Sequence of the Second Coming

Are you ready?
Pre-Tribulation and Tribulation Rapture Ideas, Challenges, and Encouragements.
A Collection of writings about the subject of being ready

Words of Encouragement from many wonderful christians who have great web sites on the Internet. Look for the web address to their site below their quote. This page is just to introduce you to them.


Jesus said, "If a man love Me, he will keep My Words" (John 14:23).
Love Him with all your heart, mind, and soul.
"The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober,
and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:7).

"Let the Heavens rejoice, and let the Earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof... FOR HE COMETH, FOR HE COMETH TO JUDGE THE EARTH: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His Truth" (Psalm 96:11,13).


Revelation 2-3. Jesus is not easy on his saints.
"8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an Open Door, and NO man can shut it:
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My WORD, and hast not denied My Name.
10 Because thou hast kept the WORD of My patience, I also will keep thee
from The Hour Of Temptation, which shall come upon all the world,
to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: HOLD THAT FAST which thou hast,
that NO man take thy crown.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches"
(Revelation 3:8,10-11,13).
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end"
(Hebrews 3:12-14).
Lam 3:21>
22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my Portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the LORD"
(Lamentations 3:21-26).

Be Ready for at such a time as ye think not, the Lord Cometh,

The presumptive servant said, my lord delayeth
his coming and began doing bad in the church

"It is by our faith that we live; we began to live by it, and continue to live by it, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Once let faith go and our life is gone; and hence it is that the powers which war against us make their main assault upon this royal castle, this key of the whole position. Faith is your jewel, your joy, your glory; and the thieves who haunt the pilgrim way are all in league to tear it from you. Hold fast, therefore, this your choice treasure." (from: All Joy in All Trials by Spurgeon, "Sermons" ---

To Be READY For HIS RETURN:

You must presently, willfully and actively be TRUSTING the LORD Jesus Christ, and HIM ONLY, for everything pertaining to this life and the life hereafter.

"If ye love Me, keep My Commandments" (John 14:15).

"And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments" (1John 2:3). "But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him" (1John 2:5).

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My Words" (John 14:23).

"If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love" (John 15:10).
"For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous" .[literally, not burdensome] (1John 5:3).
"Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God,
in not keeping His Commandments, and His Judgments, and His Statutes"

Claim Promises that the LORD would help you to
"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ unto Eternal Life" (Jude 21),
such as,
"The God of Peace, that brought again from the dead our LORD Jesus,
that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant,
make you Perfect in every good work to do His Will,
working in you that which is Wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ;
to Whom be Glory for ever and ever. Amen"
(Hebrews 13:20-21).
and "Unto Him that is able to keep you from falling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding Joy,
to the Only Wise God our Saviour, be Glory and Majesty, Dominion and Power,
both now and for ever. Amen"
(Jude 24, 25).

(Deuteronomy 8:11).
"He is happy who feels a jealous fear of doing wrong. Holy fear looks not only before it leaps, but even before it moves. It is afraid of error, afraid of neglecting duty, afraid of committing sin. It fears ill company, loose talk, and questionable policy. This does not make a man wretched, but it brings him happiness. The watchful sentinel is happier than the soldier who sleeps at his post. He who foreseeth evil and escapes it is happier than he who walks carelessly on and is destroyed." --by C. H. Spurgeon
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not"
(1John 2:1).

"Jesus saith unto him, I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6).
You must presently, willfully and actively be FREE from sinning.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18).

"Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me" (Proverbs 1:28).

"He that turneth away his ear from hearing The Law, even his prayer shall be abomination" (Proverbs 28:9).

"And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood" (Isaiah. 1:15).

"If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1John 1:9).

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).
You must presently, willfully and actively believe that He will KEEP you from sinning.

"He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities" (Micah 7:19).

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1John 3:8).

"And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and IN HIM IS NO SIN" (1John 3:5).
The test of knowing if your "love" for Him is self-deceived or REAL, can be conclusively proved by Scripture. If you LOVE Him-- you will OBEY Him. If you will not obey Him-- you do not love Him.

Sound Doctrine is important!
For help with this understanding, please read--
Topical Links on Sound Doctrine ---New Window
"But he that heareth, and doeth not,
is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the Earth;
against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell;
and the ruin of that house was great"
(Luke 6:49).



Christian, Be Ready! ---
----by Tom Stewart
"The thoughtless, uncaring, worldly, lost, or backslidden, should be receiving the parallel message that JESUS IS COMING-- REPENT OR PERISH! "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). Now is not the time to engage in the theological polemics of "I know that I am a Christian, but I am just walking in sin," because the message to five of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse (Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 19) is REPENT OR ELSE, e.g., "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the Sword of My mouth" (2:16). No one is afforded the luxury of dwelling in the "pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:25), while receiving the Blessed Assurance of the Holy Spirit's testimony that you are His and that you are ready to depart when Jesus comes, for the Holy Spirit is "given to them that obey Him" (Acts 5:32). Christ's Parable of the Ten Virgins teaches us the necessity of continual readiness for the LORD's return. In this parable of Matthew 25, emphasis is not centered on our profession, but our readiness... [See our article, "A Tale of Ten Virgins" ---New Window, for more explanation of this passage.]"

