dawns the king of Israel will be completely destroyed

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground.

Ephraim here represents the ten tribes, what we generally consider “Organized Christianity”. They have been trained to keep the law (trained to use the yoke of the law) but they love to thresh instead. According to the law you don’t muzzle the ox as it threshes the corn, so organized religion gets to eat as they thresh, hence they love to thresh. Organized religion has turned into a big, beautiful, worldwide organization. So God is going to humble them, they will be forced not simply to “plow” but to be driven by a hard task master. Judah will have a slightly easier job of plowing even though not as intensely as being driven.

12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

When we get involved in ministry we discover we have unplowed ground. Seeking the Lord involves breaking up this unplowed ground so that seeds can germinate and grow. The rain is like a blessing, a shower of righteousness. When we are right with the Lord we are seeking Him, breaking up the unplowed ground of our heart and we will receive a blessing from God. We are right with God and man.

13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, 14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated—as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

What the church is supposed to do and what they have done are two completely different things, though they are comparable. They have a ministry, they plant seeds, but they are seeds of wickedness. They depend on their own strength. You could have the best teaching in the world but if you are depending on financial backers, hiring experts in all kinds of areas to promote and distribute your ministry, but it is all based on your own strength. Then you are not walking by faith. It is as though you have hired soldiers from the world to fight your spiritual battles. You will be dashed to pieces. The fire will test each man’s work whether it is wood, hay and stubble or if it is gold and precious stones from God.

15 So will it happen to you, Bethel, because your wickedness is great.


Bethel means house of God. The church is being warned that if they are not walking by faith, obedient to the Lord then when He returns they will suffer loss.

When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.


“The King of Israel” isn’t talking about Jesus, He is talking about the Pope, the cardinals, the bishops, and all the big leaders in the major Denominations. They will be completely destroyed. The Lord is telling us that many of those who lead us mislead us. That there are many hypocrites in organized religion and when the Day of the Lord comes they will be completely destroyed. "When the day dawns" refers to the first rapture. Many in the church will be sleeping and not watching when He comes, so it is like "day dawns". The first rapture will wake them up.
 

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Hosea 11 -- Judgement on America

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more they were called, the more they went away from me.

Let’s consider a current events case, people who want to get away from having a police force. No one likes to be stopped by the police, no one likes to get a ticket, no one likes to get arrested and go to jail. It’s not hard to see why some people would think that it would be better to get away from the police.

They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.

Why do you think the politicians are supporting this? The federal government is now pushing laws and initiatives to federalize local law enforcement. There is no way for a tyrant to take over America without federalizing the police. Fighting door to door in cities is brutal, destructive and the worst form of fighting. You could never get the US military to try and invade and take over the US city by city. However, if you nationalize the police making them the modern day “Gestapo” then you can take control without hardly firing a shot. Politicians are all about increasing their power. Education and Police are the two biggest budgets in the country, if you control those budgets you become fabulously powerful.

3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.

I have lived in England as well as Taiwan. I have visited Italy, Mexico, Hong Kong and Korea. The US deals with racism far better than any country I have ever seen. Let's consider "Ephraim" this was the younger son of Joseph who was blessed by Jacob to be greater than his older son. If you read the blessing on Joseph he represents scientists (his brother Benjamin represents engineers). The two sons of Joseph who got the double portion represent Germany which was the first country to be a leading scientific nation and then during Hitler's time the Jewish scientists moved to the US and from that point on the US has led the world in scientific advancement. Germany is Manasseh and the US is Ephraim.

4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them. 5 “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?

That is what is going to happen. We left tyranny, the first country ever to do that, and now we will return to tyranny. Without safety and security everything else collapses. People are afraid to go to the park or walk the street, small businesses shut down as the street becomes more dangerous. What cop is going to want to enforce some law about vagrants, or drug use, or small time crime? Look what happened to them when they tried to deal with someone selling cigarettes, or stealing cigarettes, or having a phony $20 bill. So the Deli’s and small shops will become a target. If you have less foot traffic and more crime they will begin to shut down. Once they are gone the thugs will terrorize the fast food restaurants and extortion will proliferate. Kids will be afraid to go to school. Those who can leave the cities will leave the cities leaving behind the poorest. 80% of the tax revenue comes from 20% of the people, a city could have 5-6% of the people flee and wind up losing close to 40% of its tax revenue.

6 A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans.

Who is pushing this idea: the mainstream media. They will be devoured by the monster they unleash. These false prophets may understand that this is all a ruse to get more power for the political elites, but the thugs on the street do not understand that. Biden and Pelosi and Waters can use them for their design, but these thugs owe no allegiance to Biden or Pelosi. The fire will burn down the entire forest, not just the trees you select. This prophecy that the "sword will flash in their cities" may refer to a nuclear missile attack on US cities. Our false prophets are all located on the mainstream media and located in these cities. They will be devoured in this attack.

