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The Misconception That Leads Many Christians To Misunderstand God’s Plan For Israel – By Dr. Baruch Korman - https://harbingersdaily.com/the-misconception-that-leads-many-christians-to-misunderstand-gods-plan-for-israel/
I heard a popular Bible teacher state, “Throughout the history of Israel, covenant breaking, and disobedience, and idolatry disqualified Israel from the present divine right to the Land (Daniel 9:4-7; Psalm 78:54-61).” It is oddly that this individual quoted from Daniel 9, considering that, after speaking about God’s punishment upon Israel for their disobedience, idolatry, and covenant-breaking, Daniel states that such a punishment was temporary and that God was about to bring the people back to the Land which He had promised the Jewish people. Also, in Psalm 78, God was certainly angry with His people, but biblical prophecy makes it clear that in the end times, God would indeed return the Jewish people to the very Land which He promised them by covenant. It is a gross error to believe that the Jewish people must be obedient to return to the Land. What one must remember is that God acts to fulfill His prophetic promises because of Who He is and not because of the obedience of His people. Unbelief does not Negate the Faithfulness of God When considering the return from Babylon, only a remnant came home to Israel. God brought them back because it was necessary for the Jewish people to be in the Land for the First Coming of the Messiah, Yeshua. Now, in our days, God is once again returning the people to the Promised Land in preparation for the Messiah’s Second Coming. The prophet Ezekiel offers much information concerning these issues. He writes that God will not bring the Jewish people back to the Land in the end times because of their purity; rather it will be in the Land that He will cleanse them. In other words, God Himself will bring a spiritual change to the people, but only after they have returned to the Land. Ezekiel 37:23 KJV – “Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel wrote these words over 2,500 years ago, and it was for this reason he wrote these things in the future tense. This verse contains a sentence that appears numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments. This sentence is, “so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.” These words represent the outcome of redemption, as only through redemption can a person have a relationship with God. Therefore, it should not be surprising that in the next verse, Ezekiel writes: Ezekiel 37:24 KJV – “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.” The David to which this verse refers is not David the son of Jesse, but the Son of David, Yeshua. He is the Redeemer, and only He can bring about such changes to the Jewish people. When looking at this verse (Ezekiel 37:24) in the original language, it states, “And My Servant David is King over them…” All English translations I could find, except Young’s Literal Translation, place this in the future tense. The reason for the present tense is to reveal to the reader the outcome when Yeshua is ruling in the Millennial Kingdom. This prophesied righteous change is the sole result of Yeshua’s work on the cross and the redemption that the blood of Yeshua brings. The point is that the Jewish people are returning to the Land of Israel not because of their faithfulness, but only due to God’s faithfulness. He is bringing them back not because of their obedience and fidelity to the covenant, but to lead them to faith and obedience to His purpose. Prophetic Ignorance Begets Bad Teaching The major problem with those who teach that the Jewish people no longer have any divine right to the Land is that they ignore a plethora of biblical prophecies which attest that God will indeed bring the Jewish people back to the very Land He promised their forefathers. Again, this event, which is taking place in our days, clearly indicates God’s faithfulness and that we are approaching the End Times. In 2022 alone, Jewish people returned to their homeland from 95 different countries. This is not by chance, but it is a strong example of the providence of God at work in our days. Again, David is mentioned a few times in Ezekiel 37. The context demands that the reader understand that it is the Messiah to Whom Ezekiel is referring. In verse 25, the Messiah is called a Prince. The Hebrew word that appears is איִׂשָנ (nasiy), which is derived from the Hebrew word which can mean “to take away or to be lifted up”. The Hebrew conveys to the reader that because Yeshua will take away the sins of the Jewish people in the end times, He will be lifted up or honored. In modern Hebrew, this word is used for the term “President.” In Ezekiel 37:26, the Covenant of Peace is mentioned and also called an Eternal Covenant. The word “peace” in Hebrew relates to the fulfillment of the will of God and the word “eternal” relates to the Kingdom. Hence, Yeshua Himself will bring a remnant of the Jewish people to faith in the end times. With this faith, they will join the rest of the believers in the Kingdom of God. A very important point is that God will not establish His Kingdom until the end time remnant of Israel is saved. Crucially, God is returning the Jewish people to the Promised Land, not because of their faithfulness, but to bring them to faith. And it is His faithfulness that will cause this to take place. A Testimony to the Gentiles The chapter concludes with the following verse: Ezekiel 37:28 KJV – “And