Eternal life resides in Jesus and in Him alone. No one else! This is true now and will also be the case after Jesus removes His true church from the earth.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
What do people need the most? The answer remains the same as it’s always been: A clear understanding of the Gospel. By this I mean that people need Jesus, not the one that so many today create in their mind but but the One revealed on the pages of Scripture.
On May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens erupted with such force that the top 1,300 feet of the mountain instantly disappeared. The explosion caused a huge landslide that moved down the mountainside at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour destroying everything in its path, including the residence of Harry R. Truman.
Why mention a stubborn old man who refused to heed the warnings of impending disaster? Because he epitomizes so many in our world today.
The events of 2020 have caused some dear saints to think that the tribulation has already started. Others may be wondering about the certainty of the pretribulation rapture as they watch violence, lawlessness, and violence overshadow our world.
My purpose in writing is to encourage believers to remain watchful as our world becomes a dark and foreboding place. Despite what we see, we can know Jesus is coming for us before the start of the seven-year tribulation.
Daniel saw a future manifestation of the fourth beast that still awaits fulfillment. All the other empires that the Lord revealed to His prophet flourished for a time and then faded away except for the final manifestation of the fourth one, which has not yet appeared.
However, it’s likely forming right before our eyes; It’s called the “Great Reset.”
Is this it? Are we living in the very last moments before the rapture? Is the seven-year tribulation taking shape before our eyes?
Far too many Christians answer “no” to these questions. It’s one minute to midnight and they remain asleep, unaware the we live in the perilous last days before the rapture.
While primarily a defender of biblical prophecy against the onslaught of false teaching, I see another point of confusion among the saints that I feel compelled to address. This teaching has led many believers astray with its assertion they can walk away from their faith and lose out on eternal life.
The events of 2020 have uncovered a list of items in my life of which I had not yet fully let go.
I have always believed in a pretribulation rapture and during the past five years I have watched for Jesus’ appearing with much fervor. The Lord had already used affliction and suffering in my life to loosen my grip on many things in this world, but this year has brought a deeper meaning to letting go of the transitory things of life.
Life in the eternal state will be spectacular, far beyond even our best experiences in this life. Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, does a superb job of expanding our imaginations regarding our future life on the new earth and in the New Jerusalem.
In the meantime, we live in a world submerged in chaos. The fear of CVID-19 has created a culture of fear unlike anything we have ever seen. Riots and violence fill the streets of our cities.
What is happening to our great nation? What do the riots signify? Why do we see such violence on our streets with innocent people attacked and in many instances killed? Why the tremendous increase in violence?
What if all that we are seeing points what the Bible tells us will be a world government during the time of the tribulation?
One would think that with all the chaos in just the first six months of 2020 we would see a concentrated focus by pastors on biblical prophecy and warnings about what is to come, but such is not the case.
Why do we see such lack urgency in our churches as biblical signs of the coming tribulation explode around us like fireworks in the sky? Why do Christians, some of whom profess to believe in pretribulation rapture, flock to churches where they sadly hear no mention the Lord’s soon appearing or the imminent tribulation?
“What is truth?” Do you recognize this question? Pilate asked this question during his interrogation of Jesus. These words came in response to the Lord’s assertion that He had come into the world “to bear witness to the truth.”
Now two thousand years later, Pilate’s question seems more relevant than ever. We live in a world full of delusion, fake news, and deception. It’s difficult to know who or what to trust.
Why am I writing about preterism? It’s my passion to warn believers about false teachings related to future things and as such preterism requires our full attention because it distorts our Gospel hope.
Because of the widespread acceptance and popularity of preterism, it’s necessary to address key perils wrapped up in its false teaching.
Much of what we are seeing in 2020 represents a concerted effort by elite globalists to prepare people in the United States and world to accept the authority of the coming New World Order (NWO). Although President Trump remains solidly against the submission of the United States to it, the radical left has succeeded in convincing many Americans of its necessity.
My heart ached this past Monday morning as I read about the chaos and lawlessness near the White House. I felt both anger and fear as I saw pictures of violence and deadly attacks on law enforcement in cities throughout the United States.
It was not until I read several Psalms and through about Jesus’ promises return that my heart began to settle down and my focus began to change from the rioters to my hope in Jesus.
It’s perhaps the fastest growing view of end-times prophecy in the church today, but it deviates greatly from what the Bible teaches about our future. The movement often referred to as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) relies more on experience and extra-biblical revelations than it does on the words of Scripture.
Besides NAR, some identify some identify this movement as Dominionism, Third Wave, Latter Rain, Kingdom Now, and Charismatic Renewal.
Have you ever wondered during the past few months if the seven-year tribulation has already begun?
Although the tribulation has not yet started, we see the beginning of conditions we know will be much worse during this seven-year period. I believe this is God’s way of getting the attention of the world before His judgments begin. He’s also letting us know that His appearing is imminent.
The noise was almost deafening. Up to that point, the Iowa crowd had been rather quiet as it looked like the Indiana football team was about to score another touchdown and seal their victory. The mood in the stadium changed suddenly when the Indiana quarterback lost control of the ball and an Iowa player, Tyler Sash, grabbed the ball and ran it eighty-six yards for a touchdown.
By the time he reached the goal line, all seventy-thousand Iowa fans were standing and cheering ecstatically.
Something clicked inside me the other evening as Ruth, my wife, and I read from the book Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge. As we took turns reading from his chapter, “Allowing for Transitions," a thought occurred to me on a completely different wavelength than that of the author.
What if our current COVID-19 experience is itself a time of transition for believers, the United States, and even the world?
Scripture has become my lifeline in these days of such uncertainty. Even so, I often feel heaviness in my soul as I watch the responses to COVID-19 in my state and in my nation. Perhaps the weight I feel comes from sensing that the tribulation is so close I can almost touch it, but in spite of that I remain earthbound eagerly waiting for Jesus’ imminent appearing.
For this article, I want to focus your attention on two particularly encouraging promises from 1 Thessalonians 5;9-10.
Since COVID-19 lock downs began across the United States, I have heard several Bible-based messages intended to comfort the faithful. Many of them, however, failed to offer any real encouragement to me because they ignored or missed the prophetic context of the day in which we live.
Today’s popular messages of comfort ignore what the Bible says is coming and thus leave believers uniformed of what’s at stake for them in the days ahead.
At first it seemed rather odd to me. A Facebook discussion on prophecy ended with a man praising the church. Although I forget most Facebook comments I read, this one has stuck with me for several years.
Why was this person ascribing glory to the church in support of his belief that Jesus had already returned in 70 AD? Though it may not have been his intent, he exalted the body of Christ over its Head.
