Steps Of an Unknown Writer

Two great days the Church celebrates in May: the glorious Ascension of our Lord, Jesus Christ to Heaven to the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Now, our great High Priest for us, making all things ready for the day when He shall gather us all up to Heaven at the Rapture, all who have put their trust in Him. That’s 21 centuries of believers; all the dead who sleep in Christ, and all the living today.

The second great event was the coming of God, the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the disciples of Jesus who were waiting in Jerusalem of Judea way back in the year 33 A.D. after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension. And that was the beginning of the Church and the Church Age, the Age of Grace whereby for 21 centuries, almost 2,000 years, all over the world, God the Father through the Holy Spirit is calling people to his Son, Jesus Christ unto the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Despite the unholy direction the church is heading in these times, God is still calling people everywhere to his Son.

Glory be to God in the highest, and peace on earth to His people. Thank you Heavenly Father for all the blessings you give us each and every day, and all the mighty acts you have done throughout history beginning with your creation of heaven and earth and all things seen and unseen in just six glorious days. Thank you Lord for all the many miracles that only You can do. Thank you Lord for healing and recovery. Thank you Lord for family and children and friends and life and worship and praise and Bible believing churches. Thank you Lord for all the precious saints who have died in faith, and for all the precious ones alive today. Thank you Lord for restoration of families, and the family taking charge to combat the ills of society today that tries to stamp us out! Thank you Lord Jesus for giving us clarity of mind and heart against the confusion of sexual norms! Thank you Lord that we can stand firm and have drawn the line and shall not be moved, no matter what! Abortion is murder! I pray for the souls of those conceived and never born; I thank you Lord that you take each and every one of these precious babies up to you in Heaven where we will see them one day soon.

O, LORD, Almighty God please help our country and its people at this time of crises when demonic activity is increasing, when right is wrong, and wrong is right! When lawlessness prevails! When evil and wickedness in all its forms is dominating the thoughts of people. And wicked people are trying to wreck our nation with their evil and wicked, godless ways! Only you, LORD God Almighty, Father and Son, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit, One GOD, our GOD, can cleanse our great nation, America!

Therefore, may God bless America this Memorial Day now in our time of need and action as I set forth with blessings these immortal words that define us as a nation and people:

God Bless America

God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her, Through the night with the light from above.

From the mountains to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam, God bless America, my home sweet home. GOD BLESS AMEICA, MY HOME SWEET HOME.

America The Beautiful (Words by Katharine Lee Bates, 1904)

O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.

AMERICA (Words by Samuel F. Smith, 1832)

My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing; land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride, from every mountainside let freedom ring!

My native country thee, land of the noble free, Thy name I love; I love Thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills, my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song; let mortal tongues awake; let all that breathe partake; let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

May God bless all who love the Lord Jesus Christ and love His appearing; in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

The Holy Bible is the spoken Word of GOD written! Do you really think God could make a mistake of any word, sentence, paragraph, or book in His Bible? No, it is men who mess up with misunderstanding and interpretations or omissions or disregard or just plain not believing all the Word of GOD beginning at Genesis to the end of Revelation! God wrote the Holy Bible through those men He chose to write it without error. And He made it so that it could be understood by all who put their heart and mind to understand what God wanted us to know and to take it as one who would read any other book: Literally!

Guess what? The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Greek. Then it was translated into Latin, and eventually translated into English as we have it today. Nothing has changed! It’s the same words as the originals…everything is all there. So how can anyone say that the Rapture of the believing church was invented in the 19th century? Really?

What do you believe? The Truths of the Bible are called doctrine. They are statements of faith….exactly what you believe. But what do you believe? What did your liberal or conservative seminary teach you? And are you able to think for yourself when it comes to the doctrines of the church? Which ones are important? Which ones are not believed? Which ones have been omitted? You see the problem, don’t you? Most mainline denominations won’t touch the Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ, which, by the way, includes the Rapture. Why wouldn’t you want to know the truth. about what God’s Word says about the church in these last days of the Church Age, the Age of Grace?

