Author: Colleen

I’m a fifty-something wife and mother of two; corporate paralegal by day and aspiring writer and blogger in the off hours. My blog is primarily about the truths I’ve learned over the past 30 years, first in spiritual matters, but also in other areas of life. My dream is to write a fictional series.

We Are Living in Amazing Days!

“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.”

One of my major complaints over the past several years is that many churches/pastors are not teaching what the Bible tells us is going to be happening in our culture during the Last Days before the return of Christ.  I have heard that many Christians don’t even read their own Bibles, let alone those people who aren’t believers! Or, if a Christian does read their Bible, some will skip over those parts that make them uncomfortable or parts they don’t understand.  If pastors don’t speak/teach on such things, the difficult and challenging things, how on earth are we going to be prepared for the world-wide deception that is coming? Jesus himself admonished us in Matthew 24 to not be deceived. The only way you do that is to learn the truth of it from God’s Word so you will recognize the deception when you see it. God gives us prophecy in the Bible to prepare us, not to scare us! That way when we see these things happening it will encourage our faith to know that he is God and his Word is true.

 I thank God for Pastor Jack Hibbs! I can’t attend his church personally as he is located in California and I am not, but I check in regularly online as a supplement to my local church. I would strongly urge you to settle in with a coffee or tea and watch each of the following teachings in their entirety.  They just may open your eyes to a whole new understanding of scripture that you’ve never even thought of before. Look up the scripture references yourself in your own Bible and ask God to help you understand his Word.  Whether you want to believe it or not, there IS a spiritual battle going on for the souls of men/women, and I truly believe we are on the verge of witnessing demonic deception on a level that we have never thought possible. Buckle up and hear what God has to say about it!

In the Daze of Deception Part 1

In the Daze of Deception Part 2

In the Days of Deception Part 3

Following are some of the key scriptures referenced by Pastor Jack:

Luke 21:34-36 – “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you will be able  to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

1 Thessalonians 5:1-9 – “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Luke 21:28 – “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

1 John 4:1-3 – “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits (with the Word of God) to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 – “… for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

Colossians 2:8 – “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Ephesians 4:14-15 – “Then we will no longer be (spiritual) infants, tossed back and forth by the waves (troubles of life), and blown here and there by every wind of (false) teaching, and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up (spiritually) in him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

Luke 21:8 – “He (Jesus) 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.”

I have to admit that I didn’t grow up going to church or reading my Bible. It wasn’t until late high school/early college that I experienced a spiritual crisis that led me to salvation in Jesus Christ. Oh, how I NEEDED him!! And from the very beginning of that relationship I knew deep in my heart that I would experience the return of Christ in my lifetime. But how did I know? I can only say it was by the Holy Spirit. I had no knowledge of the “End Times”, the Book of Revelation or biblical prophecy – I had never even really read the Bible at all! But I knew that God exists, and I had come to know his Son intimately, and I believed his Word. And if I believed Christ had come the first time, to be the perfect sacrifice and to shed his blood as a ransom for all, then I had to believe that he is coming back – because he promised that he would. And he has given us a road map of things to watch for; signs of the season, of sorts. I pray with all my heart that you would hear his voice today and respond with your heart to welcome him in. I promise, you will not regret it in the least!

Until next time, be blessed!

Overwhelmed Much?

I can’t tell you how many times over the past couple of years I have planned to post a blog about this or that, and then ran out of time, and so many new things have then come up in a short period of time so that the original idea I was toying with was then out of date.

I’ve been so blessed through the COVID lockdowns in 2020-2021. I thank God that I’ve remained gainfully employed full-time from home the whole time, yet frustrated that I’m so tired/exhausted from trying to stay on top of the real news in my free time that there hasn’t been any time to write a blog. I’ve been researching various resources online and reading myself just to stay on top of everything going on in the U.S. and worldwide.

