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Featured Article: Rapture? Which Rapture?
Rapture? Which Rapture? - A Bible Study by Jack Kelley -
https://gracethrufaith.com/end-times-prophecy/rapture-which-rapture/ Among Christians who believe there will be a rapture of the Church, the great majority of us are convinced it will precede the end times judgments. This position is commonly called the pre-tribulation rapture. Those who reject the pre-trib view are either mid-tribulation, post tribulation or pre-wrath rapture advocates. In this study we'll review these rapture positions. The Mid Tribulation Rapture These believers place the rapture at the end of the trumpet judgments, just before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Their justification for doing so comes from equating the seventh trumpet of Rev. 11:15 with the last trump from Paul's description of the rapture in 1 Cor. 15:51-53. Also the mid-trib view does not agree that the Seal and Trumpet judgments are manifestations of divine wrath, which in their view consists only the Bowl judgments. For them, that makes the Bowls the time of wrath the Bible says we are not appointed to suffer (1 Thes. 5:9). The other two positions appear to be similar as far as the rapture is concerned because they both claim to place the rapture of the Church after the Great Tribulation. But as we'll see, they are actually quite different. A few weeks ago, I was specifically asked to provide a concise explanation of these two positions. You might ask why such a strong pre-trib believer as I am would be asked to explain positions with which I disagree. The answer, which I've recently confirmed for myself, is that many post-trib and pre-wrath articles devote more time to refuting the pre-trib position than they do to explaining their own. Because of that, people who are just looking for the Biblical support for these positions so they can do their own evaluation have to sift through a lot of anti pre-trib rhetoric to find what they're looking for. It's like having to listen to someone's opinion on why they don't like Fords when the question you asked was "Why do people like Chevrolets". So what is the essence of these positions? It boils down to their interpretation of Matt. 24. Both positions are based on the belief that Jesus was talking about the Church when He mentioned "the elect" in Matt. 24:22, 24 & 31. And they both agree that Matt. 24:29 marks the end of the Great Tribulation. The Post Tribulation Rapture The post trib position takes the view that the trumpet mentioned in Matt. 24: 31 is the "last trump" of 1 Cor. 15:51-53 because it will be the last trumpet sounded before the Lord's return. With a loud trumpet call the Lord will command His angels to gather His elect, who they believe to be the Church. At that time the dead will rise and the living will be changed in accordance with 1 Thes. 4:16-17, and together they will meet the Lord in the air to join Him in His return to Earth in power and great glory. As you can see, the post trib position has the resurrection/rapture and the Second Coming happening at the same time. They justify this by saying the Bible only speaks of a first and second coming. Therefore, making the rapture/resurrection a separate event would require a third coming. Post Trib believers also point out that in John 6:39-40 the Lord promised to raise all believers up at the last day, which they interpret to mean the day of His return. The Pre-Wrath Rapture The pre-wrath position takes a decidedly different path to arrive at a post tribulation rapture. They interpret Matt. 24:22 to mean that for the sake of the Church, the Lord will cut the time of the Great Tribulation short. To them this means the 6th Seal judgment marks the end of the Great Tribulation, with the pre-wrath rapture coming at that time. To arrive at this conclusion, they say Matt. 24:29, which speaks of the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light at the end of the Great Tribulation, describes the same event as Rev. 6:12, which has the sun turning black and the moon becoming blood red. To them, the saints of Rev. 7:9-17, who are shown to be in heaven between the sixth and seventh seals, are the raptured Church. God's wrath will then follow in two parts, consisting of the Trumpet judgments, at the end of which which the 2nd Coming will occur, and finally the Bowl judgments, which will take place in the 30 days following the Lord's return. There have been several adaptations of the pre-wrath view. The one I've outlined here is the official position as it was originally set forth by those who developed it. What's Wrong With That? First, all these positions assume that because it appears in the New Testament, our Lord's explanation of the end times in Matt. 24 is meant for the Church. But its appearance in the New Testament is the only justification for this assumption. Nothing in the text of Matt. 24 requires a Church centered interpretation and a careful examination shows it to be specifically oriented toward Israel. In the first place, Jesus had only rarely mentioned the Church and had never said that it would interrupt Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy, leaving one week unfulfilled. As far as the disciples knew, they were 483 years into Daniel's 490 year prophecy and were only 7 years short of the end of the age. That's why they were so surprised to hear Him say everything would be torn down without one stone left standing upon another. And even as He was explaining how the end