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Get On Board The Ark

The Day is approaching.  Just as in Noah's day, judgment will not tarry for long.  It is coming as sure as the Sun will rise.  God told Noah to prepare a massive wooden ark in which he and his family would escape the global cataclysm.  The ark had a single door that was so large only God could shut it (Gen. 6:16, 7:16).

Likewise, in our time God has prepared another wooden object that we must cling to in order to escape the second global cataclysm: the cross of Christ.  The ark rose above the floodwaters and Noah and his family were lifted to safety while the world perished down below.  Christ our Savior was lifted up on a cross, paying for all of our sins.  When we trust in Him alone we will also be lifted up, but this time not just above floodwaters, but far above the earth into the heavenly realms.


Just as Noah and his family entered the ark seven days before the flood came (Gen. 7:7-10), so those clinging to the cross of Christ must enter Heaven seven years before God's judgment is completed.  Noah entered through a single, wooden door in the ark.  We must enter through a door into Heaven by means of a wooden cross:

I know your works.  Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name... Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming soon.   Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
- Revelation 3:8, 10-11

And

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!  And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.'
- Revelation 4:1

How do you enter through this heavenly door?

'Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.  And you know the way to where I am going.'  Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?'  Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.'
- John 14:1-6

Let there be no doubt that in John 14 Jesus is speaking about the fulfillment of a prophecy first written over 700 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah:

Like a pregnant woman
  who writhes and cries out in her pangs
  when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
  we were pregnant, we writhed,
  but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
  and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
  You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light,
  and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Come, my people, enter your chambers,
  and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
  until the fury has passed by.

For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
  to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
  and will no more cover its slain.
- Isaiah 26:17-21

God's children are raised to life and then hidden away behind closed doors before God's judgment is unleashed upon the earth.  The door into Heaven is Jesus:

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
- John 10:9

There are two groups of people that still haven't boarded the ark of Christ.  Both groups are unbelievers, but some claim to know Christ.  They are the lawless and the legalists.  Both reject the atonement that Jesus offered on their behalf.  Both bring a strange fire before the altar of God and offer only the fruit of their own labors rather than the Lamb of God.  All it takes to board the ark is a saving faith in Jesus Christ and the humility to recognize your personal need for what only God can provide.  Sadly, surveys now show that a great many Christians have abandoned their hope and are trying to enter Heaven by their own effort.  This is an apostasy even worse than homosexuality or worldliness, because this apostasy negates grace (Acts 13:39, Rom. 3:20, 3:28, 11:6, Gal. 2:16).

When God's children are taken from the earth, the greatest heartache will be felt by those who thought they knew the LORD and who were prophesying, casting out demons, and doing many mighty works, but who had never entered God's rest (Matt. 7:21-23, Heb. 3:7-4:16, 9:11-28).  They rejected God's grace - knowingly or unknowingly, it won't much matter at that point.  Remember that the wicked and lawless people of Sodom will certainly suffer a future judgment, but the judgment of the self-righteous religious hypocrites will be far, far worse (Matt. 11:23-24, 23:15, 23:33, John 5:39).

The message is the same for all - for the prostitutes and junkies, the homosexuals and pornographers, the liars and slanderers, the self-righteous and prideful, the hypocrites and Pharisees: repent (change your mind) and believe the Good News!  God loves you in your present state (Romans 5:8), but He will not force Himself on you.  You MUST repent and come to Him to receive the grace that only He offers.


The door to the ark is closing fast.  Get on board now.



Come, ye sinners, poor and needy
Weak and wounded, sick and sore
Jesus ready, stands to save you
Full of pity, love and power

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms

Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome
God's free bounty glorify
True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you nigh

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms

Feel Him Prostate in the garden
On the ground your Maker lies
On the bloody tree, behold him
Sinner, will this not suffice?

Lo, the incarnate God ascended
Pleads the merit of his blood
Venture on him, venture wholly
Let no other trust intrude

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
In the arms of my dear Savior
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms




Further reading:

WHICH JESUS DO YOU FOLLOW?