If it weren’t for my faith and God’s promises in His word, I’m sure I would be stressed out and anxious all the time. I’m so very thankful for His peace, and that God is my refuge in times of trouble!

Yet I feel convicted to press on and share what information I can so you too will be informed and encouraged. But I’m not going to re-create the wheel. What I am going to do is share links to information I’ve found that you can read/watch for yourself – an aggregations of informational sources that you can check out for yourself. Not only will I post links in any current blog that I post, but I’ll try to remember to post those links on my Resources page as well so they’re easy to find later on if you find yourself looking for them.

So put on your seatbelts! Here’s what I’ve been checking out today:

Solar Max is Here! Biden’s Climate Agenda Gets a Huge Set Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OcUhCzgog

  • Science says the Sun is now active = solar max
  • Cosmic radiation is up with higher solar winds from Sun spots = impacts to Earth = increased geomagnetic activity (more, stronger earthquakes)
  • Jet streams on Earth move closer to poles = less cloud cover and Earth warms (extreme temps in between)
  • Sea ice in increasing at the North Pole, NOT decreasing
  • No tropical waves yet, and it’s almost August
  • NO SCIENCE to back up Climate Emergency plan by Biden
  • CO2 does not drive climate, solar activity does – government censorship if you don’t drink the koolaid
  • Natural climate cycles are very real

This is Worse Than we Thought (Tom Hughes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCi_k1M6GcQ

Here’s the truth:

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.” Romans 1: 21-25

It is a fearful thing when God turns His back on you and allows your sin to take you over. The blessings of God and His provision are conditional on our acknowledgement of Him as God – but that doesn’t mean He requires that we be perfect. That would be impossible because we are human with a fallen nature. But He does expect that we glorify Him as God and give thanks to Him in all circumstances. He knows your heart.

The Bible tells us in Revelation 6: 1-8 that in the last days a world government will arise that will control every aspect of your life and leading to: world-wide conquest (First Seal: rider on white horse), social unrest/terrorism (Second Seal: rider on red horse), runaway inflation/food scarcity (Third Seal: rider on black horse), and wars/famine/plague/death (Fourth Seal: rider on pale horse).

As I peruse the news every day I would say we are certainly beginning to see the foreshadowing of such things, and these seals will be the beginning of a 7-year period called the Great Tribulation in which God himself will pour out his wrath on an unbelieving world. However, for those who believe in Christ Jesus as Savior, we are assured that we are not appointed to suffer God’s wrath, and in fact, He will provide a means of escape:

“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety”, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you ae doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

My dear reader, if you have not yet turned to God and asked Him for the forgiveness of your sins and salvation in Christ I urge you to do that today before it is too late. If you’re looking for some help in prayer on this please see my Prayer for Repentance page for some guidance.

Until next time, be blessed!

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate?

My father and I have been discussing the COVID vaccines and whether or not we plan to take them.  We are both believers in Jesus Christ and believers in the miracles that modern medicine can bring in the form of medical intervention and the treatment of diseases. However, we both struggle with our own medical challenges and have found better health and healing in seeking treatment through functional medicine and natural alternative methods. I would say we aren’t opposed to taking vaccines – he still gets an annual flu vaccine whereas I have chosen not to for the past 6 years (and have been less sick as well), but I am currently on the waiting list for the Shingles vaccine after seeing him go through that painful period several years back.

However, we have concerns about the COVID vaccine due to the speed with which it was developed (did they sacrifice adequate testing as a result?), the question as to whether they used fetal tissue from aborted babies in the development of the vaccine, the newness of the experimental mRNA vaccines, as well as the survivability figures for this coronavirus. 

