Summary of Bible references on the Rapture
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How to respond to attacks from Satan
First, let's look at what not to do.
Genesis 3:2 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Let's not make up Bible verses. When attacked quote the Bible verbatim
Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Now let's look at what the Lord said:
1. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
A direct quote refutes the temptation.
2. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Satan tempted him with a verse from the Bible so he refuted it with another verse from the Bible. Satan can quote the Bible, doesn't mean his usage is correct.
3. Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Some principles in the Bible are more important than others. This is a major principle in the Bible and trumps everything else.
First, let's look at what not to do.
Genesis 3:2 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Let's not make up Bible verses. When attacked quote the Bible verbatim
Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Now let's look at what the Lord said:
1. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
A direct quote refutes the temptation.
2. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Satan tempted him with a verse from the Bible so he refuted it with another verse from the Bible. Satan can quote the Bible, doesn't mean his usage is correct.
3. Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Some principles in the Bible are more important than others. This is a major principle in the Bible and trumps everything else.
Now, on top of all this there are three major principles to take away from this.
1. We live by every word of God.
2. We trust in the Lord but we don't test him. That is actually a symptom of unbelief.
3. We worship God alone.
These three will cause Satan to flee from you.
Then look at the Lord's red letters: 1/10 of his words is a quote from the Bible.
1. We live by every word of God.
2. We trust in the Lord but we don't test him. That is actually a symptom of unbelief.
3. We worship God alone.
These three will cause Satan to flee from you.
Then look at the Lord's red letters: 1/10 of his words is a quote from the Bible.
Pro-Life Activist ARRESTED After FBI Raids Home, Accused Of ASSAULTING Planned Parenthood Volunteer
FBI Bombshell UNCOVERED Through ACLJ FOIA
Think about this. A mormon is shot and killed in his home, and I am told by a person claiming to be a Christian that this has "nothing to do with Christianity", of course not, he's a mormon.
A woman running a newspaper in Kansas is raided and dies. Again, nothing to do with Christians.
A Catholic church is infiltrated by the FBI, there is no allegation of wrongdoing, but they want to contrive a crime to tie them to right wing extremism. Nothing to do with Christianity, these are Catholics.
The ACLJ, a Jewish group, did a FOIA request and discovered that three field offices across the country including some of the biggest were coordinating on this despite Chris Wray lying about this to a senate hearing.
Now we discover there is not one loan memo, like Chris Wray said, but 1,200 pages of documents relevant to framing faith based organizations.
Fortunately, the person who told me this is not for Christians is not Lord, we don't listen to him, we listen to the Lord Jesus to tell us what is and what is not relevant to us.
I hope those reading this can see why someone would freak out about us talking about the 70 year old Mormon shot and killed, it could lead to us realizing the FBI is going after faith based groups.
FBI Bombshell UNCOVERED Through ACLJ FOIA
Think about this. A mormon is shot and killed in his home, and I am told by a person claiming to be a Christian that this has "nothing to do with Christianity", of course not, he's a mormon.
A woman running a newspaper in Kansas is raided and dies. Again, nothing to do with Christians.
A Catholic church is infiltrated by the FBI, there is no allegation of wrongdoing, but they want to contrive a crime to tie them to right wing extremism. Nothing to do with Christianity, these are Catholics.
The ACLJ, a Jewish group, did a FOIA request and discovered that three field offices across the country including some of the biggest were coordinating on this despite Chris Wray lying about this to a senate hearing.
Now we discover there is not one loan memo, like Chris Wray said, but 1,200 pages of documents relevant to framing faith based organizations.
Fortunately, the person who told me this is not for Christians is not Lord, we don't listen to him, we listen to the Lord Jesus to tell us what is and what is not relevant to us.
I hope those reading this can see why someone would freak out about us talking about the 70 year old Mormon shot and killed, it could lead to us realizing the FBI is going after faith based groups.