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

THE GOSPEL: PART 1

THE GOSPEL: PART 2

THE GOSPEL: PART 3

THE GOSPEL: PART 4

THE GOSPEL: PART 5

ATONEMENT: THE DIVIDING LINE

THE TIGHTROPE OF FAITH

A CLOSER LOOK AT GENESIS 3-4

STAY ON THE NARROW WAY

THE STRANGE FIRE OF THE LEGALISTS

THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES

Post A Comment

49 comments:

  1. I think there is a third category of people - or maybe it's a sub-category. Those who think that just because they call themselves a Christian and say they believe in Jesus that they then can do whatever they want. Those who say they have faith, but can't show it with any works (James 2). Jesus is the only way to God, but part of following Jesus is... you know... actually following him. If we don't care about the things of God at all, or we substitute Jesus' commands with our own versions of what obeying God means, then we could be surprised to find Jesus saying to us, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:46

    The obedience is by no means what gets us into heaven. The obedience simply shows that we trust him enough to actually do what he says. And what he says is simple - John 15:12, John 15:17, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 3:16-18, 1 John 3:11

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    1. I would agree, but I do handle this group above. They are classified in the "lawless" group. Stay on the narrow way.

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  2. There will be believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ whose entire life's works will be burned, there will be nothing valuable left but as the Bible says, they themselves will be saved. Who do you think those people are? (This is a rhetorical question.) Only the Lord knows who belongs to Him, we'll never know about others based on their outside "appearance", their life choices.

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    1. Exactly right. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, Romans 4:5.

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    2. Yes, indeed, these 1 Corinthians verses what I had in mind! :)(The comment was a reply to *Unknown*, adding that just to be sure, it seems I wrongly clicked the "general" reply button.)

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    3. Dear Nora, to give an example: years ago, I was just saved, I got across to know some brother on-line I did recognize as such according to his belief and knowledge of scripture. But in real life he was married to an unsaved Roman Catholic woman, his son was unsaved yet with 12 years and his earthly profession was prosecutor of corporate crime (as a Christian, he ought to know better about real justice...). I even read of him in the news to be involved in some court case with regards to the Holy Grail which made me laugh a lot. In his spare time he nicely composed hymns in Hebrew dedicated to the LORD on the piano and spent much time to renovate an old house. In short, I often think of him yet saved and being so much gifted but having so much burnt in the end at the bema seat. Much love, MARANATHA!

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    4. The Lord let me stumble upon the following Youtube video last night, and it gave me much to ponder and pray on. It might answer some of our questions regarding our works and such. I don't know if video links are allowed on the comments or not?

      But basically this man found himself taken in the rapture and Jesus was not overly excited to see him in heaven. This crushed the man's heart, and honestly it would me too. While the man was admitted to heaven, because salvation is by the blood of Jesus; he was however not going to be rewarded with a place in the presence of the King. Do you realize that you can obtain basic salvation, but never get to see the King?

      What was the problem? Well you listen to it yourself.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgiHtTjF17Q

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    5. Annabel, This brother u speak of may be doing the right thing by staying with an unbeliever. We also can't choose are childrens salvation. Nora is right. Without Gods omniscient capacity we cant make any determinations and should only worry and talk about our own sinful life that we are omniscient of.

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    6. Cie,

      „But basically this man found himself taken in the rapture and Jesus was not overly excited to see him in heaven. … Do you realize that you can obtain basic salvation, but never get to see the King?”

      (What I’m about to say is not aimed against you personally, please don’t get me wrong! It’s aimed at the content and at this “phenomenon”.) I usually avoid using strong words but not this time! This is a LIE from the deepest pit of Hell!!! Also, statements like these are ABSOLUTELY UNBIBLICAL! A bit of research through the Bible, studying and learning about the Lord’s great love, mercy and His intentions toward us lends the needed help to identify such lies! LOTS of fear-mongering is going on the net (and not just there) these days. Satan’s trying to make the Church as miserable as possible for the (probably short) time while we’re here and it seems he’s having a field-day.

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    7. Hi Annabel,

      I’ve been pondering on the Bema Seat Judgment several times but my conclusion is always that we simply can’t figure it out, it is well above our current understanding. Only the Lord knows what will be valued in the works of our lives. (Honestly, I’ve got the feeling that probably 98% of “my life’s work” will also be burned at His Judgment Seat.)

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    8. "my conclusion is always that we simply can't figure it out, it is well above our current understanding. Only the Lord knows what will be valued in the works of our lives."

      I cannot find this conclusion anywhere in Scripture. The Scriptures are very very clear what God is asking us to do. Unfortunately, most of the churches in the Western world don't TEACH what God wants us to do, so many don't know it.

