It was so great to hear your voice again but so sad to hear the news about Allan, I am truly so sorry!!! I know the pain of losing a close friend! I wish I could tell you that the pain will grow dim with time, and I suppose it does but the best way to describe it is like an anesthetic, it numbs the pain but every now and then the anesthetic wears off!! The only hope and comfort I can give you is an amazing promise God gives us in Rev 21:4 “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.”
There is coming a time when we will step into eternity where there will never be death or loss ever again! Never any pain or sadness again!!! But this promise is only given to the “Redeemed”, to those who have acknowledged that they are sinners and have accepted that Jesus died and paid the penalty for their sins, that He is the only way to the Father. The word redeemed comes from the time of slavery – a slave could be bought by someone and then that person could choose to set the slave free and give him his redemption papers. That is exactly what Jesus did for us, He bought and paid for us with His blood Rev 5:9. This was an extremely costly price as He paid with His life. It also cost the Father immensely as He had to give up His only Son to the most painful death ever invented by man (He was marred beyond recognition, and in some cases men didn’t even survive the whipping post, with the leaded and spiked lash). Just try and imagine for one moment, as a father, could you ever give Devin’s life to save millions of others??? Imagine the Father’s pain to do that?? But He did it because He loves us so much and so that we could go free – no longer slaves to sin and that we would not have to pay the price for our sins which is eternal death and torment in hell forever. Many people say oh but there is no hell, then why did the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit sacrifice so much with such a horrific death if it was not of extreme importance?
You see God is a Holy and Righteous God and will not allow sin to be in His presence, and it is only by the shedding of blood that there is remission of sins Heb 9:22. Jesus, the pure spotless lamb of God is the only blood that can cleanse us completely (of past, present and future sins) and allow us access to the Father. That is what is called “Justification” “just as if I had never sinned”. But you have to accept this sacrifice for yourself, if you reject God’s plan of salvation then you have to pay the price yourself “the wages of sin is death” Rom 6:23 There is one problem with rejecting Jesus or even putting it off, is that every time you do your heart becomes hardened until it becomes so hardened that it is impossible to receive Christ! There is a point, a line once crossed you cannot return!! I heard a story recently of a man who God had been continually calling, then one particular night He told him – “if you do not come to Me now, this will be the last time I will call you!” A perfect example of this is Hitler – people say that if he had asked God to forgive him God would’ve and that is 100% true (there is no sin the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse), except that his heart was now so hardened that it was impossible for him to ask God for forgiveness!!!!
This is why it is sooo important not to keep ignoring this or putting it off!
[1] Heb 12:25, 2 Chron 15:2. And also when we have been faced with death we realize how vitally important it is to be ready when God says our time is up, no-one has the guarantee of tomorrow, life can end so quickly and so abruptly!!!
Des I know I have been hounding you with this of late, and never before have I been so bold and aggressive hey?? The reason is that I love you so much and want us all to be together, to meet Mom & Dad in the sweet by and by!! (I am not worried about the younger generation, i.e. nephews & nieces as Mark will bring them all in, yes, but wait and see, you’ll be totally amazed at what God will do in Mark’s life!) But also mainly because time is sooo short before Jesus returns to take His church (the believers, this will sound strange but a lot of people in the church are religious but have not received Jesus Matt 7:21) home!
Yes I know people have said for years that the “End Times” are near! Can I quickly tell you a story of when I was in Hre in 1992, I went to a church there and this young guy was preaching on the End Times and then he asked who believes we are right at the end? Well I am never this bold I actually stood up and said no, we are still at the “middle of the end” (22cm). This is astounding because I knew very little then but somehow I instinctively knew this was true and now, 17 years later, I can say with absolute certainty we are much closer to the “end of the end” i.e. if you took a 30cm ruler and said the beginning is 0cm and the end is 30cm, we are about 29cm now. Actually have just learned recently that this “End Time” period actually started (0cm) in 1948 when Israel became a nation Isah 66:8. The Bible has amazing detail and prophecies about the time we are living in (especially the book of Daniel and of course Revelation which is mainly about the 7 year period called The Tribulation). I am no expert but I do listen to Bible scholars who have spent a life time studying this and they all say with much urgency that we are very close!!
I know I have tried to tell you of some of the main signs and without going into too much detail, the first and foremost is the prediction of the last world empire that will rule the world before Christ returns and sets up His kingdom on earth! This is described in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2:41. The last empire is made of iron and clay (the iron legs before was the strong (iron) Roman Empire) this last kingdom is a revived Roman Empire (i.e. European Union
[2]) their plan is to have a one world govt Dan 7:23, Rev 13:7. At this moment they are talking about Obama and Blair to head the “New World Order” a one world govt, a one world currency and a one world religion. Many times in Revelation it mentions a beast with ten horns Rev 12:3, 13:1, 17:12, Dan 7:24 or the ten toes of feet of iron and clay. The ten represents the ten different regions they will divide the world into in this New World Order. Anyway they are in the process of setting this up right now!! Of course you have heard me speak of the micro-chip they are planning on introducing that in 2017 Rev 13:16.