From the Moody Bible Institute in their Doctrinal Statement of Faith…what they Believe, I present the following:

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

We believe in the second coming of Christ. His return from heaven will be personal, visible and glorious, a blessed hope for which we should constantly watch and pray. (1)

Before He establishes His kingdom on earth, Jesus will come for His church, an event commonly referred to as the “Rapture.” At that time the dead in Christ will be raised and living Christians will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and be with Him forever. (2). In this resurrection, those who have died in Christ will have their redeemed souls and spirits united with a body similar to Christ’s glorified body. Christians living at the time of this event will not die, but will be changed to be like Christ. (3). This expectation is a motivation for holy living, as well as a source of comfort. (4). No man knows the day or the hour when this will take place. (5)

After the Rapture of the Church, Christians will be brought before the judgment seat of Christ. He will reward them on the basis of the works they have accomplished (6). This is not a judgment to determine their salvation but a reward for labor on Christ’s behalf. (7). The Rapture will also inaugurate a period that the Bible characterizes as the “great day of His wrath, ” “the great tribulation” and the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” (8). This time of unprecedented difficulty will affect Israel and all nations. Its purpose will be to prepare Israel for her Messiah. (9)

At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ will return with the hosts of heaven as well as the Church to establish the Messianic Kingdom on earth. (10). His Kingdom will last for a thousand years. (11). At this Second Coming, the Antichrist will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Satan will be bound for a thousand years. (12). The nations and their representatives will be judged. (13). Israel will be restored to her land, never more to be removed. (14). Christ will reign with firmness and equity. (15). His kingdom will be marked by material and spiritual blessing, since the curse upon the earth will be removed. (16).

The Messianic kingdom will close with apostasy and rebellion. (17). God will crush this uprising in the last battle of the ages and Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire. (18). All those who rejected the Word of God will be resurrected. (19). They will be judged by Christ and cast into the lake of fire, the place where they will suffer final and everlasting punishment. (20).

After this judgment there will be a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is the norm. (21). There will be a new Jerusalem and the everlasting presence of God among all the redeemed. (22)

(1) Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7

(2) I Corinthians 15:51-54; I Thessalonians 4:14

(3) I John 3:2

(4) I John 2:28; I Thessalonians 4:18

(5) Matthew 24:36; John 6:39

(6) Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10

(7) I Corinthians 3:9-15

(8) Revelation 6:17; 7:14; Jeremiah 30:7

(9) Zechariah 12:2-3; 14:1-3

(10) Revelation 19:7-9, 14; I Thessalonians 3:13; Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 19:15-16

(11) Revelation 20:2, 4-6

(12) Revelation 19:20; 20:1-3

(13) Joel 3; Matthew 25

(14) Amos 9:15; Ezekiel 34:28

(15) Psalm 2:9; Isaiah 11:4

(16) Romans 8:19-21

(17) Revelation 20:7-9

(18) Revelation 20:10

(19) Revelation 20:11-13

(20) Revelation 20:14-15; Mark 9:48

(21) 2 Peter 3:13

(22) Revelation 21:2-3; 2:3-5

Do you want a blessing from God? Read the Revelation and Believe all that is written..

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen

We are one year closer to the completion of the “Church Age,” the present age in history when the Church began after Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, and the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost to Jerusalem in the Year of our Lord 33 A.D. Also known as the “Age of Grace” because throughout this period God, the Holy Father is calling or drawing people everywhere to His Son by the Holy Spirit. Acts 2.

We are now in the Year of our Lord+ 2023, and if we do our subtraction right (2023-33 =) we see that 1,990 years have elapsed since our Lord’s crucifixion death on the Cross, His burial, His glorious Resurrection, and His mighty Ascension from the Mount of Olives in March-April in 33 (Acts 1), and 50 days after that the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost: that in just ten short years will mark 2,000 years of the “Church Age.”

Much to ponder. Because perhaps very near that time or shortly thereafter (could it be much longer?) is going to come the ‘Rapture of the believing Church.” those who will be “caught up” to meet the Lord Jesus “in the air” above the clouds” and follow Him to Heaven. -I Thessalonians 4:17. See also 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:47-58; John 14:1-6.

This is one of the great, mighty promises that GOD will do for those that love Him. For before the future Great Tribulation- the Judgment Wrath of God shall come upon Israel and the whole earth as written in Daniel 9 and Revelation (a 7 year period known as the “70th Week” of Daniel), followed by the glorious, almighty 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (and His setting up the Kingdom of God on earth in Jerusalem and on David’s throne), before all these unprecedented events can happen as foretold in the Holy Bible, God will do His mighty act of promise:

“‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Wow! Could God’s love for us be greater than “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that all who believe shall not perish but have everlasting life?” That He shed his blood and died for our transgressions so that we might be forgiven and have eternal life with Him? Or that He is going to resurrect the dead believers and translate the living believers so that we all will be in glory with Him in Heaven? Can His love be greater than the Rapture? This then shows just how much God loves us, now and forever.