      In 1 John 2:3, it says, "We can be sure that we know God if we obey his commands."

      Jesus himself said something similar in John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will obey my commands."

      And again he repeats it in John 14:21 - "Those who know my commands and obey them are the ones who love me, and my Father will love those who love me."

      He repeats this idea multiple times throughout John 13, 14, 15, and 16.

      As I read this, I asked, "Okay - what commands?" It seems like there are a lot of commands in Scripture. But I've also recently read through Galatians a few times, and am very convinced that we shouldn't be putting ourselves back under the law. So it can't be all of the commands.

      Well, as I looked into it, I found a few interesting verses.

      In John 15:12, Jesus says, "This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you."
      He repeats this command a few sentences later, in John 15:17, "This is my command: Love each other."

      On top of this, I remembered three separate places (there might be more that I forgot) that say the following:

      • Matthew 7:12 - "Do to others what you want them to do to you. This sums up the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets."

      • Romans 13:8 - "…the person who loves others has obeyed all the law."

      • Galatians 5:14 - "The whole law is summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."

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    9. So I was starting to think that the command John is talking about in 1 John 2:3 is the command to love. It turns out, he actually confirms this directly in chapter 3.
      "This is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded." (1 John 3:23)

      John explains this again in his later letter.

      "As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love." (2 John 6)

      John even explains WHY we should love each other in 1 John 5:1
      "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah is God's child, and whoever loves the Father also loves the Father's children."

      If we love the Father, we are going to love the Father's children.

      SO - going back to 1 John 2:3, we can say that "We can be sure that we know God if we [love each other]."

      I've also collected a number of other verses that point to this.
      • Matthew 8:5, Matthew 25:34-40
      • Luke 6:27-28, Luke 6:31
      • John 13:14, John 13:34-35
      • 1 John 3:11

      So now the next question is - what does love really mean? The world around us tries to define love in a bunch of different ways. But we can't rely on the world's definition, or even our own. We have to look at what the Bible says actual love looks like. There are a lot of verses that talk about this.

      • Leviticus 19:18, 19:34
      • Micah 6:8
      • Matthew 5:44-45, 7:12, 10:42, 19:21, 25:31-40
      • Mark 10:21
      • Luke 3:11, 6:24-31, 6:35-36, 11:41-42
      • John 13:3-5, 13:14-15
      • Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35
      • Romans 12:9-10, 12:13, 12:14-18, 12:20
      • 1 Corinthians 4:11-16, 6:7, 8:1-2, 10:24, 13
      • 2 Corinthians 8:8, 8:11

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    10. There are plenty more than that, but I was running out of time when compiling them.
      However - for the simplest explanation of what kind of love we are commanded, John once again tells us plainly.

      1 John 3:16-18
      "This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters. Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God's love is not living in that person. My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by showing true love through our actions."

      So, according to the apostle John, who trained directly under Jesus himself, true love is an action - not a feeling. True love is helping those in need - not just when we have plenty, but when we have just "enough to live" and see someone else in need. Christians are called to do this. It is not an option. It's not something that some Christians are "not called to" or "not my ministry."

      Therefore, "we can be sure that we know God if we [love our fellow believers through action, helping with needs, and care, not merely words and talk.]"

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    11. Furthermore, most Christians are familiar with Jesus' speech in John 13-16, in which he repeats the phrase, "Abide in me, and I will abide in you."

      I have always been under the belief that abiding in Jesus meant spending time reading the Bible and praying to him and listening to sermons. Christianity today is all about soaking in the word. It's all me, me, me, me, me.

      But so that we're not confused, the Bible tells us plainly what abiding in Jesus means.

      Jesus tells us in John 15:10
      "If you obey my commands, you will abide in my love."

      John repeats this idea in his letter in 1 John 3:24
      "The people who obey God's commands abide in God, and God abides in them."

      So, abiding in Christ is not about "spending time with him" - at least not in the sense that most American Christians think of it. Abiding in Christ is about living a life of love - love as an action, not a feeling.

      Living this way comes with some pretty serious benefits:
      (1 John 3:21-22) "…we can come without fear into God's presence. And God gives us what we ask for because we obey God's commands and do what pleases him."