the heathen [Gentiles] shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” This means that even at this late hour in God’s prophetic calendar, He will use the Jewish people as a witness to the Gentiles concerning the faithfulness of God. The Hebrew word that is first in this verse is יָדְְָעוְּ (ye-da) and it means to know by experience. There is another Hebrew word that could have been used—להכיר (hikiyr), which refers to one only possessing knowledge of someone or something. Ezekiel chose לדעת (ye-da) to reveal that through God’s prophetic plan concerning Israel, even right up to the Second Coming of Yeshua, there will be some Gentiles who will come to faith and experience God’s redemption. In other words, God’s original plan to use the Jewish people to be a blessing to the Gentiles will be fulfilled in the end times, and the Land of Israel is foundational for this to take place. God’s Heart for His Land and His People When studying the Scriptures, there is a strong emphasis on the Land of Israel and how it has and will play a significant role in the will of God. Failure to acknowledge this fact reveals an errant theology based upon the mind of man, rather than on the revelation of God through His inerrant Word. We must remind ourselves that God will never forget His promises to the Jewish people. At the Second Coming of Christ, Yeshua will send forth His angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another (Matthew 24:31). My hope is that there will be many Jewish individuals, who like myself, did not wait until the end times to accept the Gospel, but who will receive the salvation that only Yeshua offers. I came to know Him in 1982. My family returned to the Land over 20 years ago and now calls Israel home. We do indeed serve a faithful God! Even The Mainstream Media Is Starting To Admit That The World Is Teetering On “The Brink” Of Complete And Utter Chaos - by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/even-the-mainstream-media-is-starting-to-admit-that-the-world-is-teetering-on-the-brink-of-complete-and-utter-chaos/ A “perfect storm” is raging all around us, and our world is so close to plunging into a complete and utter state of chaos that even the mainstream media is talking about it. The past several years have been a time when multiple major wars have begun, pestilences have paralyzed the entire planet, the worst global food crisis in modern history has erupted, and we have been hit by a seemingly endless series of natural disasters. But there is a growing consensus that even more difficult times are ahead of us. During a roundtable discussion on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, CBS News correspondent Catherine Herridge actually confessed that she is concerned that “2024 may be the year of a black swan event”… CBS News’ “Face the Nation” held a roundtable on Christmas Eve, affording various talking heads an opportunity to make predictions for 2024. While most of the predictions were relatively banal, one among them stood out, prompting critics to puzzle over its possible significance. Network correspondent Catherine Herridge, the wife of a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, suggested that “2024 may be the year of a black swan event. This is a national security event with high impact that’s very hard to predict.” I agree with her, but I don’t think that it will be just one “black swan event” that we will be facing. Specifically, Herridge gave several reasons for why she felt the need to issue such a “dark” prediction… Herridge told the other CBS News panelists Sunday there were a number of concerns that factored into her “dark” prediction, including that “this sort of enduring heightened threat level that we’re facing, the wars in Israel, also Ukraine, and we’re so divided in this country in ways that we haven’t seen before. And I think that just creates fertile ground for our adversaries like North Korea and China and Iran.” Hmmm… It seems like I have heard all of this somewhere before. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it… Of course she is right on target. So much is going to happen during the new year that is about to start. CNN is getting in on the act too. The following comes from an article that they just posted entitled “How 2023 has been the ‘year of the brink’ and 2024 could be worse”… It could have been immeasurably worse. But holding back from the brink in 2023 has simply deferred vast crises to 2024. The post-Covid world is exhausted, cash-strapped, but ultimately more fraught than for decades. Overshadowing it all will be a flagging hyperpower, at best distracted with presidential elections, at worst tearing itself apart in voting disputes and political extremism. The likelihood the United States will be occupied by its own traumas amplifies each risk. The geopolitical given of a US response will be absent, fuelling authoritarian ambition, or a radical upending of the global order. 