How to Be Ready for the Rapture ---
by Tom Stewart
"It is the height of conceit that we would ever think that we will make ourself ready to be raptured home to Heaven by the simple force of our will. 'O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps' (Jeremiah 10:23). If we have learned anything about the LORD Jesus Christ, we have learned that 'not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us' (Titus 3:5). In other words, we must be trusting in His merit and not any so-called worthiness of our own for Salvation, Sanctification, and Eternity. '3 For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for Righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the Reward not reckoned of Grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that Justifieth the ungodly, his Faith is counted for Righteousness' (Romans 4:3-5). In sum, our confidence and sufficiency is not in ourselves, but in God. 'Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God' (2Corinthians 3:5).

Having clearly established that we must presently be living 'by the Faith of the Son of God, Who loved [us], and gave Himself for [us]' (Galatians 2:20), we can address how to be ready for the Rapture. 'Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh' (Matthew 24:44). However, in our attempt to properly emphasize the 'Grace of God that bringeth Salvation' (Titus 2:11), we have a tendency to discount those Scriptures that make us responsible for our own readiness to meet the LORD Jesus Christ, when He returns for us in the Rapture. 'Even so Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone' (James 2:17). It would be a grave mistake to assume that any action that we have taken in the past, will be sufficient by itself to ensure our readiness to be raptured. 'Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man' (Luke 21:36). Rather than relying upon any metaphysical formula from men promising that God will grant us the indulgence of our sins that we are committing or will commit-- and, still rapture us home to Heaven-- we ought rather to faithfully declare our absolute necessity of a continuing and practical holiness. 'Follow Peace with all men, and Holiness, without which no man shall see the LORD' (Hebrews 12:14)."

The Relations of Christ to the Believer
----by C. G. Finney
"Faith simply receives Christ, as king, to live and reign in the soul. It is Christ, in the exercise of his different offices, and appropriated in his different relations to the wants of the soul, by faith, who secures our sanctification. This he does by Divine discoveries to the soul of his Divine perfections and fulness... I have often feared, that many professed Christians knew Christ only after the flesh, that is, they have no other knowledge of Christ than what they obtain by reading and hearing about him, without any special revelation of him to the inward being by the Holy Spirit. I do not wonder, that such professors and ministers should be totally in the dark, upon the subject of entire sanctification in this life. They regard sanctification as brought about by the formation of holy habits, instead of resulting from the revelation of Christ to the soul in all his fulness and relations, and the soul's renunciation of self and appropriation of Christ in these relations."
excerpt from "The Relations of Christ to the Believer" --
by C. G. Finney-


Rules for Prosperity
----by C. H. Spurgeon
"Only be thou strong and very courageous,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all the Law"
(Joshua 1:7).

"We must obey the LORD with care and thoughtfulness. 'Observe to do' is the phrase used, and it is full of meaning. This is referred to every part of the divine will; we must obey with universal readiness. Our rule of conduct is 'according to all the law.' We may not pick and choose, but we must take the LORD's commands as they come, one and all. In all this we must go on with exactness and constancy. Ours is to be a straightforward course which bends neither to the right nor to the left. We are not to err by being more rigid than the law, nor turn out of levity to a more free and easy way. With such obedience there will come spiritual prosperity. O LORD, help us to see if it be not even so! We shall not test Thy promise in vain."
excerpt from "Faith's Checkbook" A Daily Devotional by C. H. Spurgeon-



Christ's Human Sinlessness
Proves the Justice of God's Demand for Man's Sinlessness
by Tom Stewart
"From the Editor's Desktop" ---
It is a forthright point of Biblical theology to state that Jesus is truly God Almighty and that He was truly born as a human baby nearly 2,000 years ago; but, the uniqueness of His person has caused many in the study of theology to discount the value of His human sinless life. "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin" (1John 3:5). "Sure," they may say, "Jesus did not sin while in human flesh, but that's because He is God." But, this misses the point entirely of why the Almighty had to resort to such a daring move as to allow His Eternally Begotten Son to become a defenseless babe in a manger. "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth" (1Peter 2:22). You can nearly see in your mind the picture of the Father discussing with the Son that mankind would object to His demand of sinless living as unreasonable and unobtainable because no one could live without sin while in human flesh. But, then the Son said, "Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7). The Son of God was willing to undergo all the difficulties, humiliations, and sufferings of the human condition, if only the attainability of a sinless walk from man could be proved, then the Father's wisdom and justice of requiring it would be justified. "5 But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. 6 He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked" (1John 2:5-6).

The Son of God volunteered to become a man, because He desired to justify the Father's demand of loving obedience from all the children of men. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous" (1John 5:3). Since "grievous" Commandments are unbearable and impossible to obey, the Son had to demonstrate that man in human flesh could obey everything that the Father commanded of all men. "37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and Great Commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-39). And, if Satan could stumble Jesus into sinning, then Satan would justify himself for his rebellion, as well as humiliate the Father for requiring more than He ought from His creation. "If ye love Me, keep My Commandments" (John 14:15).

If one must be the Son of God to obey completely the Father, then no one needs to feel himself rebellious for giving only the semblance of partial obedience. But, "whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). Jesus came to destroy the arguments of self-justification that allow man to hide behind physical flesh as his excuse for sinning. Instead, the Son of God's manifestation in human flesh was to obliterate man's arguments of self-justification for why he sins, which arguments are the "works of the devil". "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1John 3:8). Sin is so rampant in this world, and in the Professed Church, because excuse is found everywhere that our flesh made us to sin. "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat" (Genesis 3:12).