      (John 14:21) "Those who know my commands and obey them are the ones who love me, and my Father will love those who love me. I will love them and will reveal myself to them."

      (John 14:23) "If people love me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."

      (John 15:7) "If you abide in me and follow my teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you."

      (John 15:16-17) "Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. This is my command: Love each other."

      This is what abiding in Jesus is all about. It's not about going to church, going to small group, studying the Bible, listening to sermons, etc. It's about loving each other so much that we're making sure every person in the church has their needs taken care of.

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    12. And on that note, we can see that the way the church of Acts lived was not just "how they did things" - the response I have typically received when I've talked to people about how the church needs to get back to the point where we are all sharing everything and no one in the church is in need.

      It is very very wrong that there are churches with members who are literally millionaires and other members who are single moms with multiple kids and can't make rent and are risking having to live on the streets. Yet this happens in churches all across the country.

      Paul gives us some strong warnings about what happens when we as a church fail to honor each other. In the Corinthian church, some of the members were eating the Lord's supper without waiting for each other - some were not getting enough to eat, while others were getting drunk.

      Paul rebuked the Corinthians, saying, "Do you have no regard for God's church and so humiliate those who are poor?" (1 Cor. 11:22)

      He then told them, "All who eat the bread and drink the cup without careful regard for the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. That is why many in your group are sick and weak, and a number of you have died." (1 Cor. 11:29-30)

      If that's how the Corinthian church was judged for disrespecting Christ's body by mistreating the poor among them, is it really any surprise how many chronically ill and dying people are all throughout the church today? It's not supposed to be this way!

      The church is supposed to share everything. John explained to us in 1 John 3 that this is what love means. But he tells us another secret - 1 John 3:11 "This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other."

      Next time you're reading through the New Testament, pay attention to how many times Paul, or one of the other writers tells their audience to obey the "teaching they have heard from the beginning." That phrase starts to make a lot of sense in context when you realize what it really is. From the very beginning, the apostles were teaching the people to live in love - TRUE love - the kind of love John describes in 1 John 3:16-18.

      When Jesus left, he told his disciples to go and teach everyone everything that he taught them. From the very beginning the message the apostles were teaching the churches was that they MUST live in love and take care of every need among them. This was what they taught - it wasn't just how the Acts church was. It wasn't something that was good for them, but isn't for today. It was what Jesus commanded the disciples to teach everyone, and it's right there in Scripture!

      FINALLY, after seeing John's description of what the teaching was that they had been hearing from the beginning, a thought popped into my head.
      Acts 2:42 "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."

      I've always pictured that verse in my mind with a bunch of Christians sitting around in a circle, devoting themselves to listening to the apostles' teachings. But what were the apostles teaching? Action. Specifically - love. Love as an action, not a feeling or in talk or words.

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    13. So, on a whim, I checked the Greek for that sentence, and sure enough, the word that we have translated as "devoted" means, "to continue to do something with intense effort, despite difficulty"
      So…

      the members of the Acts church "continued to DO the apostles teaching of true love for each other, with intense effort, despite difficulty. And they DID fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
      Acts 2:42-47

      They lived just like 1 John 3:16-18

      The Acts church is a command in Scripture - not just how they did things. THIS is what God wants Christians to live like. The church tells us that God wants us to go to church and study the bible and sing songs, and that's it. While those things are certainly good for Christians to do, the commands from Scripture are that we live a life of LOVE - and that love MUST be in ACTION, not just in words and feelings.

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    14. Unknown,

      Living a life of truly loving the Lord and each other is the Christian “basics” and in our current sinful state it is probably the hardest thing to accomplish. Even so, it is the greatest and most important aim, the commandment that Jesus gave us. The source of this love is the Lord Himself who first loved us. Nurturing a close relationship with Him is what enables a Christian believer to live that way and bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit but even then, the sin nature is always in the way to different degrees. (We won’t be “perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect” until we’ll get our glorified bodies and get free from our sin infested nature absolutely.) When I’m thinking of the gems and the valuable works in the life of a believer that won’t burn, I think of things that were done in the Lord’s will, at His prompts and in His strength as the late Jack Kelley once summed it up. (Love for others, love and gratitude toward the Lord is an integral part of all of that of course.) Since the fallen human heart can’t be trusted when it comes to pure discernment, (the help of the Holy Spirit is always needed in cases of discernment anyway) in the end only the Lord knows for sure what truly belongs to the gems. That’s why on that day of judgment all will be “revealed” as the Scripture says! That’s what I meant in my previous comment.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I trust no one, but take everything to Scripture and prayer. I don't care that anyone differs, for me Scripture is enough and Scripture is clear: John 5:24, 6:37-39, 10:28-29, 17:9-12, Romans 4:5, 6:23, 8:38-39, Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 7:25, 10:14, 1 Peter 1:4-5.