2024 could make 2023 seem rational and sober. Very well said. When CNN starts publishing articles that sound like they could have been written by me, that is clearly a sign that time is very short. Just like Herridge, the author of the CNN article is also deeply concerned about the current state of the conflict in Ukraine… Having spent two weeks around the frontlines, it is clear Kyiv faces an existential crisis in the coming winter. It will not survive without Western help. It cannot admit to the scale of challenges it faces without being dubbed by some US Republicans a loser, unworthy of US funding. It is true. Ukraine will not survive without western assistance. And even if funding is restored to previous levels, the Russians will continue to gain ground. At some point the government in Ukraine is going to become extremely desperate, and that is when things will start to get very “interesting” over there. Meanwhile, the war in the Middle East just continues to heat up. On Tuesday, the U.S. military conducted a series of strikes on Iranian-backed forces in Iraq… At President Joe Biden’s direction, the U.S. military carried out the strikes in Iraq at 1:45 GMT, likely killing “a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants” and destroying multiple facilities used by the group, the U.S. military said. “These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability to continue attacks. We will always protect our forces,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, in a statement. A U.S. base in Iraq’s Erbil that houses U.S. forces came under attack from a one-way drone earlier on Monday, leading to the latest U.S. casualties. Iranian-backed forces have already attacked U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria more than 100 times. Whether the Biden administration is willing to publicly admit it or not, the truth is that the U.S. is already at war in the Middle East. Could we soon be at war with China as well? Chinese President Xi Jinping just issued quite an ominous statement about Taiwan… President Xi Jinping vowed on Tuesday to resolutely prevent anyone from “splitting Taiwan from China in any way”, the official Xinhua news agency reported, a little more than two weeks before Taiwan elects a new leader. China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up military and political pressure to assert its sovereignty claims. The Chinese will not invade before the upcoming election in Taiwan. And I don’t think that the Chinese will invade during the early months of 2024. But an invasion is most definitely coming. For years, I have been urging my readers to watch Russia, China and Israel. Now a time of global conflict is upon us, and many believe that 2024 will be the year when we finally pass the point of no return. PLEASE REMEMBER PROPHECY UPDATE IN YOUR END OF THE YEAR GIVING - THANKS!!! We have created a special fund on our donations page just for the End of the Year Support, so that we can keep track and keep you updated. If you mail in a check or money order, please write End of the Year, thanks! End of the Year Giving Goal $16,250, as of 12/27/23 = $14,916 New Monthly Supporters wanted 30, as of 12/27/23 = 1 (You can donate to our General Fund or enter our End of the Year donation drawing for a brand new iMac computer!) I ask that you would prayerfully consider partnering with us to get the Word out and keep the world informed. Please give a generous end of the year gift. DONATE HERE Or write us at: Prophecy Update P.O. 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With the following configuration: · 3.8GHz 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz · 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory · Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6 memory · 1TB SSD storage · Gigabit Ethernet · Magic Mouse 2 · Magic Keyboard - US English This system is valued at $2,499, and you might win, for a little as $25!!! It's already that time of the of the year when we have to start budgeting and planning for the coming new year! We pray that the proceeds from this Donation Drawing will greatly offset our End of the Year needs so that we can end the year in the black! Donation Drawing Fund We have set up a special fund for this donation-drawing on our donations page. For each donation of just $25, your name will be entered into our drawing for the iMac one-time. For each additional $25 increment, you will receive additional entries into the drawing. 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Proof the Church Is Not in the Tribulation: Part 1 - By Ron Ferguson - https://www.raptureready.com/2023/12/06/proof-the-church-is-not-in-the-tribulation-part-1-by-ron-ferguson/ INTRODUCTION I find it indefensible, the claim that the Church, and Christians of course, will enter the Tribulation. Why do I find it indefensible? If you think Christians must enter into the Tribulation, even half of it, please read this. To start with, this position is not held by those who hold to Preterism, which is the belief that there is no separate Rapture or a Tribulation or a Millennial reign. They see Revelation as fantasy or history in allegory. These people are very greatly misled, and I am not being arrogant in this, for it is not just Revelation they discard but much of the Old Testament prophecy, including huge sections of the Major Prophets. They do this mistakenly through the belief of Replacement Theology or supersessionism – a complete denial of Israel’s future. Preterism is a belief of the Roman Catholic church that pays scant regard to the scriptures in any case. The Roman Catholic position was continued by the Reformers, who held onto a number of Catholic practices and did not examine them properly in the light of the Bible. Just a few of the deviations from scripture the Reformers adhered to were the wearing of vestments and infant “baptism” instead of Christian baptism by immersion practiced by the early church. Let us pass on from Preterism to look at those who do believe the Old Testament prophets are relevant and hold to Revelation as literal (in the varying degrees of literalism some