Man has transposed sin away from his willful disobedience of God and metaphysically made human flesh the residence of sin, as evidenced by the misunderstanding many have of the Apostle Paul's inspired reference to "sinful flesh". "For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). Flesh can only be sinful by how we use it, else wise Christ could not have "condemned sin in the flesh" (8:3) without obliterating flesh entirely-- which He did not. "19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1Corinthians 6:19-20). Brother Paul goes on to disabuse us of any misconception we have that flesh, by itself, is sinful, by further informing us that:

(1) it is only how we mind or treat the flesh, that makes it sinful, i.e., "6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:6-7), and

(2) we are no longer minding the flesh, if we are walking after the Spirit, i.e., "8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (8:8-9).
If we desire to honor God for His Love, Truth, Mercy, and Grace, then we ought to give the Son of God the "glory and honour and power" (Revelation 4:11) for walking in human flesh without sinning, without having to resort to miraculous or supernatural advantages normally unavailable to mortal man. "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Instead of calling for the assistance of angels to stand in for Him when obedience was difficult and sinning was easy, i.e., "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53), Jesus chose to be humanly perfected and matured by His human sufferings. "For it became Him [the Father], for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of Their Salvation [Jesus] perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10).

The sinless obedience of Christ while in human flesh magnifies the wise choice of God to create man and to wisely and certainly expect that man must perfectly obey Him, "as unto a Faithful Creator" (1Peter 4:19). "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His Judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33). If the Son of God was the only man to ever obey the Father, then God would still be praised for the wisdom and justice of His decision to require loving and sinless obedience from man. "Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That Thou mightest be justified in Thy Sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged" (3:4). But, the truth is that any time that any man ever does obey the Father, it is because the New Covenant's gift of the Spirit of Christ is working in us to "will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). And, that working in us comes only when we trust Him. "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23)..


Abiding in Obedience, in Love
----by C. H. Spurgeon
"If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love" (John 15:10).

These things cannot be parted -- abiding in obedience and abiding in the love of Jesus. A life under the rule of Christ can alone prove that we are the objects of our LORD's delight. We must keep our LORD's command if we would bask in His love. If we live in sin we cannot live in the love of Christ. Without the holiness which pleases God we cannot please Jesus. He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the love of Jesus.

Conscious enjoyment of our LORD's love is a delicate thing. It is far more sensitive to sin and holiness than mercury is to cold and heat. When we are tender of heart and careful in thought, lip, and life to honor our LORD Jesus, then we receive tokens of His love without number. If we desire to perpetuate such bliss we must perpetuate holiness. The LORD Jesus will not hide His face from us unless we hide our face from Him. Sin makes the cloud which darkens our Sun: if we will be watchfully obedient and completely consecrated we may walk in the light, as God is in the light, and have as sure an abiding in the love of Jesus as Jesus has in the love of the Father. Here is a sweet promise with a solemn "if," LORD, let me have this "if" in my hand; for as a key it opens this casket.
from "Faith's Checkbook" ---New Window A Daily Devotional by C. H. Spurgeon.

and

The Excellence of Love ---New Window
----by Tom Stewart
"Questions immediately arise about the nature of True Love. Since the Word of God declares that 'God is Love' (1John 4:8, 16), does God voluntarily choose to love, or does His natural constitution involuntarily force Him to love? In answer, God's Love must be voluntary and uncoerced for His Love to have any moral character at all. 'Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you' (John 15:16). And, the majesty of God's Love is that He loved sinners, and not simply the lovable. 'God commendeth His Love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us' (Romans 5:8). But, unless His Love is ultimately returned by Lost Sinners, as His Moral Law of Love requires, then the sinner-- 'for sin is the transgression of the [Moral] Law [of Love]' (1John 3:4)-- must pay the Eternal Penalty for his hatred of God and man, i.e., 'for the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23), in the Perpetual Prison of No Release, i.e., 'And Death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the Second Death' (Revelation 20:14)."

Anthrax, Smallpox, and Plague Prevention
The anthrax/smallpox scare has many people concerned.

C. H. Spurgeon learned the following lesson,
when threatened with a large outbreak of cholera in his city.

"The summer of 1854 will long be remembered for the frightful scourge of Asiatic cholera with which the great city was visited. The black flag could be seen stretched across streets to warn strangers of the close proximity of plague-stricken dwellings.

On all sides there was anxious foreboding, sorrow, or bereavement. The young pastor's services were eagerly sought for, his time and strength taxed to their utmost; but he discharged the duties of the emergency with a true and manly courage. A paragraph from his 'Treasury of David,' on Psalm xci., most graphically describes this trying period:

'In the year 1854 when I had scarcely been in London twelve months, the neighborhood in which I labored was visited by Asiatic cholera, and my congregation suffered from its inroads. Family after family summoned me to the bedsides of the smitten, and almost every day I was called to visit the grave. I gave myself up with youthful ardor to the visitation of the sick, and was sent for from all corners of the district by persons of all ranks and religions. I became weary in body and sick at heart. Many friends seemed falling one by one, and I felt or fancied that I was sickening like those around me. A little more work and weeping would have laid me low among the rest. I felt that my burden was heavier than I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it. As God would have it, I was returning mournfully home from a funeral, when my curiosity led me to read a paper which was wafered up in a shoemaker's window in the Dover Road. It did not look like a trade announcement, nor was it; for it bore in a good bold handwriting these words:

'Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.'[Psalm 91:10]

'The effect upon my heart was immediate. Faith appropriated the passage as her own. I felt secure, refreshed, girt with immortality. I went on with my visitation of the dying in a calm and peaceful spirit; I felt no fear of evil, and I suffered no harm. The Providence which moved the tradesman to place those verses in his window I gratefully acknowledge, and in the remembrance of its marvellous power I adore the Lord my God.'"