I take the year 2033 to be a year of great, great significance. Because in that future coming year, if the Lord wills, we will celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of our Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension and what it means to us believers. In conjunction with this, we shall celebrate 2,000 years of church history, 20 centuries of all the good, the bad, and the ugly she ever did in her saints. For as Jesus died, we shall die. As He was resurrected from them dead, so we also shall be resurrected from the dead. And as He ascended up to Heaven, so we also shall ascend to Heaven on that day God has appointed, along with the living, translated saints at that time!

This is the year to think about all God has done in the world, all that He is doing, and all that He will do according to the Scriptures. We should be watching, and looking up. and waiting for our Lord Jesus to come and take us out of all this mess and confusion and evil and wickedness. Can it get much worse? Stay tuned.

With God’s blessings to all who read this and look for the Lord’s coming, and who love the Lord’s appearing,

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

From centuries past, Christian writers always began with: “In the Year of our Lord,” and then would add the month, day and year of the writing, forever preserved to God and man.

In the Year of our Lord + January 13, 2022 + Recovering from sickness to health, thanks be to God, I proclaim another great year the Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and of all things seen and unseen that He has given us. This glorious date in Church history as we mark its beginning almost 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem of Judea, at the Feast of Pentecost has passed. Here, God the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven to give life to the new Church, the body of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. And here began the journey of believers in all the world through twenty centuries of faith.

It has not been an easy road, this hard, narrow road in which we walk, but it has been one of hope in the sure and certain promises Jesus made to all who believe, that one day He would gather us up to Himself, both the living and the dead, raise the dead who sleep in Christ, and translate the living believers at that time, and in glory. meet Him “in the air above the clouds, ” and take us to Heaven to the Father.

Thus His New Year brings us one day closer to that glorious future day know only to the Father when Jesus shall take us out of this world of confusion and wickedness and to dwell in glory with Him forever. And thus shall all the prophecies of the Holy Bible. the written Word of God be fulfilled as it is written.

He has reveled to us His plan and program of salvation to all His saints from the beginning of the world, to be carried out in His time by people, and events, and places. In God’s plan of the Ages, He has marked off some six thousand years of human history as we near the end in this, the 21st Century. He has fashioned this marvelous plan in a sequential, chronological order for all things to pass according to revelation given in the Holy Bible. And all of this revelation forms a timeline of events from Creation to Eternity. Certainly a timeline God has given us to grasp and understand the past, the present, and the future. We can know without doubt our destiny God has decreed

From the beginning of Creation of all things in just six days, to mankind, Adam and Eve, to the fall, to Noah’s Ark and the great Flood and the destruction of all living things, to the new beginning of humanity by the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth, to the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages, to the beginning of nations, cultures and languages, to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Joseph and the Egyptian bondage, to Moses and delieverance and the Red Sea crossing to Median and the Law at Mt. Sinai, to possession of the Promised Land, God has shown us the road to salvation and eternity with Him forever.

From the twelve tribes of Israel to the Judges, and King Saul, King David, and King Solomon and the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, to the Babylonian captivity, and the rebuilding of the Temple and the city, to the birth of Messiah, some 4,000 years has expired into the dust of history. And yet there is much more that has been fulfilled and much yet to be fulfilled as we anticipate the events of the Rapture and the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And thus we shall construct the second half of our glorious timeline of God’s revelation.

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor and praise to You, Almighty GOD, now and forever +

Amen.

Today! Now! Always! Here we are! Here we stand! There we go! What to do? Well, what did the Apostle Paul say in First Thessalonians, chapter five?

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also you do.

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I am thankful for You, O LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, Blessed and holy and eternal and Creator of all things, seen and unseen, Heavenly FATHER, and SON, and HOLY SPIRIT, the only True and Living GOD, One God in Three, Three in One, Blessed and Holy TRINITY.