I thought perhaps others might have some of the same questions so I’m sharing some resources I reviewed in making our decision – the choice is up to you.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/mrna-vaccine-basics.htm

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/is-the-coronavirus-vaccine-made-from-fetal-cell-lines-99246

https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/what-pro-lifers-should-know-about-the-pfizer-moderna-and-oxford-covid-19-vaccines.html

Moderna vs Pfizer COVID 19 Vaccine (mRNA vaccines)

https://greatgameindia.com/covid-19-vaccines-operating-system/

Vaccine Information

Exposing Vaccine Genocide

Natural remedies to boost your immune system:

Vitamins C, D and Zinc for COVID 19 Prevention

Other resources to consider:

– The Ten Stages of Genocide – Gregory H. Stanton Ten Stages of Genocide

“The Vaccine Genocide Chronicles: Part 4: Covert use of Abortion-causing Vaccines Around the World.”

The Vaccine Genocide Chronicles: Part 4: Covert use of Abortion-causing Vaccines Around the World

 

Do You Have God’s Protection and Provision?

“Because they love me.” says the Lord, “I will rescue them; I will protect them, for they acknowledge my name.”

Most people have heard of, and acknowledge, the unconditional love of God.  For those of us who believe that God exists, we know that God created mankind for fellowship with him, that we are created in God’s image (on multiple levels), and that he loves everyone and desires that none would perish in hell, but that everyone would come to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9).

So, we have heard that God is love, that God loves everyone and we take comfort in that – but here’s where most people stop in their scriptural pursuit of understanding. They believe that, if God loves them, and they are going through a difficult time, they can pray to God and then one of two things happens: 1) God intervenes and solves their problem and they go on their merry way, or 2) God doesn’t intervene with their problem, God is blamed for this, and those people then move further and further away from God into resentment against God. Does this sound familiar?

I’m here to tell you that God DOES INDEED LOVE EVERYONE, and his love is truly UNCONDITIONAL in that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past – even murder – He still loves you and wants you to have eternal life after death.  He loves you so much he sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth in the flesh and to die for you as a sacrificial lamb so that YOU can be reconciled to God and have eternal life (rather than eternity in hell). 

But it may surprise you to learn that God’s protection and provision appear to be CONDITIONAL – they require an on-going relationship with God. Note all the conditional statements in the scripture that follows:

Psalm 91 TextMy Comments
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.How do we “dwell in the shelter of the Most High”? How do you dwell in your home? You live there daily (spend lots of time there), you find rest there, you go from that place out into the world. If we live our lives from the standpoint that God’s shelter (his word, his presence) is our safe home base, he promises that we will find rest there. You make a willing choice to continue to dwell in your home and to go back there every day – make a willful choice to continually dwell with God.  
2 They say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.If we acknowledge that God is our refuge, that we trust in him, we are promised that: he will save us from those who want to entrap us, we will save us from deadly pestilence, he will hide us from our enemies. His faithfulness will be our protection (and it is unending).
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.If we place our trust in him, and we acknowledge that he is sovereign over everything (verse 2) – including over our fears, then we will have his peace and our fears will become less.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.If we acknowledge that God is our refuge, that we trust in him (verse 2), God promises that we will not be punished like the wicked – it will not come near us. Note that the wicked – those who are disobedient to God – will be punished (more on that in another post).
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.If we acknowledge him and his authority in our lives, and if we continually make our dwelling place in him, he promises us that no harm will overtake us – note he doesn’t say that harm will never come to us, but that it won’t overtake us (it won’t be more than we can bear, with his help, because he is our shelter) – and he promises to send his angels to guard us in all that we do.  
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.      If we acknowledge him and his authority in our lives, and if we continually make our dwelling place in him (verse 9), he promises us the upper hand in dealing with Satan and his influence in our lives.
  14 Because they love me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue them; I will protect them, for they acknowledge my name. 15 They will call on me, and I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will deliver them and honor them. 16 With long life I will satisfy them and show them my salvation.   If we acknowledge him and his authority in our lives with love in our hearts, he promises us: that he will rescue us, that he will protect us, that he will answer our prayers, that he will be with us in trouble, that he will deliver us and honor us, that he will bless us with a long life and show us his salvation (grace).  
But, what if . . . .