But another very important sign is a seven year peace treaty that will be signed between Israel and the Middle East Dan 9:27. Obama has said he is planning a peace treaty within the next 24 months!! This peace treaty (there have been many before but this one is for a 7 year period) is of paramount importance because it not only reveals who the Anti-Christ is but it begins the 7 year period described in Revelation as The Tribulation (the first 3 ½ years) and the Great Tribulation (the 2nd 3 ½ years). In the middle of this period the Anti-Christ (the head of the EU) will break the peace treaty with Israel and will start war against them, Ezek 38 ending at the end of the 7 years with the battle of Armageddon Rev 16:16, 19:19 (where Russia and China join in with Islamic countries for final battle against Israel Dan 11:44, Rev 9:16) but God steps in and miraculously saves Israel and ends it Ezek 38:22, and Christ returns with His feet on the mount of Olives. He destroys this last empire, The New World Order (the rock that smashes the statue in Dan 2:45) and then sets up His kingdom on earth and rules for a 1000 years and then forever and ever. Anyway I thought I said I wouldn’t go into too much detail (can’t help myself).
But one last thing, just before or just after this peace treaty is signed is when Jesus comes to collect His church (it’s commonly called the rapture
[3] 1 Thes 4:15-18) not everyone will see Him then, only when He returns at the end! This will cause a huge upheaval as you can imagine and with a billion people disappearing this will cause the final economic collapse and anarchy. This is when the Anit-Christ steps in to “save the day” and to bring peace. So those that have been left behind will go into the Tribulation period, Jesus described it as the worst time that man has ever had in all history and if not shortened there would be no survivors! Matt 24:21-22, Dan 12:1. Because the church has been removed from earth the devil has no restraint to hold him back so evil will be greatly increased! There is still time within this 7 year period to receive Jesus
[4] into your heart but it will be extremely difficult and all those caught following Christ will be executed by guillotine Rev 20:4 (interestingly this is Islam’s form of execution).
Ok I promise final thing!!! To back up and come back to present, the world is about to go into an extremely difficult time. God is going to “shake” and “sift” the nations. He is sick and tired of idolatry (that is the love of money, or anything you place as more important than God, for some it’s their career, or a person, or a sport etc.). A guy described it last night as turning something upside down and shaking it! He will be purifying His church (He is coming back for a church without spot or blemish Eph 5:27) which is in just as much of a mess as the world! We don’t know what God will do but I have a feeling it will be a worsening of this economic crisis!! James 5:1-3 (they are printing billions of U$’s in US which is exactly what caused the collapse of Zim economy). The difficulties we have faced in Zim over the last 2 years are just a taste of what is to come. The only way to survive this is to put your complete trust in the Lord, He will keep safe those who are His!!! It is also an extremely exciting time to be alive as God is going to demonstrate His power and glory in amazing ways – we will see miracles like never before!!! Also it’s the time of the transferal of wealth from the wicked to the righteous!! He saves the best for last!!!!!
Phew I sure do go on hey!! Well I hope you find it interesting? I know it is an awful lot to chew and swallow but please give this some serious consideration!!! And I would ask you that if you were to die today do you know for sure, without a shadow of doubt that you would go to heaven? If not pray this simple prayer with your heart and out aloud!
“Lord Jesus I ask you to come into my heart. I believe you are the Son of God and that you died for me on the cross to pay for my sins and that you rose from the dead on the third day. I ask you to forgive me for all my sins. Wash me and cleanse me and set me free. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, give me a hunger for the things of God and help me to follow you and serve you for the rest of my life! Thank you Lord Jesus, by faith I now receive your gift of salvation and I believe that I’m forgiven and that I am now a part of your family. AMEN”.
[1] I have put in a lot of scripture references so that you can search out the truth for yourself, instead of just ignoring it and saying this is a load of rubbish!!!! “Seek and you shall find!!”
[2] Throughout the centuries dictators have tried to conquer and unite Europe through conquest or marriage Dan 2:43, but not one has succeeded (nor ever will) because the iron and clay cannot mix. There have been 7 of these dictators, Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler, EU and the 8th will be the Anti Christ & he comes out of the EU, Rev 17:9-11 (vs 9 seven hills = Rome = EU).
[3] The Bible does not give specific reference as to when the Rapture actually takes place. It is however, irrefutably linked to the 7 year Tribulation period. Most scholars believe it will be just before the beginning of The Tribulation, some believe it will be in the middle i.e. after 3 ½ years and others at the end of the 7 years (which is very unlikely as this is when Christ returns (openly) for the 2nd time and He returns with the saints Rev 19:14).
[4] In fact this is the time for the salvation of the Jews, they will finally accept that Jesus really is their Messiah!