of the age would unfold, He never mentioned the Church. Had He done so, they wouldn't have asked Him if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel while they were standing on the Mt. Of Olives following His resurrection (Acts 1:6). This has led some experts to conclude that all of Matt. 24 deals with Daniel's 70th week from Israel's perspective alone. It's Israel much more than the Church who has been and will be persecuted, put to death, and hated by all nations (Matt. 24:9). It's Israel who has to stand firm to the end to be saved (Matt. 24:13). Israel is warned to flee into the mountains of Judea when they see the abomination of desolation (Matt. 24:15-16). Israel has to pray their flight won't take place on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20). Israel has to be wary of false Messiahs (Matt. 24:23-24). The Elect Also, there's no mention of the Church being "the elect" in the gospels. In the only times the Lord mentioned the Church at all (Matt. 16:18 and Matt. 18:17) He did not use any form of the Greek word for "elect". The first clear description of the Church as the elect did not happen until Romans 8:33 which Paul wrote 20 years after the resurrection. On the other hand, Jesus was called God's elect in Isaiah 42:1, Israel was called God's elect in Isaiah 45:4, 65:9, 65:22, and angels were called His elect in 1 Tim. 5:21. In my opinion, to think that the disciples would have understood the Lord to be referring to the Church in Matt. 24:22, 24, 31 is an unwarranted assumption. The Time And Duration Of God's Wrath A plain sense reading of the Book of Revelation tells us that the time of God's Wrath begins with the seal judgments (Rev. 6:16-17) and ends with the Bowl judgments (Rev. 15:1). The fact that mid-trib and pre-wrath believers don't accept that means they haven't accepted God's word as written. The Seventh Trumpet of Rev. 11:15 This trumpet is never called the last trump in the Bible, as in 1 Cor. 15:51-53, or the trumpet call of God, as in 1 Thes, 4:16-17. It is simply the final trumpet in the series of Trumpet judgments. It's not blown on Earth but in Heaven. Also, there is no connection between the seventh trumpet and the second coming. Rev. 11:15 tells us in Heaven the seventh trumpet signals that the Lord has taken command of the kingdoms of the world, but His return to Earth doesn't begin until Rev. 19:11-16. The Trumpet of Matt. 24:31 This can't be the last Trump of 1 Cor. 15:51-53 either because it's the Lord's signal to His angels to round up the elect in heaven. At the rapture the trumpet call of God is to alert believers on Earth. Also he's sending angels, plural, to do this. In 1 Thes. 4:16-17 only the archangel is mentioned in connection with the trumpet call of God. And finally, in Matt.24:31 the elect He was speaking of are already in heaven. To be fair, Mark 13:26-27 tells us the angels will gather His elect from both Heaven and Earth, but in Mark's account no trumpet is mentioned at all. This means while the trumpet will not be heard on Earth, there will be members of His elect still on Earth. These are people who will have survived the Great Tribulation and became believers in the process. But it doesn't mean they are part of the Church. Third Coming? The idea that the separation of the rapture/resurrection from the second coming would require a third coming does not stand up under scrutiny for several reasons. First, at the rapture the Lord doesn't come to Earth to get us, we go up in the clouds to meet him. Second, if every time he left heaven to come to earth was a "coming" then his second coming would have taken place on the day He was resurrected. In the morning He told Mary not to cling to Him because he had not yet ascended to His Father (John 20:17). Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us He was going to sprinkle His blood on the altar in the tabernacle in Heaven. But that afternoon He was back on Earth where He met two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-16). Who knows how many times He's been back and forth since then. Third, the second coming is a particular event where He publicly descends to Earth in power and great glory to take His position as King of the whole Earth. The number of times He's been here and back in the mean time is irrelevant. John 6:39-40 "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day." The phrase "last day" appears twice in these verses. The Greek word "last" means to be the last in time or place. It often refers to the last one in a series of events. The first resurrection, the resurrection of believers, is such a series. Jesus was the first fruits. Then we have the Church (1 Thes. 4:16-17) then the tribulation martyrs (Rev. 20:4) and the Old Testament believers (Daniel 12:2). These are all part of the first resurrection, which is not a single event, but a single type, those who are resurrected to eternal life. There is no requirement that they all have to happen on the day of the Lord's Coming. In fact only the tribulation martyrs are specifically indicated to be resurrected on that very day. Jesus could very easily have been referring to Old Testament believers, some of whom were no doubt standing before Him as He spoke, who will also be resurrected at the time of the second coming. The point is you can't use John 6:39-40 to prove a post trib rapture of the Church. Those Days Will Be Shortened "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened" (Matt. 24:22). John, who heard the Lord speak these words first hand on the