This excerpt was taken from the book, "Life and Works of Charles H. Spurgeon" ---
by Henry Davenport Northrop

John Wycliffe's Last Days

"The moment his great work was finished, that moment the Voice spake to him which said, 'Come up hither.' As he stood before the earthly symbols of his Lord's passion, a cloud suddenly descended upon him; and when its darkness had passed, and the light had returned, serener and more bright than ever was dawn or noon of earthly day, it was no memorial or symbol that he saw; it was his Lord Himself, in the august splendor of His glorified humanity. Blessed transition! The earthly sanctuary, whose gates he had that morning entered, became to him the vestibule of the Eternal Temple; and the Sabbath, whose services he had just commenced, became the dawn of a better Sabbath, to be closed by no evening with its shadows, and followed by no week-day with its toils."
-an excerpt from: "John Wycliffe's Last Days" by J. A. Wiley ---New Window

Additional Quote:
"Our LORD... appears only to those who look for Him.
He will not be seen in this character by men whose eyes are blinded with self and sin.
To them He will be a terrible Judge and nothing more.
We must first look to Him and then look for Him;
and in both cases our look shall be life."
--C. H. Spurgeon
"Faith's Checkbook" ---New Window A Daily Devotional by Spurgeon-

Behold, I Come Quickly
by Tom Stewart
"From the Editor's Desktop" ---New Window

"Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy Crown" (Revelation 3:11).

To our best understanding, the Apostle John-- our "brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" (1:9)-- penned these words by inspiration in 96 AD. Now, some may say that the Apocalypse was not intended to fix an idea of the timing of Endtime Events, i.e., "We should not set dates or become convinced that we will see the Coming of the LORD in our lifetime, for we open ourselves to bitterness, disappointment, and the ridicule of skeptics." But, none other than the LORD Himself made the immutable Promise-- "I come quickly"-- four separate times (3:11; 22:7,12,20) in the Book of Revelation.

Why would the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17) seemingly mislead us with the idea that the LORD Jesus is returning quickly, or that the "time is at hand" (Revelation 1:3), if that return would not be for more than 1,900 years? Perhaps, some may feel forced to conclude that the Son of God was only using divine metaphors-- comparing His sense of quickness with eternity-- which is true-- but the Creator knows better than anyone how His little children would react to such inflammatory language as, "I come quickly" or "the time is at hand". "For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14).

"Don't let go!" "Hang on!" "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Revelation 3:11). These are the words of exhortation that accompany Philadelphia's Promise of our LORD's soon return. If we look at the context of this first Apocalyptic appearance of "I come quickly" (3:11), we will find that the LORD Jesus Christ had just finished promising to the Church of Philadelphia that He would deliver them from the Hour of Temptation. "Because thou hast kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the Hour of Temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the Earth" (3:10). Certainly, that assembly of Believers in 1st Century Asia Minor had been given a real Promise for their own deliverance; but, is not this Promise of Deliverance the property of the Saints throughout the ages? "Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:29). And, if God has given you the faith to believe that He has promised you a Pre-Tribulational Rapture-- "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36)-- then, hold fast to your faith until He fulfills His Word. So, when you are tempted to give up your faith, be encouraged that the Master said, "I come quickly".

The opposite of letting go of our confidence of what we find revealed in the Revelation, is to faithfully keep those "Sayings"-- and our confidence. "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the Sayings of the prophecy of this Book" (Revelation 22:7). If we are the Just, then we should live by our confidence in what God has said. "Now the Just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him" (Hebrews 10:38). Keeping the "Sayings of the prophecy of this Book" (Revelation 22:7) may mean that you must "become a fool" (2Corinthians 12:11) in the eyes of the world for declaring your confidence in what the Comforter has revealed to you concerning "things to come" (John 16:13). But surely, keeping the "Sayings of the prophecy of this Book" (Revelation 22:7) means to order your decisions and life so that they are consistent with what you understand. "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15).

The LORD Jesus Christ is both our Reward and our Rewarder. "And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Revelation 22:12). The third incentive for our LORD coming quickly, is that He will reward us according to our works. What a confusion we have made of the word "works"! If the Spirit of God could only teach His people the concept of a "faith which worketh by Love" (Galatians 5:6), we would close this Church Age with the "greater works" (John 14:12) promised by the LORD Jesus for His people. (And, He will accomplish His Word, but maybe not in the way expected.) "And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them" (Isaiah 42:16).

Finally, the second to the last verse of the entire Bible is, "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly" (Revelation 22:20). As if to ensure that we would consider all of His Word and Revelation to apply to our individual situation, He concludes the New Testament with the encouragement that He is Coming quickly. If we truly Love the LORD, we will "keep the Sayings" (22:7) of not only the Revelation, but of "every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Just as the LORD Jesus laid down His life for us, we ought to return that Love by tenaciously clinging to Him in faith with His Promise, "Behold, I come quickly". We are the "children of God" (Matthew 5:9), and we have the same question that a small child asks a parent on a long trip, "Are we there yet?" The patient reply is, "Soon. Not much longer." Likewise, our LORD comforts and encourages us with His Promise, "I come quickly".