adopt). Most of those holding that position believe in a separate Rapture and Tribulation. Eschatology is not a strong point in many churches these days, and even the great stalwarts of the past, such as the Southern Baptists, are giving ground, moving away from the traditional belief in prophecy. It is not my purpose to give a full explanation of Pre-Millennialism, Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation, or Post-Tribulation Rapture. The purpose of this article is to prove from scripture that there is only one position that is credible and sustainable. That position is that the Church CANNOT and DOES NOT enter the Tribulation on earth. Just before I leave that last paragraph, there is a ridiculous position held by some who try to compromise a Rapture into their Preterism. Preterism has everything ending at the Second Coming. Period! Full stop! They say at the Second Coming, the Lord “raptures” His Church, drawing it up to Himself as He is descending to earth, and the Church descends with Him. What is the purpose of that? It is utterly meaningless, but such are the lengths of those who dismiss a separate Rapture into heaven. Just before I attempt to give the proof for a pre-Tribulation Rapture, I need to give an explanation. I am finding more and more, in churches I know of and people tell me, that the belief and teaching that the Church will be in the Tribulation is quite common in the Pentecostal movement. As the Charismatic/Pentecostal churches are growing more in numbers, so is the misunderstanding of the Rapture and Tribulation. In my city, some of these from Pentecostal churches are entering more traditional churches and bringing this confusion with them. It is a problem. That is what sparked my interest in writing this article so I can have at my fingertips the evidence I need to refute this error. Confusion is the way I would describe the belief system of Pentecostal eschatology. HOWEVER, let us be very clear here. It is not at all confined to the charismatic churches and is widespread in churches that used to be sound. Let us see if we can make sense of this. LISTING THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE CHURCH NOT BEING IN THE TRIBULATION [1]. PENALTY ALL PASSED, OR PENALTY REMAINING? I want to place a scene before you. A woman is in court having misappropriated 50,000 dollars. She was found guilty, for the evidence was as clear as day, and the judge ordered her to repay the money within one week, or she would face a jail sentence. That was the irrefutable verdict. Just before the judge dismissed the case, a man stepped to the front of the court and addressed the judge. In his address, he mentioned he had the ability and the motivation to pay this woman’s fine to release her from the penalty. He himself would meet the penalty to free the woman from the judgment against her. The judge agreed and then said, “The outstanding money will be paid by this man who stands before me to clear the debt owing, but I also determine the woman needs to pay 50,000 dollars herself because she did the crime, and crime must have a penalty.” Well, you can imagine what a scene that made in court. There were cries of “Unfair” and “Unjust,” among others. People could not understand why this woman would have to be penalized when the man who stepped in paid her penalty in full. What this illustration does is highlight three people – the woman, the benefactor, and the judge. Let us look at them now in the spiritual sense. The woman represents the sinner, that is, all of us who are guilty and have a penalty against us. The penalty is death, for the soul that sins must surely die. That penalty is so huge that we can not even begin to unravel it. We are, therefore, condemned without any hope. “Guilty, vile and helpless we.” The benefactor represents Christ, who took our debt and paid it Himself. The Bible says a lot about substitution when Christ took all our sins and made them His own and met the penalty in full. He who knew no sin. When we had no one to help us in our condemnation, Christ died for the ungodly. He paid the whole debt. How much of the penalty for sin still belongs to us if Christ paid it on the cross? How much? Not one bit, for on the cross, Jesus went through the wrath of God against our sin and paid the penalty so that not one inkling of it exists for us. Do you understand that? Are you fully redeemed or partially redeemed? You either are or you are not. For those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, you are clean every bit, and there is no wrath or penalty hanging over your head. Do you understand that? In the illustration we had in the court, the judge accepted the payment of the penalty but then turned around to make the woman pay the penalty that had already been satisfied. What justice is that? What we just had is the strongest case for a Christian not going through the Tribulation. The time of God’s wrath against sin in the Tribulation is wrath against a sinful, unrepentant world. God is judging the world for sin, sin it has stored up for millennia. What does the cross mean? Surely, it is God’s wrath against sin, but it fell on Jesus Christ instead of falling on you. He took your place. He paid the penalty fully. He endured the wrath for you that you might never undergo the wrath of God. If you had a den of iniquity in your city where the grossest things were committed along with murders, and God judged that place and wiped it away, you would say that was fair. But if God said, I am going to judge that place of