But, what if we don’t acknowledge him, and if we don’t dwell/live with him – then we have no relationship with him and we are not assured of his protection and provision. Would a loving father bless and provide for a stranger over his own children? I think not. And so it is with God and his children.

John 1:11-13 says it this way, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

We are not all “children of God” simply because we exist as human beings.  Yes, he loves us all as his creation, but God defines “children of God” as only those who receive his son, Jesus, and who believe in his name (believe that he IS the son of God and has the authority to redeem you from your sins). It is a free gift that is offered, but you must accept it and believe – THEN you are part of God’s family and can claim certain rights as a result of that familial relationship.

Psalm 91 holds great promises we can cling to if we are in proper relationship with God, but those promises are conditional upon your relationship with him. If you have not yet made the decision to accept Jesus into your heart and life, I would encourage you to do that today while you still have the chance.  For further information, please check out the page on my website for the Prayer of Repetance.

Until next time, be blessed!

How Do a Majority of Pastors Feel About Current Events?

The following article was referenced in a recent sermon at a local church and I thought you might find it interesting.  Actually, in reading through the article I was rather surprised to learn that 56% of those interviewed said they believe that Jesus Christ will return to Earth during their lifetime – then why aren’t more pastors talking about eschatology and biblical prophecy of the End Times? If you are a pastor and your life’s calling is to share the good news and salvation of Jesus Christ with as many people as will listen (so that they might make a decision to accept his forgiveness and eternal life), why wouldn’t you want to reach them before time runs out? Why wouldn’t you want to share the urgency of our day and reach them before these signs begin to wash over the world like a tidal wave?

For me, the knowledge of these things helps me to feel more secure in my faith when I read the news every day. It calms me to know that God’s word has told us in advance what the world is going to look like, what kinds of things will be going on, and what is still to come. It helps to prepare me for the deception washing over every aspect of our world.  It tells me that God is sovereign and in control, and I know how the story will end.  If your pastor is not teaching you what the Bible says about such things, then perhaps it’s time to find another church.

Vast Majority of Pastors See Signs of End Times in Current Events

ARE YOU A DEAD MAN WALKING?

“Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”

I recently started using a new Bible study tool that is totally awesome. It’s called the Scribe Bible Journal.  It’s based on psychology and is specifically designed for busy people with the goal of helping people be more consistent in the quiet time with God every day. It’s a simple, structured, journaling format that helps you drill down into God’s word to meditate on what God is trying to teach us, how we can apply it to our lives every day and includes prayer, memory verses, walking in gratitude and setting SMART goals. I’ve only been using it for a couple days but I really like it.  If you want to know more about it, check out this link here: https://lyfebooks.co/products/scribe-bible-journal

So what did God show me today?

“All of us also lived among them at one time (those who are spiritually dead), gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2: 3-5

So, what do I observe in this scripture?  When we live apart from God, we are spiritually dead and we live a sinful life that is controlled by our fleshly desires. We often give in to these desires and allow our thoughts to follow suit. Yes, this could mean sexual sins, but it could also apply to many other areas of our lives.  Galations 5:16-19 says it plain enough:

  • The flesh desires what is contrary to the Holy Spirit (God)
  • The flesh and the Holy Spirit are in conflict with each other, so if you desire to be in right standing with God, you are not to do whatever you want – you need to exercise self-control
  • The acts of the flesh are obvious:
    • Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery (excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures)
    • Idolatry and witchcraft
      • Idolatry is defined as the worship of an idol or cult image, being a physical image, such as a statue, or a person in place of God.
    • Hatred
    • Discord (seeking disagreement between people rather than reconciliation)
    • Jealousy
    • Fits of rage
    • Selfish ambition
    • Dissensions, factions and envy
    • Drunkenness, orgies, “and the like”

When we live this way Ephesians 2 verse 3 tells us we are deserving of God’s wrath. Galations tells us in verse 21 that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

BUT – and this is a really big BUT – because God loves us so very much, he desires to extend his mercy towards us  – EVEN WHEN WE ARE SPIRITUALLY DEAD AND LIVING THIS WAY – in order to save us from his wrath.