7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.

Many of those who are turning from the Lord and His ways are “Christians”.

8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.

Admah and Zeboyim were destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah. There are two raptures, one is likened to Noah entering the ark and closing the door a week before the rain started. The other is compared to Lot who was rescued from Sodom before it was destroyed. Noah had a glorious deliverance, Lot had a shameful deliverance. But it was Abraham who begged God for his salvation. Lot was not treated like Admah or Zeboyim or Sodom or Gomorrah. God’s compassion was aroused by the prayers of the faithful ones to rescue him. One interpretation has there being two raptures, one before the tribulation and one in the middle of the tribulation. However, another interpretation has this rapture being like both of these events. In this one the election of Biden has been like the start of the rain forcing all the believers into the ark. One week later the rain comes and destroys them all. However, in the rapture the rain is "fire" falling from the sky, this "sword flashing" in the cities. Just like Lot, as he left the fire came down, well in the same way as we go up they come down. In this understanding the only way someone who is left behind will be saved will be if they are "devoted to the Lord fully" meaning they choose to get their head chopped off rather than take the mark of the beast. It does seem that a number of dreams and visions align better with this second interpretation.

9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man— the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

From the west or from the sea indicates many things. The west is the new world, it is the western hemisphere, it represents the 20th century, unlike the “old world”. The sea signifies the nations whereas the land indicates the Jews. We are talking about a modern, new world people of God from the west, from the nations. Ephraim is only one half of one of the twelve tribes and yet they represent a very influential group among Israel, so much so that Hosea is using Ephraim to refer to the people of God as a whole. The US was not just a center of science, they were also a center of evangelism for the world. Although we represent 5% of the world's population, about one half of one twelfth, we are a very influential tribe.

11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
 

ZNP

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We are beginning to see convergence of all the watchmen

1. Pastor Sandy says he does not have any word that would support a rapture after April 2nd.

2. Repoman 64 has indicated he thinks the rapture will fall sometime from March 14 to April 2nd

3. Steve Fletcher likes Purim which is around March 15-16

4. Dr. Barry Awe also like this date, though what he is strongest about, like Pastor Sandy, is that it will take place prior to April 2nd (unless of course it doesn't)

5. Dana Coverstone's dream does indicate March will be an intense month, though one would not see anything about the rapture from that dream.

One thing we have seen is that there are rapture themes and resurrection themes in all of the feasts, what they have just discovered is rapture themes in Purim, rapture themes in the signs in the heavens, rapture themes in this particular year which ends in March, and perhaps a link to the story of Lazarus being raised from the grave to the pre tribulation rapture, and that Lazarus was raised March 16/17.
 

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Matthew 2:1-15 -- Outwitting Satan

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

We have seen many Youtube videos concerning the heavenly signs. I have posted links to quite a few of them. They began in 2015. We have some very interesting signs next month.

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.


This is very disturbing to me. If you look at this story Herod believes that there was a sign in the heavens, He believes there is a baby born that was prophesied of by the prophets, and yet his response is not to repent but to kill thousands of babies. How sick and twisted are these world leaders. They are incapable of repentance, their conscience has been seared, this is why there is going to be judgement seat where some will be cast into hell.

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

According to the book of Revelation the church in Philadelphia has a little power, they are not great in strength, but they have been faithful to the Lord and He promises to keep them out of the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole earth. He also says that those of the synagogue of Satan will come and worship at their feet and know that God is truly in your midst. Among God’s people the church in Philadelphia is like the town of Bethlehem. Not a great city like Jerusalem where all the Bible experts and scholars are, but rather a town with shepherds and common people that was not greatly esteemed. But when the Lord returns and the faithful ones are raptured all will know that God was in their midst.

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

He is treacherous and crooked like a snake. The arrogance of these men will be their downfall. He got to his position because of his treachery, his ability to deceive and lay traps for the sheep and those who don’t know the deep things of Satan. It has worked for him before, but he made one little mistake. He may be able to fool people, but He can’t fool God. What he has done here is to reveal how devious and evil his heart is.