Introduction p.1
This blog is a collection of verse references concerning the day of the Lord and concerning the redemption of our body. I chose to focus on the rapture and to focus even more on the first rapture knowing that this is a controversial topic. The Lord says that “as you see the day approaching” and so one of my goals was to understand from the Bible what we would see that would tell us the day is approaching. I use the gospel of Luke, chapter 21 as my outline for this abstract because Luke is focused on this first rapture (Mark is on the mid tribulation rapture and Matthew on the rapture of Israel). You will see that some of the things mentioned in Mark and Matthew are not here because you will not see them prior to the rapture.
The Widow’s Offering
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
There is a beautiful symmetry here. The chapter ends with us praying that we would be able to escape the coming destruction and to stand before the Son of Man. The chapter begins with this little window into that. Jesus sees everything. He sees how dedicated you are and His math is different from the world. In the world a man who gives $1,000 gave more than a woman who gave $20. But if you are simply skimming off the top you are giving a much smaller percent of your wealth whereas someone who is giving everything they have is giving a much bigger percent. Are you giving all your living or are you giving whatever is extra? What is the point of studying the rapture if you are not going to escape and are not worthy to stand before the Son of Man? Jesus gave everything He had, He gave His life, how can you stand before Him if you have not also given all you have, given all your living?
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
In Corinthians we are told by Paul that we are building the church with gold, silver and precious stones and that our building work will be tested by fire. If it stands the test you receive a reward, if it burns up in the fire you suffer a loss but you will still be saved, yet so as through fire. So there is a judgement going on, the rapture is this judgement. Those who are taken in the first rapture are receiving this reward, those who are left behind will suffer loss just like having a fire burn up everything you have worked for, but they themselves will still be saved. This refers to the two raptures. This temple that the disciples were admiring was about to suffer loss, they built according to their own opinion. They should have recognized that Jesus Christ had come and yet they didn’t. There were very many prophecies including Daniel which told them the exact year He would be crucified and even though they considered themselves Bible scholars they didn’t recognize Him. There was the star of Bethlehem, yet they missed that. There were two thousand kids who were murdered, also a fulfillment of prophecy and yet they missed that. John the Baptist paved the way for Him and yet they missed that. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, the dead were raised and yet they still insisted on not recognizing Him. So the Temple appeared to be made with stones and beautiful gifts, but in God’s eyes it was wood, hay and stubble and would be burned. What happened in 70 AD to the temple and what happened to the Jews is an example of what Paul meant when he said that “we would suffer loss”. We can also see that the Lord is not referring to physical stones, physical gold, or physical silver. These great cathedrals that have been built with their great artwork will also be burned up. No, the gold, silver and precious stones refers to God’s divine nature, Jesus’ redemption, and the Spirit’s transforming work. The Triune God needs to be worked into our being, that is how you build the church. The word of God is fine gold, the Lord's redeeming blood is the finest silver, and the transforming work of the Spirit is precious stones. We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Are you constituted with the word of God, is it mingled with your daily living? We need works that express our faith. Abraham offering up Isaac was an example of a work that expressed his faith in God. Wood, hay and stubble refers to works that come from our natural opinion, ideas, and concepts. When you read George Mueller’s biography you will see that his entire work of setting up orphanages rested on a single word that God spoke to him from the Bible. It was a work of faith. His faith was not dead because it had a living expression.
When will these things happen and what will be the sign that they are about to take place?
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
This would be the perfect place for the Lord to respond “no one knows the day or the hour” but He doesn’t. Let that sink deep inside, everything He says is an answer to this question. We will see there are definitely signs that tell us when these things are about to happen. The Magi got a sign and a few months later they see the baby Jesus. The ministry of John the Baptist was a sign. Mary, the mother of Jesus, kept all the different signs in her heart.