Thank you Heavenly Father for creating heaven and earth, and the order in which you created them after you created Heaven as your home and the angelic realm around your throne. And that Jesus, your only begotten Son was always there in the beginning, and so was the Holy Spirit…

Thank you for creating the Earth, then the Sun, then the Moon, then the Stars and the universe.

Thank you for creating every thing in just six glorious 24 hour days, then resting on the seventh day. Thank you for creating time and the first week, days, and months, years, seasons, day and night, perfect and working just as you created it in the beginning.

Thank you for the sky above and the clouds, and for the land and the seas. Thank you for the grass, and the herbs and bushes, and for all the trees, and the fish and the birds, all created adult according to its kind, and each its own seed.

Thank you for the beautiful flowers and the leaves of trees….and for all the animals and all other things, and especially man and woman, whom You ordained in marriage in the beginning of history, to be one and to then have children and the family, the bedrock of society. In all these things and in everything, thank you for your love that we may love and know love, for all is from you, O Lord.

Thank you for this timeline in history where we are today. Thank you for my wife, and my children and my grandchildren, and all my family and relatives and friends, and ministry, all my students, my college and all those who are officers and teachers within.

Thank you for giving us your written Word contained in the Holy Bible. Thank you for the insights and understanding and teaching the Word of Truth. Thank you for your Plan of the Ages whereby You show us all that you have ordained to come to pass as it is written and as it has been fulfilled and will be fulfilled in your holy, prophetic Word…that we believers in Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, who died for our sins, Was resurrected on the third day, and ascended to heaven at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty…shall also obtain immortality one day soon to come, when the dead in Christ shall be raised from the grave to glory, and we, who remain and are alive shall be caught up in glory, together with those of the resurrection, at the call of Jesus and the trumpet of God, and shall meet Him “in the air above the clouds,” and follow Him up to Heaven to the Father.

Thank you for giving us the sequence of events which will occur in the near future, that, following the Rapture of the believing Church, that we are the body of Christ and the Bride of Christ shall be in Heaven when the Scriptures shall be fulfilled as written in Daniel and the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for the way history shall follow this outline to its climax: the very next great event to come in the Church and the world will be the Rapture; this shall be followed by seven years of the Great Tribulation when God shall judge Israel and the unbelieving peoples of the earth…this is the 70th Week of Daniel, chapter nine, and the Revelation, chapters 6 through 18.

Thank you, Lord, for the words John was commanded to write in a book, everything he saw and heard concerning the future Revelation…for the detailed description of events, and things, and peoples, and places, and judgments from heaven, and most thankfulness that You, Lord Jesus shall return at the end of this period to the earth, to destroy your enemies and set up your kingdom on earth in Jerusalem and reign for a thousand years….for You only are the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Thank you, Lord, for all this, and much, much more that I would need hundreds and hundreds of notebooks just to try and mention all the things You have done, and are doing, and will do, and all miracles, and wonders and and great acts throughout history, plus the healing upon peoples everywhere by the touch of your hand… Lord God, that I break down in all humbleness and melt at just the thought of trying to give You the eternal thanks you deserve.

And so, Heavenly Father, thank you for today, thank you for the air we breath, thank you for your great love and for your mercy and for your grace, now and forever, in the name of Jesus Christ, our lord and Savior, I pray,

Amen.

The Last Trumpet..I Corinthians 15:52...In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

But gather the wheat into My barn. Matthew 13:30

The Holy Bible speaks of three great comings of the Lord:

First: The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem of Judea around 5 B.C. That was fulfilled (Luke 2).

Second: The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Jerusalem in 33 A.D. And that was fulfilled (Acts 2:1-4).

Third: The 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah to earth to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem and reign for a thousand years. This awaits future fulfillment (Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-10).

We know that before Christ returns to earth, there will be a Great Tribulation-the Wrath-Judgment of God as written in Daniel 9:21-27 and Revelation, chapters 6-18, and that will last for seven years.

But, sometime before this future event will be fulfilled, a mighty one-time only great event must take place for the believing Church…,found in these verses of Jesus and Paul…as written in John 14:1-6, and I Corinthians 15:49-58, and in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 known as the Rapture of the Church.

The word rapture comes from the Greek New Testament word harpazo of 1Thessalonians 4:17; translated into the Latin Vulgate Bible as rapturo, and finally into the English Bible to be caught up...or raptured.

This is something Christ alone will do. He will come out of Heaven to the sky above the clouds, and with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16.