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

This is a strange description for those of us who don’t pay much attention to the signs in the heavens. However, for those that do they can immediately understand this. The planets were called “wandering stars” because they were moving around the heavens. However, Earth goes around the Sun faster than Jupiter, the planet that denotes King Jesus (if you look at a picture of Jupiter it has stripes on it like the stripes by which we were healed when Jesus was scourged, and there is a big red dot in the side of Jupiter just like Jesus was pierced in the side with a spear, and it is the biggest planet). What this means is that Jupiter will appear to move backwards and even stand still at different times. By itself that could not be the star, but what also happens is that Jupiter will be in conjunction with other stars and planets. What that means is you see the two of them as one especially bright star. This is clearly a description of this process. That said, if you want to know more go to links concerning the "star of Bethlehem".

10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.


These three treasures could signify God’s divine nature, the Holy Spirit that carries our prayers to God, and the effectiveness of the death of Jesus Christ the Son. What is quite interesting is that Mary and Joseph are obviously not wealthy. If you look at Mary’s prayer and the fact that Jesus was born in a manger that seems like a reasonable conclusion. These gifts though instantly provided what they needed to then flee to Egypt as they are about to be told. If we are children of God then God, our Father, will provide what we need when we need it. This is often our experience, God provides us with what we need. Over the last three years I began putting money away into the bank every paycheck, it was the first time in my life for such a surplus and I had no idea what to do with it, but I had the peace to just put it in the bank despite it not getting any interest. Then when the mandates came I left my job rather than get the vaccine, my wife did as well and there in the bank was sufficient funds to move. God provided, and then I understood what this surplus had been for.

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”


I think this is very interesting to anyone who has ever been deceived and taken advantage of by some scam artist. Why is it that God warns Joseph and Mary but didn’t warn you? Let me tell you a story about my wife. A friend of hers wanted her to invest in real estate so she could get rich. Knowing that she was supposed to be under the headship of her husband she asked me to go listen to the pitch so I could give my approval. I met this woman and discovered enough to realize this was a scam. I told my wife it was a scam and to have nothing to do with her. However, that is not what she wanted to hear, so she called me an idiot and went ahead anyway and invested and lost all her money. In another instance I was sitting in a large family meeting with my wife’s family. They were discussing getting involved in an investment scheme that sounded like a ponzi scheme to me. I told them that if they invested in it they would lose all their money. I was shushed, they invested and they lost all their money. The issue is not that God doesn’t warn us, the issue is that we refuse to listen to His warnings.

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”


Look at all these prophecies. If you had studied them at the time and knew them they would have led you to Jesus. Some knew that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem but didn’t bother going with the wise men to see Him? Others knew about the sign in the heaven that the Magi saw. They were taught by Daniel who based it on Numbers 24 and other key verses and prophecies. The Old Testament is a covenant that God’s people had with God. It is like a contract and every little word in that contract is significant. The Lord said if you love Him you will keep His word and do what He says. If you aren't doing what the Lord says and you aren't keeping the Lord's word then stop saying you love the Lord.
 

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Hosea 12 -- Ephraim is Laodicea

1 Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence.


What an interesting phrase. He feeds on the wind. Earlier in this book it said they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. When you make vain and empty promises and when you intentionally promote strife and division these things will come back to haunt you. This continues that thought, they feed on this. For example the media will take a story about a cop shooting and killing someone and feed on it. They will multiply lies and violence. Ultimately the story will be exposed as a lie but then they will move onto a new story. They pursue these stories all day.

He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

We call this the “deep state” where behind the scenes all these different forces are allied together for some nefarious purpose.

2 The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

Jacob refers to all untransformed believers, Judah to the two tribes and Ephraim to the ten. Every believer must be transformed, none are exempt. Every believer will reap what they sow. The New Testament says “judgement begins at the house of God”.

3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. 4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there— 5 the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name!

Life is a struggle, a wrestling match with God, a mission of seeking God and discovering who He is.

6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

This reminds me of what the Lord told the church in Ephesus. Every believer comes to the same fork in the road where they will leave their first love and they must repent and return.

7 The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud.

The enemy tries to defraud us. Our first love was when me met Jesus Christ the savior who saved us from our sins. But somewhere along the line the enemy will try to sell us on other things to replace that love using a dishonest scale to make them seem more important. If you take that road you will become self righteous, you will have to repent and return to the Lord who is our righteousness.

8 Ephraim boasts, “I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.”

Ephraim sounds like Laodicea. This is where the road of self righteousness leads. You are blind, you think you are wealthy and have no idea that you are poor, wretched and blind. This sounds like the prosperity gospel. According to this gospel gold chains, luxury cars, big houses are all proof of blessing so that others will not find in you any iniquity or sin.

9 “I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals.