This blog is a collection of verse references concerning the day of the Lord and concerning the redemption of our body. I chose to focus on the rapture and to focus even more on the first rapture knowing that this is a controversial topic. The Lord says that “as you see the day approaching” and so one of my goals was to understand from the Bible what we would see that would tell us the day is approaching. I use the gospel of Luke, chapter 21 as my outline for this abstract because Luke is focused on this first rapture (Mark is on the mid tribulation rapture and Matthew on the rapture of Israel). You will see that some of the things mentioned in Mark and Matthew are not here because you will not see them prior to the rapture.
The Widow’s Offering
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
There is a beautiful symmetry here. The chapter ends with us praying that we would be able to escape the coming destruction and to stand before the Son of Man. The chapter begins with this little window into that. Jesus sees everything. He sees how dedicated you are and His math is different from the world. In the world a man who gives $1,000 gave more than a woman who gave $20. But if you are simply skimming off the top you are giving a much smaller percent of your wealth whereas someone who is giving everything they have is giving a much bigger percent. Are you giving all your living or are you giving whatever is extra? What is the point of studying the rapture if you are not going to escape and are not worthy to stand before the Son of Man? Jesus gave everything He had, He gave His life, how can you stand before Him if you have not also given all you have, given all your living?
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
In Corinthians we are told by Paul that we are building the church with gold, silver and precious stones and that our building work will be tested by fire. If it stands the test you receive a reward, if it burns up in the fire you suffer a loss but you will still be saved, yet so as through fire. So there is a judgement going on, the rapture is this judgement. Those who are taken in the first rapture are receiving this reward, those who are left behind will suffer loss just like having a fire burn up everything you have worked for, but they themselves will still be saved. This refers to the two raptures. This temple that the disciples were admiring was about to suffer loss, they built according to their own opinion. They should have recognized that Jesus Christ had come and yet they didn’t. There were very many prophecies including Daniel which told them the exact year He would be crucified and even though they considered themselves Bible scholars they didn’t recognize Him. There was the star of Bethlehem, yet they missed that. There were two thousand kids who were murdered, also a fulfillment of prophecy and yet they missed that. John the Baptist paved the way for Him and yet they missed that. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, the dead were raised and yet they still insisted on not recognizing Him. So the Temple appeared to be made with stones and beautiful gifts, but in God’s eyes it was wood, hay and stubble and would be burned. What happened in 70 AD to the temple and what happened to the Jews is an example of what Paul meant when he said that “we would suffer loss”. We can also see that the Lord is not referring to physical stones, physical gold, or physical silver. These great cathedrals that have been built with their great artwork will also be burned up. No, the gold, silver and precious stones refers to God’s divine nature, Jesus’ redemption, and the Spirit’s transforming work. The Triune God needs to be worked into our being, that is how you build the church. The word of God is fine gold, the Lord's redeeming blood is the finest silver, and the transforming work of the Spirit is precious stones. We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Are you constituted with the word of God, is it mingled with your daily living? We need works that express our faith. Abraham offering up Isaac was an example of a work that expressed his faith in God. Wood, hay and stubble refers to works that come from our natural opinion, ideas, and concepts. When you read George Mueller’s biography you will see that his entire work of setting up orphanages rested on a single word that God spoke to him from the Bible. It was a work of faith. His faith was not dead because it had a living expression.
When will these things happen and what will be the sign that they are about to take place?
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
This would be the perfect place for the Lord to respond “no one knows the day or the hour” but He doesn’t. Let that sink deep inside, everything He says is an answer to this question. We will see there are definitely signs that tell us when these things are about to happen. The Magi got a sign and a few months later they see the baby Jesus. The ministry of John the Baptist was a sign. Mary, the mother of Jesus, kept all the different signs in her heart.
Mercy
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
If you are praying for God to be merciful the best way to receive mercy is to show mercy to others. You know forgiveness requires that the person confess and repent. But mercy doesn't require anything. I have heard some say "can you forgive him" and the response is "he needs to confess and repent". Instead ask, can you show mercy?