Mt. of Olives, also heard the duration of the Great Tribulation described by the Lord again as being 42 months long (Rev. 11:2) 1260 days long (Rev.12:6) and, 3 ½ years long (Rev. 12:14). Using 360 day years these are equivalent times. There are only two possibilities here. Either John made a mistake or the Lord didn't mean He would shorten the number of days. The Great tribulation is one of the most carefully measured periods of time in the Bible beginning with Daniel 9:27, where it's half of seven years, Daniel 12:7 where it's time, times and a half (3 1/2) and the three references in Revelation. They are all the same. Many scholars have interpreted Matt. 24:22 to mean if the Lord didn't put a stop to the Great Tribulation at its appointed time but let it run it's course no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect He will bring it to a close at the appointed time. This is consistent with the various measurements. Therefore the assumption that the Great Tribulation will be shortened is not a good one to serve as a cornerstone for the pre-wrath position. Does Matt. 24:29 Equal Rev. 6:12? "Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Matt. 24:29) Jesus was quoting Isaiah 13:10 where the context is the after effects of the day of the Lord. I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind (Rev. 6:12-13) John was quoting Joel 2:31 where the context is a sign that the day of the Lord is coming. The two verses are similar but not the same. Matt. 24:29 shows one of the results of the day of the Lord. Rev. 6:12-13 describes a warning that precedes the day of the Lord. Later on in the book of Revelation the sun is so hot it burns people (Rev. 16:8-9) but when the sun goes out in Matt. 24:29 it will never come back (Rev. 21:23-24). The two verses do not describe the same thing. Therefore there is no justification for saying Rev. 6:12-13 is describing the end of the Great Tribulation. Are The Saints of Rev. 7:9-17 The Church? They are from every nation, tribe, people and language so they are of both Jewish and Gentile origin. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, so they're saved believers. They will serve God day and night in His Temple, but are not called priests, and they have no other responsibilities so they are not Kings, so they are not the Church. In Rev. 7:14 one of the elders tells John they have come out of the Great Tribulation, but the English translation is misleading. The Greek word translated "out of" literally means out of both the time and place of the event being referenced, in this case the Great Tribulation. This means they will have been martyred during the Seal judgments. According to the pre-wrath view the seal judgments are the Great Tribulation. But the Greek language of Rev. 7 says they'll be martyred before the Great Tribulation, which in a chronological reading of the Book of Revelation begins on Earth in Rev. 13. So for these reasons the martyrs of Rev. 7 cannot be the raptured Church. The pre-wrath rapture uses terms that do not appear in the Bible (Man's Wrath, Satan's Wrath, etc.) re-interprets parts of Matt. 24, and violates the chronological order of the Book of Revelation. Of all the rapture positions it's the most difficult to justify from a Biblical standpoint. Personally, I think it's impossible. The Bible is not a book of multiple choices. There's only one God, One Heaven, one Earth, one Israel, one Church, one Savior, one way to salvation, and one rapture of the Church. The only rapture position that's true to a literal, contextually pure interpretation of Scripture is the pre-tribulation rapture, and it's coming soon. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. Of annexation and Trump's peace plan, what's next on the post-Israeli election agenda? - By Israel Kasnett - https://www.jns.org/of-annexation-and-trumps-peace-plan-whats-next-on-the-post-israeli-election-agenda/ The questions now focus on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will follow through on his campaign pledge to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, as well as what his election win means for U.S. President Donald Trump's much-anticipated "deal of the century" to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Things move fast in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just declared victory for the fifth time, and now, as he gets busy building the next coalition for the 21st Knesset, much attention has shifted to the day after-based on what Netanyahu said the day before-in which he made the groundbreaking claim that he would move to begin annexing some of the disputed territories. The questions now focus on whether Netanyahu will follow through on his campaign pledge and what his election win means for U.S. President Donald Trump's much-anticipated "deal of the century" for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told JNS that a lot depends on domestic politics and what pressure the right-wing parties will place on Netanyahu. He noted that Netanyahu said he may carry out such an annexation at a later stage and certainly did not mean immediately. "It all depends on what kind of freedom of action he has domestically, as well as in the international arena, and he will have to decide what areas are important in terms of security and in terms of Israeli consensus," said Inbar. Ronni Shaked, senior correspondent and commentator on Palestinian Affairs for the Hebrew daily newspaper Yediot Achronot and a researcher at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute, seemed