"Amen. Even so, Come, LORD Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).

"For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come Up Hither"
(Proverbs 25:7).

Also read:
Man-Made Earthquakes and the Rapture ---
by Tom Stewart
"God-inspired faith is God's prescribed means to influence Him concerning the Rapture...
'Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me' (Isaiah 45:11)."

"When the LORD hastens, His speed is glorious."
"Faith's Checkbook" ---New Window A Daily Devotional by Spurgeon-


"The King Draws Near" ---
by A. J. Gordon
(1836-1895)
"O church of Christ, behold at last
The promised Sign appear,--
The Gospel preached in all the world;
And lo! the King draws near...

With girded loins, make haste! Make haste!
Thy witness to complete,
That Christ may take His Throne and bring
All nations to His feet..."
more

Bible Promises for: HIS Coming ---

C. H. Spurgeon on the topic of The LORD's Coming ---New Window


666
The Antichrist and the False Prophet ---
Some have called chapter 13 one of the greatest prophetic chapters of the Bible!
from
A Commentary on the BOOK of REVELATION
Chapter 13
by Tom Stewart
"Seven successive stages of Gentile world power-- out of which the Antichrist will come-- are represented by the 'seven heads and ten horns' (13:1). The difficulty of interpretation is the honest bias of each commentator, who is impressed that he is one 'upon whom the ends of the world are come' (1Corinthians 10:11). As we approach the conclusion of the matter, the Infallible Commentator, which is the Holy Spirit, will drop the scales from our eyes to teach us the wonderful secret of His infallible interpretation... Who will this Antichrist be? Periodically, each generation has had its own Antiochus Epiphanes, Caligula, Pontifex Maximus, Hitler, or Mussolini that must be the Antichrist. But, why? The appearance of the Antichrist will precede the Second Advent of the LORD Jesus Christ for the counterfeit to properly work its deception. 'Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition' (2Thessalonians 2:3)."

Sensitive to Warning
----by C. H. Spurgeon

"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD"
(2 Kings 22:19).

Many despise warning and perish. Happy is he who trembles at the Word of God. Josiah did so, and he was spared the sight of the evil which the LORD determined to send upon Judah because of her great sins. Have you this tenderness? Do you practice this self-humiliation? Then you also shall be spared in the evil day. God sets a mark upon the men that sigh and cry because of the sin of the times. The destroying angel is commanded to keep his sword in its sheath till the elect of God are sheltered: these are best known by their godly fear and their trembling at the Word of the LORD. Are the times threatening? Does infidelity advance with great strides, and do you dread national chastisement upon this polluted nation? Well you may. Yet rest in this promise: "Thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace: and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which l will bring upon this place." Better still, the LORD Himself may come, and then the days of our mourning shall be ended.

from "Faith's Checkbook" ---New Window A Daily Devotional by C. H. Spurgeon-
TODAY'S ENTRY ---



A Plea from the Past
----by Abraham Lincoln

"We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."

--from Lincoln's Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day ---


The Prophecies and Visions given to Dumitru Duduman ---New Window

"God, in His Providence, led Dumitru Duduman to the United States. He recounts stories of deliverance from the enemy that place him more in the company of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego than in the company of American Christianity. 'For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My Name's sake' (Acts 9:16). Dumitru Duduman was led from Romania to the United States, before the Fall of the Iron Curtain, for the express purpose of warning America of God's coming judgment. 'Thou shalt hear the Word at My mouth, and warn them from Me' (Ezekiel 33:7). God raised him 'for such a time as this' (Esther 4:14)." --from The Conversion of Dumitru Duduman ---New Window
ALSO
From the April 2000 newsletter of "Hand of Help"
concerning Duduman's prophecy titled,
"CHINA AND RUSSIA STRIKE" ---
God Still Tarries
by Michael Boldea, Jr.

and Revealed In Time: The Last Revelations ---
The Third and Last Prophecy:
All three of the final three prophecies given to Dumitru Duduman just weeks before his death, to be released only at the appointed times.
"The lawless one has been prepared, and he is ready to reveal himself.
He awaits his release.
He will come with a lying tongue and deceiving words.
I will protect My own, and I will deliver them even out of the clutches of the enemy..."


Understanding of the Times (2001) --
(Including the Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden Connection)
Or, What Are the Events Surrounding the Pre-Tribulational Rapture?
by Tom Stewart
UPDATED in light of the September 11th 2001 attack on the Pentagon and destruction of the World Trade Center.

also

Significance of the Attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon ---New Window
by Tom Stewart
"What is the true significance of the September 11th 2001 attack? More than the early bewilderment and disbelief that seized upon the escaped occupants of the World Trade Center; more than the fear and anguish that has consumed the families of the missing victims; more than the weariness and fatigue of the rescuers, who want desperately to do more than clean up; and greater still than the understood vulnerability and anxiety of the ordinary American-- that God would take away the restraint and allow such a monumental breach of day-to-day life, is the true significance of this trumpet blast, that the Professed Church would awaken out of its slumber of sin."