      Check out these articles, I hope they will be an encouragement: Why the Church is Divided

      The Letters to the Seven Churches

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    2. Thank you Gary! I agree with you, turning to Scripture is the best! (And thanks for the links!) The level of things going on in the spiritual world is just scary!!! (I deleted it because it's better to focus on Scripture.)

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  4. Hey guys,

    I came across this video, and it left me with a whole lot of questions. Can you please watch this and explain it to me. I feel very confused now:

    https://youtu.be/9xo1gP5Q0CU

    Thank you so much!
    Christine

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    1. Christine, if I check out the YouTube code I get 3 different videos... All about "Fatima apparition" on 9/23 = Catholic deception. Which one do you mean (title) and what is your question? Blessings :)

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    2. I watched this video yesterday. It's all part of the Vatican deception that will accompany the rapture. This very much supports a Sept. 23 rapture, since the enemy is well aware of what God will do that Day and wants to deceive the world into thinking it was something else (Aliens?) rather than the righteous being rescued prior to the tribulation starting.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Do you have a link to a guide or video that walks you through the process of praying and accepting Jesus? Basically a guide to being saved? It would be a great tool to be able to link to others.

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    1. Here is the one I share most often: The Gospel

      This one on Unsealed also covers it: The Gospel: Part 1

      I generally avoid sharing specific "sinner's prayers" or encouraging altar calls, because I want people to recognize that sinner's prayers/altar calls/baptism are all external things. Genuine faith and calling out to God is all that is necessary.

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    2. Thanks! It helps to have something you can link people to if they ask. It's funny, while I've called myself a Christian for over a decade, it was really only in the last two years that I've really begun to walk the path. Finding sites like this have helped to quell the skeptical part of me that is always craving answers and looking for meaning. In a way, it's a touch humorous that before finding out about the sign, I had made the step to ask to be baptized. It's actually scheduled for the 24th.

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  6. Gary - would be keen to know more on your thoughts on Isaiah 26:20 - "Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by"

    Looking at the lexicon, the transliteration goes something like "Come my people enter into your rooms and shut - - your doors - about hide for a little moment until - - be over be over". I am trying to figure out where 'wrath/fury' comes from. The septuagint notes 'anger'.

    Ryan

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  7. If I were arrested for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict me? I hope the answer isn't ...well she posted a lot of quotable scripture on facebook. I pray my walk with Christ is evidence of my faith. Lord forgive me where I fail you.

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    1. I saw a sign with that specific phrase on it years ago. I have kept it in mind over the years. Should be plenty of evidence in the world, if they won't believe my up front testimony that I believe in Jesus Christ and the resurrection.

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  8. THANK YOU, Gary and everyone at Unsealed for your obedience to what He has called you to do!
    http://lynmelvin.blogspot.com/2017/09/thanks-and-encouragement-for-watchmen.html

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  9. Who are the lawlessones?Those who abolished the law claiming only Faith saves you.WRONG!!!!Faith without Works is death faith.No law = Death.No messiah =death.Both things are needed.the Torah never was never will be abolished.The iron rod that will enforced during The millenial is The Torah.

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    1. Hi, we agree that during the millenial reign, some of the torah will be reinstated (such as temple sacrifice), however we are clear that Christ completed the law, and then replaced the mosaic law (all 613 commands) with a better law - the law of Christ - at his death and resurrection. Galations, Hebrews, Romans all expound this significantly. Those who try to be made right by the law, will ultimately be judged by the law and be found wanting.

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  10. I'm genuinely curious. If nothing happens this year, or anything at all during the next seven or eight, what then? Will you shrug it off as a crazy coincidence?

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    1. Rev 12:1-2 says that a great wonder will appear in Heaven. Revelation 12:3 says that another wonder will appear in heaven - a great red dragon. Now, we know that the sign of the woman will appear on 9/23. As far as I know the sign of the woman is never going to appear again. It WILL happen.

