What Does the Rapture Mean? (video sermon)

Believer's Heritage- Thomas Lamb

 ​Thomas Lamb was a pastor and evangelist during the seventeenth century.

His birth date and parentage are unknown. He lived with his wife, Dorcas Prentice, and eight children in St Giles in Colchester, England. They were excommunicated from the Church of England in 1636, for failing to attend worship services, and for refusing to have one of their children baptized.

Thomas Lamb was a Baptist pastor during turbulent times. King Charles I had a Catholic wife who sought to use her position to bring Catholicism back into the Church of England. 

King Charles I used the archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, to purge England of dissenting groups. Laud dragged Thomas Lamb in chains from his home town to London. The Archbishop asked him, "If he had dared to administer the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper?" Lamb pleaded the right of an Englishman not to bear witness against himself, and refused to answer. He was kept in prison for four months. When he was released with the injunction "not to preach, baptize or frequent any conventicle.", he instead went right back to preaching. He was said to have stated, "the man was not fit to preach who would not preach for God's sake, though he were sure to die for it as soon as he had done."

Lamb moved to London around 1640 and began to pastor the Coleman Street Church in Bell Alley. He was joined there by other leaders, Samuel Oates and Henry Denne. Thomas Lamb was a close associate of Richard Overton, a "Leveller," who ran an underground printing operation from Bell Alley.

The Levellers were a movement which some have stated was England's first political party. They were led by artisans and working class people. They wanted parliamentary terms, voting rights for all men (during this time only property owners were allowed to vote), absolute freedom of religion,  abolishment of capital punishment for theft, and abolishment of imprisonment for debt. This belief of "general redemption" caused Lamb and his followers to be called General Baptists.

Lamb traveled across England preaching, baptizing, and planting churches. It was said that he had been jailed in nearly every prison in London, but when he was released, he returned to preaching, writing, and pastoring in the church.

Even though he was persecuted by the government, he condemned any violence against them. 

To escape the persecution of his enemies, he joined the military. Mr. Lamb was made chaplain to Colonel Hunke's regiment. This allowed him to preach among the soldiers and officers. He baptized six of the soldiers in the sea on various occasions. The ship in which he sailed was believed to be part of the fleet that picked up King Charles II in the year 1660. Afterwards, he was implicated in a mutiny, he was sentenced to be shot. He was granted a pardon but was stripped of his duty as ship’s chaplain.  

During the civil war, he can be traced going through Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire, Kent, and Wiltshire​ preaching and annoying the local clergy.

Lamb was most noted for his writings. He wrote The Fountain Of Free Grace Opened, a Treatise of Particular Predestination, The Unlawfulness of Infant Baptism,  and Absolution from Sin by Christ's Death for the World.

He believed Jesus died on the cross for everyone, that we can do nothing to earn salvation, that we are incapable of being saved by works, and that anyone, anywhere, could come to Christ through hearing and responding to the gospel. He also believed in eternal security.

There are some who say the early Baptists poured water on those they would baptize instead of immersing them under the water; they are contradicted by historical documents that recorded Lamb as baptizing converts in the Severn River and the Colne River by immersion. Lamb was clear that baptism was an ordinance that be administered only to those who have already experienced salvation. He believed it was blasphemy to attribute to water baptism what only the blood of Christ could do- redeem a soul.

Lamb's occupation was noted as a soap boiler. After the collapse of the Leveller movement, Lamb became a Philanthropist donating to many charities and advocating for the improvement of prisons. He died an old man with hundreds said to have attended his funeral.

What a Friend (song)

He Is Still Coming (poem)

Sabre’s are rattling, storms array. 
Earthquakes over and over, Look not away. 
Men are filled with lust, poverty and need, 
Open your eyes wide, Look and see! 

While these things happen year after year, 
His​ coming is soon, it is very near. 
Don’t be distracted away from God, 
Soon many will see his chastening rod. 

See the warnings, take heed today, 
Have faith in God’s Word, no matter what men may say! 
Stay faithful to God my dear friend, 
Refrain from following this world in sin. 