How do you come out of Egypt? How do you get out of tyranny? Gandhi showed everyone how to do it. The British enslaved India by taking their cloth and making clothes for them. Gandhi showed everyone how to make their own clothes, it was called “homespun”. It may not be as fancy, but if you don’t need the British to make your clothes then they will have no function and will have to leave. Likewise, how do you leave Egypt? You leave in tents. If you are willing to give up your fancy house Egypt has no hold over you. That is how we deal with Amazon, Google, Twitter, MLB, NBA, etc. If they want to indoctrinate your kids then pull them out of school and homeschool. If 40% of the kids leave the public school it would be catastrophic to the public school.

10 I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them.”

We need to leave Hollywood and the mainstream media. We have many prophets, people with dreams and visions, we don't need to listen to the poison from Hollywood.

11 Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless!


Let’s be honest, Hollywood is worthless, the NBA is worthless, the mainstream media is worthless.

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field.


Organized Christianity denoted by Ephraim referring to the ten tribes is filled with idolatry. It isn’t even hidden but out in the open, plain to see. When the Lord looks at the corruption that He is going to deal with you can be sure that this is at the top of His list. These altars will become a heap of rubble, trash. When these churches are exposed for their idolatry they will become abandoned and will be like a heap of rubble. Ratings on the Olympics were down 50%, likewise with the NBA, NFL, etc. They are all going to be come a heap of stones. They have sold themselves to the Chinese and why are the Chinese buying them off? It is because of their ability to influence the American people, if they lose that then China will also abandon them.

12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram; Israel served to get a wife, and to pay for her he tended sheep.


This is the path we must take.

13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him.

The word of God is a lamp for our path, it will bring us up from Egypt, from the world, from the oppression of Pharaoh.

14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger; his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt.

So if you look at God’s people Jacob had his faults, Israel had their faults, but in cases after case God made a way for them. However, Ephraim, these self righteous believers who think they are rich not knowing they are poor, wretched and blind, God will leave blood guiltiness on them. Once again this is fair, they left their first love who would have been their righteousness and they trusted in their own righteousness. They treated the Lord’s sacrifice with contempt. This is the state of Christianity in the US and judgement on them.
 

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The concluding word in both Mark and Luke is very telling.

I used to teach HS science in the inner city. I had two overriding goals. I wanted kids to score in the 90 percentile range on the final statewide exam, the best score any of my students ever got was 97% and I had a standing offer to reward anyone who scored 95% or higher.

However, I also had another goal which is that as many students as possible would pass. The school system was far more focused on kids passing and failing. So my other overriding goal is how to help the most kids get over that 65% line.

This is what the concluding word for Mark and Luke looks like. Let's begin with Mark:

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 17 And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

There is only one charge to them and that is to preach the gospel to all creation. Interesting that these signs do not appear to be those that would help you discern the true gospel from the phony but rather to be able to overcome during the tribulation. This is a very strong promise that they will not be harmed by vaccines designed to kill or poison you.

Now let's look at the charge in Luke

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me.

This is what the watchmen have been doing. Moses is where we get the calendar, all the feast days, talk about Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot, Noah, Joseph, the Exodus, Joshua, and many other types and shadows of the rapture. Dr. Barry Awe has focused on these. The prophets have been dissected by such wonderful teachers like Chuck Missler and DTBM ministries who has done some wonderful historical analysis. We have others who have dug into the book of Revelation like the Prophecy club and a whole host of prophecies from both the OT, NT, even Enoch and the work that Repoman 64 is doing. The Psalms have turned out to be wonderfully prophetic and Pastor Sandy has focused on that to the point of it being amazing.

45 Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures;

Isn't this amazing that this is not in Mark? No charge to dig into the word or to have their mind renewed and transformed.

46 and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;

When you dive into the word you are not simply interested in who, or what or where or when. You ultimately get to the question of why? Why does it have to be this way? I have touched on this in many posts. This is not an elementary lesson but when you get to why Christ must suffer and rise again it just really strengthens your faith to see that what is happening is what must happen to really accomplish all that the Lord wishes to accomplish.

47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Even this is more detailed then what is in Mark. In Mark you "preach the gospel" here you explain about sins and remission of sins and repentance. It is much more detailed on the walk that is necessary to be saved.

48 Ye are witnesses of these things.

What things? All of these things! All the words in the Bible that have been fulfilled! Witnesses of the remission of sins! Witnesses of repentance! Witnesses of how the word will sanctify us and transform our minds.

49 And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.

There is no charge in Mark to tarry, no promise of power on high though "signs accompanying them" is referred to. The charge in Luke begins at Pentecost, the charge in Mark is almost as though it refers to after the rapture of the church. At that point the Lord doesn't need you to dig into the word, just needs you to preach the gospel that others have mined and brought to light. You know what the gospel is because of the rapture, all those who were raptured obviously were speaking the word that you are now to preach.