      If the months come and go and nothing else in particular happens, that will tell me that there is a gap between verse 2 and verse 3 of Revelation 12. It will mean we've seen the sign of the woman but not the sign of the dragon. It would not be unheard-of for there to be a gap like this between prophecies. For example, in Luke 4:21 Jesus read a part of the book of Isaiah and said that "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." However, if you go and read Isaiah 61:2 you will see that Jesus only read part of the verse and then stopped at a comma. The first half of that verse had been fulfilled; the second half wouldn't be fulfilled until the Second Coming, which wouldn't happen for another 2000 years. Sometimes Biblical prophecies have gaps in them that the text doesn't mention. This is not the only example I could give.

      Now, there are a lot of options. The Lord may return before the sign of 9/23. He may return on that very day. Or the sign of the woman may appear, and then there could be a gap of some unspecified time before the sign of the dragon appears. There is really no way to know how it will play out until it happens.

      At a minimum, the first part of the prophecy of Revelation 12 will be fulfilled next week. That is all we can really say with certainty. For the rest we'll just have to wait and see.

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    2. What is most interesting to me are verses 5 & 6: Rev 12:5-6 "She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days." It seems that a clock will begin on 9/23/17. A clock that runs 1,260 days. This sure seems like the tribulation beginning. Whether or not we are raptured, a clock begins counting down on 9/23/17 (unless of course there is a gap, like Johnathan Cooper surmises). This is all so exciting but also very humbling at the same time!

      Delete
    3. Dalmarr, it will tell us that the critics of the "sign", such as the guy at Answers in Genesis, were correct and this was no sign at all. - Barry

      Delete
  11. I've been thinking on the "no one knows the day or hour." Reading in the bible, the context of that verse sounds like that is referring to Jesus' second coming after the trib. How would that make sense since the tribulation is suppose to be 7 years? Jesus says that time would be shortened because no flesh would be left otherwise. If the 7 years is shortened, it would make sense that no one would know the day or hour because it isn't 7 years long. I don't know. Just thinking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think there might be a simple solution. In Matthew 24:20, Jesus told His disciples to pray
      that the abomination of desolation would not appear in the winter. Apparently Jesus didn't
      know when it would occur, or even what time of the year it would be, which corresponds to
      Matthew 24:36 when Jesus said that He did not know the day.

      Now, based on Revelation 1:1 I do believe that Jesus knows the day now - but it wasn't known
      at the time. Even today we don't really know for sure when the Tribulation will begin or
      what day it will be when the Lord returns. We have some guesses, but they're just guesses.
      Once the Tribulation begins I think it will be possible to know with much more certainty,
      since it will just be a matter of counting for 7 years. But we're not there yet.

      Remember, this whole discussion began when Jesus' disciples asked Him exactly when all
      of these things would happen. Jesus responded by telling them what would happen, but that
      He could not tell them the day. So I think that's what is going on.

      The evil servant of verse 48 is probably someone who wasn't watching and who though that he
      had a lot more time than he really did.

      Delete
    2. There might be a third possibility. According to Barry Scarbrough, the previous verse, Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” is the key. According to this notion, it was neither the rapture nor the second coming what the Lord referred to when He said that no one knows the day or the hour of it! He simply referred to the time He previously mentioned which is the time when heaven and earth will pass away (and the Lord will create the new earth and the new heaven).

      Delete
  12. Perhaps “departing from the faith” means exactly one of the main problems this article is discussing, which is trusting in one’s own performance instead of solely trusting the Lord’s atonement for us. AKA departing from the faith in the Lord’s finished and complete sacrifice on our behalf.

    ReplyDelete

  13. There is some very interesting information in these two videos
    In the comment section of the 2nd video there is a reference to the 12 tribes being different in Numbers and Revelation and why

    Part-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zozv99YQkHE
    Part-2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbYC4oN96Ww

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just a heads up. There is discussion of two/partial raptures in the video(s) which is not something I agree with, but am open to because I don't know 100% but I watched anyway because there is almost always something to learn in a video or teaching that contains something you disagree with. I've learned more from others who get a few things wrong and a great deal right, than I have from Pastors and others who never shed light on anything and just repeat what they heard elsewhere or in seminary.