Encourage one another with His promises so true, 
When you encourage others, God will encourage you!
Keep your eyes upon our Lord,
 While this world kills, steals and hordes. 

Trust in the strength of God’s Holy Lamb, 
Run and tell others who without Him are damned. 
Satan wants to distract you from reaching those who are in his grip, 
He will do all he can to cause you to stumble and trip. 

Never forget the power of the great “I AM”, 
Can reach that lost soul by the blood of the Lamb! 
So hasten quickly, do not delay, 
We know not the moment, the hour or the day! 

-Karen M Patterson 

The Sign Of The Prophet Jonah

When Christ said that the only sign He would give would be the sign of the prophet Jonah, it was a very telling statement.

Luke 11:29-30- And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

Jonah was the only Old Testament prophet from the region of Galilee. He was from Gathhepher, a border town in the Northern Kingdom of Israel just West of the Sea of Galilee.

II Kings 14:25- He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

There was a reason that Christ was asking them if they had ever read certain things out of the Scriptures. But they showed their arrogance quite well in John 7 when they were arguing with Nicodemus on the subject.

John 7:52-53- They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house.

No one even searched. No one looked. No one bothered to even question.

So what exactly is it about the story of Jonah that Christ wanted the Jews to understand?

First, Jonah was a prophet to the Kingdom of Israel. This is the kingdom that split from Rehoboam after the death of Solomon. They set up their new idols in Bethel and claimed Samaria as their capital city. This kingdom fell under God's judgment for their idolatry around 700 BC and was carried away captive to the nation of Assyria.

He was called by God to go to the Gentile city of Nineveh. While Jonah was a Jewish prophet, he was given a command to go preach against the very capital city of the Assyrian Empire. The message was very simple, "Repent or perish".

Jonah, however, didn't want to go. He explains why he ran in the very last chapter of the book. He knew that God could be merciful if people humbled themselves.

Jonah 4:2- And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

The sign that Jesus was referencing was the most notable story that is commonly told to children in Sunday school- the story of Jonah and the whale.

Matthew 12:40- For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

We all know the story. Jonah disobeyed God and ran to get on a ship going in the opposite direction. While on the vessel out at sea, a storm arose and the sailors feared for their lives. When they found out it was Jonah's fault, they tried everything they could to save themselves and the ship, but eventually had to relent and follow Jonah's directions.

Jonah 1:15- So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

But God wasn't done with Jonah. He had a great fish- a whale according to Jesus- who came along at that very moment and swallowed Jonah whole.

Jonah 1:17- Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah prayed to the Lord while he was inside the whale's belly. He poured out his heart to God. Notice the words that Jonah uses. It sounds an awful lot like he died inside the whale and the Lord brought him back.

Jonah 2:2,5,6- And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

The fish obeyed God and swam to the surface and spit Jonah out of his stomach onto the dry land. 

This time, Jonah obeyed God and went and preached to Nineveh. This was the last message that Jonah gave. The story ends with him out in the Assyrian desert telling God that he wished to die.

The book itself ends with a question from God.

Jonah 4:11- And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah feared that the Lord would show mercy to these wicked Gentiles. But, perhaps his fear had another variable. Because if the Lord showed mercy, then Jonah's time as a prophet was over.

Deuteronomy 18:22- When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Jonah spent three days and three nights inside a whale, came out and preached his last message, many Gentiles repented, and then his ministry was over.

This is what happened with Christ. He died and was buried for three days and three nights, came out and preached his last message and then ascended into heaven. That was the end of His earthly ministry. And since that time, many Gentiles have repented.

Why are there people who want to refute the account of Jonah and the whale? Some, perhaps, innocently believe that it is a myth or an impossible story, but others because they know if the story is true, then that means that Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is also true.

Much of the argument goes that a whale cannot swallow a human because their throats are so small. But, we have recent history that shows this idea to be false.In 2021, a lobster diver by the name of Michael Packard was swallowed by a humpback whale. He was in scuba gear and started thrashing around inside the whale's mouth. The whale didn't like it and swam to the surface and shook him out. He lived, and he and his crewmates who saw the ordeal had an epic story to tell.