also

Christian Response to Terrorism ---
by Tom Stewart
"The Koran teaches the Muslim faithful to kill idolatrous pagans, unless they repent and convert to Islam. 'When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. God is forgiving and merciful' (Sura 9:5). 'The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel' (Proverbs 12:10). Cruel is the word that best describes the Islamic application of such Koranic teachings, requiring the slaying of idolatrous pagans. 'An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger [Hebrew, malak, i.e., angel] shall be sent against him' (Proverbs 17:11). The very idea of converting by the sword horrifies every true teaching of Christ that demands fidelity to God with 'ALL thy heart... ALL thy soul, and ... ALL thy mind' (Matthew 22:37) as True Religion, '6 not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the Will of God from the heart; 7 with good will doing service, as to the LORD, and not to men' (Ephesians 6:6-7). The Christian Scriptures, as opposed to the Koran, emphasize the necessity of an uncoerced heart confession of Jesus Christ as Saviour and LORD, realizing that anything less is a false profession of Christ, i.e., 'And why call ye Me, LORD, LORD, and do not the things which I say?' (Luke 6:46). '9 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. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation' (Romans 10:9-10)."
Subpoints of the article:
The Face of Terrorism (2001): Militant Islamic Fundamentalism
Terror: How Almighty God Uses Man's Wrath to Praise His Name
Faith in God: The Christian Response to Terrorism
Terror: The Beginning of God's Judgment
Question and Answer: On Terror

"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!"
(2Samuel 1:25).
How much worse is our nation (the U.S.A.) in these end times, than when Mr. Spurgeon penned the following words:

Prayer for Peace
----by C. H. Spurgeon
"And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace"
(Jeremiah 29:7).

The principle involved in this text would suggest to all of us who are the LORD's strangers and foreigners that we should be desirous to promote the peace and prosperity of the people among whom we dwell. Specially should our nation and our city be blest by our constant intercession. An earnest prayer for your country and other countries is well becoming in the mouth of every believer. Eagerly let us pray for the great boon of peace, both at home and abroad. If strife should cause bloodshed in our streets, or if foreign battle should slay our brave soldiers, we should all bewail the calamity; let us therefore pray for peace and diligently promote those principles by which the classes at home and the races abroad may be bound together in bonds of amity.

We ourselves are promised quiet in connection with the peace of the nation, and this most desirable; for thus we can bring up our families in the fear of the Lord, and also preach the gospel without let or hindrance. Today let us be much in prayer for our country, confessing national sins and asking for national pardon and blessing, for Jesus' sake. from: TODAY'S ENTRY ---New Window This feature is updated daily.
from "Faith's Checkbook" ---New Window A Daily Devotional by C. H. Spurgeon.


On the Coming of the LORD...

George Mueller of Bristol -
And His Witness To A Prayer-Hearing God
by A. T. Pierson
Published in 1899
"Another truth, into which, in a measure, I was led, respected the Lord's coming. My views concerning this point, up to that time, had been completely vague and unscriptural. I had believed what others told me, without trying it by the Word. I thought that things were getting better and better, and that soon the whole world would be converted. But now I found in the Word that we have not the least Scriptural warrant to look for the conversion of the world before the return of our Lord. I found in the Scriptures that that which will usher in the glory of the church, and uninterrupted joy to the saints, is the return of the Lord Jesus, and that, till then, things will be more or less in confusion.

I found in the Word, that the return of Jesus, and not death, was the hope of the apostolic Christians; and that it became me, therefore, to look for His appearing. And this truth entered so into my heart that, though I went into Devonshire exceedingly weak, scarcely expecting that I should return again to London, yet I was immediately, on seeing this truth, brought off from looking for death, and was made to look for the return of the Lord. Having seen this truth, the Lord also graciously enabled me to apply it, in some measure at least, to my own heart, and to put the solemn question to myself--

'What may I do for the Lord,
before He returns,
as He may soon come?'"

--from "George Mueller of Bristol" by A. T. Pierson, Appendix B: "Apprehension of Truth"


Based on Jesus' Character and past Example of willfully surrendering His final breathe of LIFE for you in your wickedness, "much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be Saved from Wrath through Him".
"HOPE maketh NOT ASHAMED... For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly... Much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be Saved from Wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be Saved by His Life" (Romans 5:5-6, 9-10).
Based on Jesus' Character and past Example of willfully surrendering His final breathe of LIFE for you in your wickedness, "much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be Saved from Wrath through Him".

"HOPE maketh NOT ASHAMED... For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly... Much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall be Saved from Wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be Saved by His Life" (Romans 5:5-6, 9-10).

What would He not do for His own, since He was willing to die for strangers?

"He [the Father] that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us ALL things?" (Romans 8:32).
Ask yourself, "Why not trust in God's Character and Example?": The Promise of Genesis 18:25, "That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?", reveals the very HEART and NATURE of God. This verse shows the justice and the fairness upon which His Law is based. Count on Him. An ACTIVE CONFIDENCE in the Character and Example of God, and His Promises, is our ONLY assurance that we will be Raptured. He makes a difference between the holy and the sinning.

"...that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between..." (Exodus 11:7).

"...teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ezekiel 44:23).
Ask yourself, "Why wouldn't there be a Promise like there never has been before?": The Promise of Luke 21:36, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man", seems to be especially for the climax of the Saints' sojourn just before God's Tribulational judgments fall. This Promise is for this time-- a time that the World has never seen before. "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the World to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:21).
This is a time of judgment on the backslidden and lost World: "And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations" (Ezekiel 5:9). This is not for honest-hearted Saints. The LORD is clear. "As a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth" (Luke 21:35). A "snare" is something in which you are "caught". Why not "escape"? "Escape all these things that shall come to pass."