So how are we saved from wrath?  God sent us his son, Jesus Christ, as an atonement for our great sin. So, when you acknowledge that you are a sinner and accept the gracious gift of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, something miraculous happens in your heart.  You are transformed on the inside from being spiritually dead to being made alive in Christ. The Holy Spirit actually comes to live inside of you and to empower you to exercise self-control over your flesh and to live a life that is pleasing to God.  That is not to say that this is always an easy process.  Sometimes it is, but many times it is a daily struggle that needs your constant attention. However, I have found that God is faithful to help us if we only ask him to, and the Bible assures us that this is true.  The key is to accept God’s gracious gift in Jesus Christ AND THEN TURN from a life of living to fulfill your fleshly desires to a life that is pleasing to God. In other words, we need to try to stop doing those things we know are contrary to the way God wants us to live.

I can’t tell you how excited this scripture makes me! Because of his love for us – FOR YOU and his abundant grace TOWARDS YOU (defined as undeserved favor or generosity) God has made a way for YOU to escape his wrath and to be reconciled back into right relationship with him! Isn’t that totally awesome?! The Creator of the whole universe didn’t sit around waiting for you to make yourself perfect before giving you a precious gift in return. He didn’t even wait for you to acknowledge that you need his help before he rushed to your defense and made a way for you to overcome.  Christ Jesus willingly went to the cross, laid down his life and died a humiliating and tortuous death on your behalf – while you are/were still wallowing away in your sin – in order to make a way for you to conquer death, hell and the grave and to gain eternal life.

I don’t know about you, but I am, and will continue to be, eternally grateful beyond my wildest dreams that as a Believer I don’t have to worry about experiencing God’s wrath or judgment and I can look forward to inheriting God’s kingdom and his blessings. Through union with Christ we will receive new life that reverses the effects of death – it is a promise and an assurance we can stand on. Now that’s something to be happy about and to thank God for!

Until next time friends, be abundantly blessed!

What is the World Coming To?

“When you see all these things you will know that it is near, right at the door.” Matthew 24:33

Planet Earth

Many people are feeling overwhelmed and fearful these days, and no wonder . . . the COVID-19 virus has been spreading like wildfire, many people are sick and/or dying, economies are stagnant, businesses and the stock market are crashing, money and supplies are scarce.  What normal person wouldn’t be fearful in seeing these things that are impacting us on a global scale?

Sure, it’s easy to be terrified when seeing these things through our physical eyes.  So I want to try to change your perspective and see these things through a spiritual, or biblical, lens – to try to get a much wider bird’s-eye view, God’s perspective if you will, in the hope that we will gain a greater understanding as to what is really going on.

Many Christians knowledgeable of biblical prophesy concerning the End Times believe we are on the cusp of the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth. But before that happens, terrible times ensue through what is called the Great Tribulation. The Bible tells us there is a great spiritual battle taking place behind the scenes of our reality, and whether or not you believe this is really beside the point, you are a participant whether you choose to be or not.  But we are also told that God knows the end from the beginning, and although things will get very dark we know how the story will ultimately end because gives us specifics through biblical prophecy.

So, what is the purpose of prophesy, you might ask?  Why does it matter what the Bible says about the future of earth and mankind?  Simply put, God tells us what will happen in the future so that when we see those things happen we will know that he is God and we will be able to trust him more.  This is the purpose of biblical prophesy.  It increases our faith in God and helps to give us a sense of peace that, despite what we see happening around us, God is still in control.