This isn't the only time this has happened.

In 1891, it was reported that during a whaling expedition off the Falkland Islands, James Bartley's boat was attacked by a sperm whale, and he fell off the boat and landed inside the whale's mouth. His crew harpooned the creature, and began skinning the whale because of the hot weather which would have rotted the whale meat. He was carved out of the stomach by his peers during the process. It was said that he was in the whale for 36 hours and it was also said that his skin had been bleached by the gastric juices, and that he was blind the rest of his life. He died 18 years later and his tombstone in Gloucester says "James Bartley- a modern day Jonah".

Our modern news media keeps the world apprised of the most recent tales, however, before the advent of newspapers, stories such as these would have been told by mouth to those who came in contact with the witnesses.

The argument that it is impossible for a man to be swallowed by a whale and live has been proven false! The Bible is true. The account of Jonah is true. Jesus being God's Son and dying for our sins, being buried for three days and three nights, and then rising again is true. And it is also true that His sacrifice on Calvary is the only acceptable payment for the sin debt.

Christ's earthly ministry as a prophet occurred during His first coming. He was the prophet foretold by Moses. He came to take away the sins of the world.

Deuteronomy 18:15- The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Once He ascended, that part of His ministry was over. He is now in heaven at the right hand of God making intercession for those who have accepted His payment for their sin debt.

Hebrews 7:22,25- By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

He didn't stay dead; He won't stay gone. When Christ comes again, His second advent, it won't be a prophet. It will be as the King of Kings. He's coming to rule and reign.

Revelation 11:15- And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

It's your decision as to how you will meet Him. You can meet Him as your Savior while you are still alive on this earth, or you can meet Him as your judge after you've died. But you will meet Him one day, just as surely as Jonah was swallowed by the whale.

Daniel's Seventy Weeks

Some religious scholars call the Tribulation Period the "Time of Jacob's Trouble" or "Daniel's Seventieth Week". Why do they use these two phrases to describe this coming time?

The first, the Time of Jacob's Trouble, comes from a single verse in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 30:7- 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.

Many of the Old Testament prophets spoke about a coming troublesome time period where almost the entire world would turn against the Jewish people. Many thought that they had arrived at that point during World War II with Hitler's concentration camps.

The frightening reality is that the Tribulation Period will be so much worse than the horrors of World War II!

Daniel was told that there were seventy weeks where trouble would come upon the city of Jerusalem. There is even a sort-of timetable given.

Daniel 9:24-27-Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Trying to break this down has been quite a challenge for even the most learned theologian. Some things are quite easy to understand, while others are very difficult. 

With God, you cannot take just one verse and use it to come to a conclusion. The Bible is written in a way that you will get more understanding by looking at many verses that all deal with the same topic.

Numbers 14:34- After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Ezekiel 4:6- And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

God has told the Jews before that when He passes judgment that He exacts more than was committed (reaping more than they sowed). In these two verses, He gives a year of punishment for each day of rebellion. This is why we reference these weeks as 7-year periods of time.

The first part of the verse above speaks about the restoration and rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity and ends with the Messiah. Most Jewish people had no idea that the Messiah would have two comings- one where He died, and a second one much later where He reigned.

Daniel 9:25- Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Seven weeks plus threescore and two weeks (or sets of seven). The Bible never does anything without reason, and there is a reason why this is divided up in this manner. 7 weeks, and 62 weeks- however, this only adds up to 69 Weeks (missing the 70th week). 

This means there will be at least three different dates associated with these total Seventy Weeks. 

Daniel 9:2- In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

God tells Daniel that Jeremiah the prophet was correct when he prophesied that the land of Israel would be desolate for 70 years as a punishment to them for not keeping the Law of Moses.

Jeremiah 25:11- And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

But after the seventy years, the Jewish people would return to the land of Israel and rebuild it.

Jeremiah 29:10- For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Both Cyrus and Artaxerxes sent out calls for Jerusalem to be rebuilt; Cyrus around 537 BC, and Artaxerxes I Longimanus issued the decree around 457 BC. That's an 80-year time gap.