more concerned about the potential decision. He told JNS that "this will cause a lot of problems. The Palestinians will be very angry. For the Palestinian people living in the West Bank, not one will recognize it-no one in the world will recognize it." Shaked also said he did not think that the United States would recognize an Israeli move to annex any part of the West Bank. He said any effort by Netanyahu to annex parts of the territories would "risk the nation of Israel from a democratic Jewish point of view." He also warned of Israel losing its identity as a democracy-that it would be "marching towards becoming an apartheid state." However, Inbar noted that "annexation of the West Bank or parts of the West Bank has been on the agenda of every Israeli government, including Labor-led governments because [they] want the settlement blocs as part of Israel." So far, he observed, Netanyahu has been "very careful." In terms of the Trump-administration peace plan, Inbar said Israel just doesn't know much yet. "It will probably deviate from the Clinton parameters that everyone until now assumed would be the basis for a final settlement. It will move the goalposts," he said. "This is basically good for Israel. Any Israeli government will, of course, say yes, and any reservations it has will be registered. The Palestinians have already said no, and they will continue with their rejectionism." Inbar added that "perhaps in another few months, the Americans will eventually realize that they cannot generate enough Arab pressure or even American pressure on the Palestinians" to convince them to accept a peace deal. Inbar pointed to two main dynamics at play with regard to the above questions. The first is what will the American reaction be in response to Israel's annexation of any part of the territories? The second is who will replace Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, and what effect could this might have on future peacemaking prospects? These two dynamics will strongly shape future Israeli decisions on both annexation and peace. "Time will tell. We will see," he concluded. 'It sends an important message' Eugene Kontorovich, a scholar at Forum Kohelet and a professor at George Mason Antonin Scalia Law School, told JNS that "Netanyahu's promise to apply Israel civil law to Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria leaves out a lot of details-when, where and so forth. But it sends an important message." He emphasized it was important to point out that "Netanyahu did not say 'annexation' because one cannot annex what already belongs to you. He speaks properly of more robustly applying Israeli sovereignty, which already exists." Agreeing with Inbar that the Palestinians appear to uphold a policy of rejectionism, Kontorovich also noted that the Palestinians "are the only national independence movement to ever turn down an internationally backed offer of statehood in any part of the territory they claimed." "Netanyahu's statements are a sign that Israel will not continue to hold the status of these communities in limbo for decades while the Palestinians say no," he said. News from Hal Lindsey Media Ministries - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com As we approach Resurrection Day of 2019, the world lurches from one crisis to the next. Venezuelans are literally starving to death as their socialist government desperately clings to power. Russia is now a military presence in Venezuela in an effort to shore up that socialist regime. That is putting the longstanding Monroe Doctrine to the test. Socialism and antisemitism are consuming the left side of the political spectrum in the United States. America's borders are on the verge of collapse under the weight of a massive illegal immigrants invasion. China is asserting itself as the new strongman in the eastern Pacific while intensifying its efforts to spy and steal its way to military superiority. The Middle East continues to simmer as the European Union tries to threaten and bully the United Kingdom into submission. As the danger ratchets up -- just as the Bible predicted -- so does the urgency to understand the hope that provides all believers peace in the midst of these dark times: the promise of the resurrection! As is my custom, each year during Holy Week, I present a program I call, "The Week That Changed the World." The timing of the events of that week is critical. Jesus Himself set the timetable. In this edition, I'll tell you why I think we're mistaken in commemorating "Good Friday." It should be "Good Thursday!" And you probably know that the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits dramatically and poignantly foreshadow the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. But there may be some aspects of the preparation for those feasts that surprise and move you. Finally, I'll discuss the overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection presented by "The Undisturbed Grave Cloths." Please tune in and tell someone else about the show. Share this blessed hope with others who are fearful of the future. Rejoice! Jesus Christ lives! Don't miss this week's Report on Daystar, CPM Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com . Check your local listings. Love Bleeding - By Hal Lindsey They called Charles Spurgeon "the prince of preachers." Reading his words on paper and imagining them presented by a great orator, it's easy to imagine why. Spurgeon's Morning & Evening devotion for April 9th, uses his commentary on Luke 