Following are certain End Time events that are prophesied in the Bible, and I believe we are beginning to see them converging and all beginning to happen at once.  Jesus tells us the significance of this convergence: “When you see all these things you will know that it is near, right at the door.” Matthew 24:33

  • Many false prophets will come in Jesus’ name, and will deceive many people
  • Wars and rumors of war around the world
  • Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (includes people groups)
  • Famines in various places (food shortages)
  • Earthquakes in various places
  • Believers handed over for persecution and death (hated by all nations because of their belief in Jesus as the Messiah) – Christianity has been all but wiped out in the Middle Eastern Muslim nations due to persecution/execution by Islam
    • Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate one another
    • Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people = other ways to get to heaven apart from Jesus
    • Increase of wickedness → love of many will grow cold (toward one another), BUT we are told in the Bible that the one who stands firm to the end will be saved

We are told by Jesus in Matthew 24 that all these things are the beginning of birth pains.  Those of you who have been through childbirth know how this process works. First you start getting a couple sporadic contractions.  Nothing too strong, intermittent, but enough to get your attention.  As the birth progresses, the contractions get stronger and stronger and closer together until you reach the point where the body takes over and you no longer have control of the situation.

We have been seeing things like wars, famines and earthquakes for thousands of years, and many others before us have believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime as well.  But I believe we are seeing a convergence of these things like never before – and now we are seeing signs, or what I like to call foreshadows, of things that are prophesied to come to pass during the Tribulation period as described in the book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible (covering a period of 7-years) before Jesus Christ returns to judge the Earth:

  • A one-world government will be established
    • A secular politician will rise to take control of the whole earth and head up this one-world gov’t (known by many as the Antichrist, the Bible calls it “the beast out of the sea”)
    • The dragon (Satan) gives this beast his power and his throne and great authority
    • The whole earth is “filled with wonder” and follows the beast
    • People will worship the dragon (Satan) because he gives authority to this beast and he appears to be indefeatable
    • The beast is boastful, proud and speaks blasphemies against God (slandering his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven)
    • The beast will exercise his authority for 42 months (3.5 years) – the first half of the Great Tribulation
    • He is given power to wage war against Christians and to conquer them – he will kill those who don’t swear allegiance to him – the beast will pour out his wrath on believers in the Earth
    • “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” Revelation 13:8
  • A one-world religion will be established
    • There will be a religious leader over the one-world religion (known by many as the False Prophet, the Bible calls it “the beast out of the earth”)
    • It will appear humble like a lamb, but it speaks like a dragon (Satan)
    • It will exercise all the authority of the first beast/Antichrist on its behalf, and will make the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast/Antichrist
    • It will perform miraculous signs (even causing fire to come down from heaven)
    • Because of its ability to perform miraculous signs, it will deceive many people on earth (known by many as the great deception)
      • It will cause an image of the Antichrist to be set up in his honor in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and he will “be given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.  It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:15-17
  • There will be a one-world currency (most likely digital)
  • The Temple will be resurrected in Israel (the Jews will believe, for a time, that the Antichrist is their Messiah returned to earth – many Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah) and the Jews will be allow to perform animal sacrifices again in the Temple
    • Once the Temple is rebuilt, the Antichrist will cause the sacrifices to cease, and he will declare himself to be god and will demand that he be worshipped in the Temple (the Bible calls this the “abomination that causes desolation”)
  • The Antichrist will require that everyone receive a mark on the hand or forehead as a sign of allegiance to him – required in order to buy or sell anything
    • If you don’t receive it, you will be killed
    • The Bible says if you willingly receive the mark, then your salvation is lost with no hope of redemption. “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.  They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.  There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” Revelation 14:9-12

Following are recent interviews, teachings and news articles you might find interesting:

J.D. Farag – Urgent Prophecy Update (3.29.20)

J.D. Farag – Bible Prophecy Update (4.5.20)

Bible Prophecy Happening Now (April 2020)

ID2020

ID2020 Alliance Unveils Digital ID Program

Bill Gates ID2020 Vaccine Implant COVID-19 Digital Certificates

ID2020 Summit 2016

Pope Francis Worlds Religious Leaders Build Future Together

Interfaith Harmony Week

What is the coming one world religion? (Greg Laurie)

The Mark of the Beast (Greg Laurie)

I’m sure you may have many questions about the topic of this post, among other topics as well.  Please check out my Resources page for links to numerous reliable resources that I use for study and research.