Cyrus was prophesied to issue this decree by Isaiah. He is the one who started the whole recolonizing effort.

Isaiah 44:28- That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Ezra is a unique historical book because it gives you the original story of Cyrus' decree, and just a few chapters later gives you the same proclamation from Artaxerxes. The difference of about 80 years between chapter 1 and chapter 7!

Ezra 1:1-4- Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

The second temple is estimated to have been completed around 516 BC, during the sixth year of the reign of Darius.

Ezra 6:15-17- And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

However, the city of Jerusalem wasn't completed until later.

The entire proclamation of Artaxerxes is in Ezra 7:11-26. 

Ezra 7:12-13- Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

Anyone who was willing was granted permission to return to Jerusalem. The King also said that they would supply any requirements needed to accomplish this work.

But it wasn't such an easy task. Throughout Ezra and Nehemiah, you see where the local population tried their hardest to hinder the rebuilding. The walls of the city are estimated to have been completed under Nehemiah around 425 BC.

I believe that these first seven weeks had to do with how long it would take to accomplish the building. The religious leaders tell Jesus that it took 46 years to build the temple.

John 2:20- Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

The walls took 52 days for Nehemiah and the workers with him to build.

Nehemiah 6:15- So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.

But, that didn't include the homes inside the walls for the people to dwell in. The Bible doesn't tell us how long it took them to build the homes, and complete the rebuilding of the city.

Nehemiah 7:4- Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.

 Should I hazard a guess, I would say about 3 years to rebuild the homes.

This is where we get the first seven weeks, or 49 years.

If this is indeed the case, then that tells us why there was a separation of the first two weekly sets. One set would be the completion of the rebuilding of the city, while the other set would start the timetable until the Messiah.

Christ was born at the turn of the millennium. We place His birth at AD 0 BC. He began His ministry when He was about 30 years old.

Luke 3:21-23- Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

He walked this earth for about three and a half years, and then was rejected by the Jews and crucified by the Romans around 34 AD. This was also foretold in Daniel, but the Jewish religious leaders just couldn't understand it.

Daniel 9:26a- And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:

The Messiah was always destined to die for the sins of mankind. It was always the plan. Way back in Genesis, it was pictured by the lamb that was slain to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve after they sinned. It was represented by the lamb that was killed at the first Passover where the blood on the door protected the firstborn. It was told in the Law of Moses that the blood of a lamb was the only thing that would be accepted as an offering for sin. Christ came to be the Lamb of God which would die to take away the sins of the world.

Those first seven weeks are a different timetable than the last sixty-two weeks. From the rebuilding to the death of the Messiah is 62 weeks. If Christ was crucified in 34 AD, this means that the beginning of those 62 weeks was 400 BC- the time around the prophet Malachi when God fell silent and there were no prophecies to the Jewish people.

Malachi's last words were for the Jewish people to look for Elijah.

Malachi 3:1- Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 4:5- Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophesy. He was the one sent to open the eyes of the Jewish people and prepare their hearts to accept the Messiah.

John 1:6-9, 15, 23, 29- There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

An interesting phenomenon in the Bible is where a simple punctuation mark can actually be a difference of thousands of years. In Daniel 9:26, that is exactly what is happening. From the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah to the time when the Man of Sin begins his administration has been a gap of almost 2,000 years.

Daniel 9:26b-27- and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This is where we get the timeframe for the Tribulation. The covenant is for one week; the Tribulation is for seven years. In the middle of the Tribulation, the Man of Sin gets assassinated and is raised as the Son of Perdition, Satan incarnate. The Antichrist breaks the covenant with Israel and begins slaughtering anyone who refuses to take his mark and worship him.

A few things need to happen before this portion of Scripture can come to pass. First, the Temple needs to be rebuilt. A covenant will need to be established. And a smooth talking politician needs to begin his rise to power.

Daniel 11:20-21- Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

The politician is the Man of Sin. He will be assassinated, and when he resurrects it will be the devil incarnate, the Son of Perdition, the Antichrist, who takes the reins.