Jesus will call the dead believer from the grave, and will resurrect them to glory in an instant. At the same time He will translate- change-transfigure the living believers to glory, and together He shall gather us up (rapture us up) to meet Him in the air above the clouds per 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

From there we shall all follow Jesus to Heaven to the Father. And so shall we ever be with the Lord in glory…1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

This is The Last Trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52), the Trumpet of God that only believers in Christ Jesus will hear on that day; and this next great event may be sooner than we think, right? Just look around…the tares are strangling the Wheat! Matthew 13:24-30.

What do we know so far about the Rapture?

Well, it was first mentioned by Jesus in John 14:1-6.

It is Doctrine, God’s very words written, the Truth of Scripture as set forth in 1 Corinthians 15:49-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Believers-the invisible Church are not appointed to Wrath (the future Great Tribulation) per 1Thessalonians 1:9-10, 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10.

Iy is a Mystery per 1 Corinthians 15:51.

The coming of the Lord will be as in the days of Noah before the Flood…Matthew 24:37-38.

We are to look up for Christ who will change us…Philippians 3:20-21.

The Last Trumpet (1Corinthians (15:52) is the Rapture that involves two groups of believers: the living and dead in Christ per 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.

This will be a massive uncountable number of people or saints from the beginning of the Church in 33 A.D. to the present Church Age -the Age of Grace. That’s about 2000 years of Christians from all places.

We are not to be ignorant of the event (in other words, be in the know)…1Thessalonians 4:13.

It will happen on a cloudy day.,,.1Thessalonians 4:17.

It will happen on a certain day known only to God, the Father in Heaven…Matthew 24:36…and at an appointed hour...John 5:25.

It is imminent. The doctrine of imminency is written in 1Corinthians 1:7 and 16:22 where we find the word Maranatha, which means, Our Lord, Come. Further mention of this doctrine is found in Philippians 3:20 and 4:4…and 1Thessalonians 1:10 and in Titus 2:13.

At any moment then, any time, any day. No signs, or wonders or great events prior to it happening.

It will happen sometime before the start of the Tribulation per Revelation 3:10. Therefore there can be no mid-trib or post-trib Rapture as many Christians teach.

It will happen faster than the blink of an eye…1 Corinthians 15:52.

Only believers, the Church, the Bride of Christ will hear the call and the trumpet...1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1Thessalonians 4:16.

We will be taken from earth to heaven in new, glorified bodies 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1Thessalonians 4:16-17.

The First Trumpet happened at Mt. Sinai (Horeb) in Midian over 3,000 years ago when Moses and the people Israel met God…Exodus 19 in 1491 B.C.

God-Jesus came down to the mountain and the people went up to meet Him. This same principle will be in the Rapture…Jesus comes down from Heaven and the people go up to meet Him.

As we are to Watch and Wait for the Call of Jesus and the sound of the Last Trumpet (we are in the 21st Century of the Church Age) per Matthew 24:36-44 and Mark 13:32-37; we note that so far approximately 3500 years have elapsed since Moses and the people heard the First Trumpet on the Mountain. We will gain the clouds.

Events linked to the Last Trumpet…

• The Rapture of Enoch (Genesis 5:23)
• The Rapture of Elijah (2 Kings 2:11-12)
• The resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:17-46)
• The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9)…Jesus and Moses and Elijah in glory and what this represents .
• The resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10)
• The resurrection of the dead in Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52-53)
• The ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:9-11)
• The rapture of Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2-9)
• The rapture of John…the trumpet and the call of Jesus (Revelation 4:1-2)

Therefore, the next resurrection, the next translation, and the next ascension will be at the LAST TRUMPET…the Rapture!

For Jesus said:

John 5:25…Verily, verily I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.

John 11:25-26…Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die.

John 17:1-3…Theses words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son that thy Son also may glorify thee.

As thou has given him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou has given Him.

And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent.

Remember these three letters...CTC = the Call/the Trumpet/the Clouds…

Amen.

In Praise of Prayers

Since the beginning of the Church way back in 33 A.D. in Jerusalem of Judea on the very day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came (folks, that’s over 20 centuries ago), written and memorized prayers and hymns have been the ‘backbone’ of our faith in praise of God in our worship. Here are some of power that touch our hearts and souls: God is always listening…for this is His will in your life.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above the heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

A Song of Praise

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; You are worthy of praise’ glory to You. Glory to you for the radiance of Your holy Name; we will praise You and highly exalt You forever.