iniquity and sin, but everyone in the city will be judged as well,” then you would protest unfairness. Those who say the Church has to enter the tribulation are saying that the Christian has to endure the wrath of God, when Christ already did that for us so that we might never fall under the wrath of God. It is unacceptable to say Christians have to be in the Tribulation BECAUSE it lessens and dishonors the work of Christ on the cross. He delivered us from wrath, from the coming wrath, so why do you who believe the error say we have to go through God’s wrath? Some of that great error that says that Christians will endure the wrath of God, even though they are saved, goes back to the Roman church again, with its teaching on purgatory that says we have to suffer for our sins to become acceptable to God. It is a curse on the suffering of Christ on the cross for us. Disgraceful! THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE IN Christ Jesus. There is no more wrath. Christ endured the very last drop of wrath for the converted man and woman. Why do those with false teaching want to put believers into condemnation again when we have been delivered from that? [2]. REMOVED FROM JUDGMENT AND KEPT SECURE Noah is the prime example here (Lot being a lesser one). Judgment was to fall on the pre-diluvium world, but before it came, God removed His righteousness ones from the earth. The wrath of God came on a sinful, satanic world that had rejected God and resorted to the worst possible sexuality and violence. Judgment was inevitable. The situation in Noah’s time is not unlike the way our world is going. God commanded Noah to build an ark, and that was to become his refuge. Christ is our Ark (Hebrews and the Tabernacle teaching), and He is our Refuge. Noah was lifted up from the earth on the waters while the wrath of God raged underneath in the flood. Christians will be lifted up with Christ to heaven while the wrath of the Tribulation rages underneath. The Church will be sheltered in the “Ark” in heaven as the Bride of the Bridegroom. Jesus Christ is our Ark. After the flood, Noah returned to the earth to a new age. After the Tribulation, the Church returns to earth with the Lord to a new age, that of the Millennium. Noah was removed out of judgment, and the Church will be removed out of judgment also. The angels delivered Lot and his family out of Sodom before the judgment of God came. That judgment was to be on the unrighteous, so God removed His own before His wrath destroyed the cities of the plain. It is clear that God in wrath will never put His children, or His own, through that wrath. They are taken out of the way first. God will not put His Church through the Tribulation. Just a note to those who say the Church goes through the first half of the Tribulation. The supposition here is that the first half is mild before the real terror stuff comes in the second half. That is extremely false reasoning. The Tribulation begins with the four riders on the horses where more than a third of the population will perish. There will be wars and famine and diseases and all sorts of pestilences, including the animals of the earth turning against mankind. The four horsemen are the first 4 seals of the seal judgments. This is the sixth seal – Revelation 6:12-14 “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” This is the result of what happens after that, and note, the Tribulation is in the early stages – Revelation 6:15-17 “The kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB; for THE GREAT DAY OF THEIR WRATH HAS COME, and who is able to stand?” There is nothing mild or easy about the first half of the Tribulation. The mid-Tribulation view is just as false as the Church passing through the whole of the Tribulation. God will not allow it. [3]. THE FIRST SCRIPTURAL REFERENCE – CHRIST THE DELIVERER FROM WRATH (a). We will consider some New Testament references proving the Church does not pass through the Tribulation. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 “They themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is, JESUS WHO DELIVERS US FROM THE WRATH TO COME.” The context makes it clear that what Paul is talking about is the Tribulation. The two books of Thessalonians have this prophetic theme. The wrath that is coming is the wrath of God that arrives with Revelation 6:17. It can have no other application. The Greek is clear. It is THE wrath that is to come. Paul is teaching that Christians will have no part in the wrath of God that is coming on the earth. Why is that? It is because there is no wrath against Christians, for Jesus Christ took all the wrath for us. Go back to the illustration earlier of the court scene. (b). Consider this verse also – 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 “GOD HAS NOT DESTINED US FOR WRATH, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.” What could be clearer here? WE ARE NOT DESTINED TO WRATH; not appointed to wrath; not delivered to wrath. We will NOT be delivered to the Tribulation, for that is the wrath of God and of the Lamb. We are not designated to wrath BUT to obtain salvation. Our salvation is complete when we are translated into the presence of our Saviour. The Church obtains the ending of its salvation when taken from the world, while the remaining population is destined to wrath, the wrath of the Tribulation. It is dishonoring to say that God has destined His Church to pass into the wrath of God. How can you have that belief, you who say the Church goes into the Tribulation? Consider the