23:27. "And there were following Him a great multitude of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him." Spurgeon explained their lamentation. "They bewailed innocence maltreated, goodness persecuted, love bleeding, meekness about to die." I was struck by the phrase "love bleeding" because it's an all too common element of life. We saw it on 911 as firefighters and police officers ran into danger even as every instinct in their bodies told them to run away. They ran toward rescue - as love does. At 12:55 AM on February 3, 1943, a German U-boat torpedoed the US troop ship, SS Dorchester. The torpedo did severe damage. Boiler power was lost, leaving too little steam to sound the full signal to abandon ship. The Dorchester sank in 20 minutes. Of the 904 men aboard, only 239 were saved. On board that day were four relatively new chaplains, all holding a rank of first lieutenant - a Methodist minister, a Jewish rabbi, a Roman Catholic priest, and a minister of the Reformed Church in America. These four worked heroically to calm the men and organize an orderly evacuation of the ship. They handed out life jackets until the life jackets ran out. And then the chaplains took off their own life jackets and gave them to the men. Even then, they kept working to get men into lifeboats. When there were no more lifejackets to pass out, and no more room on the lifeboats, they locked their arms together, prayed and sang hymns. One of the survivors told what he saw. "As I swam away from the ship, I looked back. The flares had lighted everything. The bow came up high and she slid under. The last thing I saw, the Four Chaplains were up there praying for the safety of the men. They had done everything they could." Sometimes "love bleeds." What good is it if it won't? How real is it if it refuses? Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). And Jesus did. The only perfectly innocent Life ever taken was in fact given - laid down for love. Jesus received in Himself the full weight of God's judgment against sin. By His act, you and I can now live free from sin and from the fear of death. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 says, "So when this corruptible shall have put on in-corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." In the verse that follows, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, finishes this glorious declaration with a simple statement on how we should live in light of a such a stupendous truth. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." I Can't Find A Church. What Should I Do? - By Grant Phillips - https://www.raptureready.com/2019/04/12/cant-find-church-grant-phillips/ About two years ago I wrote an article called "Can't Find A Church." If you would like to read that article first you can find it on the Rapture Ready site at Featured End Time Writers, then under my name, Grant Phillips. It has been drilled into many of us that if we don't "go to church," we will go to hell. For some reason, that always coincides with a physical structure that is commonly "church like" and is used for worship services. In these buildings are pews, a pulpit, musical instruments and a name over the door. It is the one place we meet with fellow believers and worship for about an hour. The remaining 167 hours are spent in the "real world." Apparently, one can only be saved in the structure we call the church, and our salvation is only guaranteed upon our faithful attendance at this special place. At this point, I'm out of breath and hardly know where to start in responding to this fallacy, so let's begin with our salvation. What is the Gospel? "Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve." (1 Corinthians 15:1-5) What must I do to be saved? "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." (Romans 9:10) Can I lose my salvation? "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) It can be readily seen that our attendance at a local structure neither saves us nor keeps us saved. Our salvation is totally dependent upon Jesus Christ, and the security of our salvation is also totally dependent upon Him as well. Jesus is the only means of salvation and once we are saved, nothing can undo the salvation we received through Him. Should I go to church? First of all, if you are a true Christian, a legitimate child of God, you are the Church. So wherever you go, you are there. Should I worship with other Christians? "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25) The answer is obvious. We should not be hermit Christians. We need to share company with other Christians and encourage each other, especially as we see the Day of Christ's return drawing closer. However, there are no specifics given about where we meet. When I was growing up our local church was the only one in the hollow (holler, for some of us) where we all lived. They actually taught, often, that we should not go to another church out of our area. We had to attend locally. Even as a teenager, that made no sense to me, and quite plainly, it made no sense because it was nonsense. Yeah, but they say I can't worship at home. I must go to the local church, you know, the one with the name over the door. "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20) No matter how you slice it, I see nothing there stating anything about not being able to worship at home. We may worship God alone in our private time, and we can worship God publicly with one or more other Christians. We may worship at home, at the local church with the name over the door, in