Revelation 13:1-4- And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

It's a question that most humans alive will ask. How do you defeat someone who can come back from the dead? It's the reason why so many will willingly bow to his demands, even though they know it means eternal damnation.

Revelation 13:16-18- And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

People will line up to take that mark, because they won't be able to buy food without it. The Covid pandemic was a dry run to see how well people would comply.

II Thessalonians 2:3-4- 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; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

This is what Daniel meant by the abomination of desolation. When the devil sits on the throne and declares himself to be god, it's just the beginning of his war on humanity. He will destroy the world.

Daniel 12:11- And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

1,290 days is about three and a half years. There are 3.5 years where the Man of sin rules, and then 3.5 years where the Antichrist rules.

If you are alive when this happens, you should obey Christ's instructions in Matthew- run and hide.

Matthew 24:15-22- When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Get you a King James Bible and learn to live off what's left of the land. Because you will be hunted and killed for not accepting the mark. This is not a time anyone wants to live through. None of the apocalyptic movies can show just how awful this period will be.

If you are wise, you'll take steps now to get saved and avoid that Tribulation.

Bitter in the Battle (video sermon)

The Best Of All (poem)

 Blessed Bible, sacred treasure,

Precious book, of all the best,

There is comfort never failing,

And a calm abiding rest.

Read with reverence, and commit it,

Verse by verse, and day by day;

’Tis the Word that God has spoken,

And it cannot pass away.

- Fanny Crosby

Healthy Minute- The Best Fitness Routines For Perimenopause And Menopause

Rain and Shine (song)

Guidelines For The New World Order

1. NO NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM. Loyalty to ones homeland is disallowed. The "global community" takes priority. "America First" and "Make America Great Again" are words of rebellion.

2. UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. National boundaries are taboo and cruel. We're all global citizens.

3. BIG BROTHER GOVERNMENT KNOWS BEST. The rule is to never question your leaders. They have sacrificed their lives and personal interests in order to serve you. Be grateful, pay your taxes, and do as you are told. Report anyone who doesn't.

4. EVIL WEARS A SMILE. All of the new world order is evil, but it's disguised as good. The welfare state is good, same sex marriage is good, abortion is good as it is considerate of the mother's needs and own right to choose, $15 minimum wage is good and compassionate, etc. All evil must wear a smile and function under the banner of good. Isa 5:20.  

5. IMMORALITY PROMOTED. Sin destroys lives, so Satan promotes sin. The coming antichrist has no moral code. Just take the mark and worship him, even if you're a sodomite, a murderer, a thief, an adulterer, an idolator, etc. Rev. 9:21.

6. "FREE" GOVERNMENT EDUCATION FOR ALL. Free public education is one of the planks of the communist manifesto as big brother indoctrination is absolutely essential in molding children into global citizens. Even free college tuition is in the works.

7. SOCIALIZED INCOME TAX SYSTEM. In the name of being "fair" and "spreading the wealth around" by taking from one class and giving to another, universal taxing is mandatory for financing the global order.  

8. SYMBOLISM OVER SUBSTANCE. Truth and facts no longer matter. Political correctness, perceptions, and how one "feels" takes priority. If one feels hated, intimidated or endangered, then someone must pay. Period. If bleeding heart liberals say they "care," then that's all that matters, even though the substance of their policies prove otherwise.  

9. DESTROY OR SILENCE ALL NON-CONFORMISTS. The left, being comprised of mainstream media people, career government officials and leaders in academia and "science" will work together as a team to blacklist anyone who speaks or acts against "the almighty state." The attempted destruction of President Trump is a prime example.

10. WORSHIP THE BEAST. This is where it's all headed (Rev. 13:4-8, 12, 15; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). After a century of respecting, depending on and reverencing big brother government, it will be time to WORSHIP him. Satan has desired this from the beginning (Isa. 14:12-15), he desired worship from the Lord Jesus (Mat. 4:9), and he will demand worship in the Great Tribulation (II Ths. 2:3-10). Those who refuse will be killed.

Make no mistake about it. As fearful as all of this sounds, it is absolutely true and will come to pass, probably very soon.

-James L Melton

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