I believe with all my heart that time is running out, and that no one is promised a tomorrow.  If you die without Jesus then it is too late. There is no Pergatory – your choice for eternal life must happen before you die.  If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus and you’ve never asked him into your heart it is really very easy.  Your salvation is not based on the good things you do or being more good than bad. It does not matter if you are a good person. What matters is the condition of your heart and whether you have accepted the free gift of salvation that Jesus obtained for you on the cross.  Your eternal salvation is really as easy as A-B-C:

  • A = Acknowledge that you are a sinner and need a savior.  The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.
  • B – Believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, that he came to earth and died on the cross to take your sin upon himself so that you can be reconciled to God.
  • C – Call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus) and ask him to save you. Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.

 

Discerning Gods & Thrones – Part 1

I’m currently reading a book by Carl Gallups, Gods & Thrones, and I wanted to preserve my notes and thoughts as I pray through this book, asking for God’s wisdom, truth and discernment in what I read. And I thought it would be good to share this with you as well, since we will be delving into the supporting scripture. It will be an on-going post, with new content added as I continue through the book.  So here we go.

There are numerous questions posed at the beginning of this book which the author will address. Some of those I’m most interested include the following:

  • Did you know that God’s Word describes a heavenly governing council that has surrounded God’s throne since before God created the Earth? And did you know this heavenly council is actively involved in the affairs of men?
  • Did you know that angels can sin? Did you know that angels can die like men?
  • Did you know that a certain group of angels have already been judged by God and are marked for death at a future date?
  • Did you know that the Bible teaches about an ancient heavenly insurrection which gave rise to the Nephilim before the flood in Noah’s day?
  • Have you ever noticed in the Old Testament the numerous references to other “gods”?
  • Have you ever wondered why God ordered the ancient Israelites to “kill them all!” in reference to the Canaanites and other tribal groups living around God’s people in the Promised Land?
  • Did you know that several times in the Bible God appears to describe Himself as “us”?
  • Are you familiar with the modern scientific proof of the existence of multiple realities?
  • Was the serpent in the Garden of Eden really a talking snake, or something else?
  • What exactly was the deadly knowledge imparted to Adam and Eve that caused a literal cosmic upheaval?
  • Have you ever wondered why the world is so infatuated with the possibility of UFOs and alien visitations?  Could the world be in the process of being prepared for a demonic deception?
  • Have you ever wondered why Jesus “showed Himself alive” after the resurrection for a period of 40 days?

Something very important worth noting, and this is so important I’m going to quote it directly from the book (emphasis mine): “One of the most important contextual considerations when it comes to properly interpreting the Word of God is the cultural framework in which the text was first created.  Without a grasp of the life philosophy of the early biblical writers and its first audiences, our westernized worldviews often overlay their prejudices upon the original meaning of the biblical text.  There’s nothing like entrenched tradition, forced paraphrasing, political correctness, closely guarded sectarian creeds, and blindly accepted denominational dogma to conceal the truth of what God’s Word actually intends to reveal.”  Have I piqued your interest yet?

So how do we get around this? We let the Bible contextually interpret itself first. This means we delve into the biblical languages it was originally written in (Hebrew and Greek) and allow those words to speak plainly to us without preconceived notions.  And we put those words into proper historical, grammatical and cultural frameworks to see what they have to say.  We don’t want to read into the Bible what we think it says. We want to strip all that away and just read the Bible to see what it does say, and then we understand, believe and act accordingly.