Faith pleases God. In fact, you can't please God without faith. Enoch pleased God. Enoch was Raptured.
In Hebrews 11, notice the relationship that verses 5 and 6 have to each other.

"5 By faith Enoch was Translated [Raptured] that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had Translated him: for before his Translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

"6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
Why not take God's Word to It's fullest measure of faith Why only seek the smallest letter of the LIVING WORD and not the "exceeding abundantly above" of the Spirit? "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to The Power that worketh in us" (Eph. 3:20).

Remember, it is

"According to your faith be it unto you." (Matthew 9:29)

"...as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." (Matthew 8:13)

"...I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak." (2 Corinthians 4:13)

According to Your Faith ---
Or, The Fundamental Rule of Conduct for the Kingdom of God
by Tom Stewart
"According to your faith be it unto you"
(Matthew 9:29).
Though the issue of "Rapture - No Rapture" may seem to hinge only on the eschatological interpretation of when and if an event must take place, it is more than evident that the Faithful God has deemed it appropriate to make the event, a matter of faith and Promise. "Because thou hast kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the Hour Of Temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the Earth" (Revelation 3:10)... The world and Worldly Professing Christians do not have any motivation to actively claim a Promise for a Pre-Tribulational Rapture deliverance from any upcoming Tribulation, because to them it is a fanciful, unrealistic dream. "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape" (1Thessalonians 5:3). How can we not claim Promises for escape from a Tribulation Week, if we see the Tribulation coming? "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished" (Proverbs 22:3; 27:12). If the Spirit of God is drawing our attention to the nearness of the LORD's Return, the Tribulation Week, and our Pre-Tribulational Rapture, then would it not be hypocritical to ignore His leading and not claim the Rapture Promises? "2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" (Matthew 16:2-3).

May be a Pre Major Tribulation Rapture? ---
Or, Taking Away the Restraining Influence
by Tom Stewart
Would the Saints' departure from this world at the Pre-Tribulational Rapture serve the LORD's purpose in the Judgment of this world?

"The righteous is taken away from the evil to come"
(Isaiah 57:1).

"Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it:
it is even the time of Jacob's trouble;
but he shall be saved out of it"
(Jeremiah 30:7).

"Those of you that are ready, I will take you home, those who are ready and have the faith to believe that I will keep them ABOVE the Judgment and Wrath that is to come.
I kept Lot from the Wrath. I kept Noah ABOVE the Wrath. Why should I not keep my Bride ABOVE the wrath.
For those that trust, I will do so.
Where your faith is, I will answer...

"COME INTO MY REST. COME INTO THE PLACE I HAVE PREPARED FOR YOU... I AM THE REWARDER OF ALL WHO SEEK ME... I AM THE RECOMPENSE... SO SHALL YOU MY BELOVED BE ONE WITH ME. FOR YOU ARE BONE OF MY BONE AND FLESH OF MY FLESH...

ESTEEMED FROM AMOUNG ALL THE DAUGHTERS OF THE EARTH... THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN AWAIT YOUR COMING... FEAR NOT MY BELOVED. I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU. I HAVE NOT FORSAKEN YOU. IN MY FATHER'S TIME IT IS ALL COMPLETE. NOW QUICKLY PREPARE YOURSELF AND WATCH FOR ME. I COME WHEN THE WORLD LEAST EXPECTS. I COME FOR MY BELOVED WHEN NO ONE LOOKS. I COME AS I PROMISED...

LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT...

REJOICE IN MY LOVE FOR YOU DAUGHTER OF ZION. LISTEN TO MY SONG IN THE NIGHT. I WILL DRY YOUR TEARS AND FILL YOUR HEART WITH LAUGHTER. BE STILL MY BELOVED, BE STILL AND WAIT. WATCH FOR ME."


The Wisdom of More Than One Rapture ---

by Tom Stewart

"And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him"
(Genesis 5:24).

"The Professed Church's uncertainty of Rapture or no Rapture-- and, if Rapture, then when-- is interesting, considering the fact that there have already been at least two Saints that have been Raptured, i.e., Enoch and Elijah-- and that, before the New Covenant! 'But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a Better Covenant, which was established upon Better Promises' (Hebrews 8:6)... The possibility of More Than One Advent for the Messiah has given the Church the Doctrine of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and it has also given the Body of Christ the legitimate expectation that More Than One Rapture will yet provide for the Son a worthy inheritance... The examples of Enoch and Elijah only reinforce the concept that the LORD God has wisely seen fit to accomplish More Than One Rapture already, setting the precedent for the future. 'Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come' (1Corinthians 10:11). Man's tradition is most often an impediment to the understanding of More Than One Rapture."

"In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise UP" (Acts 3:6).

by Tom Stewart


The Escape Concept

Is it unrighteous for a child of God to seek escape from the trials and temptations of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:27)? The LORD Jesus commanded His disciples to pray "that ye may be accounted worthy to escape" (Luke 21:36) from ALL the events of the Tribulation Week. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (21:36). To escape ALL the events of the Tribulation Week necessitates a Pre-Tribulational departure. To "escape... and to stand before the Son of man" (21:36) does not describe being keptfrom temptation while remaining on Earth during the Tribulation Week. To "stand before the Son of man" (21:36) indicates a Heavenly scene uniting the Raptured Saints with their LORD.