the back of a cab, on a mountain top, in a parking lot, in a prison cell, wherever we happen to be with another Christian. We are the Church. We are like a MASH unit in war. We are mobile. It is sad that so many of our churches today have become apostate. Most, and sometimes all, of those attending are Christians in name only. These churches are near replicas of Old Testament idol worshipers that neither knew God nor worshipped Him. They served only their false gods, and were Israel's kryptonite. The true Church today is being attacked by Satan's false prophets just as Israel was years ago. The world has come into most churches and set up their idols while true Christians are being pushed out the door. That's okay. Let them have the building. God will deal with that, but we should never forsake our worship, wherever we are. Just as Daniel was faithful to God as a slave in Babylon, we should be faithful to Him. It isn't important where we worship the Lord, but it is important that we continue to worship Him wherever we are. If your local church remains faithful to the Word of God, then praise Him because you are blessed. If your local church is denying God's Word, it is between you and Him what you do next. Pray about it. Then do as Joshua. "...But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15) Grant Phillips Email: [email protected] Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html Daily Jot: The fight for life - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Over 61 million preborn American citizens have lost their unalienable rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness because their life was snuffed out before they had a chance to live it. The 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion opened the door to the greatest infanticide movement known to man in contemporary times. Today, death culture jack-boots push abortion after full term. Even so, there is a gallant counterrevolution fighting for life. After years of tenacious hard work, setbacks, lobbying and good old-fashioned prayer and action, the pro-life folks in Ohio overcame the forces of darkness and Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed into law The Ohio Human Rights and Heartbeat Protection Act prohibiting abortion of embryos and fetuses with detectable heartbeats. This is the latest in a series of victories promoting the protection of the preborn across America. Similar abortion bans have become law in Kentucky and Mississippi, and on in Georgia is pending signature. Ohio also was successful in a previous court challenge to the state's legislation ending taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions. The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute reports: "Six-week bans have also moved in Missouri and Tennessee legislatures, while they have been introduced-but have not yet moved-in Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina and West Virginia. In addition, North Dakota (2013) and Iowa (2017) have already enacted such bans (neither is in effect). Through April 11, 14 states have introduced, moved, or enacted 6-week bans this year, underscoring the extreme scope and unprecedented volume of these bills. Banning abortion at six weeks has emerged as a leading tactic for antiabortion politicians and activists, with the ultimate goal of challenging Roe v Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court." Also, the movie "Unplanned" has become a box office success despite the pro-death lobby and social media's efforts to discourage viewership. Today, please praise God and say a prayer for those warriors on the front line who are taking Romans 12:21 to heart, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." These men and women have worked hard, prayed hard, and demonstrated longsuffering in their fight for life. I want to commend them and hold them up--folks like Dr. Les Young, a 30-year veteran of the pro-life movement, who has written a 365-0day devotional called "Devoted to Life." There are so many who are devoted to life EVERY DAY. They are driven by the passion of God in the righteous fight for life. Daily Devotion: A New Relationship - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, "I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God."' - John 20:17 On the morning of the Resurrection, Jesus didn't allow Mary to touch Him. He was essentially saying, "It's not going to be the way it used to be. You can't hold on to Me in the old way. It's a new covenant." Then He made a radical statement: "Go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God'" (John 20:17). For Jesus to call God His Father was one thing. But He said, "I am ascending to My Father and your Father. . . ." In other words, "He is your Father now too." If you came from a fatherless home, God can be the Father you never had. Jesus opened up a new relationship for us through His death on the cross and His Resurrection from the dead. No longer must we go through a high priest to seek atonement for our sins, because Jesus became the final sacrifice for our sins. And He has given us free access to God the Father, to whom we can come in times of need. Do you know God as your Father? Or does He seem like some distant force? If that is the case, I have good news for you: God is not some mere force or distant power somewhere in the universe. He is personal, He is caring, and He loves you. And that is why He sent His Son to die on the cross in our place. 
FROM THE HEART
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