50 And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

Can you see the two stages here, like a two stage rocket. Luke is referring to the believers blessed by the Lord at the time of His ascension all the way to the rapture. Mark is for those in the tribulation that have been "bitten by snakes".

51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.

Can we all see this? We are here on a mission that was handed to us at the time that Jesus was carried up to heaven and we will be responsible for right up until we also are carried up into heaven.

52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 and were continually in the temple, blessing God.

So then, are you "continually in the temple, blessing God"? I like this word "blessing". He doesn't say "worshipping", doesn't say "praising", doesn't say "communing" or "praying" or "fellowshipping". Each one of us has a portion and that portion "blesses" God. Not all are prayer warriors, not all are worship leaders, not all are prophets or shepherds or teachers. That is true, but all of us can bless God continually.
 

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I have seen this before

Mark 16:9 Now when he was risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved. 12 And after these things he was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. 13 And they went away and told it unto the rest: neither believed they them. 14 And afterward he was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; and he upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. 17 And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

The tears of joy were far more common in kids that "passed" than in kids who scored in the 90s. Telling a kid he got a 94 would evoke a high five. Telling a kid they passed would often result in them breaking down in tears of joy. For a whole year I had been battling their unbelief. It was as though they had believed beyond hope for them.
 

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Matthew 5:1-20 -- Ten verses that will shine in the darkest night

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,2 and he began to teach them.

I have been teaching high school science for a number of years and I have learned to teach the most important and most critical things first. These are the things that if we run out of time will not get cut from the curriculum. So when things get serious and you feel the pressure instead of going to last book of the Bible, it's a good idea to go back to the beginning. Not only are these critical lessons but they are also presented without any presumption that you have a solid foundation. When you read chapter 1 of Revelation it is as though every single verse is referencing some portion of the Bible.

He said:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

What a great word. Do you want to be blessed? Do you want to have the kingdom of the heavens? Do you want a kingdom of righteousness, do you want to see God, do you want to be called the children of God? How should you respond if people slander and insult you?

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

How does salt lose its saltiness? Why would someone put a light under a bowl? This is not the right way to respond to persecution. If people falsely say all kinds of evil against you is your response to hide your light? Do you wash away the salt from your speech? Do you stop showing mercy? Do you stop making peace?

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The apostasy refers to the people of God falling away from the word of God and from His commands. It refers to a time when people will set aside the commands of the Lord and teach others accordingly. The rapture cannot come until there is a falling away first, this is so that there is a clear distinction between the faithful servants and the unfaithful ones. Thyatira is where Satan has set his throne, it is a big temple that claims to speak for God. They tolerate the woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and teaches the Lord’s servants to worship idols and commit fornication. The Lord calls it the “synagogue of Satan”. When you set aside the commands of God and teach others also you are one with God’s enemy. However, when the rapture comes and the Lord takes the church in Philadelphia those who are in the synagogue of Satan will come and worship at their feet confessing that God was truly in their midst. There is a contrast between Philadelphia, the meek ones and Thyatira the overbearing ones. A contrast between those who are poor in Spirit, knowing only what the Lord tells them and those who know better than God and know which laws to keep and which they can set aside. There is a contrast between those who are mourning, having suffered in this lifetime, and those who lived in luxury during this age. How can your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees? You need to show mercy. As you have done it will be done to you. You judged others with mercy, you also will receive mercy at the judgement. How can we see God? Your heart must be single, no worshipping of idols, no mixture with the world. Then when they insult you and say every evil thing about you falsely you can give thanks and praise to the Lord that you have been found worthy to suffer for His name in this age. You know that your reward will be great in that day when the Lord comes.
 

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Now compare Matthew 5:1-20 with Luke 6:21-23

21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

There is a progression here. You hunger for righteousness, you weep for what you see, ultimately they hate you. This is like rooting for the guy who campaigned on the promise to drain the swamp, weeping when you see the election fraud by going to the Stop the Steal rallies, and then seeing their hate focused on the January 6th protestors. Now we see them separating from us, imposing a covid mandate with the requirement of a vaccine passport and then accusing you of being a racist, mysogynist, nazi. They do this for the Son of Man's sake. A pastor was arrested for speaking the word of God saying that he "aided mischief."

Meanwhile there is nothing in Mark. I don't think the saints in the Tribulation will even get the chance at these protests. We'll see revival, people saved by the boatload, but no political protests.
 

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However, there is one constant in all three gospels:

34 Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

It doesn't matter if you are before the tribulation, during the tribulation or even in the great tribulation, you better not lose the salt in your speech.