To "be accounted worthy to escape" (21:36) is the promised result of our obedience to the command, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always" (21:36). Who accounts us "worthy to escape" (21:36)? The LORD Jesus Christ, the Judge of the Quick and the Dead (2 Timothy 4:11), will render His verdict of unworthy or "worthy to escape" (Luke 21:36). Lest it be objected that this sounds like our worthiness to escape is not the grace of God; like Abraham, we believe God's promise of escape from "all these things that shall come to pass" (21:36), and God will reckon or account us worthy. "And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God" (James 2:23).

Ours is to "believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25), i.e., that we shall "escape all these things that shall come to pass" (Luke 21:36). It is God's part to make us to "stand before the Son of man" (21:36). Our worthiness or unworthiness to escape will not be determined by anyone but a "Faithful God" (Deuteronomy 7:9). "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand" (Romans 14:4). We stand solely by faith in what God said, i.e., that we shall "escape" (Luke 21:36). "By faith ye stand" (2Corinthians 1:24).


Rapture Watch

This concept of hastening the LORD's Return is in keeping with praying for the fulfillment of prophecy, i.e., the LORD requiring His people to petition Him to do what He said He would do. "36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. 37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock" (Ezekiel 36:36-37). Though the outcome is certain, still the Almighty allows our participation in the fulfillment of prophecy through the means of believing prayer. "And He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in Heaven, so in Earth" (Luke 11:2). However, hastening the LORD's Return adds another dimension in addition to prayer. "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13).

Pray for the hastening of the Coming of the LORD Jesus: "The desire of the righteous shall be granted" (Proverbs 10:24). "Make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my Help and my Deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying" (Psalm 70:5). "3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown... 22:20 Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, LORD Jesus" (Rev. 3:11, 22:20).

Prepare the way of the LORD: "Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make His paths straight" (Mark 1:3).
How do you "make His paths straight"? His path must have free course through the hearts of men. "Pray for us, that the WORD of the LORD may have free course, and be glorified" (2 Thessalonians 3:1). "Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12). Your preparation must start with a right understanding of the character of God: "That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Thee: Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25).

First, His path to you must be straight:
"Strive to enter in at the strait gate" (Luke 13:23-24). "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). "Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins" (Psalm 73:21). "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart" (Psalm 26:2). "Let my heart be sound in Thy Statutes; that I be not ashamed" (Psalm 119:80).

Second, attempt to make His path to others straight:
"I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit... whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, He may give it you" (John 15:16). In your attempt to reach others and prepare the paths that need straightening, ask the LORD for Wisdom in securing the best Promises to claim. "He that goeth forth and weepeth [intercession], bearing precious Seed [God's Promises "The Seed is the WORD of God." (Luke 8:11)], shall doubtless come again with rejoicing [the Rapture], bringing his sheaves [souls claimed] with him" (Psalm 126:6). "He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:8). "And bare fruit an hundredfold... He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 8:8). "He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (John 15:5). "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the Coming of the LORD. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the Earth [He for us, and us for others], and hath long patience for it" (James 5:7).

Clues concerning His Coming:
a. in The Night:
"And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him" (Matthew 25:6), and,

"At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous Judgments" (Psalm 119:62).

"For you yourselves know full well that the Day of the LORD will come just like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

b. "I was in the Spirit ---New Window on the LORD's day, and heard behind me a Great Voice, as of a Trumpet" (Revelation 1:10). (Read "Interesting Facts About Rosh Chodesh" ---New Window, in connection with the Sabbath [the LORD's day]).
If you didn't have "ears to hear" (Luke 8:8) while there was still time "to hear", then these signs will tell you that you've missed the Pre-Tribulation Rapture:
a. The innocents of the Earth (i.e., babies, severely retarded, and any others who are non-morally equipped to choose sin), have totally disappeared. "With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure" (2 Samuel 22:27). "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see GOD." (Matthew 5:8). "But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the Kingdom of God" (Luke 18:16). "Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it" (Deuteronomy 1:39).

b. And, a few Christians are missing. "Then said one unto Him, LORD, are there few that be saved? And He said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" (Luke 13:23-24). "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is The Way, which leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find It" (Matthew 7:14). "The longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved" (1 Peter 3:20). "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).
"By faith Enoch was Translated [Raptured]" (Hebrews 11:5).
An active confidence in the Character and Example of God and His Promises is our ONLY assurance that we will be Raptured.

Keep Looking Up!
"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great Recompense Of Reward."
(Hebrews 10:35)
As the Apostle John said to "the elect lady and her children"
the very same sentiment our LORD Jesus says to us personally:
"I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full" (2 John 1:1,12).

"I know WHOM I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that Day"
(2 Timothy 1:12).

1. Not An Hoof Be Left Behind --
Or, Our LORD Will Not Suffer There To Be A Single Honest-hearted Christian Left Behind At The Pre-Tribulational Rapture

2. The Pre-Tribulational Rapture "Confidence" Game ---New Window

3. Hastening the LORD's Return ---New Window
"Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God"
(2Peter 3:12).

"The Virgin Birth will always remain a mystery,
but its fact is eternally demonstrated
in the Person it produced."
from: Seven Reasons Why I Believe in
THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF CHRIST ---New Window
by Dr. Ian Paisley
From the book CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS



Serving the Web since 1994
"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the Truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
But if our Gospel be hid, It is hid to them that are lost.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ,
Who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the LORD;
and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake"
(2 Corinthians 4:1-5).