      Delete
    2. I've come to realize that the "mid-Tribulation rapture" position is really the Protestant version of Purgatory. If you have to go through 3.5 years of suffering, torture and death in order to be worthy of being raptured and taken into Heaven, then that's really not very different from saying that people have to spend time in Purgatory in order to be cleansed from their sins and made "good enough" to enter Heaven. It's saying that before you can enter Heaven you have to be properly tormented first.

      It doesn't matter how many times I've refuted the mid-Trib position. People seem to really want to go through the Tribulation, and they seem to look down on those who say the Church will avoid it. I don't know how many times I've been told that I'm just a weak Christian who thinks I'm too good to suffer for the cause of Christ, and that's why I'm pre-trib.

      I've yet to see anyone who takes the mid-Trib position acknowledge that more than a quarter of the Earth's population is going to be brutally killed during those first 3.5 years, and your odds of surviving until you reach that mid-Trib rapture are very slim. If you do survive you'll wish you hadn't, because every day will be torment. Even the 144,000 witnesses are all going to be murdered. Revelation 6:9-11 is very clear that during the first half of the Tribulation Christians are being slaughtered in vast numbers, and God is not going to stop it or protect them from death.

      If the rapture is mid-Trib then looking forward to it is a complete waste of time. You're not going to live long enough to see it. All you have in your future is pain, suffering, and a horrible death. I find absolutely zero comfort in the mid-Trib rapture. If that theory is true then I hope I'm one of the first ones to die when the Tribulation come around. I'd much rather die right up front than be tortured for years on end.

      Delete
    3. Jonathan Cooper, I don't believe those videos are advocating a mid-trib rapture for the Church, in fact one says pre-trib in the title. As far as his theory about those raptured later, I have to listen to it more to see what I think.

      Delete
  14. Many of us have been watching Irma over the last few weeks to see if there are any prophetic connections similar to what we observed in Hurricane Harvey (Such as "Corpus Christi" and "Victoria"). Well, most of us caught on to the mentioning of the town of Jupiter, but I've yet to read anyone mentioning Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Florida. I heard it mentioned several times on a news network as one of only a few hospitals to stay open. Then I did some research today and found the following quotes in a Washington post article:

    "One by one, up and down Florida's southeastern coast, hospitals are going dark...But in advance of Hurricane Irma, several facilities are hunkering down instead. One of them is Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach."

    "Women who are 35 weeks or more into a pregnancy are being encouraged to come to the hospital, because spontaneous deliveries can happen when the barometric pressure plummets...”

    Check it out for yourself:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/09/07/as-irma-looms-many-florida-hospitals-turn-off-the-lights/?utm_term=.d7d979dfbb47

    ReplyDelete
  15. This evening will mark the end of Feast of Trumpets and the beginning of the Sabbath. This first Sabbath of the Civil New Year is called Shabbat Shuba and is the second of two special Sabbaths that bookend Passover and FoT. Shuba can be understood as "She returns" and is generally referred to as "Sabbath Return". It falls in the Days of Repentance with some seeing a linguistic connection between Shuba and Teshuva (repentance); thus is sometimes linked to repentance even though it is given as a time of inward cleansing.

    Ashkenazic readings for Shabbat Shuba are (Hosea 14:2-10) and (Joel 2:15-27). Sephardic readings are (Hosea 14:2-10) and (Micah 7:18-20).

    The first of the two special Sabbaths is Shabbat HaGadol. It fell on Saturday, April 8, 2017 -- SEVEN YEARS TO THE DAY BEFORE THE NEXT TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OVER NORTH AMERICA ON 4/8/24.

    It looks like the last Trump will usher in the Sabbath of Her Return around noon Eastern time today.

    The Sign of Revelation 12 will rise over Jerusalem at 9:16am tomorrow morning (9/23/17) with the rising of the waxing crescent gibbous moon. The moon will be at meridian at 3:04pm and set at 8:47pm (Jerusalem time).

    ************** A SPECIAL NOTE AND REQUEST **************

    Please, join me in prayer today for those who have endured great loss and pain in the wake of the latest disasters in the Caribbean, Mexico and US. Their loss is very real and they need our prayers even in these final hours. May we also pray for those who will form the new Church that rises out of the Tribulation to come. Be it next week or in 100-years from now.

    Glory to G-D in the highest!

    Grace and peace to you,


    Pastor Rich

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete


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