Glory to You in the splendor of Your temple; on the throne of Your majesty, glory to You. Glory to You, seated between the Cherubim; we will praise You and highly exalt You forever;

Glory to You, beholding the depths; in the high vault of heaven, glory to You. Glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; we will praise You and highly exalt You forever. Amen.

A Song of Penitence

Prayer of Manasseh

O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of all their righteous offspring: You made the heavens and the earth, with all their vast array.

All things quake with fear at Your presence; they tremble because of Your power. But Your merciful promise is beyond all measure; it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.

O Lord, You are full of compassion, long suffering, and abounding in mercy. You hold back Your hand; You do not punish as we deserve.

In Your great goodness, Lord, You have promised forgiveness to sinners, that they may repent of their sin and be saved.

And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, and make ny appeal, sure of Your gracious goodness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I know my wickedness only too well.

Therefore I make this prayer to You: Forgive me, O Lord, forgive me. Do not let me perish in my sin, nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.

For You, O Lord, are the Lord of those who repent, and in me You will show forth Your goodness. Unworthy as I am, You will save me, in accordance with Your great mercy, and I will praise You without ceasing all the days of my life.

For all the powers of heaven sing Your praises, and Yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.

A Song to the Lamb

Splendor and honor and kingly power are Yours by right, O Lord our God. For You created everything that is, and by Your will they were created and have their being; And Yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, for with Your blood You have redeemed for God, From every family, language, people, and nation, a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

And so, to Him that sits upon the throne, and to Christ the Lamb, Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, forever and for evermore. Amen.

The Song of the Redeemed

O Ruler of the universe, Lord God, great deeds are they that You have done, surpassing human understanding. Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth, O King of all the ages.

Who can fail to do You homage, Lord, and sing the praises of Your Name? for You only are the Holy One.

All nations will draw near and fall down before You, because Your just and holy works have been revealed. Amen.

Glory to God

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, Almighty God and Father, we worship You, we give You thanks, we praise You for Your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; You are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

You are God

Te Deum

You are God, we praise You; You are the Lord, we acclaim You; You are the eternal Father: All creation worships You.

To You all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise You. The noble fellowship of prophets praise You. The white- robed army of martyrs praise You. Throughout the world the holy church acclaims You; Father, of majesty unbounded, Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship. and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the King of glory. the eternal Son of the Father. When You became man to set us free You did not shun the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. We believe that You will come and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help Your people, bought with the price of Your own blood,

And bring us with Your saints, to glory everlasting. Amen.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, Amen.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and with eternal thanksgiving for all things from God, Amen.

PS: With God there are no races; with God He sees His Church composed of all believing Jews and Gentiles…

I don’t know how many Christians know today is historically celebrated in the Church Year as Ascension Day? Yes, it is the ‘day of days,’ the wonderful day our Lord Jesus, the resurrected and glorified, immortal Messiah, Yeshua gathered His disciples on the Mount of Olives next to Jerusalem where He was crucified, and while He was speaking to them , He was taken up in a cloud to Heaven, disappearing from their sight! And while they were looking upward, two men (angels?) in white apparel stood by them and asked why they were standing there gazing into the skies? They told theses men of Galilee that this same Jesus who you saw go up to Heaven will one day return just as you saw Him go up.

I don’t know about you, but I want to tell everyone, as many people as I can of what Jesus did! First He set in motion the pattern of the Rapture of the Believing Church that Jesus will one day soon call to Himself, the dead and the living in Christ, when we shall go up into the clouds to meet the Lord Jesus in the air and follow Him to Heaven. The idea of the Rapture, the act of being “caught up,” started when Enoch, the 7th from Adam, walked with God, and then was taken up to Heaven and was nowhere to be found as Genesis 5 tells us. Then, thousands of years later, Elijah was also taken up to Heaven and was found no more as II Kings tells us. All this the work of Jesus.