So let's itemize some ways we can show mercy
1. Psalm 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
You can hear a request. We all know how do duck a phone call, how to avoid helping someone who is calling us to help. Do you want God to hear you when you pray for help?
2. Psalm 9:13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
Think about prisoners, think about the January 6th prisoners, or others who are "hated" and reviled. Often we shy away from helping someone in that situation for fear we will also be painted with the same brush. I heard that many lawyers are concerned with the prosecution of Trump but don't want to say anything lest their practice would also be damaged, they call this to be "Dershowitz'ed".
3. Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.
Lawyers will always attack the credibility of a witness by looking at every single thing they have ever done and then impugning the ugliest assumptions to that. They do this because they know no one is pure and without reproach. But you can show a person mercy by not remembering some of the mistakes they made many years ago.
4. Psalm 25:16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
The way of the world is they help others with the expectation of being paid back. You have your reward. That is not mercy. Helping someone who is desolate and afflicted and can't pay you back, that is mercy.
5. Psalm 27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
Remember when the gentile woman was calling for the Son of David to help her daughter. The Son of David is only for Israel. Jesus said that out loud, he answered her, so she would know how to adjust her prayer. That was mercy. Sometimes people call out for help but there is an easy way to reject it because they did something wrong. There is a scene in Incredibles (animated children's movie) where the hero coaches this old woman on how to properly get the insurance company to reimburse her. That is mercy.
6. Psalm 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
What an amazing contrast, you would think the contrast is that the wicked don't pay their debts and the righteous do. No, how could you be called righteous is you didn't pay your debts. That is redundant. No, the wicked borrow and don't pay it back. When the righteous loan something to someone who doesn't return it they simply decide to "give" it to them, hence nothing to confess or repent about. That is mercy. Remember the story about the man who the king forgave a huge debt for and then went out and persecuted someone who owed him a tiny debt? The Lord said "you should have forgiven him as I forgave you". We were all wicked, the Lord paid our debts making us righteous, but the test to our heart whether we are truly righteous or wicked is how we treat those that owe us something.
7. Psalm 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
The mercies of the wicked are cruel. Think about those movies where the villain has the hero all tied up and the choice is a slow, tortuous death until he tells him what they want to know, or a quick painless death. The quick, painless death is their way of showing mercy. Our mercy needs to be according to lovingkindness, not cruelty.
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
If you are praying for God to be merciful the best way to receive mercy is to show mercy to others. You know forgiveness requires that the person confess and repent. But mercy doesn't require anything. I have heard some say "can you forgive him" and the response is "he needs to confess and repent". Instead ask, can you show mercy?
So let's itemize some ways we can show mercy
1. Psalm 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
You can hear a request. We all know how do duck a phone call, how to avoid helping someone who is calling us to help. Do you want God to hear you when you pray for help?
2. Psalm 9:13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
Think about prisoners, think about the January 6th prisoners, or others who are "hated" and reviled. Often we shy away from helping someone in that situation for fear we will also be painted with the same brush. I heard that many lawyers are concerned with the prosecution of Trump but don't want to say anything lest their practice would also be damaged, they call this to be "Dershowitz'ed".
3. Psalm 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.
Lawyers will always attack the credibility of a witness by looking at every single thing they have ever done and then impugning the ugliest assumptions to that. They do this because they know no one is pure and without reproach. But you can show a person mercy by not remembering some of the mistakes they made many years ago.
4. Psalm 25:16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
The way of the world is they help others with the expectation of being paid back. You have your reward. That is not mercy. Helping someone who is desolate and afflicted and can't pay you back, that is mercy.
5. Psalm 27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
Remember when the gentile woman was calling for the Son of David to help her daughter. The Son of David is only for Israel. Jesus said that out loud, he answered her, so she would know how to adjust her prayer. That was mercy. Sometimes people call out for help but there is an easy way to reject it because they did something wrong. There is a scene in Incredibles (animated children's movie) where the hero coaches this old woman on how to properly get the insurance company to reimburse her. That is mercy.