  1. Reality/Creation is multi-dimensional
    • There are two realms of physical existence – the seen and the unseen.  Most of us have probably heard this before, but I would guess that many people don’t think about this regularly as part of their daily lives.  If we are going to be successful in our spiritual walk, we need to become more aware of this fact.  This would explain how God can be omnipresent (everywhere all the time) and omniscient (knowing all things, past and future) – humans are limited to a 4-dimensional existence: length, width, height and time. But God exists outside of those limitations, so time and distance have no effect on Him.  God exists outside of time, so He knows and can see what will happen in the future.  This is where we get into such exciting fields as quantum physics and quantum mechanics.
      • “For in him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”  Colossians 1:16
      • “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12
      • “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'” Matthew 28:18

I’ll continue to update this post as I read through the book, so I’m going to leave off here.

Until next time – be blessed!

No One is Promised a Tomorrow – Or Are They?

In May of this year our family suffered a terrible tragedy. My young nephew, all of 21-years-old, was involved in a motorcycle accident. To the best of our understanding, there were no other vehicles involved and he was only going about 35 miles an hour. But he hit the curb of a median and rolled the bike several times. He was not wearing a helmet.  To our heartbreak, he did not survive his injuries.

In situations like this, we’re often left asking, “Why, God?  Why would you take the life of a young man with his whole life ahead of him? He had barely even begun to live.”

But it is my belief that God did not take my nephew.  I have read the Bible and been a Believer for many years, and because I, personally, have been touched by God, spent time with God, and have worked along side God in serving others, I’ve seen what He has done in the lives of those who seek after Him.  I’ve caught just a glimpse of His character, and He is loving, ever patient, kind and faithful.  He is not deaf, spiteful or indifferent. But He is a gentleman; and He will not force Himself on you. If you seek Him, you will find Him.  But the reverse is also true – if you do NOT seek Him, you may not find Him – and THAT is a tragedy.

But you see, we live in a broken and sinful world, and tragedy happens to innocent people every day.  And unfortunately, death is a part of our experience in this life.  I do not believe that God had plans to cut my nephew’s life short, or to deprive his family of his love and attention.  That is just not God’s character.  There are natural consequences to our actions. People get sick.  Accidents DO happen.  And mankind has an enemy that hates God SO much, he seeks to destroy God’s cherished creation (in mankind) by releasing death on the world while whispering lies in our ears and to our hearts that it’s all God’s fault, or we deserved it.

It is my hope and prayer that when tragedy touches your life you would take some time to draw near to God and release that pain to Him.  He knows you intimately and wants to be in close relationship with you.  God cares about you and wants to take care of you and to provide for your needs.  He wants what’s best for you and those you care about.  But if tragedy were to happen to you today and you were to die, do you know where would you spend eternity?  It brings me peace of mind to know without a shadow of a doubt that we have the promise and assurance of eternal life after death IF we are in relationship with God when we die.

John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

And John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”

And finally, Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

There are many more scriptures I could quote,  but I’m wondering if you are beginning to see a pattern. Notice it doesn’t say that you will have eternal life IF you pray all the time, or go to church regularly, or do more good things than bad things.  The Bible teaches us that the only things necessary to have eternal life with God after death are the following:

A – to Admit that you are a sinner and are in need of God’s salvation;

B – to Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is who he says he is (the Son of God), that he was sacrificed on your behalf to atone for your sins and reconcile you to God, that he was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead; and finally

C – to Call on the name of the Lord to be saved, or Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. This means trusting with all your heart that the gift of eternal life that Jesus provides is yours for the taking, and not based on any works you might do to attempt to earn eternal life. It is a (free) gift to you – Jesus already paid the price for you.

That’s it. It’s really very simple.  If you have not yet taken the opportunity to accept Jesus into your life and heart, I would encourage you to do that today, before it’s too late. Because accidents DO happen, and no one is promised a tomorrow. But I can assure you that if you accept this gift that Jesus wants to give you, you will have the promise of eternal life with God when all is said and done, and that makes this life here on Earth a little easier to bear, and even blunts the fear of death in many ways.

Until next time – be blessed, and be saved!