So Jesus’ Rapture was the third one, and the most glorious where He ascended up to Heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. He is making all things ready for us in His Father’s house where there are many mansions, and.He is preparing a place for us, for you and me. Yet it pleased God to Rapture two more men, but return them back to Earth: The Apostles Paul and John. Paul could not speak or write about what he saw, but John was commanded by Jesus to write everything he saw and heard in a book and send it to the angels of the Seven Churches of Asia. And so was born the last book of the Holy Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Can our Rapture, the sixth one be far off? But what is so amazing, so unique of the Rapture of the Believing Church is that it is going to be the great gathering of the Church saints living and dead of the past 20 centuries and right up until our time in the 21st Century, the Rapture when Jesus calls and the trumpet sounds, that billions and billions will all at once, in the faster than you can blink moment, all who have died, who sleep in Christ, and all who are alive in Christ, together in glorious, immortal bodies shall rise up to the clouds, the beautiful clouds, and meet the Lord Jesus in the air above the clouds, and follow Him to Heaven to the Father. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with theses words (John 14; I Corinthians 15:50; I Thessalonians 4:13).

May all your days from now until then be filled with joy as you look up to the clouds and the sky above the clouds where on day, perhaps soon, we shall meet Jesus and see Him face to face as He is!

Jesus said, “Surely I am coming quickly.” And John replied, “Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.” – Revelation 22

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Church has a calendar of events celebrated throughout the year….and in the month of May comes the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean for your life, Christian? Do you know that after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, 40 days later He was taken up to Heaven where He is today at the right hand of God, the Father? Then, at the feast of Pentecost, God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in believers as the body of Christ, His Bride. And because we have the Hoy Spirit, Christ is in us, and we in Him.

As Christ arose, we shall also rise. Because He received a new, immortal, glorious body. so we shall also receive a new, immortal, glorious body just like His, one day, perhaps soon? Because He is in Heaven, one day when He calls and the last trumpet blasts, we will be gathered to Him and meet Him in the air above the clouds and follow Him to Heaven to the Father. Because He lives, we shall also live. Because He loves us He will rescue us from the confusion of the world. Because He loves us, He will make good on all the promises that yet await us in the near future. In love, He has shown us the future, the destiny of believers and unbelievers.

In His great love, He has reserved blessings to all who read and hold to the Book of Revelation. Jesus wanted us to know where we are in history, and also to know what’s coming next! He is certainly coming again, but there is an order of events that must happen before His return to earth….that glorious future time when all the peoples of the earth shall see Him riding on the clouds in great power and might, . as bright as the sun, KING JESUS and His armies that follow Him, riding on white horses! Can you imagine the sight? And everyone at this time, the saved (not the Church that was raptured before this) and unbelievers. the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous, all shall mourn when they see with their own eyes the return of Jesus! And the surviving Jewish people will believe as they look upon whom they pierced! And they too shall mourn. God will give them a new heart and they shall be His people and He shall be their God. All this shall happen at the end of a future seven year period known as the Tribulation.

Now the Holy Bible tells us that there is an order of events that shall unfold. It is important to place these events properly to get the “Big Picture.” First, the age we now live, the Church Age…the Age of Grace will end when the believing Church is Raptured into Heaven. Second, the “man of sin,” the Antichrist. the son of Satan will come on the scene after the church is removed. Third, the Tribulation starts when God shall pour out His wrath on an unbelieving earth. This period will last seven years. Fourth, Jesus Christ shall return to the earth (the 2nd Coming) and destroy His enemies and judge the survivors. He shall have Satan bound in the Pit for a thousand years. The Antichrist and the False Prophet who deceived the whole world, are cast into the “Lake of Fire” for eternity. Fifth, King Jesus shall renovate the earth, set up His Kingdom in Jerusalem and reign a thousand years on earth. Also during this time He will resurrect the Old Testament saints and the Tribulation saints who were murdered for their witness of Him. The Supper of our Lord will start at this time. Sixth, at the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released, gather a great army, and shall march on Jerusalem to destroy the Jews and their King. Fire will come out of Heaven and utterly destroy them, and Satan shall be cast alive into the Lake of Fire forever! Seventh, God shall set up the Great White Throne of Judgment and resurrect all the masses of unbelieving people from Adam forward; they shall face Jesus, be judged and be cast alive into the Lake of Fire for all eternity. Eighth, there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth and our eternal home with GOD, the New Jerusalem, shall come down out of Heaven. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

So how is your understanding of the “Big Picture”? Just where do you stand?