evidence against that position fairly. [4]. THE SECOND SCRIPTURAL REFERENCE – THE PLIGHT OF THE DYING BELIEVERS Let us be very clear about this next one. In the three weeks Paul spent among the converted pagans at Thessalonica, he taught them all about the prophetic events that were coming. That would have included the unfulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament. It is actually an amazing thing, for prophetic events were not neglected when teaching the Thessalonian Christians all about the Christian life. We are going to take that up in part 3. Some churches today tell their people nothing about the prophetic scriptures. They ought to be ashamed. Some say the scriptures are not relevant. They ought to be ashamed. Some say the New Testament is relevant now and not the Old Testament. They ought to be ashamed. Anyway, it was obvious from the following scripture that Paul taught them about the Rapture, that it was going to happen (at first they thought in their lifetimes), but alas, some of the Thessalonian Christians were dying. The consternation the living believers had was that those who had died had missed out on the Rapture. Read what Paul says: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP, THAT YOU MAY NOT GRIEVE, as do the rest who have no hope. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, EVEN SO GOD WILL BRING WITH HIM THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP IN JESUS.” Yes, they thought those who had died (fallen asleep is the term) had missed out on the Rapture, and their hope had gone. Relatives were grieving. Paul assured them that when the Lord returns, He will bring the dead believers with Him. That would have been a great comfort to them. When a Christian dies, his body goes into the ground, but the living person/spirit goes immediately to be with the Lord. Hence, in the Rapture, the Lord brings those people back with Him, and in an instant, their bodies are raised, and the living are caught up from the earth, and all are together. It is at this point that Paul sets out the most glorious Rapture passage in the New Testament that starts this way – 1Thessalonians 4:15-16 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep, for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. . . . etc” Clearly, the believers at Thessalonica were looking forward to the Rapture, NOT the Tribulation, because they knew the Church has no part in the Tribulation whatsoever. They just thought their loved ones had missed out because they died. The Thessalonians correctly were looking forward to the Rapture, NOT the Tribulation, because Christians have no part in the Tribulation. [email protected] MEMORANDUM – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2023/12/25/memorandum/ Author’s note: This is a Christmas gift of forewarning. It is the order of terrible events prophetically scheduled to take place during the Tribulation. The memorandum is given in love and in advance for those who will choose to be left behind after the removal of believers to Heaven, rather than accept God’s grace gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, whose birthday we celebrate today. Please consider the following grace gift from the Lord who created you and who desires that you be part of His family for all eternity. Follow God’s prescription in this promise. Then, the memorandum that follows will not be for you, but for others who have rejected the grace gift offer prior to the Rapture of all believers in Christ for salvation. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10) MEMORANDUM Date: (Unknown) To: Everyone left on planet Earth From: Those who have vanished Re: The truth about what happened This is to tell you exactly what is involved in the sudden disappearance of people around the world. It’s as simple as this: We who belong to Christ were called into the air above the planet in the Rapture. Yes, that kooky, ridiculous, pie-in-the-sky, fly-away event that Tim LaHaye and other preachers of what you’ve thought of as fantasy have been proclaiming could happen at any moment did, in fact, happen. You are hearing, or will soon hear, every conceivable explanation of what caused this astonishing disappearance. Here are our guesses as to what some of those explanations will be:
Don’t believe any of these or other explanations. To find out the absolute truth about what the mass vanishing actually involves, read in the Bible 1 Corinthians 15:51–55 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. Also read John 14:1–3 to find out where we who vanished are presently located. Now that we are gone–and our leaving has everything to do with your immediate future—the following will happen in order very similar to that listed here. These and other events will occur over the next seven years:
You have only one chance to survive: accept Jesus Christ as Savior (read John, chapter 3). This will involve refusing to take Antichrist’s mark when it is instituted. If you accept the mark, you are eternally doomed. Note to those not appointed to God’s wrath (1 Thes. 5:9-11): Perhaps you should pass this memorandum to your lost family and friends before you vanish. Then, post it on your refrigerator. Daily Devotion: Stupidocrisy: Justifying hate by appropriating Christ’s love - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com The leftist crowd believing in various shades of Marxism (government is god) are appropriating Jesus Christ as a Palestinian Jew refugee born in an occupied land of terror. The history of Christ’s birth is being twisted by political heretics comparing the Christ to Palestinians who are justified in their terrorist acts against Israeli “occupiers.” Progressive (today’s socially acceptable term for Marxists or Communists) Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) Christmas message said Jesus was born in a Palestinian territory occupied by a ruthless government bent on killing him, just like Palestinians are today. Her revisionist history is remarkably false, but it’s not lost on other people who should know better. Ocasio-Cortez posted on social media: “In the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocents. He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader’s power. Mary and Joseph, displaced by violence and forced to flee, became refugees in Egypt with a newborn waiting to one day return home. Thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today’s Palestinians, so much so that the Christian community in Bethlehem has canceled this year’s Christmas Eve celebrations out of both [fear for their] safety and respect.” The point also was echoed in a discussion between a Rabbi, a Catholic priest and a Muslim cleric on CNN. CNN contributor Father Edward Beck said, “What I’m so struck by is that the story of Christmas is about a Palestinian Jew. How often do you find those words put together. A Palestinian Jew born into a time when his country was occupied, right? They can’t find a place for her to even give birth, his mother. They’re homeless. They eventually have to flee as refugees into Egypt, no less. I mean, you can’t make up the parallels to our current world situation right now. So in some way that is who we believe god becomes. Born into that situation and yet that very man Jesus says, love one another. Love your enemies.” This politicization of the birth of Christ is dark, twisted thinking. Today’s Bethlehem is actually occupied by the Palestinian Authority—the very root of terrorism against Jews. The PA supported Hamas on October 7. It reaffirmed Hamas’ barbaric actions and stated purpose of eliminating all Jews from the face of the earth. These people continue to claim moral equivalence by advocating hate and terrorism against the Jewish people, now by appropriating Jesus and his message of Love. In John 3:19, Christ said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Ocasio-Cortez and Father Beck represent a very dark and evil segment of the world community that preach love while justifying hate. Whether ignorance or willful, this is worse than, say it with me…Stupidocrisy. Sources: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/catholic-priest-edward-beck-claims-christmas-is-story/ https://www.claytoncountyregister.com/news2/is-bethlehem-part-of-israel-or-palestine/905384/#gsc.tab=0 https://nypost.com/2023/12/25/news/aoc-slammed-over-christmas-message-about-israel-hamas-war-jew-hate/ Daily Devotion: Chart Your Course - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. —2 Timothy 4:7 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/chart-your-course/ - Listen One day, we will give our final words. We may be aware they’re our last words, but then again, we may not have that luxury. In 2 Timothy 4, the apostle Paul wrote his final words. His turbulent life was coming to an end, and he had truly made a difference. An amazing series of events led to his being in the dungeon where he wrote his epistle to Timothy. It began when Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem and preach there. But a prophet named Agabus took the belt Paul had been wearing, wrapped it around his own arms and legs, and said, “So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles” (Acts 21:11 NLT). When the believers heard this, they pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul told them, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus” (verse 13 NLT). Jim Elliot was a twentieth-century martyr who died in his endeavor to take the gospel to the Waorani tribe of Ecuador. Years earlier he wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” In the same way, Paul gave his life completely to the Lord. He didn’t fear what others could do to him. Writing to the church in Corinth, he said, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT). Paul went to Jerusalem and preached there, and sure enough, an angry mob wanted to kill him. The Romans arrested Paul and later transferred him to the Roman governor Felix. Now, Paul could have talked his way out of this mess. Instead, the Bible tells us that Paul spoke to Felix about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. Then he challenged Felix to come to Christ. However, Felix procrastinated. Ultimately Paul used his rights and privileges as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar. But on the way to Rome, a severe storm arose, and Paul and the others found themselves shipwrecked on an island. Even so, Paul’s time had not yet come. This serves as a reminder that until God is done with us, nothing will stop us. It doesn’t mean that we should test God and do foolish things or unnecessarily risk our lives. But if we seek to stay in God’s will, then we don’t have to worry. We all will leave a legacy. What will people remember about us? What will our family members say? What will we be known for? If you don’t like the course your life has taken, then it isn’t too late to change it. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 12/27/23 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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