6. Psalm 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
What an amazing contrast, you would think the contrast is that the wicked don't pay their debts and the righteous do. No, how could you be called righteous is you didn't pay your debts. That is redundant. No, the wicked borrow and don't pay it back. When the righteous loan something to someone who doesn't return it they simply decide to "give" it to them, hence nothing to confess or repent about. That is mercy. Remember the story about the man who the king forgave a huge debt for and then went out and persecuted someone who owed him a tiny debt? The Lord said "you should have forgiven him as I forgave you". We were all wicked, the Lord paid our debts making us righteous, but the test to our heart whether we are truly righteous or wicked is how we treat those that owe us something.
7. Psalm 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
The mercies of the wicked are cruel. Think about those movies where the villain has the hero all tied up and the choice is a slow, tortuous death until he tells him what they want to know, or a quick painless death. The quick, painless death is their way of showing mercy. Our mercy needs to be according to lovingkindness, not cruelty.
Introduction p.2
Watch out for false prophets
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
On the one hand there are signs that tell us when these things are about to happen, on the other hand Satan will disguise himself as an angel of light and try to deceive us. The last two thousand years of the church age is filled with false prophets and false Christs (cult leaders) who want people to follow them. The lesson to be learned is not that Christians need to avoid this topic or this chapter (Luke 21), but rather we need to know the Lord. We are His sheep and we know His voice. Second lesson is we should not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. If it is possible to deceive the elect he will do so. The extent of his deceptions and the lengths that he will go to in order to deceive us is incredible. The cult leaders like Jim Jones is the most obvious example. In warfare it is critical to keep your balance. An attack may cause you to fall (as with those who were deceived and followed the false christ) but it may also cause you to overreact, over compensate. It seems today everyone is concerned with religious extremists and no one is concerned with secularism. Either way you are not balanced. The Lord said “I will build my house and the gates of hades will not prevail against it”. If you are standing with the Lord building the house then you should be experiencing the attacks of the gates of hell. Being someplace where there is no attack is a sign that you are not with the Lord building His house. When I played football I was told to “fight the pressure”. If the lineman is trying to push you one way that is where you don’t want to go. On the one hand we have Jim Jones telling us the time is near and we need to follow him. That is grape kool aid. On the other hand you have these denominational preachers saying “no one knows the day or the hour” and that we should not touch this topic, that is the cherry Kool aid. Either way you are being deceived. Every word of God is good for teaching, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. Anyone who removes words from the Bible or says you should skip this chapter, that chapter and the book of Revelation will be accursed. So then how do we identify these false prophets. They come in the Lord’s name, they will be in the appearance of a believer, they are wolves in sheeps clothing. Only they are not satisfied being one of the many sheep, no they are a special sheep, they are “he”. This is so obvious you have to be very naive to fall for it. They have a special anointing, a special gift, they are “the apostle”, or who knows, they may claim to be Christ! One technique is to deny that they say that and yet everything they do say would lead you to believe that “wow, this is Christ!” That is the big tell. A second big component of their ministry is “the time is near”. This is very distinctive, they are saying that at the end of the age, the time is near, the messiah has returned secretly to lead people out of this evil world, and only those in this cult out of 7.5 billion people on earth know. Once again you have to be extremely naive. The gospel goes out to the whole world and then the end comes. We are not a “secret society”, those are of Satan. We are not of the world but the Lord has sent us out into the world to preach the gospel and to be His witness until He comes. There is no special pre rapture period where we then leave the world and are no longer responsible to be witnesses. But the ultimate tell is that you need to follow them? Why? We have the fellowship of the Apostles, this is our covenant, our contract with God. Jesus is living in our heart. Where in our contract does it ever say that we also will need to follow some man at the end of the age? Rather it doesn’t say that, it says that is a deception from the enemy. Now many will think, thank God I’m not in a cult like Jim Jones. OK, but do you follow a man? Can you read the Bible for yourself or do you need some Bible teacher to tell you what it says? How did the Lord put it, oh yea, “depart from me workers of iniquity, I never knew you”. Do you know the Lord, do you know His word, can you recognize His voice, or do you need someone else to tell you what God is saying? If you don’t have that relationship everything else is not important, you will never deceive the Lord at His coming and the door will be shut in your face. The pandemic should have been an eye opener, how many took the vaccine because Fauci told them to? That means you are following a man and not listening to the Lord.