Because He Loves Us

April haas passed. Yet amid the horrors of war, the confusion of culture, and the ugliness of crime, we Christians remember and celebrate the great love of God in the miracle of Easter Sunday, the third day, when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, arose from the dead in a new, physical, immortal, glorious body suited for Heaven. And as we look back on this great, loving act of God, we remember that the resurrection of Jesus took place almost 2,000 years ago in the year 33 A.D., in a place called Judea, in the city of Jerusalem where our Lord was crucified and died on the cross not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world! Because He lives, we shall also live with Him. Because He was resurrected from the grave, we also will be resurrected from the grave. And because He received a new, immortal, glorious body, so also on that day we shall receive a changed, new, immortal, glorious body. Some day soon, and more, much, much more, as the Holy Bible tells us, we believing Christians will receive His promises and blessings “BECAUSE HE LOVES US,” that’s why.

What does the Word of God, the Holy Bible tell us to be looking for ? To be waiting for and expecting? Why, His 2nd Coming of course! But not His glorious coming back to earth physically, riding on the clouds, in great power and might, shinning like the sun, on a great white horse, followed by the armies of angels and Church saints, also riding on white horses, as Revelation, chapter 19 tells us, and every person on earth shall see Him and mourn, and Israel, the surviving remnant shall believe on Him whom they crucified, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, now coming as THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS! It is the time when He shall reign on earth in the Kingdom of God for a thousand years. No, that future event will be preceded by the seven year Great Tribulation of God’s wrath-judgment poured out on the unbelieving people on earth at that time as written in chapters 6-18 in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book of the Holy Bible. And then He will come.

But before the Great Tribulation spoken of in Daniel, chapter 9, and Matthew, chapters 24-25, and Revelation 6-18, and the rise of Satan’s son, the abominable Antichrist, these future seven years that will be like no other in all the history of mankind, another even greater event will take place before this can happen. An event that will happen in an instant that no one will see when the believing Church will be caught up in the clouds not meet the Lord Jesus in the air above the clouds! Yes, it is really going to happen! It is called the blessed hope of the Church, something the early Church and the centuries following that all Christians have longed for: Jesus gathering all His believers to Himself and taking us to Heaven to the Father. This glorious event is called the Rapture of the Church as Jesus told us in John, chapter 14:1-14, and as the great apostle Pail amplified in revealing this great mystery in I Corinthians, chapter 15: 49-58 and I Thessalonians 4:13-18…the three great pillars of the truth of the Rapture when Christ will gather us together to meet Him “in the air above the clouds.” And so shall we ever be with the Lord!

The Holy Spirit speaks of this next great event in this time we live in, the Church Age-the Age of Grace (whereby God has been calling people all over the world to His Son in confessing Jesus as Lord) as “imminent,” that is, that it could happen at any moment-even today! That is why we Christians are to be looking up, watching, waiting and doing the Lord’s work ’till He comes,’ for we do not know the hour or the day, but only the Father in Heaven. I believe God has a perfect number of all who will be saved, and I believe when that number is up, when the last person shall believe, then shall God, the Father say to Jesus, “Son, go get my Church!” And that will be the Rapture!

The Holy Bible tells us that God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by the coming of our Lord Jesus. Sadly, there are too many Christians who dismiss, even do not believe in the Rapture, or that we must go through the Tribulation before Jesus will come and rescue us and take us to Heaven. Is that right? Is that what Jesus promised His Bride, His Body, the believing Church? Would He execute judgment on His believing Church along with the mass of unbelieving, God hating peoples of the earth during this future time as prophesied in the Holy Bible in Revelation, chapters 6-18? I don’t think so! You see, there will be many signs and wonders and supernatural events and things that must take place before His 2nd Coming, but there will be no signs and wonders before the Rapture can take place…for it could happen at any moment-even today…right now! Are you ready? Are you joyfully and eagerly looking and praying and hoping for that soon and coming day that must surely come, for Jesus promised, when we shall hear the command of Jesus with the voice of the Archangel and the Trumpet of God…the “Last Trumpet,” as He said in John 14 and will fulfill as the words of I Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells us…listen to what Paul said:

“But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel. and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

Then we which are alive and remain hall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

I believe. I teach. I am comforted. I do not worry about the world and events and man.

Jesus, the One who testifies of all Scripture, said: ‘Surely I come quickly. Amen.”

John replied: “Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.”

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” -Revelation 22:20-21

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, Amen.