Watch out for false prophets
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
On the one hand there are signs that tell us when these things are about to happen, on the other hand Satan will disguise himself as an angel of light and try to deceive us. The last two thousand years of the church age is filled with false prophets and false Christs (cult leaders) who want people to follow them. The lesson to be learned is not that Christians need to avoid this topic or this chapter (Luke 21), but rather we need to know the Lord. We are His sheep and we know His voice. Second lesson is we should not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. If it is possible to deceive the elect he will do so. The extent of his deceptions and the lengths that he will go to in order to deceive us is incredible. The cult leaders like Jim Jones is the most obvious example. In warfare it is critical to keep your balance. An attack may cause you to fall (as with those who were deceived and followed the false christ) but it may also cause you to overreact, over compensate. It seems today everyone is concerned with religious extremists and no one is concerned with secularism. Either way you are not balanced. The Lord said “I will build my house and the gates of hades will not prevail against it”. If you are standing with the Lord building the house then you should be experiencing the attacks of the gates of hell. Being someplace where there is no attack is a sign that you are not with the Lord building His house. When I played football I was told to “fight the pressure”. If the lineman is trying to push you one way that is where you don’t want to go. On the one hand we have Jim Jones telling us the time is near and we need to follow him. That is grape kool aid. On the other hand you have these denominational preachers saying “no one knows the day or the hour” and that we should not touch this topic, that is the cherry Kool aid. Either way you are being deceived. Every word of God is good for teaching, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. Anyone who removes words from the Bible or says you should skip this chapter, that chapter and the book of Revelation will be accursed. So then how do we identify these false prophets. They come in the Lord’s name, they will be in the appearance of a believer, they are wolves in sheeps clothing. Only they are not satisfied being one of the many sheep, no they are a special sheep, they are “he”. This is so obvious you have to be very naive to fall for it. They have a special anointing, a special gift, they are “the apostle”, or who knows, they may claim to be Christ! One technique is to deny that they say that and yet everything they do say would lead you to believe that “wow, this is Christ!” That is the big tell. A second big component of their ministry is “the time is near”. This is very distinctive, they are saying that at the end of the age, the time is near, the messiah has returned secretly to lead people out of this evil world, and only those in this cult out of 7.5 billion people on earth know. Once again you have to be extremely naive. The gospel goes out to the whole world and then the end comes. We are not a “secret society”, those are of Satan. We are not of the world but the Lord has sent us out into the world to preach the gospel and to be His witness until He comes. There is no special pre rapture period where we then leave the world and are no longer responsible to be witnesses. But the ultimate tell is that you need to follow them? Why? We have the fellowship of the Apostles, this is our covenant, our contract with God. Jesus is living in our heart. Where in our contract does it ever say that we also will need to follow some man at the end of the age? Rather it doesn’t say that, it says that is a deception from the enemy. Now many will think, thank God I’m not in a cult like Jim Jones. OK, but do you follow a man? Can you read the Bible for yourself or do you need some Bible teacher to tell you what it says? How did the Lord put it, oh yea, “depart from me workers of iniquity, I never knew you”. Do you know the Lord, do you know His word, can you recognize His voice, or do you need someone else to tell you what God is saying? If you don’t have that relationship everything else is not important, you will never deceive the Lord at His coming and the door will be shut in your face. The pandemic should have been an eye opener, how many took the vaccine because Fauci told them to? That means you are following a man and not listening to the Lord.
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2Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.